I've seen a thousand cooking blogs that claim to have easy to make food. But as you scroll through the ingredient list you start to groan, and it's even worse when you have to scroll down for 5 minutes through artsy food pictures to read the recipe. Well worry no longer- I'm a regular 25 year old with a full time job that needs something ACTUALLY easy and convenient to make, so here are the recipes I make on a regular basis. They're all surprisingly quick too!
Many of these recipes came from my mom. When I realized how easy to make all the amazing meals I'd eaten my whole life were, I was totally shocked!
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Not-Your-Average-Cooking-Blog Blog
Meatballs in a sweet and tangy homemade “bbq” sauce
Difficulty: *
I don’t know what to call this sauce, it’s just yum! This is one of the meals I grew up on.
Makes about 2 dozen meatballs
Ingredients:
For meatballs:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 3/4 cup soft bread crumbs (1 1/2 pieces of bread in food processor)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/8 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
For sauce:
- 1 cup ketchup
- 4 tbsp butter/margarine
- 4 tbsp white molasses or brown sugar
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Mix together all meatball ingredients except the meat, then add meat and mix with your hands. Don’t over mix.
3. Form into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet
4. Cook in oven for 25-30 mins, until nicely browned and slightly crispy on the very edges
5. About 10 mins before meatballs are done, melt butter for sauce in a medium saucepan
6. Add remaining sauce ingredients and stir to combine. Simmer for about 5 mins.
7. Add meatballs into sauce to coat
8. Serve with rice, or my favorite, buttered noodles. It’s yummy if you get a little bit of sauce on the noodles
Seriously Eatsy: Recipes for Normal People
Chile Colorado Burrito (crockpot recipe, but stovetop instructions included)
Easiest recipe I’ve ever made. Guys I’m DYING over how easy and incredibly delicious this is!!! I wasn’t expecting much because canned enchilada sauce can be “eh,” but it was great! Recipe taken from Food Pusher
Next time I will try Chile Verde Burritos :)
Difficulty: *
Ingredients (makes 3 burritos. Double for more):
- 1 lb stew meat
- 1 14 oz can Old El Paso red enchilada sauce (I love this brand… others make me gag. I do not guarantee the outcome of your burritos if you use a different brand ;) )
- 2 beef bouillon cubes (the store was out so I just used my tomato-chicken ones and it was great!)
- 1/2 can refried beans
- burrito size flour tortillas
- shredded cheese
Recipe:
1. Dump beef, enchilada sauce, and bouillon cubes into crock pot. Cook on high 3.5 hours. (OR low 7-8 hours OR bring to a boil on stove and then put on low and simmer for 1.5-2 hours)
2. When beef is done, heat refried beans in microwave.
3. Put beans and meat and a little cheese in tortilla (use slotted spoon so you dont scoop much sauce), roll into a burrito. Put burrito on oven safe plate.
4. Pour sauce from crockpot over the burrito and sprinkle with cheese.
5. Set oven to broil on high and put burrito in for 2 mins
6. Hot plate! enjoy!
Skillet Queso- Chili’s Copycat Recipe
I’m eating this right now.. oh man. It tastes exactly like it! This recipe is stupid easy.
Copied the recipe from here: http://www.therecipecritic.com/2012/11/chilis-copycat-skillet-queso.html
Difficulty: *
Ingredients:
- 1 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
Recipe:
1. Combine all ingredients in a pan over medium low heat. Stir frequently until cheese melts and it is hot! I started melting the cheese by itself first, this may make it more likely to burn, but it worked alright for me.
Tortellini with Spinach in a Tomato Cream Sauce.
Difficulty: *
This sauce has so much flavor… it is so incredibly delicious and I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make. I copied the recipe exactly from here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spinach-tomato-tortellini/detail.aspx
Ingredients
- 1 large package of tortellini. I bought a 20 oz package of tortellini and still had leftover sauce, but that’s ok because you can jar it and freeze it to reuse.
