Easy supper menu for the week

happymom

Mon, Feb 25 2008, 2:15 pm

ketchup chichen:

slice two onions
put a loittle bit of oil on nottom of pot
put in onions
put cleaned chicken (however much u want) on top of onions (fire shoudl already be on from frying the onions)

then pour lots of ketchup over all chicken

cover and cook for one hour on low

make rice and pour juice from pot into rice

its really delicious!

chocolate moose

Mon, Feb 25 2008, 2:27 pm

Leo, you need the kind of cookbook that says Diner is 30 minutes or less or Dinner from three ingrediengts or some such

MrsLeo

Mon, Feb 25 2008, 2:27 pm

A few of you mentioned freezing leftovers and serving them as a meal.

1.Which foods are ok to freeze and which arent? Almost every meal that I make I throw out TONS of leftovers.

2. What type of container do I freeze them in? A plastic bag? A plastic container? Aluminum foil?

3. How long do they last in the freezer?

4. When I'm ready to serve them, What is the best way to warm them up? Stove? Oven? Microwave? How do I make them look like freshly prepared dinners?

red sea

Mon, Feb 25 2008, 2:33 pm

both recipes I wrote I have frozen extras in plastic containers and reheated in the microwave. Just transfer to plate so it looks like its freshly made.

red sea

Mon, Feb 25 2008, 2:34 pm

just in case you need to cheat a bit here or there-

a favorite non cook dinner is buy preshaped hamburgers and broil, buy buns, slices up toppings, lettuce, tomato etc, buy frozen french fries and soup from the freezer section, make sure you throw out the garbage before he comes home. homemade dinner fit for a king.

I got a whole bunch of these type if you want.

Love My Babes

Mon, Feb 25 2008, 3:08 pm

this one is really easy- chicken and rice
my husband loves this and its really easy one pot supper.

ingrediants-1 onion
1 pkg chicken
1-1/2 cups rice
spices
water

cut up 1 onion.
heat a little oil in a pot. (use a soup pot not a frying pan, so there will be place for the water)
clean the chicken.
saute onions in oil for a few minutes. add the chicken skin side down. let brown like 5 mins. turn over and let brown again like 5 mins. add spices-salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. mix.
add 1-1/2 cups rice. add 3-1/2 cups water. cover pot, bring to a boil. after it boils, turn flame down and cook 45 minutes to an hour, based on how well done u like your chicken. if u have any questions u can pm me.

Love My Babes

Mon, Feb 25 2008, 3:12 pm

YALT wrote:

8 Tbsp. milk

just for reference, there are 16 tablespoons in a cup. so 8 tablespoons is half a cup. I thinks its easier to measure half a cup than to keep measuring spoons of milk!

imokay

Mon, Feb 25 2008, 7:58 pm

my 2 easiest (and only) chicken recipes:

1) sweet and sour chicken
-in equal amounts (like for 2 pieces of chicken, 1/2 cup each is fine)
mix marinara sauce and duck sauce.
-pour over rinsed and cleaned chicken, skin side down.
-bake 350 1 hour
-turn chicken over (so skin will crips)
-bake another 1/2 hour

2) spiced chicken
-place cleaned and rinsed chicken in baking pan, skin side down
-season bottom and then top, with paprika, garlic powder, salt
(if you like spicy stuff, add a bit of black pepper and hot pepper rings- from the jar- with some of the hot pepper sauce- my dh loves this version)
-bake 350 for 1 1/2 hours

for both chicken versions, you can cut up some red potatoes and place them under the chicken as it bakes so you'll have a ready made side dish

amother

Sun, Mar 02 2008, 12:30 am

type in kosher recipes and u'll get lots of online recipes

suomynona

Wed, Mar 05 2008, 5:25 pm

Love My Babe wrote:

I made this tonight and it was scrumptious

Hadassa Avra

Wed, Mar 05 2008, 6:14 pm

Tofu stir fry:

Cube tofu & brown in 1-2 tbsp olive oil until most sides are crispy/brown.
Add veggies - mushrooms, zuc, celery, carrot, onion... whatever you like
Add a little sauce - I like honey garlic or Chinese sauces.
Fry for a couple minutes.

