Recipes

[Jeikun]

Well, I'm moving out here soon, and I was thinking that it would be good to collect some easy, cheap recipes for food. I also know that cheap and easy are great, so I'm sure that this would be a great resource for others as well.

My first is a pesto that is really garlic-ey, but when you make it, you can adjust the garlic to your liking. I'm also fairly certain that roasted garlic in it would be delicious as well.

Pasta Pesto Florentine
1/2 cup walnuts (or pinenuts)
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 pkg (10oz) frozen chopped spinach drained and thawed (I use fresh baby spinach most of the time)
cooked pasta (any type will work)
Combine walnuts and garlic in food processor. Process until chopped. Add spinach, cheese, oil, water, salt and basil. (I usually pour in the oil through the spout so it combines evenly) Process until blended. For thinner sauce stir in additional water. Spoon over pasta; toss to coat. Serve hot or cold. (I always keep the pesto sauce in the freezer for use at other times with other dishes...break off pieces and heat before tossing in the pasta...works wonderfully with grilled chicken or anything really)

[van]

Good idea, I've got a couple I'll submit when I get home

[100_Percent_Juice]

A food thread. I can't be mad at that! I use this website all the time when I feel like trying something new. The best part is that they have a pretty good rating system and people can post pictures of what it looks like. AllRecipes.com

[sperry]

Scott's Ass-Kicking Chili (pretty much the only recipe I've ever made up myself):

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1 medium size red or white onion (diced)
1 medium size red bell pepper (diced)
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 can stewed chopped tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 large can kidney or garbanzo beans (drained)
2 tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
*1 tsp to 1 tbs chili powder
*1 tsp to 1 tbs cayenne powder
*1 tsp dried red chili pepper flakes
*1 habanero pepper (chopped)

*vary these ingredients based on how spicy you want it

In a large pan, caramelize the diced onions in olive oil. Add chili powder, cayenne powder, ~2 tbs of water, and the ground meat. Cover on high temp until meat is cooked and infused w/ the spices.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, combine the bell pepper, tomato soup, tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, brown sugar, ketchup, and peppers (i.e. everything else). I also usually add in some other "italian seasoning" (oregano, parsley, rosemary, etc) at this point as well. Heat on high until it starts boiling, then stir and reduce to a simmer.

Once meat in the pan is cooked, remove cover and let the water cook off. Allow meat to brown, then add contents of pan to the pot. Stir the chili and add water until it's no longer too thick. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes, but the longer, the better.

Serve in bowls w/ topping of shredded cheddar cheese or sour cream. Goes great with tortilla chips or grilled cheese sandwiches. Makes enough for 4 people (or more if you've got sandwiches).

I suspect this can be slow cooked in a crock pot as well, but I've never tried it.

[Nick Koan]

Mushroom risotto that I made yesterday

1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 package of mushrooms (or more depending on taste)
1 cup arborio rice (risotto rice)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/8 cup olive oil (or more as needed for sauteing)
salt & pepper
balsamic vinegar to taste (1/8 cup I'm thinking)

optional:
1 chicken breast, cut into smallish pieces
other vegetables or meats or other 'big' ingredients
1/4 Parmesan cheese for topping (or adding at the end)

Dice the onion, slice the mushrooms, mince the garlic and throw into a pot with the olive oil over medium-high heat (optionally, throw the chicken and/or other 'big' ingredients). Saute until the mushrooms are wilted and the onions are changing color adding in salt & pepper to taste. Throw in the arborio rice & balsamic vinegar and let it saute for a minute or two. Add one cup of the stock and lower the heat to medium (to keep a mild bubbling). Stir occasionally. When the liquid is mostly absorbed by the rice, add another cup of the stock. Repeat until all the stock is gone. If you want, you can add a 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese at the end to melt it into the sauce. Let it cool a little before serving, because this is basically boiling.

Its a fairly easy recipe, it just takes some time. Usually somewhere between 30-45 minutes. Its also easily modifiable. You can add, remove or change any ingredients at the start (sometimes I'll do spinach as well). This recipe serves about 4 meals, but sometimes when I'm really hungry its only good for 2

Refrigerates and reheats very well IMO.

[sti deede]

Mojito Melon Salad - Recipe can be halved.

Ingredients:
1 honey dew
2 pints of strawberries
1 pint of blueberries
2-4 tablespoons of fresh chopped mint
4-5 limes (yields 1/2 cup of lime juice)
1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Chop the fruit and place in a large bowl.

In a second bowl, juice the limes into a bowl add sugar and mix well. Add the mint and toss to coat.

Pour the juice/mint mix to the fruit and toss to coat.

It tastes best the next day after the flavors meld, but you can eat it right afterward.

[sti deede]

Originally Posted by sperry

Scott's Ass-Kicking Chili (pretty much the only recipe I've ever made up myself):

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1 medium size red or white onion (diced)
1 medium size red bell pepper (diced)
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 can stewed chopped tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 large can kidney or garbanzo beans (drained)
2 tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
*1 tsp to 1 tbs chili powder
*1 tsp to 1 tbs cayenne powder
*1 tsp dried red chili pepper flakes
*1 habanero pepper (chopped)

That's a good list of ingredients for a chili. I love chili... and food in general.

