I am a rather good cook but my skills are limited. I need some ideas for meals to make. I am getting tired of the same old things. Please understand I am cooking for one.
A must with southwestern dishes of all kinds. Simple to make and holds up well in the refrigerator for leftovers.
9 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons yellow onions, chopped
1 cup rice, white, long grain
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 cup water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
3 dashes bottled hot pepper sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 pinch black pepper
1 Roma tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons red bell peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons green bell peppers, chopped
In a saucepan that has a tight fitting cover, melt the butter and sauté the onions until soft. Add the rice and stir to coat the rice with butter, then add the tomato juice, water, bouillon cubes, pepper sauce, chili powder, and black pepper.
Stir to dissolve the bouillon cubes and bring to a boil. Once the liquid reaches a boil, reduce heat to its lowest setting, cover, and go away for 25 minutes.
Do not stir, do not look under the lid, do not worry !!
Once your timer goes off, remove the pan from the heat, lift the lid off quickly and throw in the tomatoes, and chopped peppers and put the lid back on quickly.
Do not stir, do not taste, do not worry !! Allow the rice to steam in the pan for 20 more minutes.
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Healthy? How about some chicken?
4 chicken breasts
1 pint Heavy Cream (you can find it at any local super market)
8 oz. Parmessan cheese (not the canned one, make sure to use fresh)
9 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. lemon zest
Salt and pepper
Juice of one lemon (zest it first, then use the juice)
12 oz. pasta (fettucine or rigatoni are great)
First, pound the chicken until 1/2" thick, season it with salt and pepper and grill until done. Cover with foil and set aside. Cook your pasta just until it's soft but firm. (it will cook a bit more when mixed with sauce). In a large pan, measure 1-1/2 cups of heavy cream and heat up with butter until butter is dissolved, add lemon juice, lemon zest and ground nutmeg. Don't let the milk boil! Once pasta is ready, bring to the pan and mix well with sauce along with fresh, grated parmessan cheese. Season with salt and pepper and add more cream (about 1/2 cup) if needed to keep creamy. Slice chicken in strips and serve over pasta....enjoy!!!
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cook the chicken how ever you prefer to and cool it (not in the fridge)slice it into 1/4 in thick slices and add it to the sauce when its done. it will get hot again from the sauce
or for that restaurant apperance leave it hot and slice it into 4 pieces right before you serve it and place it atop the noodles with sauce and top that with chopped parsley and parmesan cheese. Oh also dont use the kraft grated parm buy something better they will look like little pieces of rice. More expensive but works better.
heavy cream2cup
white wine .5 cup
shallots 3 oz
garlic 4oz
Shredded parmesan domestic.5 lb
saltTT
pepperTT
in a sauce pot big enough to accommodate all the ingredients)
put a little olive oil in the sauce pot with the garlic and shallots. sweat them for a couple minutes. deglaze with white wine.
Heat your cream, bring the cream to a boil and reduce it by 1/3 add in the parmesan cheese slowly while you whisk it to incorporate into the cream. adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper
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PASTA CHEESE SAUCE DINNER
Soy Semolina Elbow macaroni
Frozen peas and corn
Cheese sauce
CHEESE SAUCE:
9 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour (white)
1 (1) tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. salt (to taste)
Dash of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 (1) c. milk
1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese (Colby or Monterey Jack)
5 drops red pepper sauce
1. Cook pasta according to directions. Mix peas and corn and steam until done. (Don't overcook - stop before peas change bright green color.)
2. Melt butter in heavy bottom saucepan on low heat. Blend flour, dry mustard, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Turn off heat. Stir in cheese and pepper sauce until cheese is melted.
3. Place a serving of noodles on plate. Sprinkle a serving of vegetables over noodles. Pour cheese sauce over vegetables and noodles.
BAKED PORK CHOP DINNER
8 tbsp. oil
4 pork chops
1 sm. onion, chopped
2 med. potatoes, sliced
1 pkg. Niblet corn on cob
1 tsp.dill weed (opt.)
1/2 c. butter
4 rectangles of heavy duty aluminum foil
Brown chops in oil; season with pepper. Place 1 chop in foil, place 1/4 each of onion slices and potato slices on top of chops. Then place 1 frozen ear of corn next to chop. Sprinkle dill weed over dinner and top with 1 tablespoon butter. Wrap in foil and place in a 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
WHOLE MEAL CHICKEN SALAD
1 (15 oz.) can chunk pineapple, drained
1 (11 oz.) can mandarin orange sections, drained
1/2 c. sliced pit
It's called Edamame Mama.
U will need some soybeans. Steam FRESH SOYBEANS for 5 min. or until bright green. Boil FROZEN SOYBEANS for 2-3 min. Drain and put them in a bowl and u can salt the soybeans. And don't eat the shell.
Cut the tomatoes lengthwise into quarters and remove the seeds. Trim the zucchini and cut it in half crosswise and then cut each piece in half lengthwise once if the piece is thin and twice if it is thicker, so that the pieces are relatively uniform.
Remove the outermost layer of the fennel bulb and discard. Cut the bulb in half so that each half retains part of the stem end. Cut each half into 8 thin wedges so each wedge is held together by a little piece of stem.
Put the vegetables into a large baking pan. Toss them with 2 tablespoons oil and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Arrange the chicken pieces in the pan with the vegetables.
In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon of oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice. Rub the mixture into the chicken in the pan. Season with a few turns of pepper.
Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, then give the vegetables a stir and add the rosemary. Cook for about 20 to 30 minutes more until the chicken is done and the vegetable are tender and beginning to brown.
I know a few-I'm a rather broke college student who is a vegetarian. Its so easy to fall into a box of mac and cheese because it costs about 50. However, eating healthy doesn't have to be expensive, I have found. I also typically just cook for myself, as my roommate is vegan and my boyfriend doesn't eat over often.
You can easily make lentil soup by rinsing/boiling lentils for about 40 minutes or so, then adding it to a broth (canned or from stock) with carrots, celery, salt, pepper, Cayenne pepper, and whatever other vegetable you might like (though i would stay away from potatoes because those will add to the carbs of the lentils). Feel free to add baked chicken strips or something. I also make lentil tacos, lentils with soy based "chicken", etc. They are very healthy and super cheap, and all you have to do is boil them!
Something else I like is a low fat whole wheat bagel topped with hummus, red onion, baby spinach, and cucumbers--for a quick, healthy meal. So good!
A heartier meal might include baked salmon (take a piece of salmon, squeeze half a lemon over it, toss on a bunch of pepper and parsley, and bake it in an over at about 375 degrees, wrapped up in a piece of tinfoil). Then you can make a delicious fennel salad, which is simply fennel leaves, a couple of canned Mandarinn oranges, a handful of almonds, and a tiny bit of goat cheese on the side.