Good, quick, easy meals?

[Pew pew pew]

Hello there, friends!

Just looking for your recipes for quick, easy to cook meals. Cheaper is better (though it has to be tasty, too!)

[AmbulanceDriver]

There are packaged couscous things that my fiancee and I really like.  Cook up some cut up chicken, add some veggies, chicken broth, and some spices and then toss in the couscous.  That with a salad or something along those lines is YUMMY....  I think "Far East" is the brand that we like, and there are several varieties with different flavors.  Prep time is about 10 mins, cook time is about 15-20....

A chicken stir fry can be pretty quick and easy, as can pasta....

[BobCat]

Chop some onion and celery.  A can of tuna, some mayo, a little crushed red pepper, you've got tuna salad.
Same thing with hard-boiled eggs instead of tuna - you've got egg salad.

Rice and Black Beans in an envelope in a box (brand name: Goya).  Chicken fajita seasoning in a bag (many brands).  Cut the chicken up, fry it in the fajita seasoning, cook the rice & beans, put some of each in a large flour tortilla with red salsa (and maybe guacamole but it is not cheap) - great breakfast.

Hot dog - grill & roll in corn tortilla with hot mustrard.  Very fast, cheap, tasty.

Indian cooking sauces - brand name: Patak's - a little chicken or veggies, couple onions, some rice, decent supper.  Some are hotter than others - the vindaloo is good.

Rip string cheese into strips.  Put between corn tortillas in the toaster-oven and grill.  Watch drips!  Tinfoil (leftover from tinfoil hat) underneath saves cleaning toaster oven.

Now you've made me hungry... what I want is prime rib with horseradish, what I get is rice and beans.  Oh well.

[Gewehr98]

1 box Kraft Macaroni & Cheese

1 can Hormel chili w/beans

Cook Mac & Cheese per directions, until ready to serve.

Dump in chili and stir.

Voila'! Chili Mac!  Beats Ramen Noodles and gives you some variety outside the MRE variants... 


Flank steak or chuck steak, some cheap cut of steak without too much gristle.  Lay it out on the cutting board, and fork the bejeezus out of it.  If no fork, then a steak knive will do.  You want to perforate it completely on both sides.

Mix up a marinade of bourbon, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, mustard, garlic, and a pinch of salt.  Let the bourbon be the dominant flavor, with the sweetness of the brown sugar coming through.  Make single-serving cutlets out of the chuck steak, throw them into a ziploc bag, and pour in the marinade.  Shake it really well, and put it in the fridge for a few hours, if not overnight.  When you grill the cutlets, use the marinade during grilling to add a glaze that will caramelize under the heat of the grill.  You'll never believe cheap steak tasted so good!

 

[grislyatoms]

Fried rice -

couple cups of cooked rice
canola oil
tuna
shredded cabbage
broccoli
frozen chopped spinach
corn
onion
garlic
salt

Put a little oil in a pan, heat it up and throw in the vegetables. When they wilt a bit but are still crunchy, put everything else in. Stir it around for awhile, serve. Easy to modify with whatever you like. Noodles will work too, instead of rice.

Easy spaghetti sauce -

1/2 pound ground beef
1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
onion
garlic
Italian seasoning
salt

Brown ground beef with chopped onion and garlic, drain off grease. Add tomato sauce and spices to flavor, then let it simmer for a few minutes. Serve over pasta.

These are both pretty cheap, too.


 

 

[Manedwolf]

Stir fry's about as easy as you can get, especially if you use frozen chicken and frozen veggies. All you need is soy sauce, perhaps a few drops of sesame oil and the seasonings of your choice.

[K Frame]

Bag of short grain rice, sliced chicken breast, and a bottle of rice wine vinegar.

Cook the rice to your taste. I love sticky rice, the stickier the better, so I go 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water.

Slice the chicken breast, season with your favorite spices, pan fry in a little bit of sesame oil. Add green onion, garlic, and slivered ginger if you wish. When the chicken starts to brown, reduce heat to medium low and cover.

Mix 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and about 1/8th cup of water or chicken broth until sugar is dissolved.

Mix about 1 teaspoon of corn starch in about 2 tablespoons of water or chicken broth and set aside.

