I need recipes!!!

[bigkat]

For the next several weeks, it looks like I'm going to be in charge of cooking. So I need some good recipes. I'm looking for things that I can prepare a whole bunch of on the weekends and then freeze and heat up later for dinners. (I don't have much time between when I get off work and dinner time and the time that I do have is mainly for playing with my son).

But the things that I make can't have red meat in them and they can't have cooked carrots in them. Any good ideas?

[Nicole]

Lasagna always freezes well - and in your case - just leave out the meat.

This is my favorite recipe site: www.allrecipes.com


and here's an article on that site about freezing food: http://www.allrecipes.com/cb/kh/maindish/freezeit/default.asp



If I think of some quick and easy recipes I'll post them here.

[Michele]

Here are some freezable food recipes:

http://www.allrecipes.com/cb/w2m/hectic/freezenow/

And here are types on how to freeze all kinds of foods:

http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/foods/g944.htm

Have fun cooking! :D

[Juliet]

Do you have a crock-pot? If so I have a wonderful chili recipe that does not have any red meat or carrots. It uses ground trukey breast. Mmmm. I just made some yesterday and since the only ones who eat it are my husband and I we put the leftovers in the fridge. I think I will increase the batch though. I forgot I can freeze some for later.

[bigkat]

Oh a crock pot one would be good. I could wake up early and stick everything in and then it would be ready for dinner.

[Juliet]

Is it okay if I email it to ya or would you prefer I post it?

[bigkat]

Either is fine with me. Thanks!

[butterfly]

If you like spicy food curry is really good when you have to make big batches. It's pretty much just stew with an East Indian flavour so you can put whatever you want in it. You should be able to buy curry paste at the supermarket, look for Patak's brand, they have a wide range. I don't really have a recipe for it, but it's pretty simple to make. Just saute some onions with a few large dollops of the curry paste (depending on how spicy you like it ;) ) then add whatever vegetables and protein you like and some water or broth. Bring it to a boil than turn it down and let it simmer, the longer the better. Once you turn it down to simmer, you could at this point also add lentils as a thickening agent, but it's not essential. This freezes really well and is actually better the second time you cook it. :)

[Juliet]

Okay here goes. I hope you enjoy. If you do use it let me know what you think. Constructive criticizm is good when sharing recipes.




Juliet's Chili


1 lb. ground turkey breast

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. tabasco

1 tsp. basil

1 (28 oz.) can of diced tomato

1 (40 oz. ) can of mild chili beans in sauce ( I use Brooks brand)

1 spanish onion

1 green bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper



1.) Brown ground turkey
2.) Chop veggies
3.) Put all ingredients in crock-pot on low and let cook at least 5 hours. ( I usually put it on at about 9:00 in the a.m. and it is ready to eat around 4-5 p.m.).





I really hope you like it. Like I said let me know what you think.

[Teresa]

Hi Bigkat,
Another chili recipe here, but this one is unusual. I haven't made it yet but I saw that it makes a bunch and goes in the freezer so thought I would pass it on. (It doesn't specify, but I will drain and rinse the beans). I hope it's going well for you and I hope your wife is feeling better.



MY kids love it..Freezes GREAT....wonderful to pull out of freezer in mid winter...its NOT spicy..just Tasty..

WHITE BEAN CHICKEN CHILI
2 lbs or more boneless chicken, chopped into chunks
2 big jars (they are in bean aisle) already soaked...Northern WHite beans
4 cups chopped onions
8 ounces (2 small cans) Green Chilies (NOT JALAPENOS)
64 ounces chicken broth (usually I use 2 large cans and water)
1/4 cup Garlic (prechopped is a GREAT time saver)
2 T Olive oil
2t Cumin
4 T Oregeno
1/2 t cayanne

HEAT OIL in large pot
Saute Chicken till DONE not browned..pull chicken out
saute Garlic and onions, in same pan, add seasonings mix well
Add beans, broth chilies and chicken
Bring to boil
Cook on simmer for 15 min or longer
stir gently...scrape periodically to preven sticking...
Benefits from sitting overnight and then re-heating

[bigkat]

Thanks! I'll try both of them out, probably one this week and one next week. Hope my wife doesn't get too sick of chili. My mom just came by this weekend and brought us a pot of chili that she'd made!

