,I'm in a similar situation where more than an hour of cooking exhasts me so here is a recipe. More to follow, I hope.

First E-Z Chili

This recipe I find ideal because it has very little work involved and it is spread throughout the day.

Ingredients
Pinto Beans
optional: Red Beans
optional: Piece of Salt Pork or 1/2 Hamhock
Ground Beef - 1/4 lb. per person being served round off to nearest convenient lb.
Onion - 1/2 to 2 onions depending on taste
Oil or Margerine to saute Onion
Favorite Salsa - about 1 c. per cup of dry beans to be varied by taste.
Chili Powder to taste
Honey or Brown Sugar - about 1/4 c. per cup of dry beans varied by taste.

First, to prepare the beans for cooking; Select your beans, I use Pinto beans but sometimes add Red beans to the mix, and measure out the amount you wish to work with. To feed a family of 7 I use 3 cups(dry beans) and usually have a little left over(makes great chip dip). Sort your beans to remove any little stones or other non-bean objects, rinse and set to soak in water, 4x amount of beans. If you are really planing ahead and doing this step the night before then just leave overnight. If you are doing this in the morning then you need to bring your beans and water to a boil and keep it boiling for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cover to let sit for 1 hour.

To cook the beans(begin 3 1/2 hours before time to serve); Drain beans, discarding soak water, rinse in fresh water at least once. Add water to the pot, 3 - 4 cups per cup of beans(when dry). (Optional: Add piece of salt pork or 1/2 hamhock.) Bring to simmer and cover to cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours (I favor 2 1/2 hours for softer beans).

Final Assembly(about 1/2 hour before serving); In skillet brown the Ground Beef and drain, set aside. While Beef is browning chop Onion then saute Onion in skillet in Oil or Margerine till onion is translucent, set aside. Add to cooked Beans; Beef, Onion, Salsa, Chili Powder and Honey or Brown Sugar. Stir to mix ingredients and serve.

Best with cornbread on the side which, cooked from scratch should be begun 45 minutes before serving.

 

 

 

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Next Fox Special

One of the simplest, entirely from scratch, one dish meals that I know.

Ingredients
Ground Beef - 1/4 lb. per person being served round up to nearest 1/2 lb. or lb.
Optional: replace Ground Beef with Ground Sausage and reduce spices to one favorite spice
Medium sized Potatoes - 1 per person being served
Oil - to cover bottom of pan
Spices - Mix and match to your taste from;
Basil
Oregano
Majorum
Rosmary
Thyme
any favorite spice
Eggs - 1 per person being served.
Shredded Cheese

Begin 45 minutes. before serving time. For speedier preparation use two skillets, one a large family sized skillet for the potatoes.
Break up and brown Ground Beef in a skillet. While browning Beef scrub Potatoes (only peel if being prepared for a finicky eater) and dice into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes. Pour oil into skillet and swirl to cover bottom of pan, add chosen spices and potatoes and cover. Cook on medium high frequently scraping the bottom of the pan until potatoes are cooked, ideally the outside of the potatoes are a golden color. When both meat and potatoes are cooked combine in large skillet and add eggs. Work eggs into beef and potatoe mixture, even distribution is not required, and cover to steam contents of pan. Let cook for about a minute then turn mixture scraping the bottom of the pan, repeat untill eggs are soft cooked. Turn mixture once again and sprinkle a layer of cheese over top, remove from heat and cover to let cheese melt.

 

 

 

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Oooh crockpots are a must for a nearly hands free ( and yummy ) experience. Here is one of the QUICKEST recipes I use.

Crockpot Swiss chicken casserole

4-6 boneless chicken breasts ( or what ever will fit in the size crockpot you have without overlapping)

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1/2 can of milk ( by can I refer to that mushroom soup can which will be empty when you empty it into a bowl...)

Swiss cheese slices ( a slice for ever chicken breast you are cooking)

1 cup (or so) of DRY stuffing mix ( pick your brand and flavor



- Grease crockpot with some cooking spray

- Put your chicken breasts in botto of crock ( no overlapping )

- Cover chicken breasts with * Swiss cheese slices

- Sprinkle stuffing on top of cheese slices ( use as much as it takes to make an even but thin layer)


In a bowl dump contents of mushroom soup. Add half a soup can worth of milk to your mushroom bowl. Stir until it is all smooth.

- Take mushroom soup/milk mixture and pour evenly over the stuffing layer.

- Cook on low for 8 -10 hours.


