I'm bored with my cooking recently

[nemo137]

Can someone recommend me an inexpensive pasta recipe or curry (or, really, whatever your heart desires) that can be cooked with a relative lack of skill and takes either only common ingredients or ingredients that can be carried back from the grocery store, walking, in one bag?

[bicentennial_baby]

1. I'll post a link to your post down in Cooking and Baking

I'm sure we can help you out. :)

[nemo137]

2. Ach! Thank you.

I always durr-out on the fact that we've got forums like that.

[DS1]

3. celery, brocolli, pasta, diced tomatos, chicken, parmesan cheese

cook all of them, put pasta in bowl first. cover with Parmesan. eat.

I call it "stuff"

:9

yes, it's actually good, and healthy.

[nemo137]

6. That sounds tasty

Aside from the celery, which has never been my favorite. Maybe if Schnucks is having a sale on snowpeas, I'll whip that up.

[unpossibles]

4. I don't really know what you tend to cook now, so hard to suggest something different

I like caramelized onions, garlic and roasted red peppers in olive oil with pasta, and if you want to mix it up more, try other forms/shapes, and even other grains like quinoa.

[nemo137]

5. The reason I'm bored is because it's been

"boil pasta, add olive oil and pepper. eat." For the past few weeks. Now that I have enough money to go shopping, I'm willing to try cooking almost anything.

I bet what you posted would be tasty though, especially if I can scare up some pine nuts.

[unpossibles]

9. pine nuts are really good in it, as is a bit of romano cheese

other veggies work too, such as squash and/or carrots, fresh tomatoes, or whatever else you fancy. Most of the veggies are cheap too, so it's not an expensive dish (although the pine nuts add some cost)

[japple]

20. Walnuts are a good alternative to pine nuts, and usually

easier to find, fresher too. You can also put them in many more dishes, like granola or cereal, salads, to add nutrition and crunch.

[bicentennial_baby]

7. Here's a fantastic one for you:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/08/pioneer_womans_/

[nemo137]

8. I think I'll save that until I can get to a farmers' market.

Definitely bookmarked, though. It looks delicious.

[Sequoia]

12. That's a great website.

Some things look so delicious the way she presents it.

[bicentennial_baby]

13. And that dish in particular is just awesome...

I love making it. Soooo delicious. :9

Yeah, Ree kicks ass. And, she's hilarious too :D

[Sequoia]

19. She should have her own show.

Now you're going to tell me she does. There was a recipe she had for those pull apart buns...I swear I could smell them baking in my computer...soft with butter melting in the crack....yum!

[libnnc]

16. that is an awesome fucking website

:bounce:

struggling with what to fix for dinner tonight...

now I know! :bounce:

bookmarked!

[bicentennial_baby]

18. Yay!!

:bounce:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

21. She is fantastic! I just read several of her recipes & I love how she presents the recipes with

great pics! Wow! I'm so stuffed from reading her recipes, I don't feel like having dinner now. The apple dumpling recipe was just so satisfying. :)

Thank you for sharing it!!!!

[bicentennial_baby]

22. Most welcome!

Ree is the best! :)

[malta blue]

10. cauliflower, chick peas, potato curry over rice or quinoa

All you need is a good curry powder, a hunk of fresh ginger, fresh garlic, onion and the veggies.

You could use chicken stock but I usually just use water for the rice and/or the curry.

[nemo137]

25. That sounds good.

There's a channa masala recipe I want to try, which is about the same thing.

[Flaxbee]

11. this was easy to make today:

It ended up being fantastic - but the fresh mint (grows wild in our backyard, along with - I discovered today - poison ivy. Yikes!) added a really nice touch. I served it as a side dish with a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich.

I used steamed broccoli, regular rice vinegar (Marukan is the best brand, IMO; also, I didn't have brown rice vinegar), a little more lemon than called for, half the amount of onion, and dried basil (didn't have fresh on hand). Served it over brown rice (not the lettuce cups mentioned below). I also just used one 15-oz can of chick peas, drained.