[Ann]

Kat
The first 2 are not a recipe per se more like how to do w/out a recipe read lables on spaghetti sauce in can or jar. Choose one w/o red meat. Buy your favorite shape pasta. Most cook in less than 15 min. Warm sauce while pasta cooks. If you want more protine add cottage cheese or provolone or cooked ground turkey

Brown large batch of ground turkey adding basic seasonings. Freeze in seperate packs so you can add it to dfferent meals.

In addition to the spagetti thing you can do oriental style meal (cook rice ahead of time or use quick cook). Put a little oil in skillet or wok. Get it sizzling hot. Add thawed frozen veggies unless you just want to cut up fresh ones. Some ginger (depending on your taste start w/ small piece of ginger root sliced very thin or 1/4 tsp,) some soy sauce (start w/ 2 TBS or so and work to your taste), garlic (again depending on your taste) when vegies are almost tender crisp toss in some percooked ground turkey or any thin sliced cooked meat. Serve over rice.

Or buy prepared gravy or gravy mix. Make it according to directions on package. Add browned turkey. Serve over toast or biscuits or over rice or just on the plate. Add vegies and/or a nice fruit salad.

Whatever of the ground turkey doesn't attack you first and is left over = soup. Vegies too. Use the crock pot.

Another pasta dish. Get frozen mixed vegs. The kind that are a lot of broccoli and culiflower if you like those or whatever you like best. Cook pasta add vegs while pasta is cooking (use directions on vegies to see how long they should cook some are just a few min. and some longer. Pasta will take longer to cook because of veggies. Toss as is or add some good Italian or ranch dressing some chopped tomato or whatever come to hand depending on what you guys like. This can be a side dish or a main dish. If you are feeling like something more hearty throw the drained suff back in pan (do not add dressings) add a can of undilluted cream of chicken or cream of cellary soup and warm all together for 2 or 3 min. You can add tuna or cut up chicken if you want it more meaty.

Tunacuits 1 roll of canned biscuit. 1 can tuna. mayo or salad dressing (Ranch type) cheese if handy (cottage, cheddar or what have you.) chopped onion, celery. etc. mix all but biscuits. Spread 1/2 the biscuit stuff into a 1/4 - 1/8" thick rectangle on a lightly greased baking pan Spread tuna mxture on that and top w/ other 1/2 biscuits, Pinch edges closed. Bake for a bit longer than biscuit directions say. Make a salad to go with it while it bakes.

Crock pot chicken You can make as much or as little of this one as you choose. It reheats well. The night before rinse chicken pieces well (use thighs, drunsticks, breasts, quarters it does not matter) put in crock pot. Add 1 onion, 1 apple (cored) and 3-6 stalks celery all cut in fairly large hunks. 1/2 tsp black pepper. 1 tsp poultry seasoning if you have it. 1/2 tsp curry powder if you like that flavor. Put in refrigerator. In AM remove from refrig and make sure there is no condensation on plug. Plug it in, set on low. Go away. Come home. Serve chicken pieces and vegies with pasta or rice add a salad or cranberry sauce or whatever vegs you care to zap in micro or have raw. Variations. Leave out apple and curry powder. Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup salsa. Serve over rice. Or leave out apple and curry. Add 1 container prepared spaghetti sauce. Serve w/ rice or pasta. For any of these Let whatever you do not use cool in crock pot and take meat off the bones. Return to crock pot. Add more vegies, some water and refrigerate. Day after tomorrow remove from refrig and plug in and it will be soup or stew that night depending on how much water you add.

And the piece de resistance: Roast Turkey. You'll look like a gourmet w/ very little effort. Get huge turkey. This will not work w/ a small one but leftovers can be frozen. Thaw the beast a day or 2 in refrigerator. Clean out all that is within it the night before. Forget all you know about gibblet gravy etc. Just wipe out the inside and stick it in a huge pan. Add a stick of margerine inside the bird and if you like a whole apple or two for moistness and flavor (wash apple 1st) . Cover (W/ top of roaster pan or w/ foil.) Put in refrig. In AM place still covered in very slow oven. When you come home take off the cover scoop up some of the juice in the pan and pour over turkey. Put back in oven uncovered for 15 min. more or less till it browns Make some stove top stuffing. Heat frozen vegs. Open cranberry sauce can. If gravy is a must open a jar of gravy you bought at the store and drizzle in some of the fresh juice from the turkey. For smaller turkey or a chicken do it the eve before or on one of those weekend days and zap it the night you want to serve it. Or simpler yet go by deli section of store and buy a nice hot roasted chicken. Around here $3.99 to 5.99 (this works well for evening sickness days). Check out other cooked food at deli counter especially for bad tummy days. Some is good and very reasonable.

