10. Easy Recipes for Dinner
Here is a collection of my favourite ideas and recipes to simplify the cooking and meal preparation process. Cooking can really be very quick and simple. I hope you enjoy the various ideas presented below. Be sure to see the crock pot recipes too.
Don’t forget to proceed to Tab 9 (at the very top of this website) for Motivation and Recharging !
Five, Super, Fast and Easy Dinners for Women on the Run
It is easier than ever to put together quick, nutritious and easy meals. Most supermarkets carry precut, washed and packaged vegetables, in the produce section. Precut fruit is now available, all year round. Most deli’s carry rotisserie chicken or turkey. These ingredients, added together, are a recipe for stress free dinners. Here are five of my favorites.
Spinach Salad. On a plate, arrange two cups of washed and packaged, baby spinach, a chopped, boiled egg and one tablespoon of sliced almonds. Sprinkle with one tablespoon of parmesan cheese. Serve with your favorite, low calorie, Italian dressing.
Roasted Chicken. On a plate, serve one piece of rotisserie chicken, from the deli and one cup of your favorite frozen vegetables which have been steamed in the microwave. Serve with one small, whole wheat roll. For desert, have a cup of fresh melon, with a splash of fresh orange juice and a sprinkle of coconut.
Vegetable Medley. Choose your favorite medley of vegetables, prewashed and cut. Steam about two cups, with a little water, in the microwave until crisp tender. Toss with a little margarine, about one teaspoon. Sprinkle with low fat cheddar cheese, about two ounces, and microwave for one more minute. I love broccoli and cauliflower cooked this way.
Poached Fish. In the frozen food section of your grocery store, you can often find individually wrapped portions of tilapia, haddock or salmon. Brush the fish with a little olive oil and sprinkle with lemon pepper. From frozen fish to cooked, in the microwave, only takes minutes. Serve this with a salad of mixed, dark greens and low fat dressing. I enjoy this dinner with a piece of good, dark bread.
Canned Soup and Sandwich. Soup and sandwich is an old standby, for moms in a hurry. Read the label, carefully. Choose a soup that has a lower salt and fat content. Try and choose soups that are less than ninety calories, per cup. My favorite soup, on a cold night, is tomato. Serve with one ounce of lean deli meat, on whole wheat bread, with lettuce, tomato and mustard.
While these recipes serve one person, they can be doubled or tripled to serve a family. With the variety of fresh foods that are available and a microwave, simple and nutritious meals are easier than ever, to serve. The next time you are in the produce section of the supermarket, look around at the packaged and prewashed selections of fruits and vegetables. I’ll bet you come up with some ideas, for nutritious and easy meals, of your own.
Constance Weygandt is an author, speaker and balance mentor. For more information on quick and nutritious meals or to receive her newsletter, visit her at Balanced Wellness Online. Article provided by Article Depot.
Crock Pot Recipes
If you’ve never cooked with a Crock Pot, its time to dust it off and put it to good use! It is wonderful to just throw in the ingredients in the morning, and come home to the aroma of a delicious cooked meal at the end of the day. This is true whether you work outside or inside the home – a meal ready at night will make anyone smile. This method of cooking requires few dirty dishes, and very little time. Another great advantage is that it completely tenderises inexpensive cuts of meat. Enjoy !
Easy Roast Beef
Using basic ingredients, that you probably already have in the cupboard or pantry. This Beef Crock Pot Roast Recipe is easy and always tastes sensational.
We ALWAYS cook our roasts in the Crock Pot. The timing is not critical and if you are running late (which we often seem to be) by an hours or so, it won’t be ruined. It won’t burn, even if left for hours longer than it should be, the meat will just be a bit dry (just cover with gravy and no one will notice).
The crock pot is ideal for roasts and as I said we do all of our roasts in it. Just remember vegies on the bottom and meat on top. If you like your vegies crunchy then, I recommend you do them in the oven instead. They can be cooking while you make up a gravy.
Meat – IMPORTANT Choose a piece that is going to fit in the pot.
