So I need some ideas for easy meals Patrick (or I) can make after the little one arrives. Patrick can cook, but it is bachelor cooking, but he can follow a basic recipe. After years of being in the Army there are very few convience foods that he will eat, so I can't just go get a Stouffers lasagna. We plan to get a new Foreman grill, since he is comfortable with that. I have a started a collection of Crock-pot and Dutch-oven recipes. I have several good casserole type recipes but I have never tried to freeze them, so I am not sure how they will thaw, plus we dont have a very big freezer. I want to try to stocking up on as many recipe ingredients as possible now, so we dont have much to get at the grocery store afterwards.
So what are your favorite easy recipes?
One of my fall-back recipes that I always go to is veggie pizza. No, it isn't a complete meal- but when you only have time to scarf something down, when you really don't have an appetite anyway- it works! Another GREAT recipe is beef and barley stew. It's my friend Halie's recipe- and it's even better the next day- so that might be good for you both.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to rack my brain to think of a few more, and post the recipes all at once.
Megan, you better make sure that you teach Patrick some cooking tips before the baby comes... You will neither have the time to cook, nor will you feel like it. I think grilled cheese sandwiches with some sort of meat in it is a good, quick idea. I like mine with turkey and/or ham. I also have a KILLER recipe for what I have named "Greenbean Pie." Also, chicken enchilada bake is quick and easy, too. I will dig out my recipes and get them on here, too. (Bonus- greenbean pie only has 5 ingredients!!!)
ReplyDeletePatrick helps me cook dinner all the time, but he has difficulty with what I call multitask cooking, where you have more than one thing cooking at the same time.
ReplyDeleteHi! My name is Halie. I am Kelly's friend. I have some GREAT recipes for you. They are easy. The Beef and Barley Stew may be a little difficult with a newborn and a husband that has a hard time multitasking. :) I will post them individually so it is easier to see where they begin and end.
ReplyDeleteChicken and Noodles
ReplyDeletePlace 4 to 5 lb. chicken leg quarters or any chicken pieces in a large stockpot and fill with hot water until the chicken is covered with the water. Cover with lid and cook until chicken is tender. Remove the meat from the liquid, which is now called broth. Take the meat from the bones and return it to the broth.
Stir 1 can of Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup, and 1T. salt into the hot broth.
Bring the broth to boiling and add the noodles, stirring only once. When the broth and noodles return to a full boil, turn the fire down to a very low temperature for about half an hour, and then turn completely off. Don’t continue to stir. The longer the noodles sit in the hot broth the better they are – they just keep absorbing that delicious broth.
They hold the heat for a long time if you are taking them to a family dinner or pitch in meal.
The noodles are the Amish Homemade Noodles from Walmart. It's LOADS easier than making your own noodles.
Beef and Noodles
ReplyDelete2 ½ - 3 lb. Chuck Roast or that amount of any cut of beef that’s on sale
2 ½ qt. Water (that’s 10 cups)
1/2 Tablespoon salt
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 can Campbell’s Beefy Mushroom Soup
1 pkg. Amish Homemade Noodles
Put everything except the noodles in Crockpot the day before and cook all night on low. Continue on low the next day until about an hour before you put the noodles in, then turn on high. You always want the broth very, very hot before adding the noodles.
Take the beef out, pull it apart, put it back in the broth and add the noodles. Turn it to low and the noodles will cook in the broth. Once noodles have been added, leave them alone and resist the temptation to stir them often. Just a quick stir when you put them in the broth is all they need. When they are done, just turn the crock pot off and they will stay hot for several hours. I like to add the noodles even several hours before serving them as they soak up the broth and are even better the longer they sit.
(Both noodle recipes are from Halie, Kelly's friend.)
When I think of more I will post.
*****That's 1/2 Tablesppon of salt in the Chicken Noodle recipe NOT 1 Tablespoon!
HALIE LYNN, thank you so much for giving her some recipes! Meggs- she is AN AWESOME COOK!!!
ReplyDeleteCrock Pot Potato Soup
ReplyDeletehttp://pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com/2011/03/outback-aint-got-nothin-on-me.html
I use Southern cut potatos instead of hashbrowns. So yummy.