Tried And True Easy Peasy Recipes

But what can I substitute if I don’t have 3 Zutaten, 3 Tage, or 20 Jahren Nudelrezepte on hand?

Eier, r1!

R1 R2 - LMAO - The recipe is actually in English.

That looks lovely, OP. And easy AF. You can use a lot of different cheeses. I'd go with a mixture of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Fontinella, or maybe Fontina Val D'Aosta for my first try. Not gonna eat potatoes and pasta in the same meal, though. Thanks.

R4 I added cooked Italian sausage, ham, onions and garlic to the middle. It really turned out superb.

Ok, I started this thread because it was a request from many on the meatloaf thread. Let’s fill this MF’er up.

[quote] But what can I substitute if I don’t have 3 Zutaten, 3 Tage, or 20 Jahren Nudelrezepte on hand?

You can substitute 99 Luftballoons.

It's the jackass with a Youtube video for a source.

And for a recipe, no less. What a loser.

R8 well Mr. Winner, it worked for me. Show me what a winning recipe looks like. I’m waiting…

R8 = Greg02116.

Kill it. Kill it with fire.

I made these today. They are absolutely delicious- if you like lemon.

The recipe says "only 3 ingredients, but there are noodles, eggs, and TWO kinds of cheeses. That makes four in my book. (We don't count salt and pepper, or water.)

OK I posted this before, and it came from a fine dining restaurant, but there are only four ingredients, and it is very, very easy and super delicious.

The only thing I changed is, I don’t pull it out of the oven and finish it with the butter on the stove top. I just leave it in the oven until the butter is brown. Because I had it and then wanted to make it at home before I found the recipe online, and it was so simple that I was able to re-create the recipe without actually having it. I sear the chicken with about half the butter and flip it over and add the rest before I throw it in the oven. And I don’t think I’ve ever done it at 500°. I do it at 425 because I figured putting all the butter in at once might just burn at 500 and I keep it in the oven for longer than 10 minutes so I do flip it because I’m afraid it’ll burn if I keep it skin side down the entire time, but it’s never been dry (it’s literally soaking in butter!) But follow their recipe.

[bold]Corso’s Pollo al Burro[/bold]

At Corso, chef Wendy Brucker and her staff prepare the chicken individually, but we've adapted it to serve four. Make sure you buy boneless breast with the skin on and use Plugra, which is creamier and has a lower moisture content than most butters. No matter what, this is rich - not a dish to serve every day.

4 6-ounce chicken half breasts, boneless, skin-on (see Note) -- Kosher salt to taste 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or as needed 1 pound "red label" unsalted Plugra butter, room temperature (see Note) 1 lemon (Eureka or Meyer) or lime, seeded and quartered

Instructions: Preheat oven to 500°. Remove the small tender from the inside part of each breast and cook separately, or reserve for another use. Generously salt chicken then dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.

Heat a large cast iron skillet or other heavy, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Add 4 ounces (8 tablespoons) butter. When the butter begins bubbling, add the chicken, skin side down. Cook 15 minutes without moving the breasts.

Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Return the skillet to stovetop over medium heat. Turn the breasts over, then add remaining butter. Continue to cook until the melted butter turns a nutty brown color, about 5 minutes, and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of about 160°.

Remove chicken from the skillet, place in warmed shallow bowls, and pour about one quarter of the butter over each breast. Season to taste and squeeze lemon wedge over each to finish. Serve immediately.

Note: A half chicken breast ("one" breast is technically two halves that are still connected) can weigh as much as 12 ounces. A gigantic breast will serve two, but will probably take longer in the oven or rested in the still-hot skillet, where it will continue to cook.

You can substitute unsalted Challenge Dairy's European Style butter. If the butter becomes too dark - more black than brown - discard it, wipe out the pan and replace it with new butter.

Per serving: 982 calories, 52 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 80 g fat (46 g saturated), 325 mg cholesterol, 121 mg sodium, 0 g fiber.

Wine pairing: The rich butter can use a wine with acidity to cleanse the palate. A white Burgundy will work well, but with bubbles the match is even better. Try a richly textured Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine.

[quote]Make sure you buy boneless breast with the skin on

Virtually impossible to find. You'll probably have to debone your own chicken breasts.

R13 thank you. Yummy.

What is “Plugra” butter?

[quote]1 Eureka or Mayer lemon.

Oh just call it a lemon FFS.

A brand of butter, R15.

R17 right, I understand, but can we use regular butter?

[quote] Virtually impossible to find. You'll probably have to debone your own chicken breasts.

I have deboned a chicken breast, and it looked like a mass murder had been committed. But, I have a butcher shop nearby and they will debone them for me, skin on.

R18, I’ve used Kerrygold, but I have found Plugra in regular grocery stores. But I would say you could totally use regular butter.

Plugra is European butter, which tends to have a lower water content (and therefore a higher fat content) than American butter. And often tastes different, because of what the cows are fed.

Greg, or anyone, what can one do to "doll up" hash brown patties?

I would doll them up by throwing them out. Unless you're having a nice trashy breakfast, then they're fine.

[quote]Greg, or anyone, what can one do to "doll up" hash brown patties?

Chives.

OP, that noodle recipe looks great but how long does it cook in the covered frying pan?

Easy Peasy:

Mix together: An 8 oz bottle of Catalina

A can of whole cranberry sauce

An envelope of onion soup (like Lipton)

Pour over a 2 - 3 lbs of chicken breasts or thighs; bake at 350 for an hour

Delicious over mashed potatoes or rice

You're kidding R26, right? Right? Please dear jeebus tell me you're kidding???

R27 Nope. It's a great sweet/savory mash-up.

R23 lmao! Good one. Although, I love potato patties. I grew up in a very Irish home. I swear to Go, we have some kind of potato with every meal. Even if we had spaghetti we would have pierogi to accompany the meal. Pasta and potatoes, double fattening and we all were super skinny. We still are…

[bold]4 INGREDIENT APPLE FRITTER BREAKFAST HOTDISH[/bold]: 2 8-piece cans of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls (or equivalent generic); 1 can of apple pie filling (the real gloppy glazey HFCS kind); 1/2 cup of melted butter; 3/4 cups of brown sugar; 2 teaspoons cinnamon; pinch of salt.

1) Unroll the cinnamon rolls and cut the long strips into bite size pieces; 2) Chop apple pie filling into smaller chunks by sticking the knife directly in the open can and slicing through the apples (keeps the glaze from getting everywhere); 3) Combine all ingredients in a greased ceramic or glass baking dish; 4) Bake on 375° for about 45 minutes.

Trusts me on this one. It’s really good. I’ve had very stringent and uncompromising orthorexic types help themselves to seconds.

I miscounted the ingredients but you get the idea.

R31 I love the idea. Yummy. Thanks.

[quote] Mix together: An 8 oz bottle of Catalina

What on earth is ‘Catalina?’

Since it's strawberry season.

Strawberries Romanoff

Strawberries

Sour cream

Brown sugar

[quote] [R8] = Greg02116.

[bold] WRONG [/bold]

R10, take a hike.

I don’t address people in the way that R8 did.

You are a terrible person. How do you live with yourself?

I’m looking for chicken recipes.

Here's a simple chicken recipe, r36, Marcella Hazan's Roast Chicken with Two Lemons.

R37 yummy, now we are talking. Have you made this recipe?

I have a sous vide function on my Instant pot so I use it to sous vide boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I use a slice of lemon, fresh herbs, seasoned salt and vacuum seal them individually. They cook for two hours at 145 degrees. If you're not using them immediately, you put them in a bowl with ice cubes and water for a half hour to bring them to room temperature. Then you can refrigerate or refreeze.

I use them for fajitas, tacos, quesadillas, chicken salad and cooked with a ready -made sauce, BBQ, curry, etc.

Yes, r38. I've made it a number of times.

My friend made roasted chicken with a couple of halved lemons in the cavity. She then made gravy from the pan drippings and gravy. Delicious.

This was San Francisco, so it was probably an organic, free-range chicken.

I don't even like chicken that much, but it was delicious. I think it was the gravy that made it.

R41 yummy. Lemon really does add a lot to a recipe. A few years ago I was anti lemon. Now, I really see the benefits of adding lemon to food it does enhance flavor.

[quote] She then made gravy from the pan drippings and gravy. Delicious.

I meant lemons. She made gravy from the pan drippings & the lemons.

R43 I completely understood and just deduced that lemon was in the gravy.

[quote]What on earth is ‘Catalina?’

R33 Catalina is type of French dressing, Gregg. I think it's Kraft which is probably why you're not familiar with it.

[quote][R33] Catalina is type of French dressing, Gregg. I think it's Kraft which is probably why you're not familiar with it.

No, it’s an island. Off California. I’m sure r26’s post was a typo and they meant the island.

And I can’t believe sophisticates like you and Gregg have never heard of Catalina island. 🙄

You can make your own Catalina dressing and skip the guar gum and additives. It's a Kraft product that's like a spicy version of bottled French dressing.

R47 wow!

We need more recipes, pretty please 🙏

R1 hilarious!

R25 well you put the lid on and the author states to cook for 10 minutes. I noticed that was too long. Maybe my heat was too high. I started the cooking process with a cold skillet?? I was not sure.

Then you are to flip it onto wax paper and cook another 10 minutes with the wax paper on the pasta. Well, the first time I did what author said and the wax paper melted on my pasta. Big ol’ hot mess. The second time no wax paper. Much better! Although, the key is to not use too much pasta.

I can give everyone a recipe for homemade jambalaya that’s as good as anything I get in New Orleans (because I’m from New Orleans).