The cut does not really seem to matter. We like a rolled roast, but a leg, shoulder or whatever will do. (Lamb and Pork work just as well).
Optional Extras: We generally add something else to give the beef a different flavour. However you don’t have to add anything if you don’t want.
Ideas
# 1
1 tablespoons butter mixed with 1 teaspoon of your favourite herbs (oregano, mixed herbs, basil etc) – and rub over raw meat.
# 2
1 tablespoons butter mixed with 1 teaspoon of garlic and/or ginger – and rub over raw meat.
DIRECTIONS – Put the meat in the pot. Then add any extras. And that’s it. Nothing else to do or add.
Cook for about 4–6 hours on high OR 8–10 hours on low.
This recipe by:
www.a-crock-cook.com – Crock Pot Recipes and everything else Crock Pot.
Easy Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe
This is our easiest beef crock pot stew recipe. It uses basic ingredients, that you probably already have in the cupboard or pantry.
And is ideal for when you are in an extra hurry.
You know, the mornings when you just know there won’t be time that night to cook and the budget can’t stretch to take-out (take-away) again.
Vegetables Choose your favorite mix of vegetables from:-
Frozen – these cook up just fine, will be soft but still seem to hold together.
Canned – same as frozen. Though tin peas really loose their color and go a grey sort of color.
Pre-Cut – fresh, pre-cut from the super-market (for when feeling lazy).
Fresh – cut into about 1 inch square pieces. Feel free to prepare the night before.
Meat – Choose cheap, inexpensive cuts. The ones that are tougher and benefit from the slow cooking.
Our favorite is what we call blade, round pieces of stewing meat full of gristle (the meat you would ordinarily ignore – but it cooks up a dream and the gristle goes soft and yummy).
Cut into bit size chunks or leave whole, doesn’t really matter.
Flavoring – Your favorite flavor of tin soup. We usually choose a beef based one like ‘Minestrone’ or ‘Italian Meat and Veggies’.
Alternatively use one of those ‘Simmer Sauces’ – the ones you use for stir fry’s. We have found that the no name brand ones (which I don’t like in stir fry’s), work well and; they are cheap. Try ‘Honey Mustard’ – my favorite.
Optional Extras:
Worcestershire Sauce – tablespoon or two
Soy Sauce – tablespoon or two
Tomato Sauce – tablespoon or two or more
Tin of Tomatoes.
Crushed garlic and/or ginger – teaspoon or two.
Herbs – best put in during last hour of cooking- teaspoon or two.
Salt and Pepper – added at end – to taste.
DIRECTIONS – Chuck the Veggies in first, put the meat on top and pour in the soup. That’s it. Nothing else.
Do not add any water, the enclosed slow cooking will retain heaps.
Add any of the optional extras.
Cook for about 4–6 hours on high OR 8–10 hours on low.
This recipe by:
www.a-crock-cook.com – Crock Pot Recipes and everything else Crock Pot.
Five Tips From An Italian On A Mediterranean Diet
Growing up Italian, I marveled at the women and men, in my family, who cooked. Not only were they wonderful chefs but had a natural talent for balancing food groups. There was an emphasis on fresh produce and meat, that I am partial to today. One of my grandmothers used to take me to the chicken store to pick out a chicken. Yes, the chicken was still clucking and running around. Today, although I no longer visit the chicken store to get the freshest poultry available, there are still some valuable lessons I like to follow.
Think of Pasta as a side dish, not a main course. The first time I was served pasta, outside of my family, I was astonished. The pasta on my plate would have been four servings, in my family. One pound of pasta serves eight people. Two ounces of pasta with a vegetable and a protein is a meal. Serve more vegetable dishes, if needed. Only serve bread with your pasta on occasion. Pasta is your grain.
Have a hearty soup, as a meal, at least once a week. There are so many nutritious and wonderful soups. A soup with leafy greens and beans, served with a good Italian bread, was often served at my house. A soup, with pasta in the soup, such as chicken noodle would not be served with bread.
