Help Me Cook Some Staples?

Easy Chili

2 cans Bushs Best Chili Magic Chili Starter - Traditional Mild
2 cans pre-diced tomatoes
1 lb of ground meat
1 small onion

fry the meat and onion together and drain grease.
Drain and add tomatoes
Add beans - DO Not Drain

Mix, then heat for a couple of minutes and serve.

You can adjust the ratios how you prefer. We use the morningstar meat crumbles which means it's about 2 lbs of "meat".

It's impossible to mess up this recipe. Tastes the same every time.

Good luck!

I have just discovered this upside down pizza and it's easy and we love it. I wrote it on my blog:
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2011/08/upside-down-pi...

My potato/ham soup is delicious as well:
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2011/01/smoky-corn-and...

tortellini with chicken:
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/search?q=tortellini

herb crusted salmon:
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2010/03/herb-crusted-s...

olive and tomato relish tilipia:
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2011/04/herbed-fish-wi...

can't forget dessert:

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies:
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2011/08/sweet-treats-p...

banana chocolate chip blueberry muffins
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2011/03/sweet-treats-b...

banana chocolate walnut strawberry bread:
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2011/07/sweet-treats-c...

This may sound strange but do you know what taste good? Some people just can't cook because they just don't know how to taste. I could share a mess of recipes but what would help more is learning how to cook. Put a recipe together and then taste it. What is it lacking what does your family like?

I don't think anyone in my family thinks there is such a thing as too much garlic. I double and sometimes triple the amount of garlic and they love it. I throw red pepper in the strangest dishes because my family loves spicy. Desserts I go overboard with the vanilla. I add a bit of almond to my ice cream when I make it.

Any recipe you get here can be made better by making it for your family.

Have fun, cooking should not be stressful. :)

I like pulled beef or pork with sweet BBQ sauce.

Place a 2 lb. chuck roast and a quartered onion in the crockpot.
Don't add any liquid.
Cook on low 7-8 hours. (Or high 4 hours.)
Drain liquid created from the roast. Discard.
Shred beef with 2 large forks.
Mix half bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's (or other) with 1/2 c. apricot preserves.
Pour sauce into meat.
Mix.
Warm for 15 additional minutes.
Serve on buns.

These 2 are winners with everyone in my house:

Creamy Spaghetti Casserole

1 lb lean ground beef
4 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce of your choice (@1 can Hunt's, etc)
1 block light or fat free cream cheese - softened
16 oz low fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup light sour cream
8 oz pasta (any shape will work--I did spaghetti)

Heat oven to 350. Boil the pasta. Brown beef and drain. Add spaghetti sauce to meat and warm it up on low heat. Meanwhile, mix together cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream and set aside. Once pasta is done, drain it and put half of the pasta in a 13x9 baking dish, spread all the cheese mixture on top. Put rest of pasta over the cheese mixture. Pour the spaghetti/meat sauce over the top (be careful that it doesn't overflow!). Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Taco Casserole

1 1/2 pkgs Grand's Flaky biscuits
1 lb ground beef, browned, drained & seasoned with Taco seasoning
8 oz light sour cream
8 oz. shredded mexican blend cheese (or cheddar)
Optional Toppings: Chopped black olives, diced fresh tomatoes, salsa

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9x13" glass pan with cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with biscuits. Bake biscuits for 8 minutes. Immediately spread sour cream on top of par baked biscuits, top with cooked & seasoned ground beef and then top with cheese. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with optional toppings if desired and serve.

Here's an easy one that kids love. Cook a package of chicken breasts (boneless/skinless). Just boil it for 20 minutes on the stove. Cut it into pieces (however small you want to make them - I just cut them into about 2" pieces). Make 2 cups of rice. Put the rice into a 9x13 baking dish. Put the cooked chicken on top. In a bowl, mix together 8 oz of sour cream and a can of cream of chicken soup. Spread this on top of the chicken and rice. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

My mom puts crumbled Ritz crackers on top, which is good the first time around, but NOT good when reheated, so unless you're going to eat the whole thing at one dinner, I recommend not doing it.

Another easy peasy one .......
Put some boneless/skinless chicken in a 9x13 baking dish. In a bowl, mix together one package of Lipton Onion Soup mix, 1/2 of a bottle of Catalina dressing, and one can of whole berry cranberry sauce. Bake for 30-35 mins at 350. Serve over rice.