Note these can all vary a LOT depending on skill, inclination and what is in kitchen. You pretty well can't mess 'em up short of making them burnt offerings. You can fancy up minuit rice or any rice by popping in a few rasins, a few walnuts and pecans, a little celery etc.

Charles says to remind you that breakfast can be a great supper eggs, pancakes etc. even cereal on days when Heather's tummy does not want you to cook anything.

[bigkat]

Hey Juliet, I made your chili last night, with a few modifications.

I used 1.25 lbs of meat (that's the smallest package they had), I didn't use tabasco (my wife doesn't like it), I used a 30 oz can of chili beans (that's the only size I could find), and I added a 14 oz can of kidney beans (I wanted to make up for the smaller size can of chili beans, plus my son likes the kidney beans).

Also I used a yellow onion (since I don't know what a spanish onion is and that's what we had here) and I used a red pepper instead of a yellow one (the red ones were on sale).

It tasted pretty good the first day, and it tasted very, very good the second day (tonight). I made some corn bread to go with it. Thanks a lot!

Teresa, I'll probably try yours next week and let you know how it turned out.

Ann, thanks for all your good suggestions. You gave me some good ideas for things that I can do over the weekend and serve during the week. We keep talking about making roast turkey at times other than the holidays because we like it so much.
Also, you reminded me about the time that I did a roast chicken in the oven once and it turned out real good. I was preparing to make smoked chicken and ribs for my family one weekend last year, so I brined the chicken the night before. It was all ready to go the next day but I couldn't make it because my wife went into labor and had our son. I told my mom that she could make the chicken, but my cousin bought a bunch of food and brought it up instead. So later that week after we got back from the hospital, I just put the chicken in the oven at the same temp that I normally smoke it at and it turned out good (not as good as in the smoker but still good). So maybe I'll do that too, that was a very easy dinner to make and had lots of leftovers.

[Juliet]

spanish onion is a yellow one.I just used the yellow pepper for color really. I am glad you liked it. You're right though. It is very tasty the next day. I also make cornbread with it. The ground turkey breast is a little expensive ,but, it does taste good and is healthier than the beef. Besides I try to get all the other ingredients on sale to make up for it. I am just so pleased you liked it. It is scary for me to give out my recipes for fear the other person will not like it and will not give me an honest opinion. Thank you for your honesty and I am glad you liked it.:D :hug:

[bigkat]

The ground turkey was really cheap when I got it! Almost as cheap as the ground beef, maybe 25 cents more for 1.25 pounds.

[Juliet]

You lucky man you! Was it turkey breast or just ground turkey? I know in the regular ground turkey there is dark meat too. What is the brand you used? I will have to search the world over for cheap ground turkey.

[bigkat]

It was called white ground turkey, so I assumed it meant white meat. I forget the brand, I think it's a local company. It was like a dollar a pound cheaper than the Foster Farms one.

[Juliet]

OOOH! I am soooo jealous! The only ground turkey I find cheap is the one with both white and dark meat.

[High_Ground]

One point: Chili should Never contain Beans!!! (that's the Texan talking)

Point two:

Try this:

Cook up a large batch of rice:


Take one package pre-cut mushrooms, 1 tablespoon Olive Oil (not extra-virgin) and Sautee mushrooms until soft.

Add 1/2 the rice with 1/2 cup chicken broth. (stir in Wok until warmed through.)

(add salt and pepper to taste)

You now have a basic side dish that is healthy, and versitile, you can eat it on it's own, or with grilled Chicken Breast, add Broccoli for a veggie meal, or wrap in tortillas and cover in cheese and picante for a veggie enchilada.

(with my wife and I both working, we cook up a batch of this every Sunday evening for lunches during the week)

Hope that helps.

[bigkat]

Originally posted by High_Ground
One point: Chili should Never contain Beans!!! (that's the Texan talking)


You could make it and just call it 'Chili Flavored Bean Soup'!