The Recipe Box

I can't cook to save my life.  But I keep trying.  Help! 

Easy Shepherds Pie

• 1-1 1/2 LBS Hamburger
• 1 beef stew seasoning package
• Mashed potatoes
• frozen veggies (carrots, peas, corn)
• shredded cheese (cheddar is good)
• french fried onions
  

Brown hamburger. Drain. Add season package and 2 cups h2o. bring to boil. add frozen veggies. cook til veggies are hot and sauce thickens some. Should be gravyish. Pour into a deep casserol. Make enough mashed potatoes to cover the top of the casserol about 1/2 to 1 inch deep. Make them kinda thick. Works well with instant or leftover mashed potatoes. Sprinkle cheese and onions on top. Stick under the broiler til top is bubbly and golden.

Drunken Chocolate Cake

• Make a chocolate cake according to your favorite recipe, or favorite box version. Bake into rounds. Set aside to cool.
• Mix a large box of chocolate instant pudding, subbing whipping cream for the milk required. Mix with an electric mixer until it comes to a firm, buttery consistency. If it seems too firm, add a little milk. You can also add alittle kahlua or chocolate liquor or other alcohol of choice to it.
• Once the cakes are cool, remove from pans. Set the first cake upsidedown on a round cut-out of cardboard, slightly bigger than the cake. Moisten the cake with Kahlua, chocolate liquor, or any other alcohol of your choice til it is damp, but not turning to mush. You can actually add a nice amount of alcohol til it gets to that point, just add slowly.
• Take about half of the whipped cream mixture, and frost the top of the round of cake. This also helps to fill in any crack in the cake.
• Put the other round of cake on top of the first, again upside down. Don't worry if it cracks, just paste it back togeather with some of the whipped cream. Soak this peice with alcohol as well. Use any remaining whipped cream mixture to frost the edge of the cake. If there is still some left, frost the top too.
• Set the cake on top of a cooling rack, which is set on top of a baking sheet that has 4 sides. This is important if you don't want a big mess in your counters. You will understand why after the next step.
• In a pan on the stove, or a double boiler if you have one, melt 2 cups semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate to 1 part heavy cream. Stir alot, and don't leave it alone. Burning can happen quickly! It may look a little grainy as it first starts to melt, but keep stirring, and soon it will blend smoothly. Once it is melted through, add a 1/2 tsp on unsalted butter. You can also add 1 tbsp of alcohol (unfortunatly, more than that will make the chocolate too thin.)
• This is the potentially messy part. Slowly drizzle the chocoalte onto the cake, starting at the center and working your way out to the sides. Use a clean butter knife or spatula to coax the chocolate over the edges. You want the chocolate to drizzle down and evenly coat the whole cake.
• To decorate, I like to put marichino cherries that have been soaked in alcohol around the top.

Little Pieces Chicken (silly name, but thats what it ended up in my house)


 In a storage bag or plastic tub with lid, mix flour with seasonings of choice. I use ranch dressing mix, or season salt, or rosemary-onion powder-garlicpowder-salt. You can add Bisquick to make the flour coat the chix better. Cut boneless skinless Chix breast (or bonless skinless thighs) into small chuncks.  Toss chicken in the flour til evenly coated. In an electric skillet turned to very high heat, melt a big scoop (about 1/2 -1 cup) of crisco. Butter flavored is best.  When it gets hot, drop in the chix, extra flour and all. Stir occasionally til the peices are cooked through. Towards the end you can drip a little lemon juice on them to help the flavors pop.

ilazria

Join Get Real, a group for down to earth moms looking for tips and support on how to just keep it going.
http://www.cafemom.com/group/11415

I have also found alot of great easy recipes in the recipe swap group.

ilazria

Join Get Real, a group for down to earth moms looking for tips and support on how to just keep it going.
http://www.cafemom.com/group/11415

How To Disguise Leftovers--Make quiche out of them!

Get and keep some frozen pie shells on hand.  Then whenever you have these little bits of leftovers, throw 'em into a pie shell, grate some cheese over them, beat up five eggs and a shot of milk or cream, and pour the egg mixture over the leftovers and cheese and bake for about 35-40 minutes at 325 degrees.
Seriously, I have made quiche out of leftover meatloaf cut into cubes and the leftover peas that came with the meatloaf, quiche out of leftover macaroni and cheese (I just left the cheese out of the quiche) plus frozen peas, quiche out of all the little bits of chicken off a roast chicken, frozen spinach and the handful of about-to-die mushrooms lingering in the veg. drawer.
Sky's the limit on this one.

A great potato dish!

Take boiled potatos, cut into chunks, like home fries. Coat them with a bunch of ranch dressing, shredded cheddar cheeze, and some milk to thin the sauce. You basically want the potatos to be well coated, with a nice layer of sauce at the bottom. Pour it into a glass casserol pan. Bake at 375 until the cheese is melted. Top with french fried onions.

* 100 years from now, it won't matter how big your house was, or what kind of car you drove, but it will matter how you raised your kids.*

ilazria : Owner of Get Real. A group for all of us moms who just want to be happy with what we have, and share tips on how to make a real home work!

