Cooking Help

Updated on April 10, 2007
T.U. asks from Pompano Beach, FL
12 answers

Hi ladies,
Does anyone out there have some yummy and easy recipes they'd like to share? My son is trying to walk, so he's into everything. So needless to say, I'm finding it really hard to spend lots of time in the kitchen. Any help would be great and thank you.

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S.S.

answers from Orlando on

Since about a week before my 11 month old son was born, I've been going to one of those meal preparation places about once a month. I love it! I usually use "Let's Eat" - but there are many more out there.
Give it a try! :)

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M.S.

answers from Orlando on

Hello T.!

My family really loves spinach and black bean burritos (my 20-month old son especially loves it, and it's one way I can get him to eat spinach!):

Thaw a 10 oz box of spinach and drain it well. In a skillet, mix:

the thawed, drained spinach
1 16 oz. jar of salsa
1 c. of canned corn (drained)
1 t. cumin
1 can of black beans (also drained).

Mash about half of the beans with a fork when you add them. Heat the mixture on med. heat until it's hot and bubbly. I use this filling, along with cheese to make burritos (& quesadillas for my son).

I got the recipe from a vegetarian cookbook, but I add pre-cooked chicken breast slices in the burritos for my husband (Tyson and Butterball make them, and I get them in the prepared meats section of the meat department).

Tip: The tortillas will roll up better when they're preheated (microwave) & for the quesadillas, I spread the filling over half of a tortilla, top with cheese, and fold the other half over-- Then I grill the quesadilla in a skillet over med. heat, just like I would a grilled cheese sandwich.

P.S. The flavored tortillas go very nicely with this. Or, if you're feeling especially healthy, the whole wheat ones are tasty and add whole grains.

Ooh! Here's a really good main dish:

Lay boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a 9 X 13 in. pan (4 or 6 breasts usually fit well). Top each breast with a slice of swiss cheese. Mix one can of cream of mushroom soup and 1/2 c. white wine together and pour over the chicken. Sprinkle a light layer of stuffing mix over the chicken (Stovetop, Pepperidge Farm, etc.) and bake at 350 degrees until done (40-40 min. ought to do it).

Another recipe: I slice pork tenderloin into large chunks and put them into a crockpot. Then add 1 onion, sliced into slivers, lengthwise and add to the pork. Then I pour Mojo Marinade (I like Publix brand) into the crockpot, not so that it covers the pork, but so that it reaches the pork 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up. I cook the pork until it's really tender (4h. on low or 8h. on high?). When it's done, I shred the meat and serve the pork and onions over cooked rice (served w/ steamed veggies or a salad).

Beef Stew: Brown beef stew meat. Add 2 cans of golden mushroom soup and 1/2 one can of water. Simmer the meat for an hour, then add peeled, quartered potatoes, baby carrots, sliced onions, and sliced mushrooms. Simmer for another hour, or until the meat is very tender and veggies are cooked. The amounts of each ingredient are all relative to how much you would like.

I hope all of this is not overkill, but I love to swap recipes!

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C.G.

answers from Miami on

I love the crock-pot. You put every thing in in the morning and don't have to touch it until dinner time. You can cut almost everything the night before, besides potatoes or anything that will turn brown. You can pick up one of those little books in the check out aisle of the grocery store or find a big one at a book store. Good luck!!!

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S.B.

answers from Fort Myers on

get a package of kabasi, cut in half and butterfly. lay skin side up in 8 x 8 or similar. add about 1/2 can ginger ale and zigzag ketchup over meat. maybe 1/2 cup or so. cover and bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes. sweet and sour kabasi! great with green beans.

my new favorite side is a package of frozen veggies. broccoli, califlower, water chesnuts, carrots, whatever you like. when the veggies are almost done, drain water and add about 4 oz of velveeta block cheese. melt on low. SO YUMMY!!!!!!

also a great cassrole dish. peel and cube 6 to 8 potatoes. make sloppy joe as usual, i add green pepper and onions to mine. then make layers of potato and meat. always have potatoes end on top. cover and bake 350 for about an hour. it is not super fast but it is really good and makes a ton for leftovers. when serving add cheese, sour cream. almost like a taco salad. yummy!

