[Indy]

This is a lighter posting...

My sons are grumbling (complaining) that I don't have much variety in my cooking. Imagine that, single dad and all! Now don't get me wrong, I cook a "mean" chili, make good tacos and hamburgers. I make sure that the boys have a vegetable at each meal and salad is served almost every night.

So, as a New Year's Resolution, I am going to try to cook with some variety. Does anyone have some good recipes I can try? If I need special pots or pans, let me know. Thank you

Have a safe and Happy New Year!

[bumpkin]

try www tvfoodnetwork. You can put any request in and get the recipe, they even tell you the degree of difficulty. I would suggest starting with things your son likes to eat and expanding your repetoire from that point. Maybe he can help you! Kids usually love to cook and work in the kitchen.

Congratulations on taking on this new task, It's just following direction so you can usually muddle through!

Best
Bumpkin

[DianeS]

Ohhhh, I LOVE to cook!

If you're looking for easy recipies, I'd recommend you get a slow cooker. (aka "Crock Pot") Most come with books that not only tell you how to care for the slow cooker, but also contain 10-20 relatively easy recipies. (Get a huge one for your family! The biggest they sell - or maybe two of the biggest.)

You can do BBQ ribs, chicken thighs with rice, pot roasts, soups, etc in a slow cooker. No worry about overbaking, or timing anything. Throw in the ingredients in the morning, and it's done when you come home from work.

We do BBQ ribs often - throw the ribs in the pot with several cups of BBQ sauce. Turn it on and the meat falls off the bone by the time you come home from work.

Another thing that's simple and looks impressive is a baked chicken. Buy a whole chicken from the grocery store that weighs enough to feed your family. Take off the plastic wrap, pull out any body parts that the manufacturers stuffed inside the chicken's ribcage, and rinse the whole thing in cold water. Put it in a pan with sides at least an inch tall. As long as the sides of the pan don't squish the chicken, touching or not touching or being 6 inches away doesn't matter. You can put several chickens beside each other if the pan is big enough.

Then season the chicken. I use powdered garlic, powdered onion, and parsley. I usually put a half cup or so of water in the bottom of the pan - just enough to cover the bottom. It catches the spices that cook off, and makes a good sauce if you also serve something like potatos or rice.

The good thing about a chicken is that the baking time is listed on the wrapper. Usually 15 minutes or so per pound, although that can vary slightly by manufacturer. Or get a meat thermometer and go with that - get one that not only lists the temperature, but beside the temp also lists the types of meats that are "done" at that temp.

Have fun! Aren't some of your boys old enough to cook? Some kids start at 12 or 14. If they knew how much work it usually was, they might not fuss so much.

[lucyjoy]

How about letting them plan a few meals and cook them? Good skills for them to learn. My kids take turns planning the dinner menu and cooking.

[BrandyHagz]

Family Favorites around here:

Enchilada Casserole

2 lbs Ground Beef
1 Can Refried Beans
1 lb Grated Cheddar Cheese
1 small can of green chilies (4 oz I think)
1 small can of sliced back olives
1 bunch of green onions
2 packages of McCormick Enchilada Sauce mix, prepared (read package for items needed)
1 Package of Corn Tortillas


*Note, you can use 1 lbs of Beef and 1 Package of Sauce to reduce the size…my husband and son EAT a LOT of this when I cook it, so I make a HUGE batch!

Anyway, prepare as followed

PREHEAT Oven 350 Degrees

Brown ground beef and drain, put back in skillet, add green chilies, refried beans, half of the black olives and the Sauce. Bring to a simmer.

Spray the bottom of a large pan (I use a 10.5 by 14.75 inch glass roaster) win Non-Stick spray, then line the Corn Tortillas in the bottom. Overlapping the edges is ok, in my pan I can usually fit anywhere from 6 to 8 tortillas on the bottom.

Sprinkle lightly with cheese.

Pour HALF of the meat and bean mixture over the tortillas

Sprinkle with cheese

Add a second layer of Corn Tortillas

Sprinkle lightly with cheese

Pour the remaining mixture, cover with remaining cheese, olives and green onions

Cover, place in the oven for around thirty minutes.

Remove from the oven, remove cover and put back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes to melt the cheese.

Serve with Salsa, Shredded Lettuce, Sour Cream and Jalapeños.

I also cook Mexican Rice when I make this, and serve it on the side…generally, because of time constraints, I just whip up a batch of Rice a Roni’s Mexican Rice…substituting the “tomatoes” it calls for with a can of Rotel Tomatoes for an extra kick!

I have a TON of easy Mexican recipes, but this one is BY FAR my families favorite! I’ll see about typing up some of my other stuff and posting it later tonight or tomorrow!

Good luck!

[Sharon]

I make this at least twice a month; it's very tasty, easy and affordable. It's vegan, but you can always chop some ham or bacon into it if you want. I recommend serving it with bread.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 onion (chopped), 1 bay leaf, 3 cloves garlic (minced), 2 cups dried split peas, 1/2 cup barley, 1 & 1/2 tsp salt, 7 & 1/2 cups water, 3 carrots (chopped), 3 stalks celery (chopped), 3 potatoes (diced), 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:
1. In a large pot over medium heat, saute the oil, onion, garlic and bay leaf for 5 minutes. Then add the peas, barley, salt and water. Bring to boil, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, parsley, basil, thyme, and pepper. Simmer another hour or until peas and vegetables are tender. Makes 11 servings.

Note: Brown rice may be substituted for barley.

Best of luck, ~ Sharon

[Barksum]

I like to cook -- but only easy things! One source of good recipes is "Taste of Home", which is a magazine. I've heard that this is a "good" gift for newlyweds, so I guess it would work for anyone wanting to do start cooking for more than just themselves. I'll dig around and find out the info for ordering.