* feel free to subsitute the swiss for a cheese you like

Ta da!!! Quick and easy!


A lot of crockpot recipes require some prep time in advance so if you plan on getting serious with crockpots I find investing in a food processor ( or chopper) a real time saver. I also prep all my ingredients the night before so I can just dump everything in the pot the next morning. I LOVE my crockpot!


If you don't have a crockpot you can always make variants on quick meals. Take this example of Macaroni and Cheese:

Mac n Cheese in a box ( like say Kraft for example).

Prep it like you would via the instructions on the box BUT use ranch instead of milk for a zangy taste. Add some extra shredded cheese ( like medium cheddar or montery jack) , some green onions and some tuna fish and WHA -LA!!!

OR

Prep it like you would via the instructions on the box BUT add some extra shredded cheese of the pepperjack variety, some green, yellow or red peppers and some sausage links ( you can get those pre-cooked and just warm them up in the nuker before adding) and WHA -LA!!!

Quick, simple AND tasty! My family loves those mac n cheese meals!

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Quick Chicken Cacciatore

2 tablepoons olive oil
8 (1.3kg) chicken thigh cutlets
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 medium tomatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup (30g) seeded black olives, sliced thinly (Leave them out if you don't like them)
2 tablespoons freshly shredded basil leaves

HEAT oil in a large frying pan
COOK chicken inbatches until browned on both sides and cooked through
DRAIN on absorbent paper
COVER

ADD garlic to same pan
COOK, stirring until soft
ADD tomato, sugar, balsamic and olives
SIMMER, uncovered for about 5 minutes or until tomato sauce thickens
SERVE chicken topped with tomato sauce
SPRINKLE with basil

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Has anybody thought of this yet? *snicker*

Get 2 pieces of bread and spread peanut butter and jelly, then put the pieces of bread together, then munch!

I'm crazy today.

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Some easy recipes to enjoy that I have created and others have enjoyed!

Ham, Cheese and Tomato Cracker Snacks

Ingredients (makes around 10 crackers):
– around 100-200 grams of cheese
– two or three tomatoes, finely diced
– around 100 grams of ham or more, finely diced
– a sauce (tomato, barbeque, etc…)

Method:
1. First of all, put the crackers onto position of serving.
2. Drizzle your desired sauce on top.
3. Sprinkle around a quarter of the cheese on top, be sure to coat the crackers well.
4. Sprinkle the other ingredients on, with the remaining cheese last.
5. Drizzle a bit more of the sauce on top.
6. Microwave on high for around 3 minutes or when cheese starts to melt.

Egg in a Basket
Ingredients (four slices):
- four slices of thick bread, with a circle cut out of the centre, around 5-7cm in diameter.
- Four eggs
- Salt for flavouring and taste

Method:
1. Heat up the some oil in the pan and lower two of the slices in.
2. Crack the eggs and put one in each centre of the hole.
3. When cooked, flip over, and repeat with other two slices.

Cheesy Egg
Ingredients (makes 4):
- four eggs, well beaten
- around 200g of cheese

Method:
1. When the pan is heated, put a sprinkle of cheese onto the pan, and quickly cover with the egg
2. Next, wait till cooked and flip.
3. Repeat with other eggs. (note, you must work fast with this, or the cheese will burn)

French Toast
Ingredients: (makes 16 quarters)
- around 3 eggs, beaten, with a little salt to taste
- four pieces of bread, cut into quarters

Method:
1. Soak the pieces of bread into the egg mix for around 3 minutes, making sure that they are well coated.
2. If you are deep frying, drop the pieces into the pot and fry until golden brown.
3. If frying, lather the pan in oil, and place the pieces one by one into the pan, until each side is well cooked.
4. Drain on a paper towel, and serve immediately. Garnish with cheese if desired.

Rolled Savoury Pancakes
Ingredients (makes around 4 fifteen centimetre diameter pancakes:
- around ½ - ¾ cup of flour
- around ¼ cup of milk
- 100g of cheese
- 200g of ham, finely diced
- ½ cup of peas
- 4 eggs
- salt to taste

Method:
1. Mix the flour, cheese and milk until a very smooth consistency is achieved. Add salt if desired.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients in and mix gently. Leave out the cheese.
3. Heat up the pan, and make two 15cm diameter blobs of mix.
4. Wait for a while, until the sides have set.
5. Slowly and gently, roll the pancake from one side to the other. If the pancake cracks, leave it for a bit and start rolling again.
6. When cooked and rolled, serve it on plates, sprinkle some cheese and serve immediately.

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