This is an instant pot recipe

Ingredients

1 12-ounce Hillshire Farm smoked sausage link

4 tablespoons of olive oil

1 boneless chicken breast

1/2 cup of diced onion

1/4 cup of diced celery

1/4 cup of diced green bell pepper

2 cups of jasmine rice

2 cups of chicken stock

1 or 2 tablespoons of Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning or any Cajun seasoning. (This really depends on your tolerance. If you don’t like heavy seasoning, use 1 tablespoon. If you do like it, go for the full 2 tablespoons.)

2 to 3 bay leaves

3 green onions, thinly sliced, whites and greens

Slice the sausage into half inch coins and butterfly and cut the uncooked chicken breast into half inch cubes.

Set the instant pot to sauté on high and add the smoked sausage. Brown the sausage for five minutes and then remove with a slotted spoon. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and the diced chicken. Sauté the chicken until it’s fully cooked and browned a little. You can add a half a tablespoon or full tablespoon of the creole seasoning to the chicken while it’s sautéing. Remove the cooked chicken with a slotted spoon.

Add one more tablespoon of olive oil, and the diced onion, celery, and bell pepper and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until they are translucent and fully cooked.

To the sautéed vegetables, add the last 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 cups of uncooked rice. Stir and toast the rice for 3 to 4 minutes until it’s started to turn less opaque (it will turn a brighter white) and smells like popcorn.

At this point it is a good idea to add about a quarter of a cup of the chicken stock and use a wooden spoon to deglaze the bottom of the pot

Put the browned sausage and chicken back into the pot, add the remainder of the chicken stock, the remainder of the creole seasoning, and the bay leaves and stir gently to combine everything.

Put the lid on the instant pot, use the rice setting on high, and wait.

When the rice is done cooking, turn the instant pot off and allow it to sit for 10 minutes before releasing the pressure

After you take off the lid, gently fluff the jambalaya with either the wooden spoon or a fork and fold in the sliced green onions.

So. I made that recipe up off the top of my head. I did not have it written down anywhere, and it is my recipe. You’ll find a lot of recipes with way more ingredients, but this is as simple as it gets and is really all you need. I don’t use tomatoes or tomato paste because that would make it a Creole jambalaya and I suggested jasmine rice and Hillshire Farm sausage because I think short grain rice works better and Hillshire farm sausage is going to be easier to find than Andouille and I wanted this to be easy and the ingredients accessible to everyone. It’s also very easy to find Tony’s at most grocery stores and they even have a salt free version.

You can totally do this on the stove top in a pot with a lid, but I’m not great at cooking rice, and the instant pot weighs the ingredients and sets the temperature and time automatically so it’s just easier. But you can absolutely do it on the stove top if you want and you’re comfortable cooking rice. But if you do it on the stove top, you’ll have to double the chicken stock. The Instant pot has almost no evaporation, which is why you only need one part of rice to one part of liquid. That will not fly in a pot on a stove top.

Don’t try to double this recipe. For some reason it’s just too much for a 6 quart instant pot and you will get a burn notice. I don’t know why, but I am not an instant pot engineer, and it works the way I presented it so, if you double it, that’s on you.

Serve with any hot sauce other than Tabasco. Because Tabasco is warm, vinegar flavored garbage.

I’m serious. If you try this recipe and come back and say you used Tabasco and you didn’t like it, I will hunt you down and punch you.

Enjoy! 🤗

R51 yummy! I’ve never made that…. I will try the recipe.

I hope you like it OP. Like a lot of folks from New Orleans, I don’t cook from recipes. Our ancestors look down over our shoulders at what we’re putting in and when it’s enough they’ll whisper in our ears “Bitch? What the fuck are you doing? That’s enough. ENOUGH!”

R53 that’s how I would love to be able to cook! You must have amazing confidence in the kitchen.

R54, I’ve had a lot of failures over the years.

R46, of course I’ve heard of Catalina Island.

But in an 8-ounce bottle?

[quote] An 8 oz bottle of Catalina

[quote][R46], of course I’ve heard of Catalina Island. But in an 8-ounce bottle?

Yes, Greg. You only get 8 ounces of the island. Do you think they could fit the whole island in an 8 ounce bottle? And if you got the whole island, where would you put it? How big is your kitchen? And doesn’t it seem a little greedy to want the whole island? It’s beautiful. It needs to be shared with others.

I suppose, R57.

I have a wonderful recipe for Sperhüven Krispies.

You have to hold your nose, but the taste is heavenly!

Perfect scrambled eggs? So many opinions about how to achieve this.

I think it was parchment paper, not wax paper.

Here are my favorite ways to prepare scrambled eggs:

Slackers.

Here you go Greg.

Thank you, R64.

I don’t think I’ll be adding it to my shopping list.

Anyone else like Brini Maxwell? I tried her trick for perfect grilled cheese sandwiches…and it worked!

How hard is it to make grilled cheese sandwiches?

Any recipes besides grilled cheese? Lmao

R62/Greg, do you have your flames and freaks setting set to asbestos eyeballs? Are you aware that your OP on your grilled cheese link is in strikeout mode?

Or strikethrough or whatever it’s called?

If you're looking for an easy beef stew recipe you won't find an easier one than the one Marcia Adams has in one of her "Cooking From Quilt Country" cookbooks. There's about 12 ingredients but all you do is combine everything in a big, deep roasting pan and shove it in the oven for 5 hours(the only addition I make is to include some thick-sliced mushrooms) Easy and delicious.

Brini makes potato salad! With a kick!!

French onion soup:

Onions, caramelized (w/salt). No need to use sweet onions.

Soy sauce

Lager beer: Heineken or Corona

I haven't figured out the crouton / cheese part, yet. My toast tends to soak up too much soup.

Preferred cheese: Comte.

R71, do you have the cookbook? Can you share the recipe?

[quote] R62]/Greg, do you have your flames and freaks setting set to asbestos eyeballs? Are you aware that your OP on your grilled cheese link is in strikeout mode?

Yes, I do.

I do not have a grilled cheese link.

R75, apologies, I meant your scrambled eggs link was f&f’d out.

Strange. It is not f&f’d out on my screen.

R77.

[quote]R65: I don’t think I’ll be adding it to my shopping list.

I've mentioned it before, as one of the ingredients I use in Tuna Salad and Macaroni Salad. It adds a bit of savory garlic.

You've got to be kidding. C'mon, you have to have heard of it before.

If you truly haven't, you ought to at least try it.

Get ahold of some old church fundraiser cookbooks if you’re looking for lots of simple, inexpensive, tried and true crowd pleasing recipes. For casseroles your best bet are the Lutherans and Mormons. For ethnic dishes, Catholics. Episcopalians for cocktails. Baptists for some South in your mouth and Quakers for oat-based foods.

The German recipes always say something like "my granny cook this every day!"

We’re straying into hot dish territory.

Safe for Stoners: Pork Chops

* 7 pieces Or 8 Pieces Breakfast Chops (very Thin Bone-in Pork Chops) * 1 cup All-purpose Flour * 1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt * 1 teaspoon Black Pepper * Cayenne Pepper To Taste * 1/2 cup Canola Oil * 1 Tablespoon Butter * Extra Salt And Pepper, To Taste

Do it.

r74 Mon plaisir. The recipe is from Marcia Adams "Cooking From QuiIt Country" copyright 1989. Her videos are on YouTube. It turned out to be more than 12 ingredients but here ya' go:

- 2 lbs. beef stew meat, chunked to bite-size pieces

- 3-4 potatoes, chunked larger than the meat

- 3-4 carrots, in 1 inch pieces

- 2 celery ribs in 1 inch pieces

- 3 small onions(or 1 lg.) in 1 inch pieces

- 1 28oz can tomatoes(I use whole tomatoes)

- 1/4 cup water(more if you want it soupier)

- 5 Tbsps. Minute Tapioca( the kind used in fruit pies)

- 2 Tbsps. Worcestershire sauce

- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1/2 tsp. of ground black pepper and ground allspice

- 1/4 tsp. dried marjoram and dried thyme

- 1 bay leaf

- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

- my additions are: 5 or 6 large mushrooms, sliced

- and 1 or 2 parsnips, cut into long sticks

- Combine everything well in a large pan(I use a turkey roaster)

can also be done in a slow cooker.

- Cover, bake at 300℉ for 5 hours

- Add parsley just before serving

Since you'll be saving so much time preparing stew this way you can make some cornbread or yeast rolls to go with. 👨‍🍳 "Esse gut!" as Marcia would say.

Thank you, r83!! Sounds delicious. I wouldn’t have guessed tapioca was an ingredient. But I’m willing to try anything once. Twice if I’m drunk.

Please remember:

Canola oil and Olive oil fry better than virgin olive oil.

Medium Hi is usually #6 on your stove and it means that your oil is at that temperature when you add ingredients; be patient.

You can always pull your pan off the heat when it gets crazy. Step away, have a smoke, evaluate this shit. It’s science; we’re respectful and willing to learn.

[quote] Get ahold of some old church fundraiser cookbooks

I love those. I went to Catholic school and they put out a cookbook. I made my first lasagne from that cookbook. I don't think I've ever made a better lasagne. I think the secret ingredient was the spicy sausage.

R85 - canola oil? I find canola oil has one of the lower smoke points of cooking oils and, furthermore, quickly develops a rancid, fishy off-smell if overheated or left on the heat too long. This is a pain in the ass when you're frying more than one batch of something.