********************************

Chickpea (Garbanzo Bean) Salad

Serves 4-5

Marinated Chickpea Salad, though light enough for the warmest spring and summer days, is no nutritional lightweight. The combination of chickpeas and broccoli makes this a nutritional dish, especially rich in protein, calcium, and iron.

2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
Sea salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste (optional)
1 cup small parboiled broccoli florets, drained and cooled
1 small red or white onion, diced
2-3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil, mint, or dill (optional)

In a small bowl, combine oil, lemon, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix well. In another bowl, toss beans, broccoli, onion, parsley, and herbs together. Pour dressing over bean mixture and toss. Let sit at least 30 minutes before serving. Stir occasionally to marinate evenly. Stored in a covered jar or bowl in the refrigerator, this salad will be at its best a day or two after it is made. To serve, line small bowls with leaf lettuce, fill with marinated bean mixture, and garnish with parsley or sprig of whichever herb is used in the salad.

[grannylib]

14. Here's one we like:

Whatever kind of pasta you like, served with:

Fresh corn on the cob, sliced off before cooking
Fresh green beans, cut in thirds
Summer squash, halved, seeded and sliced
Zucchini, same thing
Diced sweet red pepper
As much minced garlic as you like!

Saute in a little butter and a little olive oil. I season with black pepper and crushed red pepper, but you can really use whatever you like.

I can't wait until the Farmer's Market is in full swing!
Enjoy your cooking! :hi:

[GOPisEvil]

15. May I suggest you try Rachael Ray's "30 Minute Meals"?

I know many people vilify her because she's perky and kind of annoying. However, her recipes are easy, quick and most of them taste good.

[japple]

17. Corn and black bean salad is one of my very favorite dishes

and can also be served with tortilla chips as a dip. You can put it in a flour or corn tortilla with cheese and cook on a griddle for quesadillas, roll it up in a warm tortilla for a burrito. The basics are:

Black beans - from dried beans or drained canned beans - about 2 cans
Corn - thawed, frozen corn or drained canned corn - amount equal to the beans
Tomatoes - fresh or drained, canned - about 1 can
Onions - Chopped green, white, yellow, whatever you prefer
Pepper - Green bell pepper and a bit of fresh jalapeno
Chili powder - to taste
Lime juice - couple of limes
Cilantro - to taste (if you don't like it, leave it out. Don't use the dried stuff, though)

I can live off this stuff for weeks during the summer when my garden produces tomatoes, peppers, cilantro.

When I have squash, I like to saute it with onions and add curry powder. It's heavenly, and would probably go well with basmati rice. Add carrot, spinach and that's even better. You can use fresh carrots and frozen or fresh spinach. I'll bet it would be good with noodles, too. If you have any leftovers, you can add some cream and chicken stock and make a great soup.

Tuna or chicken noodle casserole made with pasta, mushroom soup, green olives, and canned or fresh chicken/tuna, topped with parmesan cheese. Hearty and it makes enough for several meals.

I get a lot of inspiration from reading the cooking & baking forum.

[nemo137]

26. That is going in the bookmarks.

I love cilantro, so no worries about leaving that out.

[Kali]

23. fast curry

multiply quantities to suit your taste/numbers of eaters

some chicken, beef, lamb, or whatever - even shrimp. If raw cut into pieces and saute in a bit of oil until browned, otherwise use leftovers. Saute a chopped onion in the bottom of a sauce pan (you can use salad oil, olive, or ghee) add some fresh chopped garlic if you like, toss in the meat and add a couple of cups of water or broth if. Add a tablespoon of curry powder to start and add more to taste. Simmer until about done (this can be pretty fast when using leftover cooked meat) add a few cut up veggies - a potato, cauliflower, mushrooms, bell peppers - whatever sounds good and add another chopped onion if the first one cooked down to mush (and if you like a bit of texture to the veggies). Salt to taste and black pepper is good too. If you want to make it "Thai" style add some coconut milk, heat through and serve over rice. You can top with flaked toasted coconut, chopped green onions, peanuts, chopped hard boiled eggs etc.

