a question...or two (for you)
(dreaming of summer at the market)
i sometimes think of questions i would like to ask you. you, the people out there who stop by and read my words and connect with me from your corner of the world.
sometimes the questions are simple like "if you had this friday night to spend all by yourself, what would you do?"
sometimes they are more along the lines of "when does your heart feel at peace? even for just a sliver of time...will you tell me about it?"
sometimes they are just little daily living things like "what is your favorite fruit/veggie juicing combination?"
sometimes they are craft+art related questions like "what's your favorite glue or thread or yarn or crochet pattern or..." and how the list goes on.
i think i am going to start a new little series of blog posts here; posts where i just throw these questions out there in the hopes that you might answer me with your wisdom. maybe you will answer in a comment or an email or even in a blog post...
today, i want to ask one of those little daily living questions.
i want to start cooking more often, but i am looking for quick, healthy meals that fall under categories like:
i probably have most of the ingredients in my cupboard or can make do with what i have
the ingredients can be purchased in a quick trip to the store
it's 4:30 pm and i just realized i need to think of something to make for dinner
this is so damn good that i want to eat it every week even if it isn't as easy as i'd like...it's worth it
one pot meals
do you have any recipes you can share (or link to) that fall into any of these categories? recipes that work for you (and your family) as you try to balance everything and still eat healthy and at home at the table...
thanks,
liz
a question (for you)
Reader Comments (25)
Oooh! (waving her hands excitedly in the air) I love this post! You are so good at making us feel we are right there with you and I always want to go have a cup of tea and a walk with you. :)
Hmm, the first thing that crops up as an answer is butternut squash soup. Do you have that? We have it regularly and it is one of my favourite meals. Butternut squash wouldn't be something you'd have in your larder though, and perhaps not as easily available in the states as here. Nevertheless, it is quick, easy, healthy and delicious. So I'll tell you that while I think of more meals to suggest. I'll be back! I'll email you the recipe for the soup, and then you can decide whether you want to use it. :) xoxo
I'm waving my hand excitedly in the air too! Here is one of my favorites (my husband, who is not at all interested in my health kick, also loves this one)...
4 boneless/skinless chicken thighs, 1/2 yellow bell pepper (thinly sliced), 1/2 green bell pepper (thinly sliced), 1 red onion (thinly sliced), 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, 1 T. instant tapioca, 1 T. Chili paste with garlic, 1/2 t. Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, 1/4 t. red pepper, 1/4 t. salt (salt is optional if you're worried about hypertension like I am).
Lay the veggies in the bottom of your crock pot, lay the chicken on top of that, mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour on top of everything. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. I like to serve with rice, but it's also great with mashed potatoes.
Enjoy!
Kelley
Oh yeah, I have a favourite quick, healthy dinner that I never, ever tire of:
http://graceperiod.wordpress.com/2007/06/08/good-food-friday/" REL="nofollow">Veggie and Noodles with peanut sauce
If you try it - let me know what you think.
The other recipes here look great, too.
http://graceperiod.wordpress.com
mmm... I only deal in easy!
My recent fave is
3 chicken breasts
1 can cream of celery
1 can cream of broc
(hate to say it, but campbells low sodium works best. I've tried organic healthy valley, but it's a little thin. It does work though)
sprinkle chicken with favorite flavoring (ie salt)
Cover with soups
Put in corning with lid in oven
375 for 45 minutes to hour. No need to nurse it, just leave it there...
Make rice of choice
Plate rice, chicken, cover with soup
ymmm
Roasted vegetables. Potatoes, yams, brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrots, asparagus, green beans, squash ... the list can go on forever. Just toss them with olive oil, salt & pepper and put them in a hot (425 degree) oven until they're done. Or green leafies sauteed with olive oil, garlic, maybe a bit of lemon juice at the end.
Once I get the vegies done the rest is easy.
I just discovered one of the best foodie blogs ever: http://myhusbandhatesveggies.wordpress.com/
I just made the fat-fighting guacamole yesterday and it was super fast and easy and oh my! SO delicious! I'm dying to try the tortilla pie too. I lover her approach of trying to make healthy be easy and tasty.
i wish i knew the answer to this
but instead
will wait excitedly to see
what OTHER people answer,
as this is always an issue in our
house, too...
great idea, liz!
there's a recipe that i love that can be eaten warm or cold... risoni, roasted butternut squash and chickpeas... all tossed together with parmesan cheese and loads of yummy fresh parsley. use butter beans instead of chickpeas... or sweet potato insteatd of squash... or corriander instead of parsley... or whatever. it's too too yummy!
How fun! I'm on the same quest of cooking more often. Being home more, with much less income, it's become a necessity. We're really enjoying our meals together, especially since it's cold and snowy outside. :-)
Here's a recent favorite (stolen from GailNHB):
-1 pound of pasta, cooked & drained
-sautee 1 or 2 red bell peppers
-feta cheese
-sun dried tomatoes
Add last 3 ingredients to pasta, toss, warm a bit, and serve. It's deeeeelicious!
Also, vegetarian web sites are great places to get easy, filling recipes. I'll send you more via email when I think of them.
