Category Archives: Super Easy to Make

July 12, 2011 · 9:17 am

Radish, Tomato, Cucumber and Green Onion Salad

I am not a huge radish fan. Okay, I don’t really like them at all, but I LOVE them in this salad. This salad is cool and crunchy and perfect for a hot summer day.

Ingredients:
6 radishes, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 medium cucumber, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

We had this with marinated pork chops and some sliced strawberries.

Instructions:
Chop the radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers and green onions into small pieces.

Whisk together oil and vinegar. Put all chopped vegetables in a bowl and drizzle with oil and vinegar dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix until everything is combined.

What did the family think? Sadly, it wasn’t a huge hit. I was the only one who liked it and I didn’t just like it, I loved it. I will happily be eating all of the leftovers.

Where did this recipe come from? Melanie Cooks

Photo from Melanie Cooks

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Salad, Side Dish, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

July 10, 2011 · 10:03 am

Sugar Snap Pea Salad

If you don’t like raw red onions, then you can stop reading right now. If you do, then read on. You will love this easy little summer salad.

Ingredients:
3-4 handfuls sugar snap peas, chopped large*
1 red onion, chopped large*
1 lemon, juiced
few splashes white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

*When chopped, onions pieces and snap pea pieces should be about the same size.

Instructions:
Combine chopped vegetables in a bowl.

Pour lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil over vegetables and gently toss together.

Season well with salt and pepper.

Enjoy chilled.

Did I change anything? I only used 1/2 an onion.

What did the family think? I loved how crunchy it was. Hubby thought it was good, but wasn’t too sure about the red onions. I gave our boys just plain snap peas. Our oldest said he thought they tasted like the garden, which I thought was spot on. Our youngest took all the peas out of their pods and ate a few of the peas.

Where did this recipe come from? Aggie’s Kitchen

photo from Aggie’s Kitchen

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Filed under Easy, Salad, Side Dish, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

June 20, 2011 · 9:45 am

Baked Salmon with Salsa

I often hear people say they don’t cook fish because they don’t know how, it’s intimidating, etc. Well, it doesn’t get any easier than this. If you are one of those people, this is a good place to start.

Ingredients:
1 lb. salmon
Peach, peach mango or peach pineapple salsa (I just bought some in a jar.)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray a pan with cooking spray. Place the salmon (skin side down if it still has it) in the pan.

Pour the salsa over the salmon.

Cook for 15-20 minutes until done.

Did I change anything? No, but I wanted to share with you something I learned from the guy behind the fish counter yesterday. If you want your salmon to have less bones, get a cut closer to the tail than the collar.

What did the family think? Hubby and I were the only ones who had it and we both liked it.

Where did this recipe come from? Bad Girl’s Kitchen

photo from ediblecommunities.com

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Fish, Lent, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

June 15, 2011 · 8:13 am

Warm Tortellini and Chicken Pesto Salad

This was SO good, but it had pesto in it, so it’s really not a surprise. Pesto is good with just about anything.

Ingredients:
1 small rotisserie chicken (about 2 cups of chicken)
1 pound tri-color tortellini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup pesto
1 pre-packaged bag of baby spinach (optional)

Instructions:
Cut the chicken off the bone into small chunks and set aside.

In a large pot of salted water boil the tortellini for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add chicken and pesto and saute until warm.

When the tortelleni is done, drain and transfer to the saute pan and stir to combine. Turn the heat down to low and divide baby spinach among 6 bowls. Top each pile of spinach with tortellini and serve warm.

Did I change anything? I left out the spinach. I just wasn’t sure how it would go over with pasta even though my kids eat spinach all the times in salads and such.

What did the family think? It was a huge hit! Our oldest even asked if he could have the leftovers in his lunch the next day.

Where did this recipe come from? Cooking with My Kid

photo from Cooking with My Kid

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Salad, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

June 12, 2011 · 11:12 am

Whole Roasted Chicken in a CrockPot

I have been making this for years. It not only tastes great, but it will make your house smell deelish and it looks like you put a lot of work into it (which you didn’t because it is super easy and it cooked by itself in the CrockPot all day while you were eating bonbons and watching Oprah reruns hard at work).

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large roasting chicken (with pop-up timer if possible)
1 cup chopped onion (optional)

Instructions:
In a small bowl, combine the spices.

Remove any giblets from chicken. Rinse chicken with water and pat dry.

Rub spice mixture onto the chicken.

Add chicken to CrockPot. No liquid is needed, the chicken will make its own juices.

Cook on low 4-8 hours.

Did I change anything? I never have all of these spices on hand all at the same time. It doesn’t matter. Just use the ones you have. Also, the original recipe calls for adding some sliced onions on the bottom of the CrockPot before adding the chicken. I have never done that, so I left it out.

What did the family think? Everyone always eats it, even our youngest, as long as there is ketchup involved.