I made shepherd's pie last night. I didn't have most of the ingredients I usually use, so I just threw in whatever I thought might be good. Browned the beef, drained, added onion powder (I was out of onions), ketchup (I was out of tomato sauce), 1/4 bottle of bbq sauce (because I didn't want just straight ketchup), some basil, oregano, thyme and garlic. Put a can of corn (because I didn't have peas) on top of the beef, and topped the whole thing with instant mashed potatoes (because I didn't have potatoes). Everyone loved it! And I went shopping today!

Easiest roast: rub a roast with seasoning (whatever you like), put it in the slow cooker, put 2 cans of cream of onion soup over it, add some cut up carrots and potatoes, and cook on low for 6 hours. The cream of onion soup becomes the gravy. Delicious.

Sorry I didn't get any bonus points for healthy! : ) Maybe next time.....

Easy stir fry

heat up a tbsp of sesame oil and stir fry a couple of eggs until done, add veggies (onions, garlic, carrots, peas and anything else you want in there). once onions start looking opaque, throw in rice (brown rice to be healthier) and add soy sauce and more sesame oil to taste. ta-da! done! the great thing about this recipe is that you don't have to measure anything, just taste it as you go and add more soy sauce/sesame oil as needed and it's yummy! and healthy (sesame oil is good fats).

on a side note, perhaps you're measuring things wrong if your recipes keep failing. look up cooking terminology (i.e. braising, simmering, etc.) and techniques (i.e. how to measure a cup of something) to make sure you're following the recipe right. good luck!

Here's my version of Shepherd's Pie.

I take about 1 lb. of ground beef and brown it with some onion. I use about one bag of frozen, chopped onion. I pop a bag of the steamable mixed veggies in the microwave and cook them according to directions. Pour the mixed veggies into the ground beef/onion mixture. Take a can of Campbell's Tomato Bisque and stir it in with the beef/veggies. Pour everything into a greased baking dish. I use a 9x13 pan. Cover the meat/veggie mixture with mashed potatoes. You can use instant or fresh mashed potatoes. Bake, uncovered at 350F for about 25 minutes. Take out of the oven and sprinkle with grated cheese and put it back in the oven just long enough for the cheese to melt - 5-10 minutes.

This is a great recipe that you can adjust to you liking. You can use whatever kinds of veggies you want. Sometimes we have broccoli, carrrots and cauliflower. Sometimes we have corn, peas and green beans.

I cook Italian beef in a crock pot and don't see how you can mess it up. ;-) All you do is buy a cut of beef [I get the cheapest stuff; after cooking all day in a crock pot, it will be very tender], put it in the crock pot with a jar of pepperoncinis [if you really like the flavor, you can use a large jar; I'd recommend a small one] and let it cook all day. That's it.

For a more robust juice, you can add a can of beef broth or some bouillon; my husband also likes the addition of some Italian seasoning or Italian dressing in there. You can also add some garlic, but it's not necessary.

To eat: my kids just like it plain on a hamburger bun. Other toppings include giardiniera, grilled or roasted bell peppers (do it yourself or buy them), and cheddar cheese. My husband likes all that, plus we grill Italian sausage (that's technically called a "combo"); and use Italian or French bread -- something "substantial", not just a regular hoagie bun or something like hot dog buns, because those practically disintegrate when they get wet; and we do use the sauce/broth for dipping.

Turkey Lasagna

Brown l lb ground turkey with 1 chopped yellow onion
Add 1 large jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
Add 1 container of cottage cheese.

The above becomes your sauce.

In a 13x9 pan start layering:

Sauce
Noddle (dry, uncooked, right out of the box, don't need to use no bake)
Sauce
Parmesan Cheese, any kind
Noodle
Sauce
Parmesan Cheese
Noodle
Sauce

You must end with sauce
Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hr.
Remove, add Italian shredded cheese (mozzarella, provolone, etc)
Return and bake until melted and bubbly.

Serve with a salad and garlic bread.

I make a lot of recipes from thepioneerwoman.com. She has tons of pictures to show how each step should look. Everything I have made from her site has been a huge hit. I've never had a flop, ever, from her recipes. Her pot roast is perfect. Enjoy!