The best oil for frying in my opinion is grapeseed oil (not to be confused with rapeseed oil, which is just canola oil by another name). It has a high smoke point and completely neutral taste. I never get the nasty fishy smell with grapeseed oil. Unfortunately, it's very expensive and not available in the large quantities of other cooking oils.

Failing that, I use corn oil. Some people say it has a "corn-y" taste, but I find it pretty neutral, and it doesn't smoke or overheat as easily as canola.

[quote]It’s science; we’re respectful and willing to learn.

Funny. The reason I don’t usually use recipes is because I used to be a lab scientist and was so sick of measuring and following strict protocols that when I came home to cook, the last thing I ever wanted to do was measure, or worry about temperature, time, or instructions. So I always said cooking was art.

Sometimes it’s a Renoir. But sometimes it’s a five year old’s finger painting that even a mom is too ashamed to hang on the fridge.

r74/r84 I'd be pleased to find out how you like the recipe. It really is easy and makes a lot for a little bit of work, and no browning of the beef beforehand is definitely a +.

I do add extra water because I like a lot of gravy. Make sure you've thoroughly stirred in the tapioca before you bake it; otherwise, it can clump up on ya'. I hand crush the tomatoes before stirring them in.

Consider adding some Marmite™ or Vegemite™ if you'd like to boost the savoriness.

R67, it's not hard to make a grilled cheese sandwich, but it's easy to mess up and make a bad grilled cheese sandwich.

The number one mistake is not getting the skillet hot enough before you add the sandwich. Do this - put the sandwich in the skillet at too low a temp - and you'll get a soggy, rubbery sandwich.

You want that sandwich to sizzle actively when it hit the skillet and cook to an even golden-brown color quickly without burning. In other words, there is a technique to doing it right.

Mississippi pot roast - there's hardly an easier recipe if you have a slow cooker.

Put a 3-4 lb chuck roast in the cooker. Add one packet of ranch dressing mix and one packet of au jus gravy mix. Dot the top with 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter and around 6 pepperoncini peppers. You can add some of the pepperoncini juice as well - it will add a nice little kick to the gravy.

That's it. Cover the pot and cook on LOW for 8 hours.

Yep. This recipe uses instant mixes, but it turns out to be delicious with a wonderful gravy. You can also slice the leftover pot roast cold for sandwiches.

R91 I make it all the time…absolutely love this dish!

You'll get a much better result if you brown your meat for a stew. Dredge in flour first and brown on both sides. Deglaze the pan with water, broth or wine. Garlic is your friend. The potatoes need to go in during the last 40 minutes or they will turn to mush. Make sure all the veggies are approximately the same size so the cooking is even. Three hours of cooking in an oven should do it. If you need to thicken the gravy, I'd do a slurry with flour or cornstarch.

Carry on.

.

I have tons of cheats that I learned from my mom or that I taught myself.

If you made a delicious meal and a homemade gravy, but the gravy turns out flavorless, I always have packs of opened, gravy mixes, brown, chicken, turkey, and I’ll take it little tiny bit and mix with a little tiny bit of water, and then add it to the gravy to thicken it, and give it more flavor.

If I’m making mashed potatoes for potato soup and I fuck them up and they are too thin and runny, I actually have a box of instant mashed potatoes specifically for that. Just sprinkle a little bit in and let them hydrate until the potatoes are thick enough again.

If a soup or stew is bland, a tablespoon of knorr chicken powder. Just be careful about adding extra salt.

The quickest enchilada sauce in the world is a half a jar of salsa verde, a splash of heavy cream, and (guess!) a little more chicken powder. Put it in a skillet, stir it together and bring it to a bubble and you have a perfect green enchilada sauce.

I don’t care what a recipe says about the ratio of onion, celery, carrot, and bell pepper. It’s always two parts diced onion, to one part of all the other vegetables. So if it’s a mirepoix, two parts onion, one part celery, one part carrot. If it’s the New Orleans trinity, two parts onion, one part celery, one part bell pepper. And my sister and I both do this. We’ll take several onions, stalks of celery, several carrots, several bell peppers and dice them all and create two different gallon, size Ziploc bags of mirepoix and the trinity, mix them all up and freeze them. Then when you need it, just scoop out what you need. don’t need to waste time chopping vegetables every time you cook.

And finally, if a sauce tastes fine, but is too thin, 1 or 2 tablespoons of flour in a small amount, like half a cup of water, whisked into a slurry, and then into the sauce. The flour will cook just fine and it won’t taste like raw flour If you let it go long enough. Most folks would just use corn starch, but I don’t really like corn starch. It makes things glossy and not as thick as flour.

I probably have a dozen more of these if anyone is interested, or I can just stop.

I'm interested, R94. I'm curious as well about how long those opened packets and bottles of powder last. I probably wouldn't use them up very fast, especially the chicken powder since I use boxed chicken stock rather than powder.

R93, you will get a better result, but you have just doubled (or more) the effort and mess. I brown meat for stew if it's a special occasion. Otherwise, I'll trade the extra flavor for what is otherwise a super-easy dish to make, whether in the stove or slow cooker. And it still taste very good ... just not quite as good.

Speaking of slow cookers, I need a helpful hint: How do you get the vegetables, especially carrots, but also potatoes and turnips, to cook fully when you're making a stew on LOW? Every time I try, the vegetables are still slightly crunchy, or at least slightly resistant to the bite. I don't like that. In fact, I hate it.

The best I've been able to come up with is cooking the vegetables separately in water until they're almost done and then adding them to the cooker for the last hour or so. Is there a better way?

It just occurred to me that I could roast the vegetables, which would add a nice flavor, instead. It would still be more trouble than just dumping everything in the cooker, though.

R 96, , you brown the meat in the slow cooker or dutch oven so you are not dirtying an additional pan. Browning and dredging the meat takes an additional 10 minutes.

Unclench.

This will be unpopular, but don't throw away your bean-soaking water. Just cook your beans in the soaking water. Also, put salt in your bean-soaking water (learned this on America's Test Kitchen).

Just put your spices of choice and cook your beans in the soaking water. I add some Maseca corn flour to thicken it a little.

PS R96, when Adams updated her cookbook in 1997, she dredged and browned the meat and added coffee, which strikes me as an interesting twist. Learned she had a PBS series. Thanks for letting me know about this tasty series of Amish recipes.

[quote]Just put your spices of choice and cook your beans in the soaking water. I add some Maseca corn flour to thicken it a little.

My mom would always pull out about a cup of cooked beans and mash them completely until they were paste, and then put them back in the pot to thicken whatever she made. Usually red beans or white beans (from New Orleans).

Omg now we are talking! There are some great recipes. I think the grilled cheese is the best, lol

[quote]Speaking of slow cookers, I need a helpful hint: How do you get the vegetables, especially carrots, but also potatoes and turnips, to cook fully when you're making a stew on LOW?

Are you giving them enough time? I’m sure you’re following a recipe but most slow cooker recipes on low can take like eight hours.

i abandoned my slow cooker. Once I got an instant pot, I never use it again. One because I could use the instant pot as a slow cooker, but mainly because I could use it as a super fast cooker and get almost the same results. I guess I’ve had mine about four years and I don’t think I’ve cooked anything on the stove top that wasn’t in a skillet since then. Anything that I used to use my Dutch oven or large pans for, all that just goes in the instant pot now. And I had to figure out how to use it to make recipes that I had made in a slow cooker or on the stove top and there was a learning curve. I had to learn to use less liquid, because nothing evaporates. And if I make some thing with a roux, it will burn. So I will just make whatever I’m making any instant pot and I’ll make a roux on the stove top at the same time and just stir it in at the end. Yeah it does cause me to use an extra pan but it’s still way faster.

[quote]This will be unpopular, but don't throw away your bean-soaking water.

The part that contributes to flatulence. You keep that?

[quote]I'm curious as well about how long those opened packets and bottles of powder last.

Oh wow, years? There’s practically nothing natural about them. They’re just artificial flavoring, artificial color, anti-caking agents, and preservatives. And usually a ton of salt. I don’t use them often and I don’t use very much when I do, but they’re great at boosting some thing that is missing. Something that could probably be fixed by using a better recipe or better ingredients. Like I said, they’re cheats.

I use chicken stock, either homemade or boxed. I just use chicken powder when you need a strong boost and chicken stock would just dilute it further. Same thing with the gravy packets. But I try to use them sparingly and infrequently.

1 can chunk light tuna fish

1/2-bottle of clam juice

1/2 cup of peanut butter

Run the tuna through the meat grinder then add clam juice and peanut butter.

R106 oh hell no

R106….WHAT arrrrrre they?

Tuna noodle casserole

R108 it's a recipe I cut out of the ladies journal. The others are plain jack cheese and chutney.

[quote]I've mentioned it before, as one of the ingredients I use in Tuna Salad and Macaroni Salad. It adds a bit of savory garlic.

R79 Poisoned D - Can you please post those recipes or tell me where I can find them?

Besides church cookbooks, keep an eye out for firehouse cookbooks. Those gorgeous hosers know how to cook simply and well.

{quote]This will be unpopular, but don't throw away your bean-soaking water.

[quote]The part that contributes to flatulence.

True! Dump the bean-soaking water unless you want to host a fart contest.

R106/Doris (may I call you Doris?)

First of all, love your recipe. Big fan.

Second thing, when I have peanut butter, I like jelly with it. And the only time I’ve had clam juice has been in Clamato and in a bloody Mary.

So what are your thoughts on modifying your recipe slightly by adding grape jelly and maybe V-8 (Spicy. Of course.)?

hamburger helper

I love clam juice!

