Easy Cooking

[Leanna]

I have never been a big lover of cooking but since my son's birth I am always on the lookout for easy recipes, especially kid friendly and healthy. So I was hoping we could share some of our easy meals. Last night I made pot roast, which turned out easier and better than it used to be. Its not the healthiest, but it tastes pretty good.
Basic recipe: Arm Roast, Carrots, Potatoes, Onions, I'm sure you all have had it. Its classic.

Cook the meat for 2-3 hours, then add veggies for one hour.

This is how I made it easier. Instead of peeling and slicing the carrots, I bought a bag of baby carrots and put them straight in. Instead of cutting up onions for flavor, I bought a package of onion soup, dried (Lipton) and put that in. Then I put the arm roast and the most work I had to do was peeling and slicing the potatoes. At the end I took the meat and veggies out and turned up the heat on the crock pot and slowly added flour and stirred until I had a good beef gravy to go with it without adding any extra dishes.

I've never tried to write a recipe so I hope it makes sense. Does anyone have any good ones, especially that involve beans? My son likes beans.

 

[andiesmama]

I use the crockpot ALL the time! lol I use it to cook everything from pork roasts (the roast, some onions, & dump a can of cream of mushroom soup in there, cook on Low for like 8 hours), to porkchops (same way! lol) to chili...

As far as recipes for beans....do you mean, like soup? I sometimes buy those bean soup mixes at the store, the dried beans & seasonings all in one package & those are usually pretty good. I also like to make red beans & rice....just buy a package of red beans & the recipe will probably be on the back (I can't remember it off the top of my head) or Cuban black bean soup (I use the canned black beans, and I KNOW the recipe is on the back of the can).

Another easy recipe is Beef Barley soup....use quick cooking barley, brown about a pound or so of beef tips with some fresh sliced mushrooms, add beef broth (like 8 cups I think), some seasonings, and some barley (like 1/4 cup I think). It cooks pretty fast and is filling, with some fresh hot bread & a salad...

 

[Jengi]

My trick for easy cooking since I had my daughter is anything dh can cook on the grill!

Black beans and chicken is super easy and you can make your whole dinner in one dish. Take 4 chicken breasts and put them in a casserole dish. Dump a can of black beans and a can of diced tomatos on top. Cook until chicken is done. I think I cook it on 350 for about 30 minutes. I have also added onions, cajan seasoning and used the diced tomatos with chilies added.

I also make red beans and rice by taking smoked sausage and browning it in a frying pan. Then add a can of kidney beans w/ the juice. You can add onions or other spices to make it spicer. Then serve over rice.

 

[Leanna]

Amen to the grill. I also like skillet sensations chicken and noodles (frozen in a bag)because it tastes great and doesnt take any work. If there are any good frozen things I don't know about out there that would be great too. I was starting to get worried I'm the only one that cooks, which leads to another question. Do you guys eat out a lot and what do you feed the kids then? Since now David is starting to eat table food I try to avoid places with fries because I don't want him to be a fry fiend.

 

[Linnis]

When my nephew first started living with us he didn't eat any veggies. Now I got him eating loads of differant fruits and veggies.

I make hamburger steaks. Squish hamburger up with onion powder, pepper and wishtershire sause and fry like I would a steak, it's cheaper and easier.

 

[andiesmama]

I make hamburger steaks. Squish hamburger up with onion powder, pepper and wishtershire sause and fry like I would a steak, it's cheaper and easier.

I do that...usually I fry onions & mushrooms, then put those in some brown gravy and we eat it over rice w/the hamburger steak.

 

[Linnis]

I do that...usually I fry onions & mushrooms, then put those in some brown gravy and we eat it over rice w/the hamburger steak.

I fry up onions too but have to pick them out because my husband loves them and my nephew can't stand them. I get those 3 for a dollar packs of brown gravy, make some mashed potatos and call it dinner.

I love those packets of spices...I use the brown gravy, sloppy joe & mild chili seasoning the most.

 

[andiesmama]

I get those 3 for a dollar packs of brown gravy, make some mashed potatos and call it dinner.

I love those packets of spices...I use the brown gravy, sloppy joe & mild chili seasoning the most.