Lately I have been enjoying my smoky spices. In fact I'd probably rescue them from a house fire.

For smokey flavor you could replace the regular tomatoes with fire roasted tomatoes, and add a 1/2 tsp-1 tbs of smoked paprika (at least). I know when I make my chili I use almost 1/2 cup of spices.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by sti deede

That's a good list of ingredients for a chili. I love chili... and food in general.

Lately I have been enjoying my smoky spices. In fact I'd probably rescue them from a house fire.

For smokey flavor you could replace the regular tomatoes with fire roasted tomatoes, and add a 1/2 tsp-1 tbs of smoked paprika (at least). I know when I make my chili I use almost 1/2 cup of spices.

Actually, I don't measure the spices... I usually just dump them in as I go, which is why I *'d them all. This is the 1st time I've ever tried to quantify them, so who knows how right the ingredients list is.

[sti deede]

Originally Posted by Jeikun

Well, I'm moving out here soon, and I was thinking that it would be good to collect some easy, cheap recipes for food. I also know that cheap and easy are great, so I'm sure that this would be a great resource for others as well.

For quick and easy recipes I enjoy breakfast food. I've found that skill in preparation of a meal can make a cheap meal extra yummy. I have a good recipes for waffles, buttermilk corn meal pancakes, omelets and german apple pancake.

To get some skills I started watch Alton Brown's show Good Eats in Food Network. Fun and corny, but very helpful in mastering certain techniques. Watching food preparation can really help to understand whats important when preparing your own foods.

[sti deede]

Originally Posted by sperry

Actually, I don't measure the spices... I usually just dump them in as I go, which is why I *'d them all. This is the 1st time I've ever tried to quantify them, so who knows how right the ingredients list is.

I've been doing that a lot too lately, especially with anything that isn't a baked good.

[tysonK]

^The only cooking show I could really watch and learn stuff from is Good Eats.

It made me understand why certain things I cooked would turn out bland or how easy some things really are.

[Jeikun]

I love Good Eats! His recipes are actually quite practical instead of this laundry list of ingredients on some other shows...

[Dean]

While I have a bunch of cookbooks, unless I am preparing something specific or planned, I seldom use recipes.

I wing most everything based on what I have on hand. Key is having a good selection of spices and what they taste like and how they make different foods taste.

Marinades are a great way to tenderize and flavor meets and poultry.

Everyone should be able to make a variety of breakfast foods. Omelets, scrambled eggs with stuff in them, pancakes, potatoes in many forms, waffles, sausage, bacon... (Try frying bacon in a pot rather than in a frying pan. No white uncooked gristley bits that way.)

Cooking should be fun. If you dread cooking, you aren't doing it right. Relax and have some fun with it.

[100_Percent_Juice]

Cook bacon in your underwear. It adds danger to breakfast and makes you feel like you are welding.

[bigrobwoot]

I just bake bacon. Put a sheet of aluminum foil over a baking sheet, add bacon, and bake at 450 for about 10 min. Then let the grease coagulate, throw the foil away, and you're done

[Kevin M]

Instead of gathering a crapload of recipes, just learn some staples that will get you 80% done on 80% of your meals.

Simple steps:

1. Get a Foreman grill. Use it to make burgers, boneless pork chops, boneless chicken thighs and breasts, even steaks. Pretty much any boneless meat small enough to fit on the grill that isn't fairly thick or very tough will work, and with beef you can get away with thick if you like medium rare meat.

2. Keep rice, egg noodles, pasta, and potatoes handy. Pasta is especially nice because it's so flexible. You cna just cook it and add oil/butter, garlic salt, spices, parmesan cheese, etc. or use one of the 45,000 tomato sauces, or whatever. This is also your cheapest source of carbs. Cubed red potatoes in a saute pan are also cheap and tasty, and easy to keep varied.

3. Don't forget a decent amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, or at least frozen veggies. Seasonal produce is cheap and you'd be amazed how much better you feel if you don't live off protein and carbs.

4. Cook enough for leftovers. Cooking twice as much usually costs less than twice as much and requires very little extra effort, so eating leftovers for lunch can help your budget.

5. When you just don't feel like bothering, there are usually a dozen or so frozen dinners you can find that will not suck too bad, and fill you up for about $3. They're also not all that bad for you usually, except for being high in salt and a little high in fat sometimes, plus you get no vegetables and sometimes get shorted on calories.

Making meals using all that is pretty easy- as long as you pay attention and don't burn things, it will always be edible, and once you get the hang of it, downright tasty. Cooking is less about knowing lots of recipes or everything about using spices, and more about putting the right amount of heat for the right amount of time in the right method to what you cook. For that, there's no substitute for experience.

[Kevin M]

Also, Good Eats kicks ass. Aside from being fairly entertaining, no other cooking show focuses on cooking skills rather than the meal being made so well.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by Kevin M

Instead of gathering a crapload of recipes, just learn some staples that will get you 80% done on 80% of your meals.

