Everyday Food for Busy People
A few weeks ago I decided to make some flat bread with homemade Italian Seasoning. That didn’t work out too well on my first try. I’ll have to play around with it a bit.
But I have been using the Italian Seasoning on all kinds of other foods and it’s been really good. The seasoning adds lots of flavor to chicken or pasta dishes. This time, I used it on chicken thighs in the slow cooker. Here’s what you’ll need:
We love pasta. Especially if it’s in a creamy sauce. This dish cooks in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta. You can’t beat that.
I made it even faster, by using chicken I had grilled, sliced and frozen. A quick thaw in the microwave and it was ready to use.
Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]
I love a 3 ingredient recipe. Three ingredients means it’s got to be fast to fix. This one has the bonus of being able to cook in the oven or slow cooker. You can choose your appliance of choice based on time available.
This is a great way to use up small amounts of bbq sauce and salad dressing. Get creative and experiment. Here’s how I did it this time: [Read more...]
Did you know you can convert all kinds of recipes to cook in the slow cooker? This one started out as a skillet meal. I didn’t have time to cook it right before dinner, but I did have a few minutes earlier in the day to put ingredients in the slow cooker.
The ingredients are a bit odd – Italian dressing and pancake syrup. Not your usual combo, but it makes for a flavorful sauce with a hint of sweet. Here’s what you’ll need to make it: [Read more...]
A sprinkling of fresh, chopped parsley would have done wonders for that photo. Smart food photographers probably keep parsley in their fridge at all times.
Food photography faults aside, this dish was wonderful! I based it off of a recipe for Chipotle Shrimp Scampi, from my friend Joyce’s new recipe blog. (Her photo is better than mine.) One of my kids doesn’t like shrimp, so I decided to use the grilled chicken I had sliced and frozen. Since I was using meat that was already cooked, I didn’t need to use the chipotle rub that the original recipe called for. I used the sauce from chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that I had stored in the freezer.
Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]
The filling for these lettuce wraps is perfect for making ahead and freezing. I see this becoming one of my vacation food recipes.
The chicken is seasoned with garlic, soy sauce and some vinegar. Water chestnuts and green onions add to the flavors. I based the recipe on Spicy Garlic Chicken Pizza, another winning freezer recipe.
The chicken filling would also be great served over rice, but we liked the crunch of the lettuce.
Any recipe that calls for cutting raw chicken will require a sharp knife. My favorite knife comes from Rada Cutlery. It’s called Cook’s Knife and it costs just $9.20. Frugal and sharp – I love it!
Here’s what you’ll need for the Chicken Lettuce Wraps: [Read more...]
Every once in a while, I like a good cheater meal. One that relies on a prepared ingredient to speed dinner prep. This one uses two such ingredients – a jar of alfredo sauce and prepared pizza crust. You could probably also count the bag of pre-washed spinach and shredded cheese too.
In fact, the only thing I really cooked for this was the grilled chicken. If you’re in a big hurry, you could buy those grilled chicken strips from the meat section of the grocery. I used the George Foreman to grill mine since the grill was covered with snow.
What can I say? I like to cheat at dinner prep sometimes. Call me lazy.
Here’s what you’ll need, if you’re a cheat, like me: [Read more...]
I could have called this 3-point BBQ Chicken, because I was literally tossing things into the slow cooker from across the kitchen. No stirring. No mixing. No thawing took place.
We were in a hurry to get out the door at 7:25am. I grabbed a bag of frozen chicken breasts and dumped them in the slow cooker. Then I tossed other ingredients in, based on the Pulled Pork recipe. I didn’t stir or mix, just turned the pot on and let it cook.
We came in that evening to wonderful smells, so much better than if I’d just used bottled BBQ sauce. I quickly shredded the meat and served it on buns. This was the meal we tried out popcorn as a side dish. It had been a crazy, busy day and popcorn was the fastest thing I could think of. I’m pretty sure I threw some apples and/or carrots on the table too. Some nights you’ve just got to get everyone fed. Can I get an amen?
Here’s what you’ll need. No ingredient photo this time, because I was in such a hurry when I made it. [Read more...]
Stir fry is one of the simplest things to make. Providing you have a good knife to do the chopping. That’s the first tip for making it fast. You can’t be quick with a dull knife. (The Rada Cutlery giveaway is still open, in case you’re in need of a sharp knife.)
Colorful veggies and lean chicken make this a healthy dinner. It’s one of my kids’ favorites. Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]
I’m always amazed at the infinite possibilities for chicken, potatoes and carrots to be combined in a recipe. This variation is worthy of being repeated often.
If you have cooked chicken stashed away in your freezer, you’re only minutes away from having this dish oven-ready. (See this post for tips on cooking and freezing chicken.) Using left-over or instant mashed potatoes speeds things up even more.
My boys loved this recipe and feasted on several helpings each. Here’s what you’ll need to make it for your family: [Read more...]
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