Make a salad the first course. Having more courses for dinner helps to regulate the portions eaten in each course. I remember having a salad, with an olive oil and red wine vinegar salad dressing, at every dinner.
Use olive oil as your main fat. We very rarely ate anything deep fried. Instead, if there was oil involved, we sautéed our vegetables, chicken or fish, and pasta in olive oil.
Have fruit or nuts as a dessert. During the holidays, my grandmother always had a huge fruit bowl and another bowl with a variety of fresh nuts on her dining room table. After dinner, we were allowed to choose a fruit from the bowl and a handful of nuts. Sweet breads, cakes and cookies were an occasional treat, eaten two to three times a month.
I don’t follow all of my grandmother’s cooking traditions as much as I probably should. However, when I start to gain a few pounds, I typically fall back on the old ways. My sisters and I lead busy lives. Many still have children to raise as well as jobs. It is not always easy to cook the way my mother, father and grandparents did. I was surprised, therefore, when talking to my sister not too long ago. Even though we live thousands of miles apart, in both of our houses, there was a pot of soup and a pot of sauce simmering on the stove as well as a chicken simmering in the crock pot. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, or is it the olive?
Constance Weygandt is an Author and Balance Mentor who specializes in seeking a balanced approach to good health. For more information or to receive Constance’s newsletter visit her website at Balanced Wellness Online. Article provided by Article Depot.
Easy Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Recipe
Vegetables Choose your favourite mix of vegetables from:-
Frozen – these cook up just fine, will be soft but still seem to hold together.
Canned – same as frozen. Though tin peas really loose their color and go a grey sort of color.
Pre-Cut – fresh, pre-cut from the super-market (for when feeling lazy).
Fresh – cut into about 1 inch square pieces. Feel free to prepare the night before.
Meat – Legs (drumsticks), wings, maryland pieces. Even breast or thigh, if you don’t like bones.
2¼–3¼lb (1–1½kg) this will serve 4 – 6.
Flavouring – Your favourite flavour of tin soup. Use the ‘Cream of …’ type soups. Our favourite is cream of corn.
Alternatively use one of those ‘Simmer Sauces’ – the ones you use for stir fry’s. We have found that the no name brand ones (which I don’t like in stir fry’s), work well and; they are cheap. Try ‘Honey Mustard’ – my favourite.
Optional Extras:
Crushed garlic and/or ginger – teaspoon or two.
Herbs – best put in during last hour of cooking- teaspoon or two.
Salt and Pepper – added at end – to taste.
DIRECTIONS – Chuck the Vegies in first, put the chicken on top, pour in the soup and pop on the lid. That’s it. Nothing else.
Do not add any water, the enclosed slow cooking will retain heaps.
Add any of the optional extras.
Cook for about 3–4 hours on high OR 6-8 hours on low.
This recipe by:
www.a-crock-cook.com – Crock Pot Recipes and everything else Crock Pot.
Crock Pot Baked Custard
Ingredients
2 cups milk
5 eggs
1/3 cup super fine (castor) sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
¼ tsp nutmeg
Method
1. Place all ingredients except nutmeg in crock pot.
2. Wisk until combined.
3. Sprinkle nutmeg on top.
4. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Notes
Serves 4-6
Use coconut instead of the nutmeg – just use more.
This recipe by:
www.a-crock-cook.com – Crock Pot Recipes and everything else Crock Pot.
Crock Pot Bread and Butter Pudding
Ingredients
2¼ cups milk
4 eggs
½ cup super fine (castor) sugar
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt
½ cup sultanas
4 slices bread
Method
1. Butter one side of the Bread. And cut each slice in 4.
2. Place all ingredients except bread in crock pot.
3. Wisk until combined.
4. Arrange bread on top, butter side up. Allow slices to overlap. Push slices under milk mixture, so they soak some up.
5. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Notes
Serves 4-6
Can sprinkle nutmeg on top.
Serve warm or cold.
This recipe by:
www.a-crock-cook.com – Crock Pot Recipes and everything else Crock Pot.