I cook, that's what I do, that's what I'm good at... I don't have very many simple recipes but I do have a few "gourmet dishes" that are made with simple things in the kitchen... my most current favorite, is honey glazed stuffed chicken breasts....

You'll need:
 thin sliced bl sl chicken breasts
1/2 a cup of honey, more if you like things gooier
3 tablespoons of grey poupon but any interesting mustard will work
1 tablespoon of chili powder or curry powder, depnds on what you like
A pinch or 3 of garlic powder
A box of Stove top stuffing

Preheat oven to 375*
Prepare the stuffing according to the box and put it aside.
Mix honey, mustard and seasonings in a bowl until well blended.
Fill chicken breasts with stuffing (it ussually helps if you let the stuffing cool)
A large tablespoon from the drawer works well.
Secure each breast with a toothpick or 2.
Put all your little stuffed breasts in a casserole dish, and pour about 1/2 the glaze over them
Bake half an hour.
Remove the pan from the oven and pour the rest of the glaze on top...
Bake until done, ussually about another 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes....

And voila, meat, side, all you have to do is nuke a veggie and you're good to go...
My kids go apeshit for these cause they're sweet, and my bf flips cause they're deliscious....

This sounds really good!

Quoting tat2edmommyof2:

I cook, that's what I do, that's what I'm good at... I don't have very many simple recipes but I do have a few "gourmet dishes" that are made with simple things in the kitchen... my most current favorite, is honey glazed stuffed chicken breasts....

You'll need:
thin sliced bl sl chicken breasts
1/2 a cup of honey, more if you like things gooier
3 tablespoons of grey poupon but any interesting mustard will work
1 tablespoon of chili powder or curry powder, depnds on what you like
A pinch or 3 of garlic powder
A box of Stove top stuffing

Preheat oven to 375*
Prepare the stuffing according to the box and put it aside.
Mix honey, mustard and seasonings in a bowl until well blended.
Fill chicken breasts with stuffing (it ussually helps if you let the stuffing cool)
A large tablespoon from the drawer works well.
Secure each breast with a toothpick or 2.
Put all your little stuffed breasts in a casserole dish, and pour about 1/2 the glaze over them
Bake half an hour.
Remove the pan from the oven and pour the rest of the glaze on top...
Bake until done, ussually about another 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes....

And voila, meat, side, all you have to do is nuke a veggie and you're good to go...
My kids go apeshit for these cause they're sweet, and my bf flips cause they're deliscious....

* 100 years from now, it won't matter how big your house was, or what kind of car you drove, but it will matter how you raised your kids.*

Ilazria

I thought I'd throw another one out there... Let me know if anyone tries it...

recipe for "Not your grandmothers" Tuna casserole

One package of egg noodles
Two cans tuna (i prefer chunk white in water, it works best)
Small bag of frozen peas (fresh cooked can be used, i would'nt recommend canned)
Two packages of bernaise sauce
Monterey Jack cheese ( enough to cover the casserole)
 6-8 Ritz Crackers crumbled

Preheat oven to 375*
Prepare Egg Noodles according to package, make them a little more al dente than usual
Prepare Bernaise sauce according to package
Drain Tuna

Combine tuna, noodles, bernaise sauce and peas in a casserole dish
Cover with cheese and sprinkle ritz crumbs on top, add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover in foil and bake about half an hour, remove foil and bake until top is browning and bubbly...

I thought maybe with cooler weather setting in you guys might try this. When I cook I don't measure I just throw it in the pot. I'm trying to guess here. It only takes about 30 minutes for me to put this together.
Potato Chowder
*dice up about 5 medium potatoes, 1/2 med onion and 1 T minced garlic
       put in a large pot  put in enough water to cover about 1/2 inch over
       veggies and boil til tender
*in meantime fry about 6 slices of bacon, crumble into
       veggie pot
When veggies are tender-DO NOT DRAIN.
 I like to use evaporated milk-about 1 1/2 cans but you can use about a quart of milk mixed with a can of cream of mushroom or celery
If I'm feeling really rich I add about 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese
The kids slick their bowls right up!

My fav time-saving meal that's really good for you:

-steamed broccoli
-boiled quinoa
-grilled salmon

These can all be done at once and you should be eating in 15 min. I often take this to the park for lunch because it's quick and yummy.

A. steam broccoli - takes 10 min,  buy frozen = cheaaap. $1.20 a bag?

B. put 1 parts dried whole quinoa in 2 parts boiling water. turn heat down and let simmer 10 min (till no lil white dots on grains). I don't even know what this costs me it's so cheap. I buy it in bulk, guessing it's around $1.20/lb? It is the best grain for you and it goes a long way.

C. grill salmon. I put it on the George Foreman 5 min. You can buy 4 wild caught filets for less than $5 at wal-mart (that's all we have in this town)


I put sesame seed oil on the quinoa, and dill and black pepper on the salmon. I take the left-over broccoli water and cut it with juice, or save it to make soup.

I really don't see this costing more than $10 for 4 people, depending on which salmon you buy.