I have an Amish cookbook that's awesome. All the recipes call for simple stuff, and you can alter the ingredients to suit your family!
Wisconsin Casserole:
5 raw potatoes shredded
2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles
2 cup fresh or frozen peas or corn
2 cups cooked meat (ham,sausage, chicken)
3 teaspoons salt
2 cups shredded cheddar
2 quarts milk
preheat oven to 350, combine all ingredients in a baking dish, bake for 2 hours.......EASY!!!!!

Also, you can use cambells soups, the cream of chicken, or celery. And cut up chicken breast, use 2-3 cans of soup, a bag or 2 cans of mix vegetablesn 1/2 bag of cheddar cheese, and a small sour cream. Mix it all together,place in a baking dish. Then take a ready make pie crust, cut in strips and place over top. bake at 400 for an hour. Chicken pot pie!

My family also loves turkey italian sausage w/ pasta and sauce.
Chicken alredo is super easy, and you can add broccoli. And use whole grain pastas!

Check out www.allrecipes.com

There are some amazing recipes on there!

Here is one of my favorites...and the leftovers go quick!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/awesome-slow-cooker-pot-roas...

I took one reviewer's advice and added 1/4 C red wine and a tablespoon of Worchestershire sauce. It's AMAZING. I also add baby carrots and baby red potatoes. YUMMY!

Spaghetti is an easy one. I usually use prego sauce and add a can of drained italian stewed tomatoes.

Probably a few hints that may help things taste better is always cook any pasta to barely done. Pull out a piece and actually bite into it. If you overcook it, it gets mushy and starch y and your whole dish is ruined.

Always make mashed potatoes from scratch. Keep your potatoes in the fridge so they don't get soft. Cook them to barely done (use a fork to test them) - drain immediately or they keep cooking. I always use real butter, and salt and pepper. Mash and THEN add milk and mix to the consistency you like. Don't ever add milk before mashing or they won't get creamy.

Another quick recipe. Take a pound of hamburger (you can use 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 ground turkey for extra healthy) - add an egg and mix well. Then put in the rice part of a box of beef rice a roni and mix really well. Make meatballs that are about 1 and a half inches diameter. put in a warm skillet, brown a little, turning them often. Take the packet of sauce mix, mix it with 3 cups of water and pour over the meatballs. Turn your heat down to between medium and low. (The water should simmer but not bubble) - put the lid on and cook for 30 minutes, turning the meatballs once halfway through. I serve it with either rice or mashed potatoes and a vegetable. My kids go NUTS for this. Feel free to message me if you have questions. I'm a great cook. :-)

Here are a few recipes my family loves. They turn out great every time!!
Creamy One-Pot Pasta w/ Chicken
4 lg. garlic cloves
1 jar (7oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil
3 cans chicken broth
1 lb. uncooked pene pasta
1 head broccoli (2 cups sm. florets)
2 med. carrots, peeled
4oz reduced-fat cream cheese
1/4 t. salt
1/2 coarsely ground black pepper
2 grilled chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
Grated fresh Parmesan cheese and snipped basil (optional)

Heat 1 t. oil from sun-dried tomatoes in a large pot over medium heat. Press garlic into pot and cook 2-3 mins. or until garlic is brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; add broth. Return to burner; increase heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Add pasta; cover and simmer vigorously 8-10 mins. or until pasta is almost cooked but still firm, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile cut broccoli into small florets. Cut carrots in half lengthwise, thinly slice crosswise on a bias. Drain tomatoes; pat dry and slice into thin strips. Cut cream cheese into cubes.
Add vegetable, cream cheese, salt and pepper to pasta; stir until cream cheese is melted and fully incorporated. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook an additional 2-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in warm grilled chicken. If desired, top with Parmesan cheese and basil.

**Note: I don't care for sun-dried tomatoes so I omitted them and used EVOO in place of the oil.

Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole
2 cups uncooked rice
2 cans chicken broth
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup broccoli flourets
1 can cream of chicken OR cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
2 T. butter
1 - 2 cups cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350*

In a medium sauce pan, cook rice according to directions in chicken broth. Meanwhile chop broccoli and steam (I steam it for a few minutes in the microwave) in a large bowl. Mix in chicken, cream of soup and milk. Add hot cooked rice and melt in butter. Pour mixture into a baking dish and top with cheese. Bake 30 - 35 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serves 4

Black Bean, Corn and Turkey Chili
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 med onion, chopped
1 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup Pace Chunky Salsa
1 tablespoon sugar
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, onion, chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper and garlic powder. Cook until turkey is well browned, stirring frequently to break up meat.
Stir the broth, salsa, sugar, beans and corn into the saucepan. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.
Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Stir the chili occasionally while cooking.
Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla chips.

