Looking for quick, cheap dinner ideas/recipes...

[Bad Bob]

Bachelor Special:

1. Choice of meat seasoned and grilled on gas BBQ grill. (tasty and easy clean up)
2. Nuke a potato.
3. Make a tossed salad of lettuce, tomato and onion. If I want to be really quick, nuke half a package of japanese stir-fry veggies or a can of peas or green beans.

 

[koshergrl]

If you watch the sales, get London Broil and Turkey breast on sale.
London Broil (also cook backstraps this way using less time on grill) is an absolute favorite: marinate, scored meat up to three days in 1 Tblspn garlic (can use powder or salt if needed), 1/4 cup vinegar, 1Tblspn olive oil, and pepper, then add water until covered. Fire up the grill to HOT.
Cook for six minutes on each side, repeat (for medium well), adjust second cooking time for "doneness". Serve with Au Jus sauce.
Slice meat thin (we use electric knife).
We like garlic bread and salad with it. The children clean this up, rarely have leftovers. If you want more hearty, add baked potatoes. This is great for company, also.

Turkey breast: you can do this in a slow cooker while working or in oven on weekend. I like it because if you are expecting travelers, it does not hurt to keep it cooking until they get there.
I use a dark fruit or wine in the cavity, with about 1/2 cup of OJ and poultry seasoning. I cook it breast down timed according to directions for weight. When it is finished, I add blackberry or grape Kosher wine to drippings for great gravy. Serve with favorite sides potatoes, rice, stuffing, veggies, cranberry ...., salad. Use leftovers!
You can also make your own freezer meals with leftovers on "bulk" meals (spagetti, chili, etc), as long as you don't freeze potatoes, they turn out as good as the store bought. If you want to offer choices, have different meals frozen (I use the sandwich rubbermaid containers for nice portion size), when the freezer starts to fill.

I'm a big turkey fan and will cook them throughout the year...I have even been known to freeze the carcass and use it later for turkey stock.

 

[Zoom-boing]

This is really good. Make it over the weekend and just heat up during the week. Use reg milk if you don't want to spend the $ on the almond milk. If you add the raisins in the beginning they get all fat and soft. I don't like them like that so I just add them when it's done.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Recipe : Aarti Sequeira : Food Network

 

[earlycuyler]

The kids may not like it, but I get big Pablano peppers, and red fish fillets from the fish market(red drum not snapper), I cut the fillets into strips, with some onion and red bell pepper and a bit of rosemary. The fish is the most expensive part, but even so, I will have lots of left overs. It smells real good when its cooking to.

 

[Sunshine]

6 cooking apples peeled, cored, and cut in half. I personally like to use Yellow Delicious. Put these in a baking dish cut side up. Add about a half cup of water. Pour a large package of Red Hots over and dot them with butter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until tender. Half way through turn the apples over so the cut side is down. When they are finished cooking, let them sit in the juice for a while. Before serving, pour the juice off. The apples will have turned red and have a wonderful flavor.

 

[koshergrl]

Today we had potato pancakes for brunch. Or at least I did, the kids weren't into them...

Peel & grate a potato
crack and egg and a couple of tablespoons of flour into the grated potatoes.

Drop by spoonfuls into hot butter and fry until golden; turn..

Serve with applesauce, sour cream and chopped green onions. Oh my.

 

[koshergrl]

I have to say...apples, potatoes, cabbage and onion....you can live on a diet of just those four things, I think. Maybe with a little venison or fowl thrown in once in a while. The kids love apples. They eat them as snacks, I can make desserts out of them, and apple sauce, they work well to stretch and flavor a lot of otherwise plain dishes...and they're incredibly CHEAP.

 

[Sunshine]

Today we had potato pancakes for brunch. Or at least I did, the kids weren't into them...

Peel & grate a potato
crack and egg and a couple of tablespoons of flour into the grated potatoes.

Drop by spoonfuls into hot butter and fry until golden; turn..

Serve with applesauce, sour cream and chopped green onions. Oh my.

I LOVE potato cakes...that's what my mother called them. She used to grate up left over baked potatoes, or cook extra so she would have some left. LOL

 

[Sunshine]

I have to say...apples, potatoes, cabbage and onion....you can live on a diet of just those four things, I think. Maybe with a little venison or fowl thrown in once in a while. The kids love apples. They eat them as snacks, I can make desserts out of them, and apple sauce, they work well to stretch and flavor a lot of otherwise plain dishes...and they're incredibly CHEAP.

Funny thing with me is that I really don't like apples except in the fall. That's the ONLY time I eat them and usually that is with caramel dipping sauce or candied.

 

[koshergrl]

Yummm...you an use cooked, or raw potatoes..I like the raw ones.

Potato Latkes....

Potato Latkes I Recipe - Allrecipes.com

 

[Sunshine]

Here on the lake, we cook what we call Dam Taters. Named after Ky Dam, of course. Back in the day we used to cook them in bacon fat, but most of the southern cooks I know do what I do and use an oil that has less saturated fat and just enough bacon fat to give it the flavor. You can use raw or cooked for this as well. If you start with cooked, you need to throw the onions in first for a bit.

