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Archive through January 18, 2006

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: Jan. 2007 ~ Mar. 2007: Cooking Corner: Recipes for Easy Cookbook: Archive through January 18, 2006 users admin

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Heyltslori
Moderator

09-15-2001

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 3:30 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Heyltslori a private message Print Post    
Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

1/3 lb. Graham Crackers
1/3 lb. Butter (melted)
2 cups Peanut Butter
1 lb. Powdered Sugar
12 oz. bag Chocolate Chips

Crush graham crackers into crumbs. Mix with melted butter. Stir in peanut butter. Add powdered sugar and mix really well. (The best way is to use your hands!) Press mixture firmly into 9x13 pan. Really press hard so mixture is packed down well. Melt chocolate chips and pour evenly over top. Place in fridge for about 20 min. Cut into squares and then return to fridge for about an hour. Enjoy!


Whoami
Member

08-03-2001

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 4:14 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Whoami a private message Print Post    
Twice Baked Potatos-casserole style

As I mentioned in the dessert thread, I don't really have individual ingredient quantities to go by, just a "to taste" kind of thing.....but here's what I put in mine....

First, bake up how ever many potatoes you want to use, let cool until you can handle them without burning yourself.

Scoop potato pulp into a mixing bowl. Don't worry about the tedious task of saving the skins, unless you really want to go through all that bother to use the skins later!

Using a blender mix the following ingredients (to taste) into the potato pulp:

bacon bits
sour cream
ranch dressing
butter (melted)
onion (I use the dried onion bits)
salt
pepper

Mix it all up, and scoop the mixture into a casserole dish. If you managed to save the skins without tearing them all up when you scooped the pulp out, you can replace the mixture into the skins. The one time I tried it that way though, it came out kinda dry. So I prefer the casserole style (besides its easier that way too!).

Bake at 350 degrees until top of mixture browns.

Kaykay
Member

01-21-2004

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 8:37 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kaykay a private message Print Post    
I work full time and have 2 little munchkins - i live for quick, easy and some what healthy <lol>

how about potato crusted chicken
take chicken breasts
take Betty Crocker potato flakes <any flavor>
moisten the chicken with what ever you like <water, milk...>
bread the chicken with the flakes, put them in a skillet.
flip once and cook till done.
easy and kids love it :-)

Jmm
Moderator

08-16-2002

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 8:50 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jmm a private message Print Post    
Thanks for taking the time to help me with this, everyone. I really appreciate all the recipes and suggestions and I've got a great start to my cookbook.

I'm going to get a couple of those binders that allow you to side a sheet into the front cover and make specialized "covers" for each girl's book. I hope they like them. Please keep the ideas and recipes coming.

Yesitsme
Member

08-24-2004

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 9:25 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Yesitsme a private message Print Post    
A couple of easy ones off the top of my head...

An easy dessert is to take chocolate chip cookies (store bought...I think the little ones work best), dip them in milk, layer in whatever dish you want to use (I generally use a pretty glass bowl) with layers of Cool Whip. Do as many layers as you want, ending in Cool Whip. Let it sit overnight. You can decorate with cherries and leftover cookie crumbs or chocolate shavings if you wish.

Another easy one is to take boneless pork ribs (or I am sure you can use beef), brown and then put ribs and a bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce in the crock pot for the day.

Kaykay
Member

01-21-2004

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 9:26 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kaykay a private message Print Post    
Also try meatloaf muffins. Mix your standard meatloaf and then scoop it into muffin tins and bake. < the yonly take about 20-30 min at 350 degrees. Top with sauce of your choice. these are great to freeze and pop in the micro wave :-)

Kaykay
Member

01-21-2004

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 9:34 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kaykay a private message Print Post    
how about "homemade" corn dogs. Get some hot dogs and the Pillsbury Cresent rolls

roll out the dough, put the hot dog id <cheese if you like> rol it up and bake it for 15 20 min at 375 degrees
<mu kids like when i put a popcicle stick in the hot dog> i swear, if's on a stick,my son will eat it :-)

<sorry to be hogging the thread>

Yesitsme
Member

08-24-2004

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 10:15 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Yesitsme a private message Print Post    
Here's one for Spinach Bisque....I just whipped it up in about 15 minutes for my parents and brother for lunch.

Saute
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
until tender.
Then gradually stir in
1/3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
Stir until smooth (or as smooth as you can get with onions in there!)
Gradually add (stirring with a whisk)
1 c. water
2 1/2 c. milk
Add 3/4 c. American cheese and stir until melted.
then add 1 10 oz. package of frozen chopped spinach (which has been thawed and drained.) Heat through for about 5 minutes, stirring. And it is done!