Curry is pretty flexible - try adding dried red chili flakes if you like it hot, or more ginger (fresh, especially) or using sesame oil for the saute etc. Oh if you do it from sctatch with raw meat you can use several onions - they will cook down to nothing and provide thickening if you want, or just add a tablespoon or two of cornstarch dissolved in a bit of cold water to the simmering stew at the end, stir and cook for one more minute.

[japple]

24. Roast a small, whole chicken, then de-bone and put it in

small containers and keep it in your freezer. Make stock with the skin and bones. A small chicken will make about 6 cups of good stock. By adding rice, noodles and vegetables, you can eat like a king for quite awhile. Make chicken and rice with vegetables, chicken noodle soup, combine chicken, rice, jalapenos, cheese and salsa and roll up in tortillas.

I don't know what your cooking level might be, so I'm making the assumption that you know some basics. If you want more specific instructions, please let me know.

The best thing is to read cookbooks, cooking columns, hang around the cooking & baking forum, and check out cooks.com and allrecipes.com.

[DFW]

27. My wife is a master chef

And I have a cholesterol problem. She makes stuff with next to zero fat that
taste so good, they ought to be banned as a health hazard.

If you can afford fresh fish:

Get yourself, per person, a filet of whatever, cod, orange roughy, monkfish, whatever.
Have ready--some olive oil, some vegetable broth, some herbs, maybe some sliced mushrooms
or carrots, and some white wine.
Rice or potatoes as you like as garnish. Diced cucumbers and tomatoes with an oil and vinegar dressing.

All you need: a baking dish.
pour a level of olive oil in, enough to cover the surface and a little higher for the fish.

In the baking dish:
Drag the fish filet back and forth on both sides until it is well covered. Put it in the oven
at high temp long enough for the oil to get warm. Add in some vegetable broth until the fish
is almost, but not quite covered. Keep an eye on it, this goes quickly. When the fish is almost
done, maybe lightly browning on top, add white wine, and sprinkle a pich of solt about, if you
like, otherwise don't. Give that a minute or two to get back up to bubbling hot. Add the sliced
carrots and/or mushrooms and sprinkle the herbs (parsley, coriander, whatever you picked out)
over the top liberally (no matter your political leanings).

When done (check it frequently so it doesn't overcook), take the baking dish out, and put it
on the table on a wooden board so you don't burn the table or yourself. Put some rice or
potatoes on the plate first, and then the fish and sauce (+etc.) on top. Have the salad with
the diced cucumber etc in a dish on the side.

It sounds like a big production, but it is really quickly done, very low in fat, and tastes
like it cost $49.95 at McCormick and Schmick.

Variations: instead of herbs etc, use fresh thinly sliced ginger and crushed garlic in a Thai
or Yu Shang combination.


The only reason I don't weigh 350 pounds is because she knows how to do all this fancy stuff
practically fat-free, and make it taste as sinful as 4 BigMacs, only ten times as good.

As you can tell from the above, this isn't the first time I've asked her how she does it!

[bbernardini]

28. Have you considered adding hot sauce to everything you cook?

I'm currently using one called "Anal Agony" that's quite good. I don't recall the one I had before that, but it had too much pineapple juice in it for my tastes.

[flamin lib]

29. try this

One cup penne pasta
One cup fresh green beans
2 tbs cup heavy cream
pat of butter
Parmesan cheese

Slice the beans on the diagonal to match the size and shape of the pasta.
Bring water to boil for the pasta and cook the beans for 2 minutes in it. Remove and add pasta, cook until done. Drain and add cream, butter and beans to the pot. Sprinkle with cheese to taste.

[bif]

30. Best 10 minute meal ever

Here's one I came up with. Saute 1/2 an onion (optional). Then pour in one box of Trader
Joe's Creamy Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper soup and cook for a few minutes. Cook some ravioli (whatever flavor you want. Combine, cook for a minute or two and serve.