Simple meals

[arfer0384]

Guys, I have to admit, I'm very..."inexperienced" when it comes to actually making meals. I've eaten plenty of home-cooked meals over the years, courtesy of my parents. When it's on me, though (as in...the past 6 semesters), I head straight for the frozen dinners section at Wal-Mart. I've gotten pretty good at pickin' 'em out, and I've found several that will probably always be in my rotation. But...I'd like to get to where I can actually make stuff.

I've only made two things in my life that I can remember: I cooked a pork tenderloin via rotisserie this summer, and I made green bean casserole a couple times in November. I guess if you count foil packs on campouts, I've done quite a few of those, too.

So do you guys have some suggestions on simple (not necessarily quick) meals that I could try? Maybe something like topdaug's Sunshine Chicken that he posted on here...chicken breast is always a good place to start, it seems. Just a couple things to keep in mind: I'm not a huge fan of making fish, and I don't have a grill at my apartment. So, I'm basically limited to the oven/stove.

Just let me know of any ideas you come up with, and I'll make a Wal-Mart run tomorrow! :cowboy:

[barryrules]

brown some ground beef, pour in a jar of spagetti sauce, make some noodles.

Marinate and cook chicken in the oven then shred and/or cut it up and put on salad with other veggies.

You could buy a crockpot and there and endless easy meals you can make in that.

[Landscapepoke]

Go to the spice isle and look for the little spice packages that come in all variety of flavors. They have instructions on back and usually only require 3-4 other ingredients.

Go to local book store and go to the cooking section. There are tons of cooking books for beginners.

Stay on the outside perimeter of the grocery store. The more healthy food is located there.

Crock pots are the best.

www.foodnetwork.com

[cactusjack]

allrecipes.com

[Verb]

Bake a potato--one hour at 350 will usually do it--and then top it with whatever sounds good--canned chili and grated cheese, a bit of broccoli steamed in the microwave with some velveeta melted in, or a package of frozen Stouffer's creamed chipped beef.

Also, a pan of chili made with Williams chili mix--the best seasoning mix there is--will feed you for several days. You can have it in a bowl, put it over a salad with crumbled doritos and grated cheese for a taco salad, make frito-chili pie with it, and lots of other stuff. It's found on that seasoning packet aisle that Landscape was talking about. Just follow the instructions on the package--I think it only requires hamburger and tomato sauce.

If you want to make a simple soup/stew, you can just brown some stew meat in a bit of oil in a deep pot (it's already cubed up, ready to go at the meat counter), then add a large can of tomatoes, a can of beef broth, a bag of frozen mixed veggies, a coarsely chopped onion and a handful of quartered red potatoes. Salt and pepper it and add some worchestershire sauce, (or one of those seasoning packets,) and simmer it for a few hours. You'll have a pot of soup that you can eat off of for several days. You can do the same with hamburger instead of stew meat if you are on a tighter budget.

[BackHomePoke]

Also, a pan of chili made with Williams chili mix--the best seasoning mix there is--will feed you for several days. You can have it in a bowl, put it over a salad with crumbled doritos and grated cheese for a taco salad, make frito-chili pie with it, and lots of other stuff. It's found on that seasoning packet aisle that Landscape was talking about. Just follow the instructions on the package--I think it only require hamburger and tomato sauce.


This was what I was going to say. You do not know what you are missing until you move to an area that does not sell Williams seasoning. We us to have mom bring us some and would stock up when on vacation.

[Verb]

When I first moved here, I couldn't get it, and I'd "smuggle" it back from Oklahoma whenever I visited my mom in Tulsa.

But now they sell it here, and I still love the stuff as much as I ever did. I think I like the chipotle flavor even better than the original!

[AnniePokely]

There's so much you can do with a crock pot Greg. I'd invest the $30.00 for one. You can cook basically anything in there, all with little to no work. Throw it in there in the morning, and you have a nice dinner. Not a lot of cleanup either. Put leftover food in tupperware, and take the crock out and wash it.


Easy meals:

Chicken and stuffing
Beans
Chili
Stew
BBQ Pork (pulled pork sandwiches-yum)
brisket (good for days)
roast, potatoes


http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Main-Dish/Slow-Cooker/Main.aspx

Here's a good crockpot from Walmart:

$29.88
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10285433


And

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10285432

For a good tasting brisket, I marinate in Claude's Brisket marinade


Make a trip to WALLY WORLD and get to cooking!

[osutuba]

www.tastytuesday.com (http://www.tastytuesday.com) ... lots of easy recipes provided by Campbell's. Kraft has a similar site, but I can't remember the URL right now

I'm also a fan of www.simplyrecipes.com (http://www.simplyrecipes.com) and www.101cookbooks.com (http://www.101cookbooks.com). Granted, some of the recipes on those sites can be a little complex, but there are some real gems in there.

I'm with Annie, though, in the crock pot idea. Best $20-30 you will spend for your kitchen.

[arfer0384]

Thanks for the ideas, guys!

My dad came up for the Iowa State game on Saturday and brought a Crock Pot (and a George Foreman grill!), so I'm all set. We went out and bought a beef chuck roast kit from Tyson, and I think I'll do that on Wednesday. Lookin' forward to it!

[Poke2000]

If you have a George Foreman Grill and a griddle (either electric or rangetop), you can make some dang fine quesadillas.

Thaw some chicken breasts and cook in George (I season with Morton Nature's Seasons). Remove from George and shred. Lightly butter one side of a flour tortilla and place butter side down on the griddle (it should already be warm, about 350 degrees). Add a small amount of butter to the top side. Allow to melt and spread over the facing side. Turn the tortilla over and spread cheese over one half of the facing side. Top with chicken (pico de gallo, onions, whatever else you want in it), then fold in half. Wait about 2-3 minutes, then turn. After about another 1-2 minutes, remove from griddle. Cut into desired number of pieces (depending on the size of tortilla you used), I use a pizza cutter.