another idea for a great dessert or light side dish, Quick Ambrosia Salad....drain 2 big cans of pinapple chucks and 3 cans manderian oranges over night. shaking every so often. try and get as much juice out as possible. then pour in big bowl. add 1 bag mini marshmellows and 1 pint sour cream. mix gently and cover. refridgerate preferably overnight. it should be good in a few hours but the longer you let set the sweeter it is. SO GOOD!!!!!! great for parties or for just the family.

also i love my slow cooker.you can never burn anything. at night or early morning throw in a 4 lb chuck of meat in with broth or stewed tomatoes and 8 to 12 hours later you have tender delisous stew, corn beef, chicken. add any veggies you like while it is cooking. i have come up with some great dishes experimenting. chix cacciatore, pot roast, corn beef, veggie..chix...broc cheese soups. "fix it and forget it" is a wonderful book. i usually get about 10 to 12 servings with each meal. hth

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R.C.

answers from Port St. Lucie on

chocolate instant pudding and cool whip,oreo cookies!follow the pudding directions except use half the amount of milk and the other half cool whip mix than add some oreo cookies too it.yummuy...ps omit the cookies and it makes great icing for a cake!

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S.B.

answers from Boca Raton on

Hi T.. I've got a very easy recipe that my boyfriend loves. The chicken always comes out perfectly moist too.
You'll need

-fresh chicken breasts
-crumbled gorgonzola cheese (in the deli cheese section at Publix)
-Italian dressing (I like Wishbone's Romano Italian)
-Italian seasoned bread crumbs

I line a baking sheet with tin foil for easy clean up. First take each breast and slice lengthwise about 3/4 of the way through to make a pocket. Arrange them on the baking sheetand stuff about 1/4 c of cheese crumbles in each breast. Next, Italian dressing is squeezed generously on top of each breast. Make sure to cover the chicken in dressing. Top by sprinkling a light layer of bread crumbs on each. Sometimes I add onion slices to the top of each. Then pop it in a preheated 350' oven for 45 min.

Meanwhile put some Rice a Roni Whole Grains Chicken & Herb Classico on. Steam broccoli or asparagus with lemon butter.
Manga!

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C.R.

answers from Orlando on

STEAMED APPLES: steam some apples shave them and sprinkle with cinnamon.
QUESSADILLAS: flour tortilla add cheese (as an added option you can add shredded chicken brest too) top with another flour totilla and microwave on high about 30 seconds or until cheese is melted. Let cool and cut into strips for finger food, I have found that a pizza wheel makes cutting a lot smoother and easier!
ALL AROUND: buy a george forman and a magic bullet!! Saves lots of time in cooking and prepping food!! The forman grills will cook frozen chicken brest in under 10 minutes! The magic bullet does everything from steaming fruits and veggies to blending up cocktails for a quick hour at night with the hubby!!!--C.

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M.S.

answers from Orlando on

i have a few things i like to do . i'm not a cook, but my husband works alot and i have had to teach myself to cook. the lady with the quesadilla's is good and tyson makes pre cooked grilles sliced chicken that is great in those quesadillas.

if you have a crockpot. thats the ticket for me. i do cubesteaks in the crockpot and when its done, they just fall apart. you have to brown the cubesteaks on both sides. buy about 4 or 5 brown gravy packets. each packet calls for one cup of water. put the water and gravy packets in the crock pot mix them well. i turn the crock pot on high so the gravy can start getting warm while i brown the cubesteaks. sometimes i will add mushrooms and onions to the gravy. then i add the cubesteaks to the gravy and let them cook on low for about 8 hours. i buy the sucsess rice that cooks in 10 minutes you can serve the cube steaks over the rice with the gravy or even mashed potatoes with the gravy.

i also do these pork chops in the crockpot (you can use chicken with this recipe too) you have to buy the boneless porkchops. get the lipton onion soup mix (it comes 2 packets per box). and you'll need a can of condensed cream of mushroom. place the porkchops flat on the bottom of crockpot, sprinkle the lipton onion soup over the porkchops and then pour the condensed soup over the porkchops. you need to add water to it. i usually add the water till it just tops the porkchops maybe 1/2 cup water. but let that cook on high for about 4 hours. the porkchops come out great and your left with a good gravy to pour over the meat.

send me a message if you have any questions.
or even if you have any ideas to better mine. llike i said, i'm no cook. and i myself need all the easy recipes i can get my hands on.

