Monday, February 06, 2012

Wherein I need a favor

Em and I sat down over the weekend and discussed finances. I know, sexy, right? Anyway, we're trying to cut back on our eating out expenses. It's our biggest expense right now, mostly because I hate cooking. Well, let me rephrase that: I don't enjoy cooking. I have a few recipes that are standbys: lasagna, spaghetti, tacos, shake-n-back chicken/pork, or sausage w/ mac and cheese. They're pretty easy to make and don't require a lot of thought on my part.

So, what do I need from you? What are your standby recipes? I also don't like shopping and often forget I have fresh vegetables in the drawer until they go bad. The Boy is somewhat picky, but has to try whatever gets put on his plate and usually will eat it. I don't go in for that whole "I'm making supper A for me and EM and supper B for the kids." They eat what I cook. If they have tried it and still don't like it, they make themselves chicken nuggets or a sandwich.

So send me some recipes. Maybe I'll find I do enjoy cooking. (stop laughing now)

9 comments:

  1. This is one of my stand by- you can put the chicken in the crockpot frozen & walk away. Plus it's perfect all year round & you can serve it on a bun with beans/sides, or alone. And it's fairly healthy since it's Hungry Girl. and to shred the chicken I either do the method she suggests, or put it in my mixer/use a blender for a few quick seconds and end up with the perfect shreds.  I also have lots more recipes, I'll e-mail ya. 
    Slow-Cookin' Pulled ChickenIngredients:1 1/2 lb. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breasts, halved1 cup canned tomato sauce1/2 cup ketchup2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. brown sugar (not packed)2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. cider vinegar2 tsp. garlic powderOptional: red pepper flakes, to tasteDirections:Place all ingredients except the chicken in the crock pot. Stir until mixed. Add chicken and coat well with the sauce.Cover and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours OR on low for 7 - 8 hours, until chicken is fully cooked.Remove all the chicken and place it in a bowl. Shred each piece using two forks -- one to hold the chicken in place and the other to scrape across the meat and shred it. Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot, and mix well with the sauce.If you're serving a group, keep the crock pot on its lowest setting, so the chicken stays warm. If you like, season to taste with red pepper flakes. Eat up!MAKES 7 SERVINGS

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  2. I cook. A lot. A standby for us is mushroom chicken/pork. I take pork chops(or chicken) and season with garlic, pepper and salt. Then I slice some shrooms and onions, and cook those on high heat in a skillet for about a minute. Add pork and sear for about 30 secs each side. Then, dump everything into a baking dish, cover with cream of mushroom soup, and bake till meat's done at 350 degrees(roughly an hour). Serve with rice or mashed potatoes(the sauce is a yummy gravy) and some veggies. We do salads over here, kids eat that while food's in the oven. Also? skinnytaste.com has amazing recipes. Everything I've tried? Awesome. The pasta fagioli(fagiole???) is super easy, and lets me get away with a vegetarian meal without my husband grouching about still being hungry.

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  3. My #1 tip is to meal plan. It's a fair bit of work until you get the hang of it, but it's TOTALLY worth it, I promise - I literally cannot cook without a meal plan anymore (without my meal plan, we'd be eating frozen pizza and grilled cheese all week). I wrote a post about how I do it here: http://www.chibijeebs.com/2010/07/meal-planning-my-way-for-velabronx.html

    Quesadillas, quiche, stir fry, meat loaf, and such are all on rotation. If you want more ideas/links, shoot me an email. :)

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  4. I like to get a local in season vegetable and a meat and then plug those ingredients into a search engine and pick. I was a chesterfield cook (ie. read the cookbooks) at the homes in which I babysat, so I can usually read over several and know which recipe will "work". I also cooked at home for 6 when I was a kid, starting when I was about 9, because my mother was not a great cook and I could get out of washing dishes.

    But I'm a simple eater. We're now up to three vegetables on our plates at dinner, sometimes a meat sometimes not, and a starch of some kind. One of those vegetables is kale, every day, because I've decided kale is a foodgroup all of its own. Because I'm sick like that. My kids are pretty game, and the more vegetables I serve (especially when I pay attention to how they like them made) the more they seem to want to eat. Which might be wrong.

    When I get that far, I'm going to revive my recipes blog ... I have a new idea but need time to put a few together before I launch it again. I'll tell you more when I get that far (you know, in 2099).

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  5. My favorite not so hard recipe is teriyaki chicken. However many chicken breasts your family eats, 2 for us, 2 cups or more if needed of Kikoman teriyaki sauce, a big can of pineapple chunks, a 1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar. Mix together, let marinate if you have time (I never do) slice chicken into strips, bake at 375 degrees for 45 min to an hour depending how frozen/big they are. Cook white rice, serve together. I love it.

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  6. You know I got recipes. And you should do a weekly menu so you don't forget what you have. I will share my stuff with you. And recipes and menus, too.

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  7. I plan on eating at your house most nights anyway, so this works for me!

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  8. This sounds yummy! I'll have to try it out.

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  9. Another reason I'm sad you're not here anymore :(
    I'll have to try this one, too!

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