Archive for Quick Meals

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Carb-Loading!

44 degrees in October? What in the what?! This calls for the heavy winter recipes to come out. I usually revel in the fall months for cooking because I get to overuse pumpkin in every possible way, but I will save the pumpkin muffins for a heartier meal suitable for a cold winter’s day in the prime of autumn.

There is one requirement for this dish: you have to channel your inner-kid.
Note: There is little to no health value in this dish, and I’m not even going to begin to count the calories.

Cheesy, Bacony, Carby, Baked Mac n’ Cheese

1 box (1 lb) elbow macaroni (or rigatoni, but elbow usually makes you reminisce from when you were 5)
¾ c. butter1
¼ c. milk
1 c. bread crumbs
2 c. cheese (mozzarella, parmesan or any kind of melty cheese works really well but for this recipe I used Velveeta)
bacon (2 strips is enough, add more if you want to be Paula Deen)
salt
pepper

The steps to heavenly creamy goodness:

1.) Cook the macaroni, usually one cup water to one cup pasta. Bring the water to a boil, add salt if desired. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2.) Once macaroni is cooked, drain and set aside. Cook bacon to desired crispiness, medium high for 3 minutes works well
3.) Mix butter, milk, and cheese together in a bakeable dish (glass or ceramic works well), add macaroni. Stir.
4.) Bake at 375 for 20 minutes
5.) After 20 minutes, give the concotion a good stir, sprinkle bread crumbs and bacon on top. Bake for another 20 minutes.
6.) Delight in the gooey-ness, have a glass of milk and don’t forget to eat your vegetables.

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

Quick, Delicious, Easy-to-make PIZZA!

To make yourself a crunchy flatbread pizza of your choosing, take hold of these ingredients and you’ll have a personal pizza in 7-10 minutes, for about half the cost of a delivered pizza!

  • 1/2 cup of mozzarella
  • 1/2 cup of parmesan
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 7″ pizza crust (I use Mama Mary’s Thin & Crispy Pizza Crusts)
  • 2 tbsp whole milk ricotta
  • any kind of meat — pepperoni, salami, panchetta, proscuitto, etc.
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. Brush olive oil on the pizza crust
  3. Add cheeses
  4. Layer meats with cheeses
  5. Add a dollop of ricotta cheese on the pizza
  6. cook for 7-10 minutes
  7. ENJOY!

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Breakfast for Supper

“But Paulie, It’s your favorite!” — Paulie Bleeker’s mom in Juno

Yes, it may be Paulie’s favorite, but its mine as well. I just devoured some chocolate-chip pancakes and now have inspiration to share with you a simply delicious easy-to-make breakfast dishes.

Crepes
A favorite of Le French, its a super simple recipe that can be put in the fridge for about a week. They’re so easy to make you might as well keep some batter around for comfort food or when you don’t feel like cooking.

  • 1 cup all purpose-flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter

Next, whisk all the ingredients together while heating up a pan on medium heat. Pour about 1/3 a cup into the hot skillet and do a little 180 with the pan to evenly coat its surface. Cook for about 2 min on each side and top with strawberries, Nutella, or powered sugar.

photo courtesy of flickr user Luke H

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Now in a mini!

Are you looking for a fast breakfast on your way to your 10:30 am class and you’re already late?
Ooohhh, that was a little Alanis Morrisette. I apologize.

Regardless, there’s one thing you need to know: mini frittatas.

Better than fried egg with cheese, better than microwaving your scrambled eggs (gross), and better than frying some bacon on the side.

It’s all in one.

A frittata is an unfolded omelet that has veggies and meat in it.

In my version, I use eggs, cheese, and bacon. AND cook them in bite-size eatable pieces by putting them in a mini muffin tin!

Here’s the ingredients:

  • 8 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup whole milk (2% works well too, if you’re watching calories)
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 6-8 strips of bacon baked at 405 degrees for 7 minutes (tried and true, this is the perfect temperature/time balance to achieve supreme crunchy flavorful bacon)
  • parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

The steps are really easy, make these frittatas ahead of time and zap them in the morning for a good-to-go meal. To start: preheat oven to 375 degrees

  1. Add eggs, milk and cheese together and whip until well blended
  2. Crumple the bacon into tiny pieces and drop into egg batter
  3. Stir in salt, pepper, parsley
  4. Pour entire mixture 3/4 of the way full into muffin tins
  5. Cook for 8-10 minutes.

To get a little fancy try adding different ingredients like bell peppers, spinach, and ham for a low-fat option.

photo credit: Me!

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

Easy Weeknight Recipe

Have some extra time this week?

Want to make a delicious dinner that’s no hassle?

Try this: make some chicken enchiladas when you’ve got a spare 45 minutes, stick ’em in the freezer and pop ’em in the oven once you want to nosh on some cheesy goodness.

Seriously. It’s that easy.

To make a pan of chicken enchiladas that yields 8 servings, here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

  1. 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (chicken breast works just as well)
  2. 1 chopped onion
  3. 1 cup sour cream
  4. 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  5. 1 teaspoon parsley, oregano, black pepper, and salt for some seasonings.
  6. 1 can tomato sauce
  7. 8 (10-inch) flour tortillas
  8. some taco sauce, and chili pepper
  9. one green pepper (optional)

The steps to make this easy meal are just as simple:

  • 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • 2. In a medium, non-stick skillet over medium heat, cook chicken until no longer pink and juices run clear.
  • 3. Drain excess fat. Cube the chicken and return it to the skillet. Add the onion, sour cream, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano and ground black pepper. Heat until cheese melts. Stir in salt, tomato sauce, chili powder, green pepper and garlic.
  • 4. Roll even amounts of the mixture in the tortillas. Arrange in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover with taco sauce and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese.
  • 5. Bake uncovered in a 9×13 baking dish for 20 minutes, scatter extra cheese on top.

Pop in the freezer or eat them right then.

To re-heat, put uncovered baking dish in oven @ 350 for 15 minutes.

photo credit: B. Crocker