Remove cover from chiken, turn heat to high, and pour in the lemon juice mix.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and add corn starch stirring quickly.

This will thicken to form a glaze.

Remove from heat.

Put some cooked rice into a bowl, sprinkle it with rice wine vinegar, spoon on the chicken and glaze, and eat.

Cheap, quick, lemon chicken.

Had that for dinner Thursday.

[Bob F.]

One of my favorite "Comfort foods", not all that quick but cheap and easy. I can buy fresh sausage locally for .49/lb. Brown sausage in skillet, drain and set aside .
Peel & dice some taters, put on to boil in salted water. Chunk up some carrots, add to water. Chunk up some cabbage, add to water. Slice some celery and chunk up some onions, add to water. I like the taters and carrots "fork tender", everything else a little crunchy. Drain, add sausage and whatever spices ya' want; I like Tabasco (enough for flavor but not to curl my toenails), parsley, etc. Oh, yeah, toss a couple cloves of minced garlic in shortly before you drain the taters. Chopped up ramps are good in there, too!

I know: how much of each? Whatever you like! This ain't freaking rocket science!

Bon apetite!
Bob

[Manedwolf]

Also comfort food where I'm from... a variant on Cuban-style black beans and rice.

Chop up onion, sautee a bit in pot, add green pepper and a generous handful of fresh garlic. Then add a couple of cans of black beans. Season with LOTS of cumin and a bit of cocoa powder for depth, simmer until it all boils up and the flavors meld. Salt to taste, serve over white rice.

Especially good with some plantains sliced and tossed on a grill or baked.

There's also what I consider one of the best sandwiches ever invented, the Cuban sandwich. You'd need a panini press to do it right, but it's just roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickle, and sometimes spicy mayo on Cuban bread (Italian bread will be okay), pressed flat in a sandwich press called a "plancha"...but any panini press or a frying pan with a push weight will do, really mash it _flat_. If sweetbread is used instead, like a Portugese loaf, it'd be a "Media noches", or midnight sandwich, as it was apparently a popular midnight snack on the island.

Good stuff.

[SomeKid]

Good quick and easy?

Chili MRE.

[Monkeyleg]

Frozen pizza: pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove plastic wrap, place on cookie sheet, and bake according to package directions. (I was surprised recently to see that package directions include the warning to cook before eating).

[Marnoot]

I love sticky rice, the stickier the better,

Ever tried sticky rice? By which I mean steamed "sweet rice." Good stuff. It's different than normal rice; it's sold as sweet rice or "glutinous" rice. You usually have to go to an actual Asian market to find it. You soak it for 8 hours, then steam it in one of these; doesn't really turn out well in a rice cooker. It becomes far stickier than regular rice; makes a good, cheap side dish. You make little balls from the cooked rice and soak up the sauce of your choice, some pork fu (seasoned & shredded dried pork with the appearance of shag carpeting), or grab some meat with it and pop it in your mouth. Mmmm... good stuff. Not quick if you take the soaking time into account, but time spent preparing and steaming is almost nil.

[K Frame]

"Ever try sticky rice"

Hell yes. I love the stuff.

Let's face it. I LOVE rice.

If I had to make a trade off, I would gladly give up potatos for the rest of my life to ensure that I would have an uninterrupted supply of rice.

I'm down to four kinds of rice in the house right now (brown, medium grain white, jasmine, and a bit of arborio, plus some wild rice, which isn't rice) but it's not at all uncommon for me to have as many as a dozen kinds of rice in the house.

One of my favorite snacks is some medium grain white rice cooked almost to mush with a little butter and some sweet rice vinegar.

[Vodka7]

There's also what I consider one of the best sandwiches ever invented, the Cuban sandwich. You'd need a panini press to do it right, but it's just roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickle, and sometimes spicy mayo on Cuban bread (Italian bread will be okay), pressed flat in a sandwich press called a "plancha"...but any panini press or a frying pan with a push weight will do, really mash it _flat_. If sweetbread is used instead, like a Portugese loaf, it'd be a "Media noches", or midnight sandwich, as it was apparently a popular midnight snack on the island.

I saw an episode of good eats where he used (if I remember right) a brick wrapped in aliminum foil to flatten the sandwhiches, and cooked them in an oven instead.  Definitely one of my favorites.