- 1 can diced tomatoes with italian seasoning
- 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp minced garlic (this was 2 cloves for me)
- 2 tbsp flour
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Recipe
1. Boil water and cook tortellini according to directions on package while you’re preparing the sauce
2. In a saucepan combine tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, basil and garlic. Stir until bubbly
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, milk and heavy cream. Stir into your tomato mixture. I have a feeling it would be fine to slowly whisk these into the pan directly.
4. Stir in the parmesan cheese.
5. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thick, about 2 min.
6. Serve and enjoy!
Deviled Eggs with Bacon or Sweet Gherkins
These are great for parties! Alright, bear with me, this recipe is going to be a little wonky because I never measure anything out for these. This is a taste-as-you-go recipe. The ones pictured are a tad bit watery, but they got devoured at my friend’s baby shower. I’ve always made them with gherkins (sweet pickles), but the bacon made them incredible. It’s definitely a different flavor so try what you want. I always make a few without a topping for people who like them plain.
Difficulty: **
Ingredients
- Carton of large eggs. The amount you make is up to you!
- Jar of mayo, you will probably use a lot
- Squirt of mustard
- Splash of apple cider vinegar
- Seasoned Salt
- Pepper
- Paprika
- Onion Powder
- Garlic powder
- Bacon, sweet gherkins, or whatever you want to use to top them.
Recipe
1. Hard boil your eggs. Use eggs that are closer to their expiration date and they will be easier to peel. This is how I boil them:
1. Put eggs in the bottom of the sauce pan. Do not stack.
2. Cover with about an inch of cold water, sprinkle in a little bit of table salt.
3. Turn burner on high and bring to a boil.
4. Once it starts to boil, turn down to low and simmer for one minute.
5. Remove from heat and cover.
6. Let sit for 15 mins.
7. Rinse eggs in the sink in cold water. I just put the whole pan in there and run cold water over it.
8. Put in the refrigerator until they get cold
9. Peel (worst part of the whole thing)
2. Cut each egg in half (from top to bottom), and remove the yolks. Gently push on the back and they should just pop out.. Put yolks in a mixing bowl
3. Mash yolks with a potato masher or a fork
4. Put in globs of mayo. Do a little at a time until you get the texture you want. At this point some people use a hand mixer to whip the yolk so they’re smooth. I don’t like doing this.
5. Splash in a VERY small amount of apple cider vinegar and mix. If you like them more tart, add a little more. Be careful because too much vinegar will make them watery and gross!
6. Squeeze in a small amount of mayo and mix. Same with the vinegar, add more if you like the tart flavor. I only use a very small amount otherwise it’s overwhelming
6. Sprinkle in all spices and mix until you get the flavor you want. I tend to use quite a bit, especially paprika. Be careful with the salt because the yolk and mayo are already salty. You might not have to use any.
7. Cook bacon and break into small strips, or slice gherkins. Place the toppings.
8. Put in an egg serving plate and sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top when serving to make them look extra pretty.
Better-than-Olive-Garden Pasta Fagioli soup
Ingredients:
- 1/2 to 1 pound of ground beef depending on how meaty you like it. I use somewhere in between the two
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 carrot chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 4 cups water & chicken bouillon cubes OR 4 cups chicken broth (can use beef.. I always use chicken just because it’s what I have).
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can white beans (cannelloni)
- 1/2 can spaghetti sauce (highly recommend prego garlic and herb for extra flavor)
- 1/2 tsp hot sauce (I like pico pica)
- 3 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 2 1/2 tsp oregano
- 2 1/2 tsp basil
- 1 tsp black pepper
- about 1 cup of small type of pasta, for example elbows
Directions:
1. In a large pot, brown beef. Add onions and garlic near the end.
2. Add all ingredients except pasta. Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 10 mins
3. Add pasta and bring back to a boil for 10 mins. If you prefer you can cook the pasta separate so it doesn’t get too soggy.
4. Done! Serve and enjoy.
My friend posted a recipe for some delicious looking “smushed potatoes…” Click read more and check it out!
