Cooking Ideas

by desib77 78 Replies latest jw friends

  • Valis
    Valis
    In a small bowel combine Miracle Whip, Sour cream, garlic salt, and pepper.

    yuck Walter!

    SIncerely,

    District Overbeer

  • Soledad
    Soledad

    my dear I also strongly recommend the slow cooker, especially for beef roasts. they come out very tender and you'll have a few days of leftovers, saving you some $$$. casseroles (tuna, chicken) are great too. I used to hate cooking while living with my parents, but once I went out on my own and started to do my own thing I realized that I really love it, and it's a great money saver!

  • desib77
  • CeriseRose
    CeriseRose

    I splurged and spent $20 on "MasterCook" software. I bought it because I want to reduce the bzillion cookbooks I have and save just the recipes I want. The bonus there was, it has 5000 recipes included, and if you do a websearch it also has lots of links of people who have set up their recipe collections online and ready to download.

    I'm starting the South Beach diet in the next couple of days. So I'm back into targeted cooking, rather than targeted cookies. hehe

  • Lady Lee
    Lady Lee

    lol Valis I noticed you sent the thread back to the top Thanks

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    but I sent them directly to the download page

  • Valis
    Valis

    http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/74336/1194293/post.ashx#1194293

    um Lady Lee has a reading problem!

    Sincerely,

    District Overbeer

  • ApagaLaLuz
    ApagaLaLuz

    I enjoy eating out as well, but for a picky eater, what I usually do is keep mental notes of what they order when we go out. If there is a dish that they particularly enjoy I keep a note as too how the resturant made it.

    Since I work full time and have a fairly hectic schedule, I like to stock up on ready made things from Trader Joes. I will buy the ready made stir-fry. The key is to add things to it so it taste homemade. For chicken stir fry I add my own noodles and cook my chicken in sangria instead of oil, I add fresh mushrooms and spicy seasonings. I can make it in about 10 minutes and it taste like it took forever. Make simple things too, sometimes odd combinations work well together.

    I love a garlic Indian bread called naan. I will buy naan at the store, then sprinkle a balsamic vinegrette over the bread, cut up some tomatoes, add parsley and mozarella, and voila, a cheap, odd combination that works. The key to making just about ANYTHING taste good is seasoning, make sure you always have plenty of key ingredients in stock like garlic, vinegar, oil, parsley, cilantro, cumin.

    One of my favorites to make is take chicken broth, and cream of mushroom, mix together and pour in the bottom of a glass pan, add several boneless chicken breasts. Then make up stuffing from the box by just adding enough water to moisten. Cover your chicken with the mushroom-broth combination and add a layer of stuffing across the top. I usually sprinkle a thin layer of mozarella over it too to solidify it. Then bake in the oven at 350 for about 45 minutes.

    Sorry I dont have very many recipes, I pretty just make things up as I go along and season to taste. I grew up with an Italian mother who was the best cook ever. However she never used recipes either, everything was just a "smidge" or a "pinch"

  • Jim_TX
    Jim_TX

    Desi... I got in late on this thread... but I have a few comments...

    First... cooking ain't that hard. I watch my 93 year old aunt do it, and I figure... if SHE can do it... I can. *wide grin*

    Anyway... she has this crockpot thingy... but it's really big... 5 quarts or so.

    I am a bachelor, and I saw one that was 1-1/2 quarts - that made more sense to me.

    With this 1-1/2 quart crockpot, you can create magical meals. (It is just right for two people - one meal)

    The reason is that the food pretty much cooks itself. You don't have to do anything but throw the ingredients into it, and plug it in.

    One of the first things that I made involved cooking some 9 or 15 bean soup.

    When I was married, my wifey didn't make it too often for me... and I had requested it more than once.

    Sooooo... since I can now cook whatever I want - I made up a recipe for my 15 bean soup.

    You need to go to your store and get the following...

    15 variety beans (they come in a bag... about 20 Ounces)

    10 Ounce Diced Tomatoes

    1/4 Onion - chopped up

    2 Cloves Garlic - also chopped up

    1/2 - Lemon squeezed

    Chicken Strips - these are pre-cooked for making fajitas or something. They're really neat. Just chop up however much you want and throw it in.

    1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

    1/2 Tablespoon Curry Powder (optional as some folks don't like curry powder)

    1 Tablespoon Salt (more if you really like salt... but I prefer to go easy on it)

    1/2 Tablespoon Chives (freeze Dried - comes in a spice bottle thingie)

    1/2 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes (same as above - in a spice bottle)

    Okay... after you have thrown all of the above ingredients into the 1-1/2 Quart crockpot... fill the rest with water. It should be about 15 Ounces of water (or 1 and 1/2 cans if you re-use that Diced Tomato can)

    Plug in the crockpot, and put the lid on it.

    Check on it periodically - and if it gets dry... add a bit of water to it.

    It should take about 6 hours minimum. If you want - 8 hours is okay.

    The crockpot is a bachelors' best friend... well... next to the microwave.

    Oh. And with the crockpot... did you notice that earlier I mentioned that I 'make up' my own recipes?

    Well, you can do this with a crockpot, and usually it will all turn out okay.

    Have fun!!!

    Regards,

    Jim TX

    P.S. That's 'crockpot' not crackpot. Used in a sentence...

    I own a crockpot. I am a crackpot.

  • HappyDad
    HappyDad

    Hey Desib,

    If I can learn how to cook .........being a widower for 8 years now.................anyone can! You do know how to read....right? Cookbooks are great and I have a lot of them. You just need to take the time to do it. There are a lot of very simple skillet meals and the crock pot is one of the greatest inventions ever along with the George Foreman grill.

    Right now I have a pot of my "righteous" chili going............you have to see the size of this pot. I like to cook big batches of my favorites and freeze containers for a future day. This pot has 3 pounds of ground chuck............1-1/2 pound of ground venison..............lots of tomato sauce.................lots of basil..................lots of chili powder..................light kidney beans..................dark red kidney beans..................and hot chili beans..............green pepper and onion..................and as soon as I finish this post to you...............it's yum yum time...........LOL

    I have even made stuffed turkey dinners...............roasts.............you name it and as long as I can read...............I will be FAT! Way Too Happy

    HappyDad (Bill)


  • ApagaLaLuz
    ApagaLaLuz
    ever along with the George Foreman grill.

    Amen Happy Dad!!! I cook everything on my grill. My favorite is lemon peppered salmon, and I even grill my red potatos, it takes some skill but can be done. If you have a "meat eater" in your house get this grill. Spencer doesnt like my "fancy" food as he calls it, so he gets hamburgers and hotdogs, he's even learned how to make them himself.

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