[Pew pew pew]

Mmmmmmmm, thanks guys. Some good ones here. My belly's going to be quite full the next few weeks. Keep 'em coming though, don't let me stop you!

[Thor]

My favorite quick and easy meal is mac & cheese w/ tuna, peas and mushrooms. Kraft Mac & Cheese works best, cook according to directions, add 1 can of tuna, drained. add half a cup of frozen peas and one small can of sliced mushroom stems & pieces, drained. I also add a couple of slices of sliced american cheese and some extra milk. Heat until peas and mushrooms are warmed through and extra cheese is melted.

[Iain]

1/2 red onion
green chilli
De-seeded tomatoes
Lime juice

Blend til chopped not mush

Add coriander (cilantro) leaves
Tobasco sauce, salt and black pepper to taste
Maybe chop an avocado if you have one

Blend briefly

Now for the heresy - throw in tinned tuna, stir and eat.

One of the few ways I'll eat tinned tuna. I'll leave exact quantities up to you, I do it by eye.

[The Rabbi]

Irish 7 course dinner.
1 six pack of beer.
1 boiled potato.

[Jamisjockey]

Santa Fe soup
1 lb ground beef, turkey or sausage, browned and seasoned (s&p, little garlic, little mrs dash or...)
1 can black eyed peas
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can yellow sweet corn
1 can white corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can diced green chilis
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet of ranch dressing mix
Pour ingredients into large pot or crock pot.  Heat through.  Serve plain, with sour cream, cheese, guacamole, chips, in burritoes or tacos....etc etc.

[Manedwolf]

I love sticky rice, the stickier the better,

Ever tried sticky rice? By which I mean steamed "sweet rice." Good stuff. It's different than normal rice; it's sold as sweet rice or "glutinous" rice. You usually have to go to an actual Asian market to find it. You soak it for 8 hours, then steam it in one of these; doesn't really turn out well in a rice cooker.

From a $15 rice cooker from Target, no. From a true Japanese rice cooker like a Zojirushi, yes...they're designed specifically for things like sticky rice preparation. It's also why they're closer to $100. (or even $200) 

[Marnoot]

From a $15 rice cooker from Target, no. From a true Japanese rice cooker like a Zojirushi, yes...they're designed specifically for things like sticky rice preparation. It's also why they're closer to $100. 

Ah. Yeah, a friend of mine tried it in an el-cheapo rice cooker. It came out looking more like Sticky Snot than Sticky Rice. I'll just stick with my $5 steamer; works for me!  When I decide to get a good rice cooker though, I may look into a better brand like that.

[Gewehr98]

We used to go dumpster-diving in Tokyo and the suburbs on our days off.  The Japanese are more of a disposable society then we are, and if just one small part of the total appliance is broken or blemished, they'll throw the whole thing away and buy a new one.

So I had Kenwood, Sansui, Pioneer, and other brand-name stereo rack systems, minus speakers (which bore the brunt of the damage) coming home with me and given out to friends or family.  The kerosene heaters got new jets or unclogged, and sold at the Yokota thrift shop to military families. The Zojirushi rice cookers with dog/cat chewed power cords?  I still have a couple of those, one in the kitchen and a backup spare. I had a friend's Japanese wife translate the instruction labels for me, even. I won't give 'em away.   

(Which reminds me, I have a couple pounds of sashimi-grade tuna steak in the freezer....)

[grislyatoms]

For the unbelievers :

Grislyatoms' "Dragon's Breath" herring sandwich spread

2 tins Beachcliff Fish Steaks w/ Green Chiles
1/4 of a cucumber, peeled and chopped
Brown mustard
chopped onion (red, green, yellow or white; I like red)
Tabasco

Open the fish, drain off the oil (I usually drain it into the dog's bowl), and put them in a bowl. Mash 'em with a fork. Mix in the other stuff.

Spread on toast.












Avoid other people for awhile. Or brush your teeth.



 

[lee n. field]

Ramen.

[Manedwolf]

Ramen.

I wouldn't eat it right now. Stuff is made in China from Chinese wheat gluten. There's no way it doesn't have the melamine crap in it.