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 12:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
Oh the canned bisquits!

Mini tacos. Roll out the bisquits flat. Cook meat and season it for tacos. Put meat, cheese, salsa (or really any taco fixings that cook well) fold them up, use a fork to press the edges then cook according to the directions on the bisquit can. We usually cut the bisquits into half or quarters to make smaller ones but you can also not cut them and make larger ones.

You can do the same thing with pizza fixings. We love these recipes. They're so easy to make, though rolling out the dough takes a while. But, it's also the one leftover I can send with the kids and Darren to school and work, they love them cold.

Enchillada pie: (Oh, I don't use measurments for stuff like this, just determine how much of the ingredients I need based on how big of a pan I'm making, lol.)

Fix ground beef and add a packet of the dry enchillada seasoning and water (cook according to the package.)

Then layer, enchillada sauce, tortillas, meat, cheese, and repeat. The recipe I got also had canned corn but the kids hate it like that, lol. Keep layering, top with cheese and olives, cover with foil and cook at 325 for 35 minutes or until the cheese is melted. It's another easy recipe but I tend to destroy the kitchen whenever I make it.

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 12:21 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
Hey Jackie, do your girls know how to do weekly, or bi-weekly menus? That's something I wish someone would have told me when I first started out on my own! I thought it'd take too much time and for awhile it did take about an hour a week to figure out how to make balanced daily menus, but also how to avoid repeating the same dishes all the time.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 1:09 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Jmm, when my sister got married (late 70's), my mother and I put together a recipe booklet for her. (This was back in the olden days when we had to TYPE OUT each page!) We shared the recipes that we'd been making, including some that we'd made for years.

That said, however, I won't eat half of what we put in there now. And a lot of the "easy" recipes these days are quite, well, unhealthy.

For quick and simple, much as I dislike her, Rachel Ray's cookbooks are pretty decent. She's got several out... they'd make Xmas presents if you haven't already bought something.

Also, Food TV... if they watch it, they'll get ideas on what to cook. If they are not afraid to experiment, they can learn the basics from TV and then let their imaginations run wild.

Karen
Member

09-07-2004

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 5:09 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Karen a private message Print Post    
Jackie, when I first moved out of my Mom's house, one of our oldest family friends bought me a book called, "Where's Mom now that I need her?".

It's kinda similar to that Cooking Outside the Pizza Box box that Rsolver posted upthread..., but in addition to having all the easy, fool-proof meal recipes, it also has a whole whack of other stuff you don't realize you need to know until you move away from Mom...

Ch. 1: You Are What You Eat: A quick look at nutrution (proteins, fats, carbs, vitamins, amino acids, etc.)

Ch. 2: Conquering the Grocery Store: Finding the Best Buys (price per weight, what "fresh" veg/berries/meat looks like, how to properly store certain foods, etc.)

Ch. 3: First Things First: Before You Start Cooking (measurement conversions, suitable substitutions for lacking ingredients, spices, home-made cleaners, etc.)

Ch. 4: Recipes (breakfast, eggs, sandwiches, salads, bread, beverages, dressings, soups, main dish, veg, rice, cake / dessert, cookies, bars, candies)

Ch. 5: Keeping Up Appearances: Laundry and Clothing Repair (water temp, how to iron, stain removal, repair zipper / button / hem.... etc.)

Ch. 6: Safety First: Basic First Aid (everthing from blisters, burns and bleeding, to shock, sprains and sunburns... etc.)

Ch. 7: Getting Sick?: Need A Doctor? (symptoms, relief, and "Get to the Hospital NOW!!" for everything from chicken pox, to hypoglycemia, to migraine, kidney infection, pink eye, strep throat, and ulcers.... etc.)

Ch. 8: Getting Around: Bike and Vehicle repair. (Yes, car and bike repair. How to change a tire, check the oil, etc.)


I haven't used many of the recipes inside the book, I left the home with a large collection stored to memory already, but almost everything else in this book has come in handy ten-fold in the seven, eight years I've had it.

I'm still digging through my mom's book that she gave me, looking for some old comfort favourites for your girls, Jackie... I'll be back tomorrow...

Jmm
Moderator

08-16-2002

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 6:18 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jmm a private message Print Post    
Thank you, everyone, for your willingness to share you recipes and ideas. Just wanted to let you know if I don't stop in for a day or so I think I'm may be getting the flu - I'm definitely not ignoring you. Please keep the ideas coming.

Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Monday, December 19, 2005 - 11:34 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Teachmichigan a private message Print Post    
Jmm -- Hope you are feeling better soon!

Another thought, you might want to check out the Quick Cooking Magazine site online. I LOVE all the Reiman magazines, but Quick Cooking and Light and Tasty are my favorites.