R114, that sounds spicier than a saltine. Is it spicier than a saltine? I have digestive issues and I can’t eat ANYTHING spicier than a saltine.

I just love BronzeAgeGay. He helped me with a 400 year old Gingerbread recipe at Christmas time. Does anybody have any very old and delicious recipes? Say, Elizabethan or so?

R83 Thanks, I think I'll go get a couple of pounds of chuck roast soon. I've got the other ingredients except tapioca and parsnips, but we'll make do somehow. Sounds easy and delicious.

Thanks R91, sounds awesome, will try making after thinking about where my slow-cooker might be..

I love this thread and hate cooking. You people are lucky to enjoy the process of making delicious food!

Mamaw's Salmon Cakes

Do people ever make salmon cakes with fresh salmon? I’ve always wanted to try them instead of the ones made with canned salmon.

My recipe for chili:

INGREDIENTS:

2 onions, diced. Use whichever kind you like. I like sweet, as they don’t irritate my eyes.

Olive oil

½ cup chili powder (my blend of ground ancho, cumin, chipotle, and garlic powder)

2# ground meat (I usually use Black Angus Chuck)

28 oz. can whole tomatoes, pulsed (I use stick blender) or broken by hand

2 green bell peppers, cut in 1/2” inch dice

2 cans of beans, drained and rinsed (if you don't like them, leave them out)

Sweat diced onions in olive oil and salt. When translucent, add chili powder mix and stir constantly for about a minute. Add ground beef and break it into smaller pieces as you stir. Let the meat brown, then add tomatoes. Let that cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Add green peppers. Cook, covered, for 30 minutes. Stir beans into chili, and cook for another 15 minutes.

Chili is done when the green peppers are soft. They should have no crunch.

I like chili with sour cream. You may prefer grated cheddar, diced onion or scallion, olives, etc.

I can barely fry an egg, but I'm enjoying reading the recipes!

R122 Can you substitute crab? I don't care much for canned salmon.

My recipe for Chili:

R123 canned salmon is better for making salmon patties. Save fresh salmon for grilling, baking, etc

Boil creamettes spaghetti noodles

1 lb ground chuck

1 jar Ragu (your choice)

Add diced sweet onion to hamburger. Add 1/2 diced red pepper to hamburger. Add sliced mushrooms to sauce. Add 1 tbsp of sugar to sauce.

EAT

R124 gurl, that sounds so yummy!

Any recipe for crab patties?

R129 lol! Ragu + Noodles.

[quote] Do people ever make salmon cakes with fresh salmon? I’ve always wanted to try them instead of the ones made with canned salmon.

Why not use fresh salmon? You can make crab cakes with fresh crab. You can make corned beef hash patties with fresh corned beef.

Boil creamettes fettuccine noodles and drain

Add grated Parmesan cheese or use Kraft if you want. I don’t give a shit either way.

Add heavy whipping cream

Add 1 tbsp sugar

EAT

[quote]R111: Poisoned D - Can you please post those recipes or tell me where I can find them?

Well, the macaroni salad one was part of a Greg thread ('𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐝? 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬.') and there seems to have been a purge; the discussion is gone. Maybe I can recreate my 06/03/23 post in a while; I'll have to really think about it in order to recall what I said.

The tuna salad post can be found at the DL link, at reply 30:

R127, my recipe for chili. It's halfway between homemade and canned and is really very good. The picture shows meat-only chili, but you can add a can of beans (drain, rinse, drain again). Use all or only part of the spice packets, according to your taste. Cut down on the liquid ingredients and you won't need the masa flour, which imparts a flavor you may or may not like.

Be sure to serve with sour cream and shredded Cheddar or Mexican cheese as toppings.

Why I couldn't possibly eat a noodle. Do I look Eyetalian?

My recipe for salsa / pico de gallo:

Tomatoes (I use grape). You can use canned tomatoes, but use the whole tomatoes & dice them.

Salt

Lime juice

Jalapeño peppers

Onion

Garlic

Cumin powder

Optional:

Cilantro

Fruit (cantaloupe & honeydew melon are surprisingly good, but you can also use fresh pineapple). Use fresh fruit only if using fresh tomatoes.

You are quite right, r137. WeWe rarely eat any form of noodle. But I'll take a small portion to be polite, with cheese, please.

They're yummy.

Horse divers?

It’s WHORE Pervs, you dilettantes!

Popcorn:

Put it in the microwave, press Popcorn, voila!

R143, I hit defrost. Because I’m a baaaad boy. 😈

You are, r144!😋🔥

[quote] You are, [R144]!😋🔥

Oh? Are you one of my IHOP story sex stalkers? If so, you already know how bad I am. 😜

I'm on fire, r146!!!! Show me your sausage!!!

[quote] I'm on fire, [R146]!!!! Show me your sausage!!!

I hope you like beef, because it’s 100%, uncut, and it’s loooong!

Ohhhhh, r148! I need to take a shower now!

Shaved taint itches. Feels good to scratch it with a credit card

[quote]R 96, , you brown the meat in the slow cooker

Slow cookers can't brown meat.

R151, many slow cookers have a sauté setting for browning meat. The cheapest ones don't but it's a useful feature if you're in the market. i.e. "Hamilton Beach 33662 Programmable Slow Cooker with 6 Quart Stovetop-Safe Sear & Cook Crock."

So, I ordered some chicken with skin through online ordering. As we all know, I am new to cooking. My husband went and picked up my order (stupid me), and I ended up ordering four half chicken breasts with ribs and skin. They are frickin' huge.

I went to look for recipes, and again, I was overwhelmed by recipes and the ability to know if they were actually good.

Anyone have recipes for my big breasts?

R138 your recipe looks delicious.

I would freeze some. You can add salt and pepper to one or two, and slather with BBQ sauce and bake at 375 degree for 35 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Check with a meat thermometer that the thickest part is 165 degrees. If you don't have a meat thermometer, buy one during Amazon days. An elevated rack is helpful, too.

Many, many other ways to go but this is an easy basic.

R153, I like my chicken well done, so your oven time may be less.

Anyway, preheat the oven to 400. Rub cooking oil over the skin and dust it with kosher or other coarse salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bake the breasts at 400 for 40 minutes. I don't bother with a thermometer because that's plenty of time to cook the meat to the slightly dry quality I like, but otherwise, R155's suggestion is an alternative.

You could substitute olive oil or melted butter for the oil.

You don't have to do anything else. Serve the breast warm with bit of the drippings. It tastes great.* Cook an extra breast and use it the next day for cold sliced chicken (excellent with just a bit of mayo, salt and pepper) or chicken salad.

*If you bought free-range chicken, it will taste even better.

This provides tips on how to get a crispy skin and then make a pan sauce with butter, juices and herbs. It's very basic. This is similar to what I learned from Julia Child's books.

Another way to go is to marinate and broil.

Naomi Oates Harper has entered the conversation at R127.

Speaking of chicken salad: Super-easy tarragon chicken salad.

Pull the meat off half of a store-bought and chilled rotisserie chicken. Shred it with your hands. This is much quicker than any other method of shredding and lots of fun, too. Anyway, however you do it, shredding is absolutely key. The chicken salad will not be as good if you used chopped chicken. (Shredding means lots of long, thin shreds of chicken, which all get coated with mayo and seasonings, giving a deeper flavor.)

Finely mince one small onion and one stalk of celery and add to the chicken. Add mayo to reach your preferred consistency; less is more here – you can always add more later. S&P to taste. The juice of a quarter lemon. Tarragon to taste. Fresh is nice, but dried works just fine. Add a packet of slivered almonds that you’ve toasted under the broiler or in a toaster oven. Mix thoroughly and chill.

This works for sandwiches or as a cold meat dish in hot weather. It goes very well with corn on the cob, for example.

I made a pecan cobbler last weekend and it was scrumptious as usual. Sorry I can't provide a photo as there's none left.

Here's the recipe

PECAN COBBLER

6 Tbs Butter

1-3/4 cups Brown Sugar (dark or light), divided into 1 cup and 3/4 cup

1 cup A/P Flour

1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Evaporated Milk

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 cups Pecans (chopped or halves)

1-1/2 cups Boiling Water

Place butter in a 2 quart baking dish with 1 cup of the pecans and place in a preheated 350° oven to melt the butter. Remove and set aside.

Mix the flour, baking powder, 3/4 cup brown sugar & salt and whisk to combine. Then add the milk and vanilla and mix well.

Drop by large spoonfuls all over the melted butter and pecans. Do not stir.

Mix 1 cup brown sugar with 1 cup pecans and sprinkle on top. Do not Stir.

Gently pour the boiling water all over the cobbler.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until set around the outside. The center area should still be a little jiggly.

Let cool 20 minutes before serving.

[quote] Naomi Oates Harper has entered the conversation at [R127].

Did someone post a chili recipe that involved canned chili?

R153, you could debone the chicken breasts yourself.

Ice cream:

- 1 gallon of ice cream.

- 1 spoon.

Open the gallon of ice cream, and eat it.

Easy cheese and salsa dip:

1 lb brick of cheddar, colby or other mild yellow cheese (do not used pre-shredded, it's coated and weird)

Jar Herdez salsa (I prefer hot)

Bag of tortilla chips

-Shred cheese with grater into large serving bowl. Pour salsa in bowl (not cold, from the shelf) and mix. Let stand out to soften for about 15-20 prior to serving, covered. Serve with tortilla chips and if you like, bottled margaritas. Ole! I know it sounds weird, but it's really good.