I have a good recipe, from Taste of Home, for a crock pot pizza. I'll dig that out, too. My kids really like it.

Another thing that we sometimes do is have "breakfast" for dinner. Things like German Pancakes, which I don't always have the gumption to make for breakfast (I'm NOT a morning person) but may have gummed up the gumption to make for dinner. They're relatively easy, don't have many ingredients and taste pretty good, even if you kind of mess up. Not that I would know that from first hand experience, since I would never mess up a recipe....

Having the kids help out in the kitchen takes more time, but the kids really enjoy it. Plan ahead, tho. LOL

[6kiddos]

Indy,
I have the same New Years resolution! I used to cook alot, I canned and froze most of our food and almost everything was homemade. Now that we have 6 children and I work part time from my home, I have little time or energy for more than chicken nuggets and applesauce! (Mr. 6kiddos almost got smacked one day recently when he commented on my lack of enthusiasm in the kitchen!) We also have a son who, because of his fetal alcohol effect and oral motor delay, has a very limited diet of what he will eat. It is hard to plan a beautiful meal when I know that he will just ask for a peanut butter sandwich and some Pediasure. But I want to rekindle my love for cooking and baking and I am planning to spend some time browsing in my cookbook collection this week. My favorite magazine for recipes is "Taste of Home" which comes with cut out recipe cards and has no annoying ads, you may want to check that out. Good luck with your resolution, let me know if you find any good recipes that I can try!

[HappyMomAnna]

I love cooking too......and really love the slow cookers because I can start it and forget it for a while!!!!

I am also a firm believer in letting kids learn to cook. One excellent source of cookbooks and instructions for kids cooking are Boy and Girl Scout manuals......most of them cover the important safety issues and offer simple instructions.... My older kids both learned to cook a family meal by the time they were about 12.

Another terribly lazy thing we did when they were young teens was have "Jump Up's" for dinner........ Jump up and get it yourself...... actually, I typically just gathered up all the left overs--and food that had to be eaten and filled in the blanks with cheese and crackers, fruit---whatever and everyone jupms up and fixes their own plates. It makes it nice when you clean the fridge the day before shopping!!!!

Now with our five year old I always get her assistance with one or more parts of the dinner cooking process....that way in a few years she can cook for me

[qs mom]

The only way to go. Oven bags.

McCormick and Durkee both make them. Throw in the meat, a cup of water, some potatoes and carrots and toss it in the oven.

[kay72]

This is easy as falling off a log to make, doesn't take much time, and our kids go nuts for them! Special cookware? Just a 10in. saucepan with a lid. Get some chicken breast and dice in small pieces, then in a little margarine, fry on medium-high till cooked and browned a little (sometimes I add a little water if the pan looks too dry). I like to sprinkle it with seasoned salt (Lawry's or store-brand) while it's cooking. If you guys like peppers and onions, you can add this to the cooking chicken (smells wonderful, and makes them look pretty). OR! You can eliminate this whole step by getting already cooked & seasoned chicken breast strips, which I would dice up.

Then get a flour tortilla (I like the larger size) and put it in the saucepan, turn burner on medium-low. Sprinkle with a handful of shredded cheese (your choice--we like Wal-Mart's Mexican blend), spread it out to within 1 inch of the tortilla's edge. Add some chopped chicken, then top with a little more cheese, so the other tortilla will "stick," top with the second tortilla and put the lid on to steam it. Watch the bottom carefully so it doesn't burn, but leave it in long enough so the cheese melts and the "guts" don't fall out when you flip it. Turn it over and heat till the other side is melted.

I usually make several (enough for leftovers for kid's lunches), and make them assembly-line-style. I put the done ones in the microwave on a plate so they stay warm. When you're ready to eat, cut them in wedges with a pizza cutter, and serve with salsa, sour cream, lettuce, whatever.

My husband says they beat Chili's! Good luck!
Kay

[Kellster]

Hi Sharon,

Your recipe looks delicious- I already copied it and will cook it next week (when the kids go back to school!). Do you have any more vegan recipes to share? A favourite vegan recipe site? Boy, are we off topic here, or what? LOL

Thanks!

Kelly

[Kellster]

My friend Marlene makes this delicious and so easy recipe: Coat boneless chicken breasts with prepared yellow mustard and dip into seasoned bread crumbs to coat. Bake at 375 until no longer pink inside.

My grandma's easy apricot chicken recipe: Mix 8 tbs Thousand Island dressing with 8 tbs apricot jam and 1 envelope of onion soup mix. Pour sauce over chicken and bake, covered in foil, for about 45 minutes at 425 or until no longer pink inside. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes to crispen. Serve sauce over rice.

Doesn't get easier than these two! BON APPETIT!

Kelly

[sues250]

I agree with the slow cooker but sometimes mornings are rough enough with out getting dinner started. A great cookbook I found fast recipes that my daughter likes most of them called The Four Ingredient Cookbook by Linda Coffee and Emily Cale. Good luck.

[Sharon]

Hi, Kelly.
Here's another vegan recipe; this one can be made in a crock pot.

Lentil Rice Soup

Ingredients:
2 cups dry lentils, 2 cups brown rice, 1 cup chopped carrots, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1/2 onion (chopped), 8 cups water, 1 cup vegetable broth, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tbsp salt, 1 cup sliced mushrooms

Directions:
1. Place the lentils, rice, carrots, celery, onion, water, broth, garlic, pepper and salt in crock pot.
2. Cover and cook on low setting for 7 to 8 hours. Stir in mushrooms one hour before serving.
10 servings.

~ Sharon