The link is http://quickcooking.com/

Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - 5:08 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Lumbele a private message Print Post    
Jmm, hope this tome is not doing you in, just in time for the holidays. Feel better soon!

Knightpatti
Member

12-06-2001

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - 10:49 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Knightpatti a private message Print Post    
Jmm I hope you are feeling better, too. How awful to be sick during the holidays!

Jmm
Moderator

08-16-2002

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - 11:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jmm a private message Print Post    
Thanks everyone, I'm feeling better today so it may not have been the flu - maybe just holiday stress. Anyway I'm busy checking out all the wonderful websites you've left for me and checking through my old cookbooks. Especially the pages that you can barely read for the spills - I figure those will be the best-loved recipes.

Secretsmile
Member

08-19-2002

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 - 6:04 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Secretsmile a private message Print Post    
WOW Jackie, LOL this is exactly what I did for my kids last Christmas and one trick I need to share with you is, make a copy for yourself!

Lots of the recipes I gave them were their all time favorites and I find it handy to have them all in one place myself.

Another hint, I found my kids needed exact directions as to buying the ingredients, especially with meats. Different stores may package ground beef as ground chuck or as hamburg, this threw my daughter in a tizzy, she called on her cell phone from a grocery store in NYC. Another thing they needed to know, salted or unsalted butter, and specify all purpose flour.

Saxywildcat
Member

05-30-2005

Thursday, December 22, 2005 - 9:41 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Saxywildcat a private message Print Post    
Okay, here's the potato casserole recipe. It's delicious! :-)

package of frozen cubed potatoes. I think it is a two pound bag.

8 cups of cubed ham. I usually buy half a ham and cut it up.

8 oz sour cream

can of cream of mushroom

can of cheddar cheese soup

mix together in a big bowl.

It will fit in a cake pan or something about that size. Otherwise you will
have to use several dishes
bake at 350 degrees. 45 minutes covered with foil and another 45 minutes
uncovered.

Jmm
Moderator

08-16-2002

Thursday, December 22, 2005 - 2:41 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jmm a private message Print Post    
Thanks so much all of you. I'm finally getting serious about getting this together and working on getting all your recipes in the book. I know that they'll love the comments too. LOL So if you have any more easy recipes please post them. You're such a great bunch of friends.

Escapee
Member

06-15-2004

Thursday, December 22, 2005 - 2:49 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Escapee a private message Print Post    
Awesome Chicken Enchiladas

2-3 Cups chicken, cooked and cubed or shredded.
3 Cups Colby Jack Cheese
1 Can Campbell's Zesty Nacho Soup
1/2 Can Milk (use soup can)
1 Cup Salsa
8-10 Burrito Sized Tortiallas
Sour Cream (optional)

Pre heat oven to 350.

Combine chicken, soup, milk, 2 cups of cheese, and salsa in a large skillet, mix together completely.
Heat until just bubbly and thick.
Remove from heat.

Yeild 1 cup of mixture.

Spray 13x9 inch casserole dish with cooking spray
Place 2-3 heaping tablespoons in each tortilla and roll. Place tortillas in casserole dish. Spread remaining mixture over the top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and put in oven for 15 - 20 minutes.

Serve while warm, dollop with sour cream.

This freezes really well too!

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Thursday, December 22, 2005 - 3:55 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Landi a private message Print Post    
sissy, don't forget to get weinermr's tuna casserole!

Biloxibelle
Member

12-21-2001

Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - 7:28 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Biloxibelle a private message Print Post    
Last night I made Teachmichigan's hashbrown casserole after reading it here. All I can say is it should come with a warning. If you don't want seconds you shouldn't make it. They were delicious. I reheated the leftovers tonight I think they tasted even better.

Secretsmile
Member

08-19-2002

Tuesday, January 17, 2006 - 12:12 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Secretsmile a private message Print Post    
Sometimes when we are tired of all our regular foods we go to the grocery store and pick a box or can and make the recipe on the label. We call it "box night" dinners.

Last night was box night here and it was a homerun.

2 Cans Seasoned Italian Style Stewed Tomatoes.
3 Cans Chicken or Veggie Broth
1 Bag of frozen mixed vegetables

Combine and bring to boil. Add half a box of bow tie pasta, simmer for 20 minutes.

That's it! Done and Delicious! I served with hot bread got rave reviews from the family.

Jagger
Member

08-07-2002

Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 5:33 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jagger a private message Print Post    
SS that sounds really good, I will have to try that.

Saxy your recipe for the potato casserole also sounds really good.

I am so hungry right now, but I am even lazier than I am hungry so not much for dinner tonight, maybe a bowl of cereal.