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V.

answers from Melbourne on

I found a site recently that has recipes that can be prepared ahead of time and frozen. I like to do that when I have some time, then I can store it in the freezer and use it when I'm in a hurry. Here is the site:
http://www.savingdinner.com/
One thing I like to freeze is spagghetti, so anytime we make it we just make a large pot. Whatever we don't eat that night goes into old margarine or coolwhip containers and gets put in the freezer for later.

Pressure cookers are great for cooking meat real fast and it turns out so good and tender. The crockpot is great for throwing everything together in the morning and leaving it to cook on low throughout the day.

Another thing that saves time is to use the leftovers for a nice warm lunch the next day.

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T.W.

answers from Orlando on

Here's a few quick ones that my family likes.

Chicken spaghetti: Ingredients needed: Spaghetti, green olives sliced, can of diced italian type tomatoes, olive oil and a package of tyson precooked chicken strips, parmasean cheese.

Directions: Cook pasta then drain. While pasta is cooking heat chicken in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. When pasta is done and drained add chicken, sliced olives, tomatoes, and cheese. Mix together and then drizzle olive oil all over.

Can't really get any easier than that.

Barbque Brisket: Ingredients needed: Brisket, barbque sauce, water.

Directions: Put brisket in a crock pot, pour 1 1/2 cups of barbque sauce on top and fill the pot 1/2 way with water. Turn on high and cook for 4 hours or low for 8.

You can make mac and cheese, heat up a can of baked beans and open a pack of premade dinner rolls when you are ready to serve.

Ok, here's one more.

Tostadas: Ingredients needed: premade flat HARD corn tortillas (these can be found in the ethnic section of your grocery store)
1 pound of ground chuck
1 can of reg. refried beans
1 bag of pre shredded lettuce (they just came out with this for tacos and such)
1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese
1 container of sour cream
1 jar of salsa or taco sauce
Diced fresh tomatoes if you like them.
1 package taco seasoning

Directions: Brown your ground beef, drain. Then add taco seasoning with 1/4 cup of water and simmer. Heat the refried beans on low while browning your meat. Spread beans on tortilla, spoon ground beef on top of that then salsa, then lettuce cheese and sour cream.

These are yummy, easy and healthy.

Hope you enjoy them.

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N.F.

answers from Port St. Lucie on

The best thing I've found to do is have your little guy sit in his High Chair while you're in the kitchen. (Drag the chair INTO The Kitchen with you) Let him SEE what you are doing and describe to him what you're doing... this way, he's out from under your feet, and he can be involved in what you are doing.. My little 20 month old doesn't mind sitting in his high chair and watching his Momma cook.. It's so much easier on ME and He seems to be learning how to prepare food..(He watches me pour and measure and mix... he seems really fasinated...) just KEEP him involved.. and You'll both be happy...
Sorry I don't really have any quick recipes to share...

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S.R.

answers from Burlington on

I totally hear you. I have a 14 month old and teach full time, so quick and easy is about all I can do these days.
Here are a couple of family favorites:

Chicken and Salsa Rice
I cook my rice in the microwave ( 1 cup rice 2 cups water- five minutes on high, 15 minutes on 50% power.) While the rice is cooking I cut 2-3 decent sized boneless skinless chicken breasts into small pieces and cook them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. When the rice is done I add the chicken and salsa.

Cheater Beef Stroganoff
You'll Need
A package of egg noodles ( I like it with rice)
16 oz sour cream
family size can of cream of mushroom soup
can of mushroom stems and pieces
3 tablespoons butter
1 small onion
1 lb ground beef
salt, pepper

dice onion and cook with ground beef. Drain and put in a large pot with everything except egg noodles, cook on low heat. Cook egg noodles. Serve. YUM

Hope these help

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