Crock Pot Coconut Rice Recipe
Just wonderful served with stewed plums. The tart of the plums compliments the sweet creaminess of the rice.
Ingredients
28 fl oz (800ml) milk
14 fl oz (400ml) coconut milk
4½ oz (130g) aborio rice
2 oz (60g) fine (castor) sugar
Method
1. Place all ingredients in the crock pot.
2. Wisk until combined.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Notes
Serves 4-6
Serve with stewed fruit.
This recipe by:
www.a-crock-cook.com – Crock Pot Recipes and everything else Crock Pot.
Zucchini and Potato Crock Pot Soup
Ingredients
5 cups Chicken Stock
2lb (1kg) Potato – peeled and cut into inch square pieces
2lb (1kg) Zucchini – cut into inch square pieces
2 medium onions
½ tspn nutmeg
1 tbls per serve Natural Yoghurt
Method
1. Place all of the ingredients into the crock pot.
2. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on Low.
4. When ready to serve, puree soup in a blender or use a hand held device.
5. Add a tablespoon of natural yoghurt to each bowl and enjoy.
Notes
Serves 8-10
Freeze the excess, for an extra quick meal later.
Add the yoghurt just as serving. Don’t add yoghurt if freezing.
This recipe by:
www.a-crock-cook.com – Crock Pot Recipes and everything else Crock Pot.
Crock Pot Oatmeal (Porridge) Recipe
Wake up to this freshly cooked Crock Pot Oatmeal Recipe every morning (or a freshly cooked Crock Pot Porridge Recipe – depending where you live).
Delicious, warm oatmeal every morning. If you have trouble getting started in the mornings then this is for you. Just stumble out of bed, grab your bowl and away you go.
We have done heaps of experimenting with this recipe to get it just right. The sultanas are fantastic, they swell up and become all plump and juicy – just delicious!
As it only cooks for about 4 hours, you will need to get yourself a timer. The one we use just plugs into the wall socket and the crock pot plugs into it – easy to use.
Ingredients
1½ cups rolled oats
1/3 cup sultanas
2 cups milk
2 cups water
Method
1. Put it all in the crock pot.
2. Give it a quick stir. Put lid on.
3. Ensure crock pot is on the ‘low’ setting.
4. Put timer on, so that it starts cooking 4-4½ hours before you want to eat.
Notes
This is enough for 4 to 5 people.
You may need to experiment a little to get it exactly to your own liking.
Put on last thing before you go to bed.
Don’t leave longer than overnight uncooked or the milk will go off.
This recipe by:
www.a-crock-cook.com – Crock Pot Recipes and everything else Crock Pot.
Lamb Chops in Apricot Curry (Crock Pot Recipe)
Ingredients
4-6 Lamb Chops – which ever your favorite (the cheapest:-)
¼ cup white wine (or white wine vinegar)
2 tsp crushed garlic (we use garlic out of a jar).
1 tbls curry powder (makes mild curry – add more for hotter)
250ml apricot nectar
½ tsp mixed herbs
Optional Vegetables – If you want a one pot meal put a selection of your favorite vegetables in first. Last time, I used potato and sweet potato (yam – orange flesh) cut into inch size pieces –delicious.
Method
1. Mix the wine, garlic, curry powder and apricot nectar together.
2. Put the meat in the Crock Pot. (Vegetable on bottom if using).
3. Pour in Liquid
4. Put on Lid, turn on and walk away. On low cook for 8-10 hours OR on high 4-5.
5. An hour prior to serving, stir in the herbs.
6. At this stage if the sauce is very runny just mix a tablespoon of corn flour with enough water to make a paste. Stir this into the Crock Pot and turn on high for half an hour.
Notes
Serves 4-6
Just use your favorite vegetables, a couple of cup fulls should do.
Serve with rice or my choice of cous cous.
Last time I cooked the Apricot Lamb Curry I used chump chops and left the fat on. When it had cooked there was a layer of oil on top of the stew. I spooned this off. But to prevent this just trim the chops of the fat first. (Lamb fat seems to do this much more than other meats???).
