Recipe Request

FutureMrsTR

Yep, I'm going there.  I need some recipes (or recipe websites) that meet the following requirements:

1.  Not a lot of weird ingredients that I'll use 1/100th of and then stick in the cabinet.
2.  Fairly healthy or can at least be tweaked to be healthier.
3.  No slow cooker recipes because we don't have one.  If all you have are slow cooker recipes, please recomend a cheap slow cooker for me to buy.
4.  Not a lot of cheese, unless it's mozzarella.
5.  BONUS if it can be turned into good leftovers for me or H to take for lunch/dinner to work the next day.

I check out allrecipes.com and budgetbytes.com fairly often, but I'm not totally satisfied with those.  Allrecipes is just too much to go through and budgetbytes has some really good recipes, but often calls for odd ingredients.

Anything?

Beachy730

I get a lot of receipes from weight watchers' site, but you have to pay to access it.  If you would be willing to buy one of their cookbooks, which they have at regular stores too, their recipes are generally common ingredients.  

laurenclaire1386

eatingwell.com has good healthy recipes, but sometimes they use weird ingredients that I'll only use once. Most of the time, I just sub them for something I'll use more often.

Re: slow cookers. I have three. One I just got yesterday, as a belated wedding present. I swear to God I'll ship it to you.

aleighk1

Ohhh man. We made this the other night and it was amazing. 

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/red-pasta-primavera/

You can leave out some of the stuff if you want. We only put one kind of pepper in, we left out the basil and mint leaves, and we used parmesan instead of pecorino. 

I ate the leftovers for lunch yesterday and I'm eating it for lunch again today too.

KellyBrian2013

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sauted-chicken-breasts-with-latin-citrus-sauce-10000000642396/

I *love* that recipe... made with some white rice? Yumm.

But FWIW, I dice the chicken breasts before doing the spice rub, so I actually double the ingredients for the chicken... and I don't like cilantro, so I just leave it out of the sauce.

[Deleted User]

www.skinnytaste.com is one of my all time favorites.  I've cooked about 8 things from there and loved them all.

annakb8

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/black-bean-corn-and-tomato-salad-recipe/index.html
I made this the other night and it was good cold at lunch the next day. The jicama totally isn't necessary.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/weekday-cassoulet-recipe/index.html
I like this, except I use white meat and usually add a little sausage. Also makes good leftovers and semi healthy because it has lots of protein.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/beef-and-bulgur-stuffed-zucchini-recipe/index.html
This has a few more unusual ingredients (bulgur and currants) but is sooo good. And you could always substitue the bulgur for rice and the currants for raisins.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/spanish-chicken-stew-with-manchego-polenta-recipe/index.html
I love this. I use white meat instead of thighs for this too.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/eight-ball-zucchini-parmesan-10000001065512/
I really love this too. I guess I've just been really into stuffed zucchini lately.

jessicabessica

I really like this recipe for pasta with tomatoes and white beans:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/09/health/nutrition/09recipehealth.html?ref=pasta
If you keep a few basic nonperishables around, you can make it without advancing planning (the fresh herbs aren't necessary, although they're nice). 


I sometimes make peanut noodles--just combine peanut butter, sesame oil, and soy sauce in a blender (play with the amounts to get the rihgt consistency/flavor, I also add sriracha).  Toss the sauce with pasta (Barilla plus spaghetti works well and makes it more filling), sesame seeds, and chopped scallions.  Good room temp or cold. 

FutureMrsTR

Dude, LC, I have tons of random junk, maybe we can do a swap, haha.

laurenclaire1386

I have absolutely no use for it. I still have the crockpot that my mom got as a wedding present for her first marriage in 1975 (and it still works), two I got as shower gifts, then another one as of yesterday. I seriously need to get rid of one of them and I'm happy to send it to you.

