Post a favorite recipe that amateurs can follow

[VacationForever]

I like Denise's recipes. I thought she does not eat beef?! Substantial for an entree/meal and not carbie (optional). I am printing her recipes and going shopping this afternoon. ...

 

[DeniseM]

I don't eat meat, but my family does.

 

[pjrose]

Easiest Ever Comfort Food

One tub of pre-made chocolate chip cookie dough
One spoon

Eat

 

[pjrose]

Easier Apple Pie

I was recently told about this pie from friends who then prepared it for me later in the week. At first I thought -- 2 premade crusts, apples, how is it any different. The secret is in the skillet. The part of the crust on the bottom absorbs the butter/brown sugar and gives a caramel like flavor. They cut the white sugar by 1/2. Any more and I think it would be too sweet.

Now, I must get an Iron Skillet.

===

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 pie crusts
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 -6 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2 Place butter in large iron skillet and place in oven to melt.
3 When butter is melted, stir in brown sugar, place back in oven and let that melt together.
4 Place 1 pie crust on top of the mixture that is in the skillet.
5 Mix together granulated sugar and cinnamon.
6 Place apple slices on top of pie crust and cover with the sugar/cinnamon mixture.
7 Place second pie crust on top and make small slits in crust and seal on the edges Bake 45 minutes or until lightly browned.
8 Serve warm with a vanilla cream or ice cream.

-------------
Easier Apple Pie - I haven't tried this, but it sure would be easier!

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 frozen unbaked apple pie - e.g. Mrs. Smith's
1 iron skillet the same size as the pie

melt butter and brown sugar in skillet, put unbaked pie in skillet, and bake pie per package directions.

 

[VacationForever]

Zuppa Toscano Soup

Modified from Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscano Soup to make it healthier and tastier... This is my friends/neighbors/colleagues most requested item/recipe from me.

INGREDIENTS
• 1 lb ground spicy Italian turkey sausage or if spicy ones are not available, add 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
• 1 large diced white onion
• 6 Tbsp bacon pieces (from bottle) or make from about 8-10 slices of turkey bacon
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 box (4 cups) extra low sodium chicken stock (70mg sodium) - Trader Joe's or Pacific (something brand) plus 1 can (2 cups) of 100% fat free low sodium Swanson chicken stock
• 1 lb (1 large) sliced/cubed Russet potatoes
• ¼ to ½ bunch of kale (leaves only)

1. Sauté Italian turkey sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken stock.
4. Add potatoes and cook until soft, about 30 minutes.
5. Stir in the sausage.
6. Add kale just before serving. Delicious!

 

[Big Matt]

buffalo chicken dip

Can of chicken meat drained (or left over chicken)
One package of cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup hot sauce of buffalo wing sauce
1/2 cup of ranch dressing
one 32 ounce package of any cheese you want. I prefer Colby/jack.
mix well and move to oven proof casserole
Bake at 350 or any other temperature until it bubbles.

Serve with corn chips or whatever you like.

P.S. I add green onions to mine, but you don't have to.

 

[Mosca]

Am I "Fran?"

Fern

Sorry Fern, typing on the iPad without my glasses on. Merry Christmas!

 

[irish]

Ingredients
Two slices of white bread*
Butter or margarine

Take two slices of white bread. Place them in a toaster and press down the handle. Wait two minutes or until toast pops up. Spread butter over slices after removing them from the toaster. Serves two.

* For holidays or special occasions, raisin bread may be substituted but follow the same procedure as above.

ROTFLMAO:rofl:

 

[artringwald]

Frito Pie

This is one of my favorites when DW is out of town. In the order displayed, put the following in a casserole dish and microwave until the cheese bubbles:

+

+

Salty, cheesy, greasy, and delicious!

 

[Fern Modena]

My sister calls this "comfort food." Its one of her favorite, easy "go to" dinners.

Fern

This is one of my favorites when DW is out of town. In the order displayed, put the following in a casserole dish and microwave until the cheese bubbles:

+

+

Salty, cheesy, greasy, and delicious!

 

[Fern Modena]

Dump Cake

Irene and I were invited out to dinner today. Besides the fudge, I made a "dump cake." It is also easy...