Where did the recipe come from? Food.com

photo from Google

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Make Ahead of Time, Super Easy to Make

May 29, 2011 · 12:10 pm

Fruit, Nut or Berry Whole Wheat Muffins

The boys went on a campout last night in our neighbor’s backyard. I made these muffins for them to take along since I knew they would be eating breakfast there. Little did I know (or maybe I DID have an inkling of an idea) that these would end up being a peace offering. Apparently the birds woke the boys up at 4:15 and my dear sweet neighbor got up with them and made them breakfast. Perhaps I should have sent along a little cash, too. (Did I mention that the kids didn’t even go to sleep until midnight?)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour-my ABSOLUTE favorite.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
3/4 cup orange juice
About 1 cup of total filling (berries, fruit, nuts, etc. – see below for details)
Muffin/Cupcake liners
Cooking Spray

Instructions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl with a fork or whisk mix the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the eggs, honey, vanilla, oil and orange juice. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together – do not overmix.

Line a muffin pan with liners, lightly spray with cooking spray and fill 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full with batter. Sprinkle 1 – 2 teaspoons of whatever you would like (from the list below or from your own creation) onto the top of each raw muffin in the pan. Then gently mix each one with a fork or spoon. Here are some options to consider for the fillings:

blueberries-this is what I used
diced strawberries
peeled and diced pears
applesauce
either diced or mashed up bananas and chopped walnuts
raisins and chopped pecans (I add an extra pinch of cinnamon to the muffins with this filling)
grated carrot and chopped walnuts
orange or lemon zest (only add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of zest per individual muffin)
a mix of dried fruit bits
jelly

After the filling has been mixed into each muffin slide the tray into the warm oven and bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature and freeze some for a later date. Enjoy!

This recipe made 9 muffins.

What did the family think? Everyone loved them except for our one family member who only likes fresh blueberries.

Where did the recipe come from? 100 Days of Real Food

Photo from 100 Days of Real Food

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Filed under After School Snacks, Bread, Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

May 28, 2011 · 10:09 am

GORP

I have no idea what GORP stands for, but it surely must stand for something. (I looked it up on Wikipedia, it means good ol’ raisins and peanuts.) Anyways, GORP is also better known as trail mix in some circles. I have been making this lately to pack for snacktime at the boys’ school as well as to put in their lunches. I used to make it for them a lot when they were younger, too, for a snack on the go. There are a zillion combinations you could make but this is what’s in my pantry right now.

Ingredients:
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 cup Multi-grain Cheerios
1 cup raisins
1 large Zip-loc baggie
Other ingredients you might consider: M&M’s, Chex cereal, Craisins, pretzels, Goldfish, banana chips, popcorn, dried fruit bits

Instructions:
Pour all ingredients in bag and shake to mix.

What did the family think? Yum!

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

May 21, 2011 · 11:00 am

Brown Bag Popcorn

We stopped buying microwavable popcorn quite a while ago because of all of the extra stuff that’s in it that doesn’t really need to be in popcorn. Plus, it’s pretty expensive for what it is. So, I bought a popcorn popper, but quite frankly, it’s a pain in the tush to clean. This recipe from 100 Days of Real Food is the answer to all of our popcorn problems.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup popcorn
2 teaspoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Paper lunch bag
Optional: butter, seasoned salt

Instructions:
Put popcorn, oil and salt in lunch bag. Fold lunch bag over so things don’t going flying everywhere and shake to mix.

Place bag on its side in microwave for about 2-3 minutes or until there about 5 seconds in between pops…you don’t want it to burn.

Open bag carefully and pour into serving bowl. Add melted butter, seasoned salt, M & M’s…whatever your family likes in their popcorn.

Did I change anything? The original recipe wanted me to staple the bag shut, but I didn’t have any staples so I just folded it over and it worked just fine.

What did the family think? Perfect…we just needed a little butter on it.

picture from NASA

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

May 20, 2011 · 9:21 am

Green Beans Almondine

My mom used to make this quite a bit and I loved it and it was easy enough that she would let me help her in the kitchen and make it. However, I don’t think I have ever made these before as an adult, which really surprises me since I loved having them growing up.

Ingredients:
1 lb. frozen French-style green beans
1 T butter (add more if you’d like)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions:
Cook green beans per the instructions on the package and drain.

Melt butter in a pan and add almonds. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until almonds start to get golden.

Pour almond/butter mixture over green beans. Add lemon juice. Toss to coat.

Did I change anything? My mom always used canned French-style green beans, which would work fine too.

What did the family think? Everyone in our house who eats green beans loved them. I bet you can guess which one of our lovely dinnertime friends doesn’t eat them. 🙂

photo from Serious Eats

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Side Dish, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

May 19, 2011 · 8:39 am

Fancy Hot Dogs

How often do we eat hot dogs in our house? Um, never, but we do like a hot dog or two when we are at a ballgame, at Sonic, etc. You can make this with hot dogs or if you want to make a super fancy hot dog dish, you can make it with bockwurst. (Good luck finding it at your local grocers…I would stick with the hot dogs.)

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp butter (more if needed)
6 standard sized hot dogs (plan 1-2 per person, or fewer if you are serving kids), sliced into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick slices
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup of water
Egg noodles

Instructions:
Cook egg noodles according to package directions.

Melt butter in a large skillet (cast iron works well for this purpose) on medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and sliced hot dogs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and the hot dogs are nicely browned, 5-10 minutes.

Add the sour cream and water, stir until creamy.

Serve over egg noodles.

Did I change anything? The original recipe called for chopped fresh parsley. I think fresh parsley tastes like grass, so I left it out.

What did the family think? Everyone LOVED it! No complaining whatsoever.

Where did the recipe come from? Simply Recipes

from Simply Recipes

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make