2nd for PioneerWoman

also www.foodnetwork.com is my FAV recipe site online. Not only does it have recipes, but also video tutorials (from everything from how to hold a knife, or pick veggies at the market, or to chop onions... hundreds of instructional videos...and video recipes to boot. My favorite chefs on there are Tyler Florence, Mario Batali, The Neely's, & Emril
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My Fam's Split Pea Soup

Really big pot
2 packages of split peas, apx 2-3 cups each of peas
3/4 lb of bacon cut into your favorite size (quarter sized squares, fettucini size strips, whatever)
1-2 yellow OR sweet onions chopped (penny size or smaller)
2 smoked ham hocks
2 smoked ham shanks (or 0 hocks and 3 shanks)
1 box of chicken stock

- Chop up the bacon and onion.
- Turn the burner on high under you pan, and start the bacon and onion cooking. You don't want to get the bacon crispy, just want to render some of the fat and get the onions starting to get soft. As it starts making a lot of noise, turn it down to medium and continue cooking and stirring until onions are soft.
- Turn the burner back on high and add the chicken stock.
- Add however much water the back of ONE pea-bag says to
- Add your peas (give a whirl for fun)
- Add your hocks and shanks
- Bring to a boil
- Cover and turn down to MED LOW
- Stir occasionally
- Simmer for an hour or two (I make soup around midafternoon, and then just keep it warm until dinner)
- 30 minutes before eating add half of the 2nd bag
(This way you get creamy thick pea soup AND peas in your pea soup)
- The shanks and hocks should have fallen apart MOSTLY by now. Pull them out and cut off any meat that hasn't and put both the meat and bones back in

Serve with cornbread, kosher salt, and pepper (let people salt and pepper their own soup. The bacon and hocks all have quite a bit of salt in them already so you rarely need to add.

TRICK: If when you're tasting it's too salty (half hour ahead of time when you add the peas and pull out the hocks, taste the soup) put a peeled Russet potato in the soup for half an hour. Dozens of times making this soup and only had that happen once!)

Italian Chicken
boneless skinless chicken breast
1 bottle of zesty italian dressing
1 jar of apricot preserves

This is great to use as a marinade overnight. Place your chicken breasts in a 9x13 casserole dish.
mix together 1/2 bottle of dressing & 1/2 jar preserves in a small bowl or measuring cup pour over the top of your chicken then cover your dish w/plastic wrap & let it marinade the longer the better :) bake at 350 covered w/foil for 30-45 minutes depending on how big the chicken breasts. Also great for grilling.

serve w/baked potatoes & green beans or whatever your favorite veggie is.

Crock pot beef stew- First add 1 pound stew meat, coat with 1 tablespoon flour, a small onion cut in large pieces, 1 diced celery stalk. Next add about 3 cups of cubed potatoes and 3 cups chopped carrots( or baby carrots). Add an 8oz can of tomato sauce and a beef bouillon cube dissolved in 2 cups hot water. Add more water to cover everything. Top with italian seasoning and a bay leaf(take out the bay leaf before serving). Sometimes we start it the night before, stir it the next morning, and eat it for lunch. You can also take the same ingredients and cook it in a pressure cooker for half an hour. You can do variations on this, but I'd pick one thing to change at a time. Try adding bell peppers, fresh green beans, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, or Indian seasoning instead of Italian.

Veggie lasagna- 9 cooked lasagna noodles, 1 container lowfat ricotta cheese, a package of shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 jar tomato sauce, and 2 cups of vegetable mix. For the vegetable mix, pre-cook (in microwave or frying pan) diced onions, red and green bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, spinach, and finely chopped broccoli. In a 9x11 glass baking dish, coat the bottom with a little bit of sauce, then layer 3 noodles, 1/2 the ricotta in small dots, 1/2 the veggies, about 1/2 the mozzarella, 1/2 the sauce, make the next layer the same. Then top with last 3 noodles, sprinkle with parmesan and any leftover mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake about 45 minutes or until bubbly.