(Old Southern woman served this at a party and I loved it so kept doing it)

One afternoon, as teens, my neighbors and I were stoned and had the munchies. There was a store nearby, but we either had no money or didn't feel like going. One of my neighbors told us how to make candy:

Powdered / confectioner's sugar, lots

Butter, not much

Maple syrup. Log Cabin is what we used.

Mash these three things together and form into balls. I made them when sober and they were still delicious. That's my teenage palate, though.

Ok r26, I did it I tried the white trash 70’s Catalina cranberry chix recipe, and it was a winner. Snooty husband refused to try it so I made some baked PLAIN chicken as well. I am not afraid of one of those old fashioned dishes our moms made. And HORROR I even have cans of condensed cream of whatever soup in the pantry.

We usually eat healthy fresh stuff, but I sometimes want something retro and soul satisfying. And my BP, weight and cholesterol levels are all fine.

So fuck off haters.

OP, I think what you want are called dump dinners (slow cooker) or sheet pan dinners (baked in the oven). I don't have a lot of those recipes but some are delicious. I'd suggest Pioneer Woman for her slide show of sheet pan recipes. The ratings will tell you which are the most successful or people on Reddit's cooking group might know.

Food Network and Delish have rated dump dinners.

[quote]Maple syrup. Log Cabin is what we used.

Log Cabin is not maple syrup.

R164, that does not sound weird at all. Cheese and salsa - what could be better? I'm going to try it.

Re the salsa: What size jar? 1 lb. is a lot of cheese. And is Herdez salsa more chunky or more runny? I think this recipe would work with a variety of salsa flavors, but the texture matters, too.

I'm sure you know this, but just in case: Also delicious is a block of cream cheese, softened in the microwave (or left out to get to room temp) plus about half a 15 oz jar of salsa, either very chunky or lightly drained. Mix and chill.

R169, It's a 16 oz jar of salsa. If you want to shred maybe half to 2/3 of the brick of cheese to see what kind of consistency you get, you can. But I like more, so I use the whole 1 lb brick for the entire jar.

It's delicious!

R166, I'm almost afraid to ask here, but do the canned creamy soups include Campbell's Cream of Mushroom? And do you ever bake chicken breasts in cream of shroom soup? I doctor the original recipe with sherry and a touch of heavy cream.

Original recipe: Preheat oven to 350. Melt 4 oz. butter in a baking dish. Add boneless, skinless chicken breasts, skin side down and bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and 1/4 can of water (I use sherry + heavy cream). Turn breasts skin side up, pour soup mixture over them, and bake for 45 mins or so. Chicken will be very well done, so you want plenty of sauce to mitigate the slightly dry chicken.

This also works with cream of chicken soup, which I have to use nowadays because, annoyingly, I have developed a sensitivity to mushrooms. Can't eat them unless I want to have mild but distressing gastroenteritis for days.

R163/Chrissy: You could make your gallon of ice cream into a classy dessert (or just a taste treat for you) by putting a large serving of the ice cream in a proper bowl and pouring a generous pour of crème de cassis over the top.

This works best with plain flavors, like vanilla, chocolate or strawberry but can be used with any flavor you like. I'll bet it would be quite delicious with cookies 'n' cream or dulce de leche.

Crème de cassis: It's not just for kir anymore

Easy pussy

R166 Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it, too bad husband didn't try.

What is the natural alternative to condensed cream soups?

I prepare easy meals that can be digested and excreted easily.

R171 I make something comparable and add stovetop stuffing with canned soup and sour cream. Bake and eat.

[quote] What is the natural alternative to condensed cream soups?

Roux, I think. White sauce (flour, butter, and milk, cooked into a sauce.)

[quote]White sauce (flour, butter, and milk, cooked into a sauce.)

(I agree that that’s an excellent suggestion. But it’s called a béchamel.)

You're right, R179. Thanks. The butter and flour part is a roux, though, right?

Here's an easy and delicious Mac & Cheese. you won't have to go through all the bechamel prep because, yes, you're base is cream of mushroom soup & mayonnaise (don't scoff until you try it). If you like Pimento Cheese sandwiches you will love this Mac & Cheese as it has diced pimento in it. I have had professional chefs eat this Mac & Cheese and rave over it and were shocked shitless when I told them how it's made.

Mac & Cheese

1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup finely diced pimento

2 Tbs butter

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

1 cup mayonnaise

8 oz sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 lb. box macaroni

Extra cheese to sprinkle on top

Cook macaroni per package instructions, drain and set aside.

Saute the green pepper and onion in butter until translucent. Remove from the heat and place into a large bowl. Add the diced pimento, soup, mayonnaise and cheese and stir until well mixed.

Pour the mixture over the cooked macaroni and mix well.

Pour mixture into a greased casserole dish and sprinkle enough extra cheese on top to cover.

Bake at 350° for approximately 30 minutes or the casserole is bubbling.

A chef friend of mine told me whenever he's stuck with plain chicken breasts on the bone is just to roast them with salt and pepper and a cup each of oj and cranberry juice and just keep basting the chicken in the juice mixture as it thickens. If you broil it for a minute once its done it almost seems like you grilled it outside and is sticky and sweet.

It's super easy and no fancy ingredients.

R180, exactly!

R181 I use pimento cheese -- delicious!

You were raised right R184.

I was about to ask R181 - couldn't you use pimento-cheese spread and not bother with shredding cheddar and chopping pimento ...?

R178 – to imitate the ‘60s-housewife classic recipe in R171 without using canned soup, you’d also want to sauté mushrooms in the butter for the roux before you added the flour. A little shallot or onion wouldn’t hurt either. Otherwise, I agree you could use béchamel.

Or, you could make velouté – same as béchamel but made with stock instead of milk – and add some heavy cream. In fact, I think that probably comes closest to the canned soup.

Oh, and regardless of whether you make béchamel, velouté, or a mix (half milk and half chicken stock), it should be on the thick side, like the soup.

I just saw this…

^^Too much work

I’m going to make this:

I like their recipes but since the marinade came into contact with raw chicken, it needs to be boiled for several minutes to kill any pathogens. Then I'd combine it with the cooked chicken.

R192 thank you.

Dump dinners.

So many fat whores in this thread

R195, nobody on datalounge is fat anymore. They’re all taking Ozempic.

They’re just regular run-of-the-mill whores now.

[quote]What is the natural alternative to condensed cream soups?

Bechamel infused with whatever the ingredient is. If it's cream of chicken you could just use a mix of stock and milk.

If something calls of like cream of celery or something, just sweat off some chopped celery in some butter with a pinch of salt and then after it's softened, add your flour, cook that a bit to make the roux and then add the milk.

For tomato soup you can just work something out with diluted tomato paste

Troy Aikman wants to feed you chowder!

Kool-Aid* Pah

[quote] I was about to ask [R181] - couldn't you use pimento-cheese spread and not bother with shredding cheddar and chopping pimento

It would be okay, but do you know how much pimento cheese it would take to make a normal sized mac & cheese casserole, and do you know how much prepared pimento cheese costs these days? If you wanted to make a quite small casserole it would be okay I guess. But really, how hard is it to grate some cheese, especially if you have a good processor? And pimentos come already chopped in any market.

I wouldn't suggest using bagged shredded cheese though. It'll melt okay down in the casserole, but on top it won't melt 100% and won't look good. Bagged cheese is coated with cellulose to block moisture and keep if from sticking together. Cellulose is a byproduct of wood pulp and other plant fibers.

Any other healthier recipes?

Hi All! This is OP. I am going to be making this ⬇️ recipe tonight. Instead of beef I am using shrimp. Please say a quick prayer for me that I will succeed. My husband is stoked so I cannot fail. 😉

Seafood marinade is different than beef for Chinese dishes. Kill the soy or reduce it; replace with salt.

Eggs in oven: Take a microwave safe mug and add 2 eggs in it. Mix well and microwave. Season it the way you like.

Here's my sesame salad dressing recipe (delicious):

White (rice or regular) vinegar

Soy sauce

Crushed red pepper

Ginger (fresh)

Garlic

Onion

Sesame oil (Asian kind)

Sriracha sauce

R205 what are the measurements?

R206, I’ll post the measurements later. I don’t have that recipe handy right now.

R207 thank you it sounds amazing.

[quote]It would be okay, but do you know how much pimento cheese it would take to make a normal sized mac & cheese casserole, and do you know how much prepared pimento cheese costs these days?

R200, thanks for your response. I don't know how much would be needed, but Walmart sells 20 oz of Price's Pimento Cheese Spread for $5.49 on Instacart. (I feel like it's more expensive in the store, but I don't usually shop at Walmart, so I'm not sure.) That would be enough, right? Anyway, it's not like I make it all the time. If it's a few extra bucks, who cares?

I was more thinking about the extra ingredients - usually mayo or a mayo-like product - that are in pimento-cheese spread. The dish might come out too runny, but it's worth a try - could hardly be easy-peasier. Thanks again for the idea.

20 oz. of pimento cheese would not come close to making a normal sized mac & cheese. A normal size casserole requires at least 8 oz. of cheddar cheese. 20 oz. of pimento cheese probably contains about 3-4 oz. of actual cheese. Most of the weight comes from the binder. Plus the cheese they use will not melt properly.

So if you're thinking of just taking some boiled noodles and dumping in some pimento cheese, you're going to end up with a gross travesty.

Water:

Ingredients: Water.

R203 thanks! Should I marinate the shrimp in the water mixture as stated to do with the beef?

Don't attempt kare-kare, OP.

Everybody’s so creative!

r212, find a shrimp lo mein recipe that appeals to you rather than substituting it for beef in that recipe.