FutureMrsTR

LC - YGPM lady, haha.

slwager

asian chicken meat balls. 

sautee 3/4 cup scallions combine in bowl w/:

1.5 lb ground chicken
2 tbls sesame oil
2 tbls soy sauce
2 tbls either hoison or oyster sauce (whichever you like better)
1tsp ginger (fresh or use 1/2 tsp powder)
2 tsp garlic
1 egg

mush it all together and make slightly-larger-than-golf-ball sized meatballs.  cook in the pan over med heat rotating regularly (takes about 6 minutes per ball)

J&K10910

cookinglight.com has some great ones, and they have sections for small ingredient lists and quick and easy too.  Some of my favorites:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-with-mushroom-sauce-50400000109626/
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/pepper-garlic-crusted-tenderloin-steaks-with-port-sauce-10000001646407/
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/penne-chicken-tenderloins-with-spiced-tomato-sauce-10000001173756/
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-chicken-with-rustic-mustard-cream-10000001896137/
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/asian-beef-noodle-filled-lettuce-cups-10000001723376/ (make a simple peanut sauce with PB, water to thin, Sriracha sauce, and soy sauce to top this, yum)
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-cherry-marsala-sauce-10000001097054/

Also, if something calls for an ingredient you don't have, can't find, don't use often, etc, definitely google substitutions.  Some weird ingredients can fairly easily be subbed with common ingredients without altering the dish too much.  Or even if it does alter it considerably, still turns out good.

And some people might argue this, but I've found NO appreciable difference in cooking with my $20 Target slow cooker (aside from a top that rattles a little, but is easily fixed by moving it around a bit) and my older, expensive name brand Crock Pot.

mandysmear

do you want ideas, or do you need actual recipes?

pita pizza!
tacos
taco salad
fajitas
paninis

FutureMrsTR

Mandy - I can't even tell you how many times I make tacos and fajitas, haha.  Pita pizza sounds intriguing though.  Don't you need a special press thing for paninis?

seprincipe

simplyrecipes.com has some great ideas and easy recipes

crepesofwrath.com is a great recipe blog

thepioneerwoman.com is also great - some less healthy options on here, but some great sandwiches and salads too.

cooksillustrated.com (a pay site) is a fantastic resource - its the consumer reports of cooking

cookinglight.com is not bad, but I find a lot of their recipes are lacking in something - flavor a lot of time.  

food and cooking is my life (i'm a personal chef....) so im always experimenting and trying new things.  

My latest obsession is this new slaw I made by mixing shredded savoy cabbage with red onions, grilled corn (grill on the cob, then slice off), red peppers, avocado, a touch of sour cream, lime juice, salt and pepper.  Its great on fish or chicken tacos, and as a side dish to turkey burgers.  

J&K10910

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_recipe-request-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:9fc08c6d-09c0-4342-9f18-162788b4a4e3Post:cb0b22f3-fd93-4338-800f-3f1c6c08b935">Re: Recipe Request</a>:
[QUOTE]Mandy - I can't even tell you how many times I make tacos and fajitas, haha.  Pita pizza sounds intriguing though.  <strong>Don't you need a special press thing for paninis?</strong>
Posted by FutureMrsTR[/QUOTE]

Do you have  George Foreman?

Otherwise, you can do them in a cast iron skillet (if you don't have one already, I HIGHLY recommend one), with something heavy on top too.  You just won't get the grill marks.

FutureMrsTR

You ladies are all so awesome, thank you!

mica178

Pasta bake?  H loves it, and it's super easy and reheats well.  You can make it as lean as you like (light mozzarella, ground turkey or tofu instead of beef -- I sometimes use bison which is very lean but high in protein).

Preheat oven to 350F.
Cook penne or other pasta according to package.  Drain.
Use lean ground meat (or tofu, I guess), brown with a chopped onion, some sliced mushrooms and a few cloves of garlic, a bay leaf or two, some salt and red pepper.  Add a bottle of pasta sauce.
In a 9x13" baking pan, alternate layers of pasta and sauce.  Top with some mozzarella and parmesan cheese. 
Bake until cheese melts.

FutureMrsTR

No, I feel like we should get a George Foreman because we're in an apt without erally any outside space to grill.

missy68

I made a tuna/green bean casserole - the recipe is down in the thread about TK hating FFF. You could probably sub mozzarella for the cheddar, or provolone, and use couscous or quinona (it would need to be something that cooks quickly and doesn't need too much liquid). To make it healthier, use no salt added green beans, low sodium or the Healthy version of Cream of Mushroom soup, seasoned breadcrumbs for the topping, and skim milk.
And yes, it does make leftovers. I'll probably be eating them all weekend, at least until my lip heals enough to eat something crunchy and tomato-ey.

sarabear23

My mom makes this chicken, and it is sooo good. We always make enough for leftovers the next day (or 2!) and eat it with rice.

You'll need:
chicken thighs
equal parts low-sodium soy sauce and sugar
about half a cup of water
5-10 thin slices of fresh ginger (if you keep it in the freezer, it lasts forever)

Mix the soy sauce sugar and water together in a skillet with a lid. Add the ginger and the chicken. Cook until the chicken is done. You'll probably need to flip the chicken over about half way through the cooking, so both sides get nice and galzed with the liquid.