Just slice up the potatoes and onions. Salt and pepper to taste. Fry them in an iron, or other heavy, skillet until they are soft and golden brown. They will stick to the pan if you start with raw, but you just keep scraping the bottom of the pan and mixing it up with the rest.

I'm just an old country cook as you can tell.

 

[Wicked Jester]

If you watch the sales, get London Broil and Turkey breast on sale.
London Broil (also cook backstraps this way using less time on grill) is an absolute favorite: marinate, scored meat up to three days in 1 Tblspn garlic (can use powder or salt if needed), 1/4 cup vinegar, 1Tblspn olive oil, and pepper, then add water until covered. Fire up the grill to HOT.
Cook for six minutes on each side, repeat (for medium well), adjust second cooking time for "doneness". Serve with Au Jus sauce.
Slice meat thin (we use electric knife).
We like garlic bread and salad with it. The children clean this up, rarely have leftovers. If you want more hearty, add baked potatoes. This is great for company, also.

Turkey breast: you can do this in a slow cooker while working or in oven on weekend. I like it because if you are expecting travelers, it does not hurt to keep it cooking until they get there.
I use a dark fruit or wine in the cavity, with about 1/2 cup of OJ and poultry seasoning. I cook it breast down timed according to directions for weight. When it is finished, I add blackberry or grape Kosher wine to drippings for great gravy. Serve with favorite sides potatoes, rice, stuffing, veggies, cranberry ...., salad. Use leftovers!
You can also make your own freezer meals with leftovers on "bulk" meals (spagetti, chili, etc), as long as you don't freeze potatoes, they turn out as good as the store bought. If you want to offer choices, have different meals frozen (I use the sandwich rubbermaid containers for nice portion size), when the freezer starts to fill.

I'm a big turkey fan and will cook them throughout the year...I have even been known to freeze the carcass and use it later for turkey stock.

Super simple:

Buy a package or two of turkey tenders. season with salt and pepper, and brown both sides in a skillet, remove and place to the side. In same skillet, add oil and saute sliced mushrooms, sliced onion, and chopped garlic just until tender and the garlic is very lightly browned . Deglaze with 1/4 cup Sherry cooking wine, remove pan from heat and add about two cups of heavy cream, stir until well incorporated. Place back on low/medium heat and add turkey tenders to sauce, cover, spooning sauce over tenders occasionally for about twenty minutes until turkey is thoroughly cooked through.......Choose whatever sides you like. Garlic or Parmesan mashed potato's go well, as the sauce/gravy goes well with them.

If you're really pressed for time, and just need to get a quick dinner on the table, do what my wife would when I wasn't home to cook......Brown turkey tenders, remove, deglaze with sherry cooking wine, and add 1 can of cream of mushrom or cream of celery soup. Place tenders back in pan, and cook as above until turkey is cooked through.

Our kids absolutely love it.

Also, try and find Paul Prudhomme's "Poultry Magic" seasoning, or Weber's (the BBQ makers) Cajun seasoning, and season cutlets with either before browning instead of S&P.

 

[Wicked Jester]

If you watch the sales, get London Broil and Turkey breast on sale.
London Broil (also cook backstraps this way using less time on grill) is an absolute favorite: marinate, scored meat up to three days in 1 Tblspn garlic (can use powder or salt if needed), 1/4 cup vinegar, 1Tblspn olive oil, and pepper, then add water until covered. Fire up the grill to HOT.
Cook for six minutes on each side, repeat (for medium well), adjust second cooking time for "doneness". Serve with Au Jus sauce.
Slice meat thin (we use electric knife).
We like garlic bread and salad with it. The children clean this up, rarely have leftovers. If you want more hearty, add baked potatoes. This is great for company, also.

Turkey breast: you can do this in a slow cooker while working or in oven on weekend. I like it because if you are expecting travelers, it does not hurt to keep it cooking until they get there.
I use a dark fruit or wine in the cavity, with about 1/2 cup of OJ and poultry seasoning. I cook it breast down timed according to directions for weight. When it is finished, I add blackberry or grape Kosher wine to drippings for great gravy. Serve with favorite sides potatoes, rice, stuffing, veggies, cranberry ...., salad. Use leftovers!
You can also make your own freezer meals with leftovers on "bulk" meals (spagetti, chili, etc), as long as you don't freeze potatoes, they turn out as good as the store bought. If you want to offer choices, have different meals frozen (I use the sandwich rubbermaid containers for nice portion size), when the freezer starts to fill.

You can also marinade tougher cuts with a good quality italian dressing, like Bernsteins or Newmans Own. I do my Tri-tips and London Broils that way......Best marinated in a heavy duty zip-loc bag with as much air as possible removed before sealing. Personally, I use vacuum packed bags and marinate for two to three days before grilling or roasting.