OP, just saw. Baking soda is not required. It's for taking out the beef smell / tenderizing. Not required. Just some salt, white pepper, cornstarch and rice wine. Just a little.

R216 thank you. I am making it tomorrow now. It’s almost 100 degrees and now I feel lazy. I will make it for sure tomorrow, because I have the shrimp already defrosted. I’m using red argentine shrimp they taste like white trash lobster bites. My favorite.

I think I will look for a shrimp lo mein recipe. You guys are absolutely correct.

Sesame salad dressing (this is a large quantity - you can halve it):

3/4 c. White (rice or regular) vinegar

3/4 c. Soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Crushed red pepper

5 slices (then match-sticked) Ginger (fresh)

6 cloves Garlic (I grate it on a fine Microplane, but you can do what you like)

1 med. Onion, raw, diced

1/4 c. Sesame oil (Asian kind)

1/4 c. Sriracha sauce

[quote]Water:

[quote]Ingredients: Water.

Calista, I have a recipe for HOMEMADE water you should try.

INGREDIENTS

2 molecules Hydrogen

1 molecule Oxygen

PROCEDURE

Mix the two molecules of hydrogen with one molecule of oxygen. Stir and it’s ready to serve. This is one of my favorite recipes because it’s so easy and completely scalable, so if you’re serving a large crowd, you can use as many molecules as you want.

R219 best post ever

Best post ever? Mary.

OP, lo mein is usually a vegetable thing. You should make singapore rice noodles if you have shrimp and want a noodle recipe.

Or phad thai.

Or radna talay

Or just order delivery.

Or slap R225 across the face, hard.

[quote] [R219] best post ever

OP, thank you! ❤️. That recipe has been passed down by not family forever. I know it’s low-cal, but I’m not sure if it’s no-cal, so I try to stick to a tablespoon a day, and I take shallow infrequent breaths.

Between that and Pilates I’ve been able to maintain my 5’7, 51 lb shape for years!

[quote] OP, lo mein is usually a vegetable thing. You should make singapore rice noodles if you have shrimp and want a noodle recipe.

OMG! You just reminded me why I posted I once had curry powder but never use it and couldn’t even remember why I bought it in the first place in the meatloaf thread.

Yes!!! Make Singapore noodles!! So delicious (and maybe the only thing curry powder is truly useful for?)

R227 lmao

R221 please do not be jealous. You have to admit that was very creative. That took talent. Kudos to him. I love all your posts too. Especially Mary!

[quote]what are the measurements?

8.5" x 7," uncut.

I did not grow up eating like this so a lot of these recipes don't sound particularly appetizing.

R200 - that's a great website. I use a lot of their recipes or at least use it for reference.

I had lo mein for dinner last night. House Special with chicken, beef and shrimp. I’ve never had vegetable lo mein.

Cabbage Casserole

That sounds delicious, r119! If I'm feeling naughty, I might even add 2 drops of lemon!

^^^^ r219

I found this recipe. I will be making it tonight.

Every time I read op thread I first read

Easy Peasy Pussy

R237 maybe you are unconsciously craving cooked pussy?

I do have a question about how to cook the lo mein noodles. It says to boil on the package. Although, the recipe states to soak in hot water? Anyone know the best way?

Any recipes for Lo Mein Führer?

[quote]what are the measurements?

[quote]8.5" x 7," uncut.

Oh, so it’s just a single serving? Can this recipe be doubled?

These look delicious. I am going to make these next.

R242 Too many ingredients and too much time to be "easy peasy."

R243 yes, but on TV it looked easy. They looked really yummy. Do you have any good recipes?

Yes, I've posted them on this thread and have tried some of the ones posted here. I love the thread!

R245 thank you. I am dumb, I know, I just want more recipes that people have actually tried. I would prefer healthier recipes. I have found that it is difficult because a lot of the easy recipes are fattening. Fast = fat. I just know there has to be healthier fast recipes.

I know my sausage egg sandwiches are not low-fat. Lol

OP, I have a super easy vegetable enchilada dish that’s not that unhealthy. But I don’t have a recipe written down so you’ll have to wing it, but it’s easy.

I posted the cheat enchilada sauce above

The quickest enchilada sauce in the world is a half a jar of salsa verde, a splash of heavy cream, and (guess!) a little more chicken powder. Put it in a skillet, stir it together and bring it to a bubble and you have a perfect green enchilada sauce.

For enchiladas, I’d probably double everything and use the whole jar since it’s not a meal for one or two people and better to have extra sauce then too little.

Then I use one diced zucchini and a bag of frozen vegetables-corn, peas, green beans, carrots and I’ll add frozen lima beans. I make the sauce and in a separate skillet sauté the zucchini until it done then add a little sauce and as much of the frozen vegetables as I want to make 6-8 enchiladas. When the frozen vegetables are done, I’ll dip a corn tortilla in the sauce, fill it with the vegetable mixture and roll it up and put it in a baking dish. Do that 7 or 8 more times till I’m out of the vegetable mix and the pan is lined up with the rolled enchiladas and then pour the rest of the sauce over top. Into a 400 degree oven until it’s brown and bubbly (which doesn’t take very long at all). The most fattening things are the splash of cream and some carbs from the tortillas.

I don’t put cheese on top of mine because I don’t like it, but then I’ll scoop out two and put some guacamole and cilantro on top. And I like Targets brand of guacamole if I’m not making it myself. I really like their jalapeño salsa too. For a store salsa it’s pretty damn good. They’re in the produce section in a refrigerated display. It’s fast, I have leftovers, the filling is all vegetables.

I wish I could give you measurements, but I hardly ever cook with recipes. But I’m a good cheat and can make a fast meal out of almost anything.

R242/OP, that is a lot of trouble, but if you want to make the effort, go for it and let us know how it turns out.

If you want to go the extra mile for the dear old DL 😇, you could then make the dish using Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage, or whatever your favorite brand is, and tell us whether the extra trouble is worth it. Making those sausage biscuits with premade breakfast sausage would really be easy peasy.

R248 I love that idea better using premade sausage. Love it thanks.

R247 I absolutely appreciate your recipe. I will be making your vegetable enchilada recipe for sure. I might add shrimp. ♥️

World's easiest enchiladas--rotisserie chicken, Whole Foods 365 Mole sauce, tortillas, Cabot or someone else's Mexican four cheese blend. Shred chicken. Heat enchiladas for 30 seconds each. Fill with chicken and cheese, and roll. Place in 9 x 13 casserole. Top with sauce and cheese. Heat at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese melts and meat is warm.

Also works with Frontera red or green enchilada sauce. Serve with refried beans and golden rice from mix.

R249, thanks and I’m sorry I don’t have a real recipe to share. I just make things up and I don’t write them down and that’s just how I cook. But you can add or subtract anything you want. And I think adding shrimp sounds delicious.

OP, you sound very easy to please. How refreshing.

R252, very pleasant. Low maintenance and not fussy.

★★★★☆

I can't tell you exactly why, but, for some reason, I despise the term "easy peasy."

I second R250's easy enchilada recipe. It sounds wonderful. I make the same thing except using Trader Joe's enchilada sauce and pepper jack cheese in the enchilada filling. The shredded Mex cheese from a package goes on top of the sauced enchiladas when it goes in the oven.

This - and I'm sure R250's recipe, which I am going to try - is REALLY good and very easy.

In fact, there's probably an entire thread's worth of easy rotisseries chicken-based recipes.

The importance of low-maintenance meals is too often undervalued. "I made this recipe for my ex-husband the other day and now we are back together. No lie, this toast is a miracle- worker!"

Power Smoothie

1 banana, 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup frozen blueberries, 2 teaspoons flax seeds, 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 tablespoon wheat germ, 30 milligrams pure cocaine. Blend for 45 seconds.

Frito pie

1 cup Fritos corn chips 1 cup prepared chili 1⁄/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese 2 teaspoons chopped onions (optional) mustard (optional)

Assemble by heating chili until warm either in a microwave. Place corn chips in a bowl, pour over chili then top with the cheese, and onions if desired. Finish with a squirt of mustard

[quote] 1 banana, 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup frozen blueberries, 2 teaspoons flax seeds, 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 tablespoon wheat germ, 30 milligrams pure cocaine. Blend for 45 seconds.

30 milligrams? What the hell is that supposed to do? Put me BACK to sleep?

I use the same recipe by at least 500 mg. That’s enough to give me the energy to pull on an oversized black chemise, an oversized black shawl, and a pair of oversized sunglasses, then I can slouch my way downstairs to the ketamine bar.

r258 In a bowl?!?!? Do it right in the single-serving 😉 bag, my man.

#258, I started farting just reading that. Raisins for dessert?

Tater Tot Casserole

R262 I love this guys voice, he sounds charming, and I love his obvious affection for his grandma!

The guy at R262 has got to be Louisiana Cajun.

R264 Thanks. I was curious about that smooth accent. It didn't sound typically southern.

R264, I was about to post the exact same thing. I’m from Louisiana, and immediately recognized that accent.

Thanks for the info about his accent...and I apologize for my terrible punctuation! Now I need to find out if he has a website / youtube channel. I just want to listen to him!

R267, please do let us know if you find him, and please share the link. I said I recognized the accent instantly, but the truth is, he only has a very slight, sporadic Cajun accent. There were just a few times where it’s super obvious, but the rest of the time you don’t hear it at all, because he sounds like a country boy with a Cajun accent that comes and goes. I’m kind of curious where he lives, or grew up. I’ve traveled enough of Louisiana to hear pretty much every accent and I have never heard anyone like him or a whole community of folks that sound like that.