Creamy Cajun Chicken (or shrimp) Linguini
If you like creamy sauces and a little spice.. you will absolutely love this recipe. The added tartness of the tomatoes is awesome. Recipe taken from here with slight modification
Difficulty: *
Ingredients:
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut up (or shrimp)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb linguini or pasta of choice
- 4 tsp cajun seasoning (can find in any grocery store.. might be in a specialty section. I use Tony Chachere’s)
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 4 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 2 gloves garlic, minced
- grated parmesan cheese to garnish
Directions:
1. Cut up chicken, then toss in a bowl with cajun seasoning until it’s well coated
2. Start boiling water and cook pasta simultaneously with following instructions
3. Melt butter over medium heat
4. Add olive oil, then chicken and cook until fully cooked (5-7 mins depending on thickness)
5. Reduce heat to low and add the rest of the ingredients (except cheese). Simmer until thickened ~5 mins
6. Pour over cooked pasta, sprinkle with cheese, and enjoy
How are my difficulty ratings? Do you think anything is harder than I’m saying it is? I’m a little skeptical since I use a lot of fresh herbs and spices. I want to keep this blog to easy recipes! What do you think?
Everyone loves GUACAMOLE!
Apparently after I brought this Guac to my friend’s party, she was telling some people at a local market that mine is better than theirs. Aww.
This one’s a little more difficult because I do a LOT of eye-balling and taste testing. So just take it slow and add things in gradually. Plus it can be a little tedious with all the chopping (I like fresh ingredients). But very worth it in the end. I will put an easy, 1* recipe at the end.
Difficulty: ***
Ingredients:
- Avocados. Depending on how much you want to make. For 2 people I’d say just 2-3 large avocados. For a small party I used 5.
- Spoonful of sour cream
- Small amount (maybe a tablespoon) of chunky salsa
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Garlic salt
- 1-2 limes
- Probably about 1/4 white onion
- Fresh cilantro
- 1 tomato or a handful of cherry/grape tomatoes.
Directions:
- Peel and pit your avocados. Put them all in a bowl. Mash them up using a fork. Leave it a little chunky, unless you prefer it very smooth.
- Dice up probably 1/2 of the tomato. Add in until it looks like a normal amount
- Dice probably 1/4 of the onion (depending on size). Again add until it looks like a normal amount (last time I put way too much.. be careful. Mix while you add until it looks right, and don’t be afraid to taste test).
- Clean off a pair of scissors and over the cutting board, hold the cilantro bunch upside down and chop roughly at the leaves until you have a small handful. Chop up with scissors until it’s fairly small. Add into bowl until it looks right.
- Put in a spoonful of sour cream and a small spoonful of chunky salsa if desired.. it’s still good without but I think it bulks it up a bit and adds a little extra flavor and creaminess
- Squeeze in a lime or two depending on batch size and how limey you like it.
- sprinkle in a fair amount of chili powder, garlic salt, and cumin. For a large batch maybe start with a teaspoon (I’m guessing here) each. Mix and taste test. Add more if it needs more flavor.
Keep adding and mixing until it tastes the way you like it. Like I said.. take it slow so you don’t add too much of something. Also don’t overmix or you might lose the chunkiness.
And now for the easier recipe:
- Peel and pit your avocados. Put them all in a bowl. Mash them up using a fork. Leave it a little chunky, unless you prefer it very smooth.
- Put in a few spoonfuls of sour cream. Don’t overdo it. Add a little at a time until it looks and tastes right. Add a small amount of salsa to add in some tomatoes, chilis, and flavor.
- Sprinkle in cumin, onion powder, garlic salt, and chili powder until it tastes the way you like it.
Done!
Tips for keeping homemade guac good in the fridge for a day or two:
1. Use a fair amount of lime juice. This helps it keep from turning brown.
2. Save a pit and store it in with the guac.
3. Cover tightly with saran wrap. Meaning, push the saran wrap down on top of the guac so there is no air in between.
4. Using more sour cream keeps it from turning brown, but will make it lose some of it’s avocado-ness.
Enjoy!
