Thread: Quick and Easy

Starting a new thread for quick and easy recipes...

Frito / Tortilla Pie

Frito's or Tostito's or any Tortilla chips
1 can ranch style beans
1 can wolf Chile no beans
1 pound lean hamburger
cheese
Optional: Diced green chile's and onion(add to hamburger meat when cooking)

Brown the hamburger meat, drain then add the beans and Chile... heat until almost boiling.
In a pan put one layer of chips down and pour half of the mixture over the chips then put one more layer down and pour the rest over the chips.
Place sliced or grated cheese on top and put in the oven or microwave and heat until the cheese melts... let sit for about 10 minutes and chow down!

Pot Roast

Peeled and sliced 2 potatoes placed in bottom of Crock Pot
Added a Chuck Pot Roast and a half cup of water with brown gravy mix blended in.
Put 1 -- 8 ounce can of sliced mushrooms.
Cook on low for 8.5 hours...

The wife and I just purchased a new wall oven over the weekend. Our current one is close to 20 years old and has definitely got it's use over the years. The new oven doesn't arrive until Saturday, so I wanted to do one last sendoff in the old oven before retiring it for good.......

For this bid farewell, I will be doing a classic Baked Ziti.

For this creation, I will be following none other than The Food Network's own Italian expert, Giada De Laurentiis:

1/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup grated Romano
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground beef
All-purpose flour, for dredging
1 pound ziti
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 cups tomato sauce
3 cups whole milk ricotta
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, eggs, milk, 1/2 cup of the Romano and the parsley, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Add beef and gently combine, being careful not to overwork the meat. Shape into bite-size meatballs. Roll each meatball in flour to coat, shaking off excess.

In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander and set aside. If not using immediately, cover top with plastic wrap so that pasta does not dry out. Do not rinse pasta with water since you want to retain the pasta's natural starches so that the sauce will cling to the ziti.

In a large skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. When almost smoking, add meatballs in batches and without moving or turning the meat, allow it to brown for about 3 minutes. Turn meatballs and brown other side. Continue to cook until all sides are golden brown. Remove meatballs to a plate.
In a large bowl, combine the tomato sauce and ricotta and mix well. Add the cooked ziti and meatballs and toss gently.

In a large greased baking dish, pour in pasta mixture. Sprinkle the mozzarella, Parmesan, and remaining Romano all over the top. Dot with the butter. Place baking dish on top of baking sheet covered with aluminum foil to collect any drippings from the dish. Bake until top is golden brown and bubbly, about 30 to 40 minutes.

It didn't quite come out right for me. Do you think you could send Giada over to ......

S.O.S.
Brown 1 lb. lean hamburger meat, in another pan at same time add a little shortening (I know ) heat, then add a little bit of flour and brown, then add milk to make gravy... stir until it starts to thicken then mix the hamburger meat in and serve over bread...

S.O.S. v1

Brown 1 lb. lean hamburger meat with an 8 oz. can of sliced mushrooms added... add a can of mushroom soup and maybe a 1/4 cup of milk or water and heat till it is close to boiling... then serve.

I was in Upstate NY this spring and went to a small, hole-in-the-wall diner for breakfast called "Betty's". I was persuaded to get their signature dish titled: "Slop Supreme"!

Since then, I just can't stop thinking about that meal or that name! To die for I tell ya! Plus, it's great hangover food. I'm going to try and replicate it this weekend at home.

What it is:

Open faced biscuits topped with hash-browns, sunny side up eggs and smothered with sausage gravy. Very sloppy, but very yummy!

Made a quick grilled peach cobbler w/ vanilla ice cream for dessert last night.

I got the recipe from an old Bobby Flay episode and recreated by memory. The best thing was that I had everything to make this at home....

6 peaches (halved and pitted)
1 Stick Unsalted Butter
6 TBS Brown Sugar
1 TSP Ground Cinnamon
1/2 cup Granola
Vanilla Ice Cream
Carmel Sauce

Directions:

Grill the peach halves flesh side down for apx. 5 minutes over medium heat, then turn and grill the skin side for another 3-4 minutes.

Melt the butter. Add the Brown Sugar and Cinnamon to the melted butter.

Slice the grilled peaches into bite size pieces and throw into a small mixing bowl. Add half of the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon mixture and toss the peaches.

Transfer the peaches to a small baking dish. (ex: Corningware). Top with the granola and pour the remaining butter mixture over top.

Bake or throw the dish back on the grill for another 15 minutes to crisp up the granola.

Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle warm Carmel sauce on top for each serving.

For quick and easy, I have habit of stirring just about anything into a pot of pasta-roni...lol. Seriously! You just bring your water to a boil as indicated on the directions...drop in whatever your stiring into it, let it come to a boil again and cook for the remainder of the time as directed...

Some combinations that have turned out REALLY good are...

Fettucine Alfredo, with frozen tail-off-shrimp, frozen peas.

Natures Way Mushrooms in Sauce with either diced cooked ham, chicken or turkey, and some frozen mixed veggies.

Natures Way Olive Oil and Italian Herb with frozen tail-off shrimp like before, and some frozen brocolli florets (frozen mixed italian veggies are nice too)

I threw a can of tuna in the shells and white cheddar with surprising results. Not to mention a hotdog or two sliced up into the four-cheese corkscrew pasta-roni.

You can pretty much get away with frozen tail-off shrimp and frozen peas in any of the italian-style flavors. The diced ham/turkey/or chicken usually works with others. Theres a lot of room for creativity here, and for high-blood pressure since your sodium intake may be on the high-side here...

So anyway, yes...I do keep many frozen veggies and pasta-ronis on hand for my lazy days...lol. I won't call it gourmet by any means, but it will get you through an evening after getting stuck working late or something.

Green Chile Spaghetti:

8 oz. Thin Spaghetti
1 lb. Lean Hamburger meat
1 6 oz. can mushrooms
1 7 oz. can Herdez Hot Salsa Casera
2 Hatch Green Chiles diced
Cook spaghetti then add the hamburger meat that you added mushrooms and the green chiles to...