Begging for cooking help

[anna84]

God its been forever since i've posted here. I was pretty much a gypsy for most of the summer and now school has eaten my life. However i know there are some great cooks on this board and i was wondering if I could get some help.

K first off i hate cooking truly hate. I can do it but honestly for me its a waste of time. So inevitably I end up eating healthy choice frozen pizzas and then when i''m out of those its mainly bread and cheese. I'm pretty active (run or box 1-2 hours a day) and i'm not eating healthily enough for what i do. Heck im not eating enough at all. So since this is my first year without a dorm cafeteria I was wondering if you guys had some basic recipes you could share. Stuff thats fast and healthy. As much as I hate to cook I need to start eating better so any help would be hugely apprecieated.

P.S i'm not picky at all, literally love all veggies and will try anything once

 

[xyourlocaldjx]

i'll try and come up with something tomorrow. too tired right now.


*BUMP* for tomorrow

 

[MomOf7]

1 bag of stir fry veggies. You can use frozen or fresh.
1 chicken breast boneless skinless. Microwave the chicken..Yes I said microwave. Takes about 8 minutes. Cut into small bite size chunks. Set aside.
1 bottle of stir fry sauce.
Take a pan put about a 4 table spoons of cooking oil. Put on high and let the oil heat up real good. Put in the veggies let cook while stirring constantly then add the chicken and sauce. You dont need to use the whole bottle. Just enough to coat the veggies and chicken. Cook to desired texture of veggies and eat.

Invest in a george forman grill. Easy to use quick to cook with. You can cook hamburgars, chicken, pork chops. While those are cooking boil up a can of veggies and get a package of the instant potatos. I like getting betty crocker garlic flavored. Follow the directions its really easy.

I will post more when I am more awake

 

[MomOf7]

Ok Im back,

Marie Callenders has some excellent food. Well balanced and easy to cook! LOL

Spegehtti. I use Newmans Own "Sockaroni" spegehtti sauce. Need not add a thing. Great by its self!

Scrambled eggs with mushrooms, green pepers, and onion is great! I sautee the veggies then add them to the eggs or omlete if you wish. A sprinke of shredded cheddar cheese and MMMMMM!!

Keep apples on hand. They last a long time in the refridgerator.

Garlic butter noodles. Easy to do.
Boil up some noodles, drain, Put butter and garlic, and a dash of milk in a fry pan get reall hot and the garlic is somewhat sauteed then add noddles. Heat till hot.
Have a salad with it.

 

[anna84]

Thanks so much

 

[Dreeza]

i looove pasta...it is always my backup. I always have pasta available, as well as these cans of tomato sauce (it pretty much looks like tomato soup, lol)

anyways, i like to spend minimal time cooking as well...

here is a recent favorite of mine:
-mini tortillas (i get these ones made from sprouts...just get ones with no chemicals or no bleached flour/no high fructose corn syrup!!)
-canned refried black beans (once again...try to stay away from the ones with added chemicals)
- Organic cheese (i personally use swiss, cause thats what was in my fridge, and i didnt want to buy more...and its really good!)
-Tomatillo salsa (that green salsa)...any salsa will do though (but once again...stay away from the ones with added crap!!!)
-chopped white onions.

i spread on the beans, cheese and onions, heat it up for about a minute, then slap on the salsa...roll it up, and ENJOY!


Making an omelette/scrambled eggs with black beans and chopped onions is also quite yummy and filling.


Salads are good too: Make sure to get dark leafy greens...add on some canned tuna or salmon or beans for protein, sprinkle some sunflower seeds, load it up with the broccoli (i buy mean pre cut in the bag...so much more convenient!), tomatoes, onions, and some good healthy dressing (make sure it has some fat...that helps you absorb the nutrients!)...ust add any of your favorite veggies to it!! It is amazingly filling.

thats all i can think of for now! good luck

 

[Dreeza]

OOH, and here are my 2 favorite fish recipes:

for both, i just dump the "salsas" right on top of the fish...i make a ton of it, so it totally smothers it...for the tilapia (since the filets are usually much smaller than salmon) it ends up being like 90% salsa, 10% fish, lol, Mmmmmm! I just had some of the salmon one tonight!