I love this stuff so so so much. Now I want some.

J&K10910

You don't have a GF grill either?  Your kitchen gives me the sads.  If you get one with removeable plates, they're way easier to clean.  The ones without are AWFUL to clean.

Beachy730

LC you weren't able to return any of them anywhere?  That sucks.  Works out for TR though!  

jemmini6

Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers:

2 large bell pepper, tops cut off and seeded (I like using yellow or red for this recipie)
4 oz hot Italian turkey sausage, removed from lining (I like using more, so we use about 3 links)
3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1 large plum tomato, chopped
2/3 cup instant brown rice
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil (I use scallion onions instead)
1/3 cup finely shredded smoked cheese such as mozzarella our gouda

I'll have to get you the exact prep/cooking directions when I get home, but basically you flash steam the bell peppers, brown the sausage in a pan, add the chicken broth and rice and cook until the rice is done.  Then add in the tomatoes, scallions and a little bit of the cheese.  Stuff the bell peppers with the mixture, top with the remaining mozzarella and broil in the oven just until the cheese melts/browns a little.

They are ridiculously good (I think the key is the HOT Italian sausage, it adds the perfect amount of flavor). 

Beachy730

J&K we just have a cheap one too that H had bought before we met.  I'm assuming it was about $20 probably.  But I have no problems with it.  It doesn't have a timer on it, but I work from home anyways so I just adjust it as necessary.  

laurenclaire1386

I probably could, Beach. I haven't even tried. Honestly, it's easier for me to stick it in the mail than to return it. I have to stop at the post office after work every single day. Might as well help out a buddy

annakb8

TR, I have a George Foreman I never use, I think it's a complete pain to clean. I have a cast iron grill pan I use almost every night though. I love that thing.

thesequel

Lemon Roasted Chicken 

- super easy and lots of leftovers! [C claimed he fell in love after this meal!]

Ingredients:

- 1 whole chicken (approx 3 lb)

- 2 medium lemons

- fresh lemon juice (1/2 c.)

- kosher or sea salt

- fresh ground pepper

Process:

Place rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 400.  Wash chicken inside and out with cold water, remove the giblets, then let the chicken drain, cvity down in a colander until it reach room temp (about 15 mins).  Pat dry with paper towels.  Pour lemon juice all over the chicken (inside and out) - a baster helps with this!  Season with salt and pepper.  Prick the whole lemons three times with a fork and place them deep inside the cavity of the chicken.  Place the bird breast-side down on a rack in a roasting pan, lower the heat to 350 and bake uncovered for 15 min.  Remove from oven and turn it breast-side up (use wooden spoons!).  Return it to the oven for 35 minutes more.  Continue baking until the juices run clean when pricked with a fork.  Let the chicken cool before carving.

Serve with rosemary roasted potatoes and a vegetable side.

Good luck!

Habs2Hart

Honestly, go to your library and grab "Eat, Shrink and be Merry" or "Crazy Plates, Looney Spoon". 

They are excellent recipes.  My friend did that and just photocopied them and made her own cookbook.  I love everything I've ever eaten out of those books. 

libbyloutoo

One of my current favs, which I sort of invented after one of my favourite dishes at a local Thai restaurant

Rama Long Song (my version)
-cook up a cup of rice (I use brown basmati)
-Chop up 1-2 chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and cook in a skillet with salt and pepper until browned.
-Add a can of coconut milk (I use low fat)
-Add a couple tbsp of peanut butter
-Add a couple tbsp of satay seasoning
-Add fresh spinach...a whole bag...the more the better.  Chop it up if you want but I prefer it whole

Spoon the chicken/sauce mixture over the rice.
Quick, easy and tasty...providing that peanuts don't send you into anaphylactic shock!

If you like soup, this is one of my favourite recipes
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Jamies-Minestrone/Detail.aspx
I like to match a big batch and freeze the extras for future dinners or lunches

Spaghetti sauce is also an easy standby which makes lots of extras for freezing or leftovers
-cook some onion and garlic
-the some ground beef in the pot and brown it
-throw in a jar or two of spaghetti sauce, some spices and whatever you want for veggies (spinach, canned tomatoes, zuccini, carrots, celery, etc)
Simmer and serve over whole wheat pasta