Sounds like we eat at the same house! lol

 

[Linnis]

Sounds like we eat at the same house! lol

Pretty much, eh? I think it comes down to making something easy everyone will actually eat!

 

[Princessperky]

I hate my oven in the middle of summer, but love it in winter, heats the house and cooks dinner.

Right now we have a lot of stuff that is cool, or quick cook. Salads are my favorite DH cuts the lettuce for me (kids like it with BQ sauce for dressing)

Taco soup, takes a bit longer to cook the dry beans, but the end 5 minute dump is quick. (black beans, add beef if you have any, vegetable of choice I like corn, doesn't get mushy for lunch the next day, a packet or two of taco seasoning, some misc spices, extra red peper if you like it hot, and a can or two of diced or petite diced tomatoes, or cut your own.)

My crock pot is busted so I lost all the dump and ignore ability. BUt I am learning to dump in the big pot

 

[lawtonfogle]

this will work as the main for a meal, i do not know of a side for it

boneless skinless chickbreast, pork or beef loin (not tenderloin) or almost anything else that can fry (i have only used the above ones) - however many will fit in you pan

oliveoil - just enough to cover the bottom of the pan

salt, pepper, greek seasoning - not to much

salt pepper both sides of whatever meat (ill use chicken) and add little greeks seasoning to oil. Now add a little greek seasoning on to the side of the chicken going in the oil (you only use a little). Right before flipping the first time add greek seasoning to the other side.

Be careful the thick pieces get cooked thoughly.

Also, the chick can then be sliced and added to salads.

FYI, im not a parent, I just got bored of other forums.

 

[Leanna]

Oi! An imposter. Hehe.

 

[lawtonfogle]

why do you consider me an imposter. I have two younger brothers (one very young) and I have learned parenting skills many my age do not know unless they were forced to. I will admit having a kid and having a brother are different things. And I like to cook. Is that not what this thread is about, nomatter the forum.

 

[andiesmama]

why do you consider me an imposter. I have two younger brothers (one very young) and I have learned parenting skills many my age do not know unless they were forced to. I will admit having a kid and having a brother are different things. And I like to cook. Is that not what this thread is about, nomatter the forum.

I don't think she meant it in a negative way....hence her "hehe" after!

 

[Leanna]

It was a joke...

 

[HeatherJay]

Well, we love stir fry. It's fast, easy, healthy, and I can actually get my youngest to eat some veggies when I make it.

We slice up some chicken breasts into bite size pieces (we buy skinless on the bone because it's cheaper...it's even cheaper still if you buy chicken breast that still has both the skin and the bone...it's not that hard to pull off the skin and cut it off the bone). I like to marinate it but I don't always remember to do it ahead of time. My favorite easy marinade is a mixture of soy sauce, worchestshire sauce, and a few drops of hot sauce.

Also, go ahead and chop up your veggies (we use green peppers, broccoli, zucchini, squash, onions...whatever you happen to have on hand...I try to avoid the more expensive veggies for everyday cooking)...once you start stir-frying it's impossible to stop, lol. Best to have it all done before hand.

Heat up your wok (or skillet) with some canola oil (healthier than other types of cooking oil). I usually cook over medium-high heat.

Add your chicken and toss it around until it's done. Set the cooked chicken aside and add your veggies to the wok...add the ones that take longer to cook first. When the veggies are cooked, but still crisp, add the chicken back in. Then I add a little soy sauce, worchestshire sauce, and hot sauce and toss everything around to coat it.

It's easy and yummy and my girls fight over who gets the last piece of broccoli.

If you like it over rice, I suggest brown rice or long grain rice instead of white rice...

 

[Linnis]

I LOVE the dinner I made today, and because of my husband's asthma it's about 60 in here in summer so the oven doesn't hurt.

Baked CHicken.

I take one 3-4 pound chicken, rinse it off and inside the cavity really well, stuff with half an onion chopped up and 3 tablespoons of minced garlic(I buy the jar) grind pepper & poltury seasoning over the top. Cut up 3 large potatos and a small bag of baby carrots around it add some water and that's it. 2 hours at 400 and it's really yummy and my picky eaters love it.