This recipe by:
www.a-crock-cook.com – Crock Pot Recipes and everything else Crock Pot.
Apple Ginger Pork (Crock Pot Recipe)
This Apple Ginger Pork Recipe, is a delightfully moist crock pot roast. The family will ask for you to cook this again and again. Just don’t let on how easy it is.
This stuffed pork is equally delicious hot or cold.
Fantastic on a sandwich the next day.
Either buy a cut of pork that already has the bone removed or have the butcher do it for you. The one we bought was already rolled and tied up, so we just cut the string carefully, unrolled it, stuffed it and then re-rolled it and reused the string.
Ingredients
4½ lb (2kg) pork leg, bone removed
2 tsp butter, melted
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup onion, finely diced
1 cup apple, grated
1 tsp ginger, crushed
Method
1 Combine in a bowl, all the ingredients except the pork.
2 Place this stuffing in the middle of the pork leg and roll up.
3 Secure with butchers twine or suitable cooking string.
4 Put in the Crock Pot and cook for 6 to 7 hours on low or 3 to 3½ hours on high.
Notes
Cook with rind on, it will help maintain moisture.
Use what ever size piece of pork will fit in you crock pot and feed the family.
Remove rind before slicing.
Fantastic as a cold cut.
Happy Crock Cooking – Lisa “The Crock Cook”
www.a-crock-cook.com – Crock Pot Recipes and everything else Crock Pot.
The Secret to Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
Why is that whenever you see a recipe with the finished cookies pictured and then try to duplicate those cookies they never come out “just right”? It’s like the fast food commercials that tempt you with a big juicy hamburger perfectly sitting on a fresh bun and when you actually purchase the burger, what you get is a shriveled piece of meat stuck between two flattened pieces of bun!
Do you want your chocolate chip cookies to come out soft and chewy every single time? The secret to perfect chocolate chip cookies is really very simple! And you can make them with any chocolate chip recipe at your disposal.
The problem with most chocolate chip cookie recipes is they have you drop a spoonful on a cookie sheet and bake them for 9 to 12 minutes until the tops are golden brown. That is too long! By the time the tops are golden brown, your bottoms are dark brown, or worse, burnt. After the cookies have baked this long, removing them from the oven in this over-baked condition and having them stand only causes them to harden up like jawbreakers. Instead of soft, chewy cookies that melt in your mouth, you end up with hard, crunchy cookies with burnt bottoms.
Dropping larger amounts on the cookie sheet to make bigger cookies doesn’t work. It takes longer for the middle of the cookie to bake and you still end up with burnt bottoms and hard cookies.
Instead of following the recipe instructions to bake 9 to 12 minutes, underbake your cookies by a couple of minutes. The first time you try this, you will have to play around with the time and the size of your cookie drops to get the perfect chocolate chip cookie for your oven. But, as a general rule, after you put your cookie tray in your oven (always on the top rack), set your timer for 6 to 8 minutes. When you pull your cookies out, the entire top should NOT be golden brown. Instead, the peaks of the top of the cookie should just be turning brown. At this time, the entire bottom of your cookie is golden brown and the rest of cookie is the same color as the batter.
Remove the cookie tray from the oven and let them stand for a minute or so since the cookies will be incredibly soft and will fall apart if you try to immediately remove them from the cookie sheet. After they have firmed up a bit, remove them from the cookie sheet to your cooling rack or a piece of wax paper.
With this method, you are guaranteed to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookies and have people asking you what YOUR secret is!
Basic Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake in preheated 375 degree F (190 C) oven for 6 to 7 minutes or until peaks in top of cookie are starting to brown. Let stand for 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks or wax paper to cool completely.
Debi Geroux is the President of Purple Kitty LLC, an online retail business, and webmaster of Purple Kitty Yarns and Our Soaring Eagle which bring you craft ideas, free patterns, recipes and unique gifts.
Happy cooking, I hope you enjoyed these amazing recipes and ideas. I will add more as I find (or cook) them! Remember . . . 