• Large can of crushed pineapple in juice
• Can of Cherry Pie Filling
• Box of Yellow Cake Mix (or Chocolate, if you prefer)
• 1 Cup Chopped Pecans or Walnuts
• 1 Stick of butter or margarine
• Non Stick Spray

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Spray 13" x 8" sheet cake pan with non-stick spray
• Dump in pineapple and juice, spreading evenly over bottom of pan
• Gradually dump in cherry pie filling, spreading over pineapple (I used back of soup spoon to spread out)
• Sprinkle cake mix evenly over cherry filling
• Scatter nuts over the top of everything else
• Dot butter over the top of it all
• Bake for 50 minutes

Eat warm or cold, by itself or with ice cream or whipped cream. It is more like a cobbler than a cake.

Again, easy and semi-homemade. Seems to be a theme here with me.

Fern

 

[Elan]

Irene and I were invited out to dinner today. Besides the fudge, I made a "dump cake." It is also easy...

• Large can of crushed pineapple in juice
• Can of Cherry Pie Filling
• Box of Yellow Cake Mix (or Chocolate, if you prefer)
• 1 Cup Chopped Pecans or Walnuts
• 1 Stick of butter or margarine
• Non Stick Spray

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Spray 13" x 8" sheet cake pan with non-stick spray
• Dump in pineapple and juice, spreading evenly over bottom of pan
• Gradually dump in cherry pie filling, spreading over pineapple (I used back of soup spoon to spread out)
• Sprinkle cake mix evenly over cherry filling
• Scatter nuts over the top of everything else
• Dot butter over the top of it all
• Bake for 50 minutes

Eat warm or cold, by itself or with ice cream or whipped cream. It is more like a cobbler than a cake.

Again, easy and semi-homemade. Seems to be a theme here with me.

Fern

Dump cake is a classic Dutch Oven recipe. We make it pretty often when camping.

This is how I make it:

Dump can of fruit in bottom of 8Q camp dutch oven. Huckleberry works well.
Dump box of white cake mix over fruit.
Squirt about 1/2 of a container of squeeze margarine over the top.
Bake until done.
Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.

 

[easyrider]

Italian Christmas Chicken Enchaladas

This is easy peasy. We use our canned chicken, canned pinto beans and fresh veggies. Im making a really big batch for today.

Make or buy some marinara sauce.

Use even ingredients as far as the chicken, beans and sauce.

1 qt marinara sauce

1 qt canned chicken

2 cups chicken broth - the broth I use is from my canned chicken.

1 qt canned pinto beans

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tbs minced garlic

1/2 tbs sea salt

1/2 tbs black pepper

Mix these up in a pot and let it simmer and stir occasionally for however long you like. I have done this in 5 minutes and sometimes like today will let it simmer for hours so that the house gets a really nice aroma going on.

Then you need cheese and tortillas. I like shredded Tillamook cheddar and big flour tortillas.

Grease up a baking pan.

I place the tortillas on a cutting board because this can get messy and its easier to rinse the cutting board than clean the counter top.

In the tortilla place about 3/4 cup of the sauce mix. Then toss on an even amount of shredded cheese. If you want you can add whatever at this point so on some of these I add cut jalapenos and more onion.

Roll the tortilla up and place it on the baking pan. I can get about 12 - 14 in a pan.

Over the top of the enchiladas that are in the backing pan I then spoon on some more sauce and add more cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Take these enchiladas out of the oven and serve with whatever you like. We use sour cream and some of us like Italian salsa verde which is salsa verde with a bit of fennel at our house. Side dish is usually rice and chick peas covered in the sauce that leaks out of the enchiladas.

I usually make about 60 of these at a time. These enchiladas freeze up real nice and are so easy to toss in the microwave for a quick meal. These are pretty filling and most people can eat one. Little kids will eat 1/2. The guys maybe two.

The above list is for a batch in one baking pan. This is a really hard recipe to screw up.

Bill

 

[jlp879]

Toast. Hahaha!

My mom's Cranberry Nut Bread:

I made this as an addition to our Christmas brunch lineup today. It was a hit and delicious served slightly warm!