The Cajuns, in Louisiana usually have an accent that varies from definitely recognizable to so thick you can barely understand them in English. And the ones that speak French, speak French like they never learned how to conjugate a verb. And a lot of highschoolers in Louisiana take French as a foreign language rather than Spanish, because that’s just what they taught us. So it’s not unusual to hear Cajuns talking and they’ll go in and out of French, but it’s so basic that anybody that took one year of French in high school can follow along. I worked in a hotel during college in New Orleans, and a Cajun family came in. I spoke with them, and then they stepped off to the side to have a private conversation in French thinking I wouldn’t be able to understand them. And I had to literally tell them in French “I can completely understand everything you are saying” and my French sucks!

I agree that the Cajun in his accent comes and goes. At times he sounds like so many I know in my home state of Georgia. I have to wonder if he grew up in Louisiana and moved away at some point to another area in the south and his Cajun accent was watered down over time. He has a lovely voice, that much I know.

I loved his voice, too.

R266 I found his Youtube show. Thanks to everyone for the Cajun information...very interesting!

R271 you’re awesome. I love having a face to match the voice.

Tried and True Easy Pussy

He looks like gay porn star Alex Mecum.

Easy traditional Pozole:

Heat up some beef stock, add leftover diced pork and a can of white hominy. Add enough spicy chipotle powder or sauce to the stock, to give it as much kick as you like!

Easy vegetarian pozole:

As above, except use a can of beans instead of the diced pork. Veggie stock if you prefer.

Tortellini in Brodo:

Cook meat or cheese tortellini. Heat up chicken stock. Put hot stock and hot tortellini in a bowl together.

Sprinkle with parmesean cheese, chopped herbs, thyme or spinach leaves, whatever you like, and it's lovely! Can be eaten as a first course or a main course.

[quote] Tortellini in Brodo:

I really love these threads. I’m a pretty experienced cook, But I still learn stuff I have never heard of like Brodo. Had to Google that one.

R275, I do something similar but I just add red enchilada sauce to it.

More recipes please

R51 I made your very delicious homemade jambalaya. It was a win/win. You’re the best! Any other recipes?

R280, awesome! I’m glad it works for you and it doesn’t just work for me. My sister was super suspicious when I told her that’s how I was going to do it, and she was surprised that it came out tasting like it had been cooked the traditional way.

There’s actually a viral recipe online for something called “the devils rice“. Basically, it’s rice, chicken, stock, soy sauce, and pieces of KFC fried chicken. It started out in Japan as a rice cooker recipe. But it works in the instant pot, and if you add green onions to it right at the end, it almost taste like jambalaya. I’ve only made it twice, because I actually had to buy fried chicken to make it and that’s not something I normally would do.

I do have a lot of New Orleans recipes, but again, all in my head. And you definitely can’t make anything with a roux in the IP. You’ll just get a burn notice.

I have a recipe for cornbread dressing that people think is weird. Let me think about what goes into that and I can post that for you. I love baking that with a roasted turkey breast or a roasted boneless turkey breast. I make mini thanksgiving about four times a year.

R281 yes, I would love to know your cornbread recipe.

Will do. It’s good, but people think it’s weird because I use jiffy cornbread, which is sweet instead of homemade cornbread that is usually not sweet. But I like the sweet, savory combination, and everyone who has had it has asked me how I made it (not in a “spitting into a napkin, and saying, hmmm, this is very interesting, what’s in it?“ way). An ex made me make it in the middle of the year so he could put it in the freezer and pull it out whenever he want to.

I’m the official dressing guy at Thanksgiving for our family. Which my poor dad great aunt would be so disappointed in, because before mine, we always use her recipe, and it was totally different.

Oh God. My poor great aunt is DEAD. She’s not my dad.

I felt like I had to clarify that because I am from the south.

I like Jiffy cornbread according to the box recipe or fancied up in a casserole:

1 can of corn, drained 1 can of creamed corn 1 cup of sour cream 1 stick of melted butter (½ cup) 1 box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix 350 for 45 minutes.

Sounds wonderful r286.

Sorry I didn't post correctly:

1 can of corn, drained

1 can of creamed corn

1 cup of sour cream

1 stick of melted butter (½ cup)

1 box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

▲ To that, add a half cup or so of Parmesan cheese (the Kraft green can is fine), and mix that into the batter. Also a couple of dashes of crushed red pepper.

R247 I made your vegetable enchilada dish but switched up the vegetables and added shrimp. It was a steal! Thank you.

R283 shit, most of the TV hosts use boxed mixes. Who cares. I love your cornbread recipe. Thank you.

I add a banana to my homemade cornbread. I prefer it sweet.

This looks good to me. Yes, there are a few steps.

Buttered bread

Make regular Kraft mac and cheese, and put some in the oven with a slice of smoked cheddar on top.

Cheap, easy, delicious main dish, and vegetarian!

[quote]Put a 3-4 lb chuck roast in the cooker.

For the perplexed Canadians, we call it a blade roast.

R295 I have a question. I put roast in the crockpot and let it sit on low for six hours. My roast ALWAYS comes out dry?!?! Wtf am I doing wrong? Can anybody help my stupid self.

What else do you put in the crockpot? A bit of butter and beef broth may help.

Sear first and add a braising liquid and root vegetables. Adding wine or vinegar will help break down the meat. Also try for eight hours.

R297 R298 I add broth and vegetables. How much liquid? I am aiming for the fall apart meat and in the end I get dried up meat. I have tried cooking it several ways. I always sear the meat before I put it in the crockpot.

Most recipes say 1/4 cup per pound or two cups total. America's Test Kitchen says 1 cup broth and 1/2 cup wine for a 3 1/2 to 4 lb. roast but it's not a slow cooker recipe..

Keep the heat low so you're not boiling the protein.

Dry means cooking too long and/or meat is too lean.

I don’t know how to cook a roast at all. I’ve never done it. And my two attempts at roasting a chicken were pretty sad. I made a lovely turkey once. Once.

[quote]Buttered bread

R293 I agree! A crusty bread with butter is a great comfort food.

I'm not OP but I appreciate all the crockpot roast advice. I tried it once and it was awful, dry as leather. Your suggestions make me want to try again.

[quote]my two attempts at roasting a chicken were pretty sad.

R302, check out r37 for my lemon chicken recipe.

Oh yes, back when I ate meat, my easy-peasy lemon chicken recipe was this: Salt the cavity and the skin, and stuff a quartered lemon and a wadge of fresh "poultry herbs" from the grocery store into the cavity. Throw in a 350 degree oven until done. Don't eat the lemon and herbs, but the chicken meat will be deeee-licious!

If you want to get fancy, you can loosen the skin over the breast, and shove some thin lemon slices and thyme sprigs under the skin in a pattern you want to see again. The chicken skin will become translucent as it bakes, and the lemon slices and herbs will not only permeate the meat with flavor, they'll form a decorative pattern.

If you want a perfect roast chicken, brine it first.

R307 does brining make it overly salty?

Only if you leave it in too long or put too much salt in the solution

[quote]If you want a perfect roast chicken, brine it first.

I tried, but the chicken wouldn't drink it.

R310 now that’s funny!!

Everything we cook when it's hot is easy peasy. Tonight we recycled flank steak as Thai steak salads. We did Thai basil chicken on Tuesday so that's two Thai dishes in one week. The rest were grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches and omelets.

R312 yummy!

I am making these for my husband. They are on their second rise. He is so very excited. I’ll let you know if they are a success. 🤞

R312 It may taste good but it looks like slabs of dried mud.

R314 my rolls were an absolute success. Husby is happy! Yahoo.

R62 & R263 I think he sounds like Jimmy Carter

Fun video!

The recipe for those homemade Hawaiian rolls at R314 strikes me as less than easy-peasy.

"Start by proofing your yeast."

This is where I get off.

[quote]"Start by proofing your yeast."

[quote]This is where I get off.

Proofing yeast gets you off? Does it get…[italic]hard[/italic]?

Would a friendly, helping hand be of any assistance?

Post your age, height, and state, and let’s talk.

R119 now that was a great response. Kudos to you.

Corn fritters.

You’ll find all kinds of complex recipes on line, but all you really need are corn kernels - preferably fresh, but frozen would probably work, too - egg, flour, S&P and oil for frying.

Cut the kernels off the corn and scrape the cob with the back of the knife to get all the sweet, juicy pulp.

Stir in 1 beaten egg and enough flour to make a thin batter (thinner than pancake batter), about 1 tablespoon. There will be more corn than batter, but don’t worry about that. The batter is just there to hold the kernels together.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat oil in a 12” skillet to about medium heat.

Add one large spoonful of batter to the skillet and repeat until you have 4-5 fritters. Fry until golden on one side, flip and fry the other. If you’re making more than one skillet of fritters, you can hold the cooked ones in a warm oven. Otherwise, eat immediately.

Delicious by themselves or with sour cream.

^I’ve seen similar recipes with a small amount of baking powder. I guess the eff is enough to make them light and fluffy without it?

Definitely gonna try and I hardly EVER fry things. But maybe I’ll get some shrimp and crab and have a fried shrimp/crab cake/corn fritter platter!!

My mom used to make corn fritters fairly often, but she always served them with maple syrup. And hers had a thicker batter, so that the corn fritters came out more like the size of a mini-muffin.

R323, she probably used baking powder, as R322 describes. That would produce the fluffy batter and thicker, airy fritters, like pancakes with corn. That's good, too! I was just keeping it easy-peasier.