Simple steps:

1. Get a Foreman grill. Use it to make burgers, boneless pork chops, boneless chicken thighs and breasts, even steaks. Pretty much any boneless meat small enough to fit on the grill that isn't fairly thick or very tough will work, and with beef you can get away with thick if you like medium rare meat.

2. Keep rice, egg noodles, pasta, and potatoes handy. Pasta is especially nice because it's so flexible. You cna just cook it and add oil/butter, garlic salt, spices, parmesan cheese, etc. or use one of the 45,000 tomato sauces, or whatever. This is also your cheapest source of carbs. Cubed red potatoes in a saute pan are also cheap and tasty, and easy to keep varied.

3. Don't forget a decent amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, or at least frozen veggies. Seasonal produce is cheap and you'd be amazed how much better you feel if you don't live off protein and carbs.

4. Cook enough for leftovers. Cooking twice as much usually costs less than twice as much and requires very little extra effort, so eating leftovers for lunch can help your budget.

5. When you just don't feel like bothering, there are usually a dozen or so frozen dinners you can find that will not suck too bad, and fill you up for about $3. They're also not all that bad for you usually, except for being high in salt and a little high in fat sometimes, plus you get no vegetables and sometimes get shorted on calories.

Making meals using all that is pretty easy- as long as you pay attention and don't burn things, it will always be edible, and once you get the hang of it, downright tasty. Cooking is less about knowing lots of recipes or everything about using spices, and more about putting the right amount of heat for the right amount of time in the right method to what you cook. For that, there's no substitute for experience.

This is hilarious coming from the guy that used to eat McDonalds 12 times per week.

[Kevin M]

Originally Posted by sperry

This is hilarious coming from the guy that used to eat McDonalds 12 times per week.

Even funnier: the fast food sustenance plan came after I had learned all of the above.

[bigrobwoot]

Frozen veggies are super convenient and usually more nutirient-dense than their fresh counterparts, since they are usually picked and frozen sooner than if they had been picked, shipped to the store and bought and cooked.

I like getting frozen green beans, and cooking them in a bit of olive oil and a bunch of garlic, with a bit of salt.

As long as the salt you use isn't iodized, it really is good for you. All of the iodine in salt is what made it bad, but the salt itself was always what was vilified. It helps keep you hydrated, so drink water during the day and keep the salt flowing!

Some other sides that aren't as nutritious, but still delicious: throw an ear of shucked white corn on the grill for about 4 minutes each side. Turn it a quarter turn after it just starts to burn. Trust me, the burnt part is the best. And if you don't like it, I'm sorry I made you waste 33 cents on an ear of corn you didn't like

Boil some small red potatoes until a fork goes in with no resistance (don't use a steak knife!), about 20 min iirc. Then pour off the water, then smash them either in the pot or on your table, add butter, salt and pepper. Awesome.

A delicious and nutritious frozen treat:
3-4 frozen strawberries
Small handful frozen blueberries
Small handful raw baby spinach* (good way to sneak veggies in, it helps the consistency, and you absolutely cannot taste it)
2 raw eggs* (good way to sneak in protein, absolutely cannot taste it)
1-1/2 cups milk (I use 2%, i just eyeball it, whatev. Adjust amount for blendability/consistency)
Honey/sugar/splenda to taste. (I just dump in splenda, you need kind of a lot of sweetener. Maybe 4 tablespoons?)
*optional

Blend all that long enough for it to be smoothie consistency. It tastes like dessert, only you get a decent amount of protein, a serving of veggies, and if you use splenda, very little carbs besides fiber from the spinach and a little sugar from the milk and fruit. All in all, amazingly delicious and pretty damn healthy.

If I think of anymore recipes, I'll post them.

[bigrobwoot]

Green chicken enchiladas: these take a while to prepare, but they are more than worth it.

1 pkg of small corn tortillas, about 6 inches in diameter
1 whole rotisserie chicken from the store, or a bunch of leftover bbq chicken, leftover thanksgiving turkey, etc
2 cans green enchilada sauce. I use the stuff with the yellow label. I'm at work, so I dunno what it's called atm
Sour cream, or low fat sour cream
1-2 cup pkg shredded cheese
Chopped onion, optional

Start by shredding the chicken, probably by hand. Try to leave out the skin. Then, mix the chicken with enough sour cream to make it stick together and pretty easy to mix. Add about half of the cheese, and the onion if you want it. Once that is mixed, pour most of a can of green sauce in a baking pan. Microwave a tortilla for 20 seconds, place it in the pan and coat it in sauce, fill it with chicken mixture like a mini burrito, and roll it. Continue that process, adding sauce when necessary, until you're out of chicken mixture. It should be about 14 enchiladas, and 4 should be enough for one person, even with no sides. If you need more, you're more man than me haha. Add more sauce on top, and the rest of the cheese. Bake at 400 for about 25 min until the cheese is turning brown. They are sort of difficult to remove, and may end up as enchilada soup on your plate, but that doesn't make them any less tasty