 

[Quiet Pine]

This thread has legs! Here's another simple recipe.
Weight Watchers Pineapple Angel Food Cake Recipe
Prep time: 2 mins, Cook time: 30 mins, Total time: 32 mins
Serves: 12
2 ingredients, super simple, Weight Watchers friendly.
Ingredients
1 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple (in water or juice)
1 box of Angel Food Cake Mix
Whipped Cream (optional)
Fresh Raspberries (optional)
Instructions
1. Combine crushed pineapple (do not drain) and angel food cake mix in bowl. Batter will be fluffy. Pour batter into baking vessel of choice – cupcake tin, square baking dish, springform pan – and bake according to the temperature and time on the cake mix box.
2. After baking, let cool. Then cut and enjoy. You can top with whipped cream and fresh raspberries if you like! To keep the dessert Weight Watchers friendly, use fat free whipped cream.
Notes
Cook time is approximate – you will need to follow the cook time recommendations on the box of mix that you use.

 

[ilene13]

Brisket

Make sure you buy a first cut brisket as it won't be as fatty.
Ilene



Brisket Recipe



1 Can Coke (not diet)

Many garlic cloves---peeled and sliced

4 cooking onions

1 Jar chili Sauce

1 package dry onion soup mix

You can add some ketchup and some water

Day Before:
Rub brisket with paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Make slits in brisket and insert garlic cloves. Cover and refrigerate.

Next Day:
Sear meat with onions in roasting pan at 400 degrees. After it is seared, reduce heat to 325 degrees, add all other ingredients, cover cook around 2 hours. Refrigerate over night. Slice, put back in oven with juice at 225 degrees for about 40 minutes.

 

[jlp879]

As I read through these recipes, I'm getting the idea for a thread - Timeshare Recipes!

I love to cook, often elaborate dishes, but when I'm in a timeshare kitchen, I long for simple recipes that are super easy to prepare, take only a few ingredients and can be thrown together and forgotten while we swim in the pool, watch the sunset from the balcony, or (insert other enjoyable activities here).

Lots of times, the kitchens have minimal utensils, always have poor quality knives and I don't want to buy (or bring) a lot of spices for one week.

 

[LLW]

As I read through these recipes, I'm getting the idea for a thread - Timeshare Recipes!

I love to cook, often elaborate dishes, but when I'm in a timeshare kitchen, I long for simple recipes that are super easy to prepare, take only a few ingredients and can be thrown together and forgotten while we swim in the pool, watch the sunset from the balcony, or (insert other enjoyable activities here).

Lots of times, the kitchens have minimal utensils, always have poor quality knives and I don't want to buy (or bring) a lot of spices for one week.

Here are some timeshare recipes:
http://www.wmowners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=27191

 

[ilene13]

As I read through these recipes, I'm getting the idea for a thread - Timeshare Recipes!

I love to cook, often elaborate dishes, but when I'm in a timeshare kitchen, I long for simple recipes that are super easy to prepare, take only a few ingredients and can be thrown together and forgotten while we swim in the pool, watch the sunset from the balcony, or (insert other enjoyable activities here).

Lots of times, the kitchens have minimal utensils, always have poor quality knives and I don't want to buy (or bring) a lot of spices for one week.

I only make breakfast when we are on vacation.

 

[pjrose]

My favorite to take to pot lucks!

Yes! I was just getting ready to post this. I call it "magic cake" since it seems rather magical to get a good cake with only two ingredients. I use a rectangular lasagna-size foil pan, take it to pot lucks, and don't even have to worry about bringing the pan home.

This thread has legs! Here's another simple recipe.
Weight Watchers Pineapple Angel Food Cake Recipe
Prep time: 2 mins, Cook time: 30 mins, Total time: 32 mins
Serves: 12
2 ingredients, super simple, Weight Watchers friendly.
Ingredients
1 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple (in water or juice)
1 box of Angel Food Cake Mix
Whipped Cream (optional)
Fresh Raspberries (optional)
Instructions
1. Combine crushed pineapple (do not drain) and angel food cake mix in bowl. Batter will be fluffy. Pour batter into baking vessel of choice – cupcake tin, square baking dish, springform pan – and bake according to the temperature and time on the cake mix box.
2. After baking, let cool. Then cut and enjoy. You can top with whipped cream and fresh raspberries if you like! To keep the dessert Weight Watchers friendly, use fat free whipped cream.
Notes
Cook time is approximate – you will need to follow the cook time recommendations on the box of mix that you use.

