Favorite Weeknight Recipes

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 12:01pm

What recipes do you like to cook during the week after a long day of work? Bring it on!

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 12:42pm

Barilla Farfalle pasta with basil Pesto and garlic bread. I use both Classico basil pesto and I really like King Soopers brand pesto.

Another staple for me is grilled cheese. I like to dip it in mustard and ketchup. I also put either hot sauce or soy sauce on my grilled cheese from time to time.

And I often make quarter pound cheeseburgers with various types of "fries".

Green beans and asparagus are favorite veggies to make.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 1:19pm

Easy pizzas using a Boboli crust once a week usually.

Tomorrow I'm making one with pesto (unc, I use Classico too), mozzarella, sliced plum tomatoes and asparagus.

[tazber]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 1:22pm

I'm so lazy. I get prepared salad (Dole) and usually something that can be nuked (Morningstar 9 out of 10 times).

I'm not the world's most ambitious chef.

[Weez]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 1:25pm

My favourite easy meal is tuna steak with buttery rice. I soak the tuna steak in lime juice, cover it with black pepper, then grill it. Prepare a portion of rice, then melt in a little butter, and season as required. Add a bit of salad on the side if you can be bothered. SO easy, but SO tasty! I'm normally terrible at cooking fish, but I haven't failed at this one yet. :)

Failing that, jacket potato with as much cheese as my arteries will stand. Or nachos. Don't buy a kit, just keep a stock of cheap tortilla chips, salsa, jalapenos, guacamole, etc. Then arrange on the plate, cover in cheese, and microwave for a couple of minutes. Goddamn I could go for some nachos right now...

[StockardFan]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 1:27pm

Now I want nachos too Weez.

[Calvin]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 1:33pm

Shake and bake tofu! Just cube it, shake it in a baggie with a mix of wheat germ and seasoning and bake it for 15 minutes or so. Goes great over a green salad with goat cheese.

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 1:36pm

Easy-peasy stirfry:

Olive oil in a large skillet. Add sliced up chicken breast, a bag of mixed veggies, onion and garlic. After it's lightly browned, throw in some teriyaki sauce or stir fry sauce. Serve over rice - it now comes pre-cooked in bags you nuke for 90 seconds (5 varieties from Uncle Ben's).

Healthy and quick.

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 2:08pm

Put together a marinade before you go to bed and put it in a ziplock bag with chicken breasts. Let it sit until you get home the next evening and cook it.

An easy marinade is to take orange juice, dry italian dressing powder, a little lemon juice, and a touch of olive oil. Add red pepper if you like heat.

Posted: 1/4/10 at 2:37pm

OK this is NOT good for you but you WILL LOVE IT! I saw a recipe for "Irish Nachos" and sort of made it work with what I had

Cook Tater Tots (or french fries) according to package directions. While they are baking, microwave a can of chili. Take the tater tots out of the oven, push them together on the sheet and top them with Canned Chili and Shredded cheddar cheese and return to oven for 3-5 minutes till cheese has melted. Top them with your favorite Nacho toppings: Jalapenos, salsa, sour cream, diced onions, tomatoes, guacamole, you name it.

My husband asked for seconds!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 2:39pm

Joe that sounds like the white trashiest thing a person could ever make and I want them SO bad.

Reminds me of home.

Posted: 1/4/10 at 2:41pm

I KNOW! I toyed with saying I saw the recipe but didn't make them- but really, they were sooooooooooo good.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 3:15pm

Joe, what is it with you and tater tots?

That does sound pretty yummy though.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 3:40pm

Hmmm, I don't differentiate between weekdays and weekends, or even lunch or dinner. I eat whatever I'm in the mood for.

For instance, last night on Iron Chef, someone made scallops so I had scallops and sauteed spinach for lunch today. (I usually have my bigger meal at lunch).

To answer the question, though - when I cook, I make the whole recipe and freeze the remainder in portions. That way, whenever I want something good, I pop out a portion from the freezer and microwave it.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 4:44pm

Today for lunch I made Brown Rice Risotto!
I took my leftover brown rice from last night and put it in a microwave dish. I poured chicken broth in to about a half an inch over the rice and stirred it. I microwave it in increments of 3 minutes (uncovered on high), stirring after each time, until I got risotto. I then shredded in some steamed chicken and broccoli, and had lunch!

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 4:46pm

Uh oh, I have tater tots in the freezer and the market is a block away....

And Jordan, we don't say White Trash. It's "Blanc Debris". Just makes it sound classier!

:)

Updated On: 1/4/10 at 04:46 PM

Posted: 1/4/10 at 4:48pm

I love Tots and we almost always have them in the freezer.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 4:49pm

I actually haven't had tots in years

[StockardFan]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 5:39pm

When my son was about 3 he liked them, so I'd sometimes eat his leftovers (and any that got a little burnt). But now he says he only wants french fries.

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 5:44pm

I also like breakfast for dinner. I was going to cook breakfast this morning and didn't. So I think I am going to do either a sausage and cheese omlette or sausage with eggs & Cheese.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 5:57pm

I always end up ravished around 2 or 3 AM and my favorite thing to make is something between an omelette and a pizza that I call a piz-omelet. It's quite healthy, too, depending on how much cheese you use.

I put 2 or 3 eggs worth of Egg Beaters in a pan over medium high heat and add parsley, red pepper, salt and pepper and let it cook until just done, about 5-7 minutes. Then I put shredded mozzarella around the perimeter, some very aged Gouda in the center and a dollop of goat cheese and let it firm up in the pan for another 3 or 4 minutes. I then transfer the disc to a piece of parchment on a sheet pan and put it in the oven under the broiler for 5 minutes or so. I always make sure the rack is no higher than mid-oven as the cheese puffs up a good 6 inches and burns too quickly if set too high. (Many nights, favorite late night entertainment is watching it grow as it bakes!) Then I remove it from the oven and cut it into 6 pieces like a pizza. Occasionally, I put a whole wheat tortilla on the plate with a little ricotta and set the piz-omelet (my word) on top and let it melt the ricotta, sealing the tortilla to the omelet, then cut it as usual. Very high in protein and low-carb!

P

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 5:59pm

I hadn't had tots for years either. Then I tried them and they didn't seem the same. I didn't remember them as having the potato filling like rice. it's not smooth. right?

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 6:02pm

You are right Jane, they are not smooth.

I also like buffalo fries. If they are out of them at the market, I make them myself.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 6:05pm

Never heard of buffalo fries! I guess I could call them bison fries also.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 6:46pm

What are Buffalo fries?