 

[dnsmith35]

I like just about anything. I like to say I never met a food I didn't like. My favorites are;
1. Several Cajun dishes
2. Most seafood
3. Chinese
4. French
5. Some German
and of course
6. Italian
7. Serbish meat dishes
8. I even like some British food, like steak and kidney pie
9. Mexican and Spanish hit the spot as well
10. But I think my all time favorite is Indian food which I learned to enjoy while living there in the early 50s going to school and having fun in the jungle hunting since good meat is hard to buy in India (no beef)

I have a number of recipes for each which I enjoy cooking and most of all eating.

 

[dnsmith35]

Yummm...you an use cooked, or raw potatoes..I like the raw ones.
Potato Latkes....

Do you work? If so before getting dressed for work: chop a cup of onions and a cup of green pepper and a tbs garlic. Melt 2 tbs butter in slow cooker on high. Throw chopped vegeties in and 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper. Cut up 1.5 lb of chicken (preferably hen). Add chicken and about 1.5 cup chopped peeled tomato. Cover and let come to simmer while dressing for work. Turn to low as you leave. It will be ready to eat when you get home. Serve over rice.

Creole Sauce Piquante

 

[koshergrl]

I have to say...apples, potatoes, cabbage and onion....you can live on a diet of just those four things, I think. Maybe with a little venison or fowl thrown in once in a while. The kids love apples. They eat them as snacks, I can make desserts out of them, and apple sauce, they work well to stretch and flavor a lot of otherwise plain dishes...and they're incredibly CHEAP.

Funny thing with me is that I really don't like apples except in the fall. That's the ONLY time I eat them and usually that is with caramel dipping sauce or candied.

I've never been much for raw apples, but I like them cooked, and as an ingredient in stuff. I have a red cabbage recipe that calls for them, for example...And I love applesauce as a side dish with almost anything. The kids love apples, period.

 

[koshergrl]

Here on the lake, we cook what we call Dam Taters. Named after Ky Dam, of course. Back in the day we used to cook them in bacon fat, but most of the southern cooks I know do what I do and use an oil that has less saturated fat and just enough bacon fat to give it the flavor. You can use raw or cooked for this as well. If you start with cooked, you need to throw the onions in first for a bit.

Just slice up the potatoes and onions. Salt and pepper to taste. Fry them in an iron, or other heavy, skillet until they are soft and golden brown. They will stick to the pan if you start with raw, but you just keep scraping the bottom of the pan and mixing it up with the rest.

I'm just an old country cook as you can tell.

I was raised on those and had them several times a week, sometimes once a day.

I can remember when we actually had a tin pot with a strainer and spout for grease on the stove...we saved all our bacon fat and very seldom needed shortening or oil (what's oil?) at all. How much cooking has changed..I can remember even saving hamburger fat...and it was white and almost tasteless, not like the gross stuff that cooks off now.

We cooked eggs in bacon grease always (I still do if I cook bacon and eggs for breakfast) and used bacon grease on our biscuit pan, and bacon grease as the fat IN our biscuits and pancakes...and they were always fabulous.

 

[dnsmith35]

Murgh Masala (Chicken Curry)

1/2 kilo chicken pieces (preferably skinned and deboned)
2-3 cups chicken stock
1 heaping tbs Corriandar
2 tsp Tumeric
1 tsp Cumin seed
3 or 4 whole cloves
1 tsp whole black pepper corns
2-3 tbs Ghee (clarified butter)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped vegie combination (celery, carrots, brinjal, green beans, cabbage)
2-3 bay leaves
salt, red pepper to taste

Saute spices in ghee a few minutes. Add all vegetables and clear cook. Add stock and bring to simmer. Add chicken. Cook on simmer until chicken is done. If desired thicken with roux (browned flour)

If you like Aloo masala (potato Curry) add about a 1.5 lbs potatoes cut in chunks.

For Aloo Ghobi add cauliflower florets to the Aloo masala. (Ghobi is the name for cabbage in Hindi and cauliflower is a variety of cabbage.)

If Vindaloo is your thing, add 1 tsp tamarind past to spices after sauteeing. Be careful, tamarind paste is strong flavored.

 

[koshergrl]

I love Indian stuff...

 

[dnsmith35]

I was raised on those and had them several times a week, sometimes once a day.

I can remember when we actually had a tin pot with a strainer and spout for grease on the stove...we saved all our bacon fat and very seldom needed shortening or oil (what's oil?) at all. How much cooking has changed..I can remember even saving hamburger fat...and it was white and almost tasteless, not like the gross stuff that cooks off now.

We cooked eggs in bacon grease always (I still do if I cook bacon and eggs for breakfast) and used bacon grease on our biscuit pan, and bacon grease as the fat IN our biscuits and pancakes...and they were always fabulous.

I still save bacon grease. There are some recipes which are simply not good without bacon grease. Of course if you have high cholesterol you shouldn't eat those dishes.

BTW, dietary cholesterol is not your big problem if you have high readings. Your body makes cholesterol in your liver. It is more important to skip the foods which make your liver create more than it is to skip foods with cholesterol. Example: Butter is better for you than hardened margarine.