YALT

Thu, Mar 06 2008, 6:28 pm

Love My Babe wrote:

YALT wrote:

8 Tbsp. milk

just for reference, there are 16 tablespoons in a cup. so 8 tablespoons is half a cup. I thinks its easier to measure half a cup than to keep measuring spoons of milk!

You're right - t definitely is easier.
In fact, everytime I make it, I wonder how much of a cup it is, but I'm always in a rush at that time, and so I don't want to wash another item. So I push it off till next time.

But thanks for the info.

Skinnymum

Mon, Mar 10 2008, 6:04 am

I love to prepare in advance - but then I feel like I 'cheated'.
So - To freeze suppers and be able to serve them as if they were just cooked:

a) when you bake (like chicken), always use oven bags and split the food into two bags right away. Bake then freeze one bag and just warm up again in the oven when you want.
b) soups - pour soup into a plastic bag. Freeze. To warm up, allow to defrost and then pour into pot and warm up.
Or You can always freeze in cheap plastic containers and microwave - but then you lose the "just cooked" taste.

Amital

Mon, Mar 10 2008, 7:48 am

I "freezer cook" a lot: cooking huge batches for the freezer, doubling recipes some weeknights, etc. Not so much right now, since I'm starting to think about Pesach and clean out what's in there, but it's a great time saver!

You can freeze in almost anything, but for it to taste fresh when reheated, you should seal out all the air. Some things, like soups, freeze well in bags: lay them out flat (leave room for the expansion of the frozen water dso it doesn't explode!), freeze, and then stack vertically to save space. I have also frozen kugels and casseroles in a pan, then frozen, then taken out of the pan and put into a bag. When you are ready to cook it, defrost it and cook it in the pan!

I also make frozen "TV dinners." There are many times where I have only one or two servings left over. I put the food in a plastic disposable bowl or plate, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, LABEL, and freeze. Then you have another serving for those times when you just want something to eat. Sometimes we also make a it a whole meal, like a "Choose your own TV dinner night!" Everyone gets a favorite.

I have individual baggies on hand with 1 pound of cooked hamburger, 1 C cooked plain rice, or 1 C mexican rice (I make big batches and divide them up to freeze). These are handy to use to make things on the fly: add some canned sauce or seasoning to the meat and you have taco meat, sloppy joes, meat sauce for pasta, etc. Stir fry some veggies and you already have the rice ready (takes 45 minutes or so to make when dry, but microwaves right from the freezer: just fluff and serve!). I toss Mexican rice into our meals with beans for protein and because we like it. Add a can of beans, some tomato sauce, maybe some frozen corn or shredded cheese, put into a casserole, top with cornbread batter, and bake!

Some generalities:

You can comfortably freeze most proteins, like meat, chicken, beans, even cheese and cooked eggs (like in a quiche). You can freeze rice, many veggies, and definitely soups and stews.

Pasta will be a little more mushy when thawed, so undercook if it's for freezing. Some cheeses taste different or have a different texture when thawed, although much of the time, these are cooked anyway, so it doesn't matter.

Things like pancakes, waffles, pizza crusts, cookies, etc. freeze well, but you should freeze them on a tray first so they don't stick together. Once frozen, you can easily put them into a bag.

Some fruits/vegetables don't freeze well, like avocado or melon (unless you're going for sorbet). Most veggies soften upon freezing, but again, as they are cooked, it's not so important.

You can always try freezing one serving of whatever it is and then tasting it to check! If it works, freeze the rest, if not, serve the next night! LOL

Amital

Tue, Mar 11 2008, 2:23 am

Generally, you can warm up things in the microwave, especially if it's a TV dinner type thing. Rice is fine for the microwave, although you may need to add a little water if it seems dry pretty much any way you reheat.

Bread, some kugels, anything you want to be somewhat crisp is better in the oven. I also like chicken in the oven, but it depends on the recipe: if it's a sauced chicken dish, like something served over rice, microwave or stovetop works.

Soups work well in the microwave or the stovetop.

Any ingredients that you prepped and froze, like ground beef or chopped onions (when I cut one, I generally try to do a few to freeze--easier than having to get everything out and then washed each time I need an onion), just add to wahtever you are cooking however you are doing it.