 

[pjrose]

Chicken Taco Soup - 7 cans and two pkgs of mix

With credit to Karen G,

Chicken taco soup

This recipe actually came with the canned chicken from Sam's Club. It called for just one can of chicken but I used two because I wanted more chicken.

2 cans drained canned chicken breast (13 oz. cans)
1 can diced tomatoes & chiles (Rotel or similar) 11 oz.
1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz.)
1 can diced green chiles (4 oz)
1 can kidney beans (15 oz.)
1 can whole kernel corn (11 oz.)
1 can black beans (15 oz.)
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 pkg. Ranch Dressing mix

Directions:
Shred chicken if desired. Do NOT drain remaining cans. Just dump in the whole contents of each can. Add all ingredients into a crockpot. Stir. cook on high 2 hrs. or low 4 hrs. Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped onions, tortilla chips.

I've also added a can of garbanzo beans and/or pinto beans.

PJ's comments -

This is very flexible - skip the chilis if you want, more, fewer, or different beans, a handful or so of rice, etc.

I took it to a potluck in a crockpot, with little bowls of the optional toppings suggested by Karen, and also chopped chilis, cilantro, lime wedges, and whatever else I thought of but have since forgotten.

 

[pjrose]

Roast Beef

Don't be intimidated by making a roast. For years, I avoided making roasts, and my sister kept telling me it was the easiest thing. She was right.

Last night, for Christmas dinner, we got a NY Strip roast - basically what they would slice into NY strip steaks, but instead it was a solid 3.5-4 lbs (and on sale for $4.99/lb!) Same could be done with any good quality roast - ask the butcher.

Basic Directions

• Preheat oven to 325°
• Put roast in pan that fits it, fat side up (don't crowd it in the pan)
• Stick a meat thermometer into the thickest part (if you have one - not the instant read kind)
• Cook for about 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hours if you like it rare
• Remove from oven, check temp with instant read thermometer; it will go up 10 or so degrees as it sits for 10 minutes or so.
• Slice and serve. I use an electric knife to get really thin slices.

Optional

• before cooking, sprinkle on your favorite seasoning(s) - garlic powder, onion powder, crushed thyme, Rosemary, seasoned salt, montreal, lemon pepper, Cavendar's Greek Seasoning (WalMart...we use this on everything).
  
• I mixed a few Tbs of olive oil with maybe a tsp each of thyme and rosemary crushed in a mortar and pestle, another tsp of Cavender's, and about 5 minced/crushed garlic cloves, and then slathered this on top/sides of roast.
  
• I put some vegs in the bottom of the pan first - a few handfuls of mini carrots and some chunked up onions - to make a kind of "rack" (keeps the roast from sticking) and add a lovely fragrance. (The vegs and drippings were pretty greasy, so I did not attempt to make any kind of sauce from them.)
  

 

[Okies]

Spicy Pretzles


1 bag of Pretzels (I like Synders, but any will do)

1/2 cup Canola Oil
1 pkt dry Ranch Dressing
1/2 tsp garlic powder (or to taste)
3 Tbsp red pepper flakes

Put pretzels in a ziptop gallon bag. Mix the other ingredients, and pour over the pretzels. Shake the bag every half hour (or when you think about it) for 4 hours.

Tip: don't open the bag until time is up, or it may not zip again. I also gently shake the bag, or just rotate a few times.

This has been a party favorite.

 

[DeniseM]

1/2 cup oil is a huge amount of oil and has 1,000 calories. Oil disperses very well - I bet you can make this with a tablespoon or two of oil.

1) shake pretzels with 1 or 2 Tablespoons oil, until well-coated.

2) mix dry ingredients, add to pretzels, and shake well.

 

[pjrose]

Or perhaps spray with cooking spray, olive oil or butter-flavored, or even use one of those oil misters, then put on the dry ingredients and toss/stir?

Not only less caloric, but perhaps less messy?

On the other hand if you like the basic food groups of fat, salt, carbs, and spicy, then maybe the original is for you!