http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_27557,00.html?rsrc=search

and:

you will need..

tilapia fillets
paprika
oregano
olive oil
cucumber (i get the kind in the plastic wrapping - english cucumber i think)
lemon juice
salt
capers (if you like them!)
fresh parsley

preheat oven to 425..

i just use a regular cooking pan and foil, and plop the fish right on without any spray or oil...

coat fish with lemon juice
put on a nice coating of paprika (i do it until the filet is totally covered), and then some oregano
pop that in the oven for about 10 mins or so

while that is cooking:

chop up about 1/4 of the cucumber (depending on how much "salsa" you want...i completely smother mine...
put the cucumber in a bowl with enough room to stir and then add:
chopped parsley (i add a few tablespoons)
tablespoon or two of olive oil
as much lemon juice as you want (i probably use 1/8 - 1/4 of a cup, but i looove lemon juice)
pinch of salt
dash of oregano
capers if you like them ( i dont! )
and if you want, you can toss some extra paprika in there
then stir it all up!

When your fish is ready, put it in one of those deep soup dishes (the salsa has some yummy liquid that you dont want to waste!) and dump your salsa on top! All ready!!!

 

[Amalthea]

Easiest and cheapest way to prepare chicken I've done:

all you'll need is a cookie/baking sheet and an oven, aluminum foil and seasonings.

Get a thawed bag of chicken leg quarters (around here you can get a 10 lb bag for less that 5 dollars)
pull the skins off the chicken unless you prefer your chicken with the skin on. if you pull them off, they make a yummy treat for the doggies too

Put each chicken leg quarter on a piece of aluminum foil big enough to wrap it in. Season with anything you like (I usually use a small amount of butter, like a teaspoon, and garlic salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. Sometimes I use bbq sauce and it gives the chicken a nice bbq flavor). Wrap each leg quarter in aluminum foil.

Put them on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour to 1 1/2 hours. You can check them by peeling back the aluminum and using a fork or a knife to cut into the quarters and see if they've cooked all the way through.

I love to make baked potatoes when I make these, and making baked potatoes has got to be the easiest way to make them in the world. Just wash em off, wrap em in foil, stick em in and wait till they're cooked! Then you can put anything you want on them!

I also reccommend rice for fast, cheap, easy and healthy. I just like rice with butter and salt, though you can prepare it to have other flavors. Boxed or bag rice is fine and just follow the instructions! If you make too much rice to eat, you can save it in a tupperware container in the fridge, then when you get hungry, just add a little bit of water and butter to your bowl of rice and put it in the microwave, the extra water/butter will keep it from being dry.

 

[Amalthea]

Here's a little fancier meat recipe...

Arm or chuck roast

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. thaw out your roast and set it in a pot with a lid that can go in the oven. Fill the pot with water until just the very top of the roast is above the water level.

Then you can really go nuts. Put anything in there you think will taste good. I tend to end up experimenting and putting all sorts of different things in with the water each time I do this. I've always had good roasts when using these as seasoning though:
Chopped onions or onion powder
Garlic powder or garlic salt
Red wine (about a glass worth)
Brown sugar (about 2 tablespoons)
Pepper & salt

make sure the pot doesn't get too full or it will boil over.

Any other kinda vegetables or seasonings you wanna throw in there, go for it, your roast will have a sweeter taste if you use more brown sugar or red wine, if you use carrots (which I don't really like) or other vegetables the flavors will mingle together. The only bad-tasting roast I had when I was being experimental is when I poured a can of beer in there and ended up with beer-flavored roast, which was not as good as I expected, hehe. If you're gonna put anything alcoholic in there, stick with red wine

Cover the pot with the lid and stick it in the oven. Cook for 45 minutes. Turn the roast over and cook for 45 more minutes. If it's looking like it's cooking too fast or slow, you can adjust the cooking times.

If you stick potatoes in the water with the roast, you'll have some yummy potatos ready-made when your roast is done! I like red-skinned potatos with roast, but any kind will do.