R322, the flour is to thicken the batter a bit. It doesn't lighten at all. If you want a fluffier texture, do add baking powder.

Thanks r324, I meant the egg alone would puff it up. I’m not opposed to simpler recipes if they get the job done and would certainly try it without baking powder. Still sounds delicious.

r322 "Two Fat Ladies" has a nice recipe for corn and crab fritters, with cilantro IIRC.

My grandmother would make corn fritters occasionally, just using good ol' Aunt Jemima pancake mix, making a rather stiff batter so the finished fritters came out like r323 describes. She served them with pancake syrup, which I didn't care for.

And now I want hushpuppies(damn but I miss Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips)

Ok, I’m on a lot of food and recipe email lists and then I get a ton of spammy emails from weird recipe sites that I never signed up for (even though I’m a self described non-recipe user! I just like looking at the pics and reading them for inspiration). I just got this and it sounds so strange I have to share. But I’m not a baker or much of a dessert person, so someone may need to try it before me because it’s unlikely I ever will. But this sounds like the easy peasiest one ever. I’ll post it but not link it because the site has lots of ads and seems sketchy. If anyone tries it, please let me (us) know how it went.

Water Pie

About

Water Pie is a classic recipe that comes from the Depression Era. During these tough times, families had to get creative with what they had on hand, and this pie is a testament to their resourcefulness! Its filling is made with only water, sugar, butter, flour, and vanilla extract, which is then baked into a flaky pie crust. Despite its simple nature, Water Pie is surprisingly flavorful and has a unique texture that's reminiscent of custard. Try Water Pie for a sweet taste of history!

Ingredients

1 (9-inch) deep-dish pie crust, unbaked

1 1/2 cups water

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 tablespoons butter, cut into 5 pieces

whipped cream, to taste, for serving

Directions

Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Step 2 - Set the empty pie crust on a baking sheet.

Step 3 - Pour the water into the pie crust.

Step 4 - In a small bowl, stir the flour and the sugar together.

Step 5 - Evenly sprinkle the sugar mixture over the water in the crust. Do not stir.

Step 6 - Drizzle the vanilla over the water and top with the pieces of butter.

Step 7 - Bake the pie for 30 minutes.

Step 8 - Lower the heat to 375 degrees F and carefully cover the sides of the crust with foil, if needed, to prevent burning.

Step 9 - Cook the pie for 30 minutes, then allow it to completely cool. The pie will be watery when you take it out of the oven, but it will gel as it cools.

Step 10 - Cover the pie and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Step 11 - Slice and serve with the whipped cream.

***************** I can’t imagine a Depression era recipe that called for 5 tablespoons of butter somehow. Seems like you’d have to send your 5 year old to work in a coal mine to get that butter.

This is not anywhere near an exact or authentic recipe for Thai Basil chicken but it works. Saute a pound of ground chicken with a little neutral oil and chopped shallots. While that's going, clean and blanch a half pound of green beans--more if you like. If you don 't want to blanch them, microwave for two minutes. Frozen is fine but longer beans are preferred.

Take 4 oz of Whole Foods 365 peanut sauce and add a tablespoon of Huy Fong chili garlic sauce. Or start with teaspoons, stir and keep adding until you have the right level of heat. If it's too spicy, add brown sugar and a little Hoisin.

Combine sauce, a little fish sauce, green beans and chicken. Add basil or thai basil if you can find it. Simmer covered for five minutes until leaves are wilted. Serve on white rice.

Make that fresh basil or thai basil. I use both.

[quote]Huy Fong chili garlic sauce

Ummm ... isn't that SRIRACHA?

No r330

Correct, You're free to substitute anything you like. I used to use Lobo's, a Thai brand, chili holy basil paste but I was out of it. You can make your own peanut sauce or use someone else's. None of this is rocket science.

Chili Garlic Sauce, Sambal Oelek, et al, currently have the same availability problem as Sriracha. Even analogues like the Tabasco brand Sriracha have disappeared. The crops of those kinds of chilis have seriously failed.

My local food store in a large midwestern city has both Huy Fong and Lee Kum Kee's garlic chili sauce. The Lee Kum Kee is available at Amazon. So are the packets of Lobo holy basil sauce, which is mostly thai red chilis.

Some folks on Reddit like the Fix Sriracha on Amazon in preference to the Lee Kum Kee Chili Garlic. Chinese Chili Crunch might work. You just want enough to add a little zing to the peanut sauce.

The shortage hasn't yet affected me personally - I have a bottle of both Sriracha (large size) and Chili Garlic Sauce, which I'm using somewhat parsimoniously. But the supply chain is kind of out of hand.

To make our mini log ride cakes we first need to unwrap our Swiss cake rolls and then put them aside on our pan. Then, we need to in package our action figures. These are going to go in the cake rolls, they’re going to be our little riders. Next two shots of vodka for me.

Unpackage***

Off topic but why isn't bottled Russian Dressing available in low cal, no sugar, or diet? I love it as is but am curious why French is available in all sorts of configurations but not Russian.

[quote]I love it as is but am curious why French is available in all sorts of configurations but not Russian.

It's all Putin's doing.

Leave it to DL to ask where Fat Free Russian dressing is to be found.

[quote]Lee Kum Kee Chili Garlic

...is different and comes in a jar. Lee Kum Kee sriracha says sriracha on it.

And peanut sauce doesn't have sriracha in it; you use a combo of red curry paste and nam phrik pao to make it.

R342, I recommended Lee Kum Kee chili garlic as a substitute for Huy Fong chili garlic sauce, not as a solution to the scarcity of Huy Fong sriracha. Huy Fong chili garlic sauce is an ingredient in the loose thai basil chicken recipe I gave, not sriracha although it might work. I've never tried it.

I've never made this, but if you're out of fresh bread to go with your dinner, equal parts self-raising flour and plain yoghurt (eg a Greek yoghurt) with a pinch of salt will give you a dough that you can cook in a frypan without resting it, and inside 10 minutes start to finish it'll give you a lovely fresh flatbread about the thickness of a Lisa Douglas hotscake.

Oh you're talking about sambal oelek, R344. Yeah, totally different ingredient.

No, Huy Fong also makes sambal oelek in addition to sriracha and its chili garlic sauce. I am well supplied with all three and my preference for the Thai basil chicken is a tablespoon of Lobo Holy Basil paste, which is actually a chili sauce.

Are we going to get back to Easy Peasy Recipes? Please let me know so I can stop checking in on this thread.

You could post one, r348.

R349 Have done so, thank you. I enjoy reading other's.

Tex Mex Chicken

Ingredients

4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 1 15 oz can black beans, 1 15 oz, can niblets, q chopped red pepper, 1 chopped onion, 1 jar salsa, q packet taco seasoning.

Add the chicken, onion, red bell pepper, salsa and seasoning and cook for four hours on high. Shred chicken. Add corn and beans for last hour. Serve on rice or with tortillas. and sprinkle with monterey jack or cheddar cheese.

How about some crepes!!! They're actually the easiest thing in the world to make, as long as you don't have to make dozens. Make crepe batter out of flour, eggs, milk, salt, and melted butter, and fry it in a little oil or on a non-stick pan. Fill with cheese in the pan or jam while still warm, or more elaborate fillings if you feel like taking more trouble. Blue cheese and walnuts, goat cheese and fig jam, chicken curry, mushrooms with cream, crack in a whole egg with ham and cheese, literally anything you like can be put in a crepe.

When I'm in the mood to do a little cooking but no more, I'll make a bowl of crepe batter and put it in the fridge. If covered it will keep for a few days, there's no leavening so it doesn't go flat, but it will settle so it needs to be stirred before each meal. So with that bowl of crepe batter, I can make myself egg-and-cheese crepes for breakfast, or mozzeralla-tomato-basil crepes for dinner, with fruit or salad on the side. And of course, crepes are dirt cheap.

Oh yes, back when I drank alcohol, I found that the most fabulous way to make easy dessert crepes, was to heat a little jam with some liqueur of the same flavor. If you add a little grand mariner to your orange marmalade before putting it on the crepe, you get a much more intense orange flavor, same for cherry jam with a little kirsch.

But now I don't drink any more, so I'm passing my secret for easy desserts on to those who are obviously still hitting the bottle.

A popular way of eating crepes in my country is simply sprinkled with lemon juice and (not very much) sugar and rolled up.

[quote] If you add a little grand mariner

How do you the mariner to go along with this?

I'm working on the DL Classic: Old Cock.

It's an old recipe by Two Fat Ladies.

My definition of "easy peasy" recipes is minimal ingredients, one or two bowls/pots maximum and little or no chopping.

I submit for your consideration: Blender Carrot Cake. Quick, easy, very good and no shredding carrots! All done in the blender. I don't even use any measuring cups/spoons, I put the blender jar on a scale and weigh the ingredients. Very important to add the ingredients in the order she says (wet first) and don't over blend.

Also in the minimal ingredients/pots/chopping category is Baked Feta Cheese Pasta, recipe to follow.

Baked Feta Cheese Pasta.

Just toss some cherry/grape tomatoes with olive oil in a pan, stick a block of feta cheese in the middle, drizzle with olive oil and spices and bake til tomatoes pop open. While that's baking, cook some cavatappi, DRAIN but do save a bit of the pasta water to loosen cheese mixture, add pasta to tomato/cheese mixture.

Bonus ASMR.

I can't believe that guy drags the blade-side of his knife across the cutting board like that!

Flip it over if you need to bulldoze your chopped vegetables to the other side of the cutting board!!