Bon Appetit!
lisa
I love making Nachos in pita bread...so everything that would go on nachos..instead goes in a more healthy whole wheat pita.
I also love to make stuff squash, with brown and wild rice, crasisns. (cook your rice with chicken stock and orange zest to add more flavor) Bake the squash...
I am not a good recipe person, but these couple of tricks are healthy and we love them!
Hi Liz.....Im going to share with you, my NEWEST fav. recipe, which is yummy and easy....what more could you ask for? : )
I pack of chicken breasts or tenders.
2 cans coconut milk
1 jar green thai curry. (you can buy the THAI brand, but its spicy, I reccomend the Trader Joes variety)
1/2 white onion
1 green bell pepper
10-12 mushrooms.
1/2 lb. bean sprouts
1 c. jasmine rice.
Hopefully, you have a crockpot....., if not, you can just stir fry the chicken and all the ingredients as you go.
For Crock Pot:
Add chicken
1 Can coconut milk
thai curry paste
cook on HIGH ALL DAY!!
Upon your arrival home and once chicken is thoroughly done...add the chopped veggies....
In the meanwhile...you have already cooked your rice.
Once rice is done, add 2nd can of coconut milk and 1 tsp. salt, mix together.
Plate the rice, bean sprouts (raw) on your plate, then add your yummy thai chicken and veggies....
I always have this stuff in my cupboard cuz Imake this often....but its really a quick trip to the store and/or Trader Joes!
If you make it, let me know how you guys liked it! WE love it!
beccamoore6@yahoo.com
couscous salad: chicken broth - boil add couscous. Let cool. toss with some olive oil and lemon juice, add chopped tomato, chopped cucumber, crumbled feta cheese, chopped scallions, sometimes kalamata olives. salt and pepper to taste. Yummy.
What a great idea. I especially love this topic. I do not love cooking or really even like it so having help with healthy recipes is terrific. Thank you to everyone for their ideas!
my vote is for the roasted veggies too! i LOVE them!! and olive oil and garlic just bring out the flavor so very well.
sometimes i sprinkle them with bread crumbs and parm cheese. WOW!!!
i love this idea liz! this will be great...but unfortunately you're starting with a question i don't know much about because i don't do a lot of the cooking. most of the major cooking in our home is done by trey...not me. i have commited to eating more raw foods this year and i have found a pretty easy raw soup recipe i'll share...here goes...
take 2 cups of your favorite raw veggie juice (carrot, tomato, etc.), 2 small avocados (or 1 large), a clove of garlic (finely chopped), a little freshly grated ginger, some parsley, some salt & pepper, throw it all in the blender and blend until smooth & creamy...i also throw in some flax seeds just to get a little more of a health kick. trey actually liked the tomato...but wouldn't give the carrot a try.
i'm really looking forward to this series!
oh this is wonderful sweetie and
YES!! not just one per say but
I love to make big batches of
soup ~ enough for three meals and
freeze it ~ so i always have
red onions etc to start and
then make a butternut squash /
carrot soup with a dash of curry
~ then all I have to do is
take it out of the freezer and
add salad etc or just a platter of
veggies and dip:)
i always have jars filled with a variety of dried beans and a bin full of brown basmati rice, a container of hot peppers in the freezer and a bowl full of fresh garlic and ginger and can whip up a clean out the fridge and pour in the spices (definitely need sage, thyme, tumeric, basil, oregano and whatever else cattches your fancy) and throw in whatever veggies you have in your fridge. its always different, its always tasty and its always quick and easy! xox
I found this recipe yesterday at annesfood.blogspot.com and I want to make it for dinner tonight.
Cinnamon Chicken
serves 4
1 kilo of chicken pieces, preferrably thighs, but use your favorite
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tsp cinnamon
3 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flaky sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
Mix all ingredients, and let the chicken marinate for at least a few hours. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake the chicken in the oven for 30-40 minutes until it's cooked through and the skin is browned and crispy.
This is such a fantastic idea, Liz. I usually cook once a week and pack up meals for the week since I work at night. I almost always have a soup of some sort going. An easy base is:
one onion, 3 carrots, 2 celery stalks sauteed. Season with salt and pepper.
You can add all sorts of combinations to this if you have them on hand:
a box of frozen spinach and a can of cannellini beans
ginger, edamame and snow peas
tomatoes and zucchini
Then add broth of your choice.
If you're so inclined throw in some leftover rice or some small pasta that you cook in a seperate pan and have drained.
Get creative. Soup is hard to mess up. Believe me.
Check out this site:
http://dinnerdaily.blogspot.com/
lots of delicious recipes there!
Mahlzeit!
I didn't reply at first because I wasn't sure I'd have much of use to add, but some of my best meals are cooked for the freezer (cooking for one is best managed this way, I find). I fix a big pot of ratatouille, and serve it with grilled chicken or tuna, pasta or baby potatos. Also love veggie stews and bakes - morroccan vegetable stew, black lentil stew, aduki bean stew. But for a quick meal, stir-fries get my vote. Heat a wok, toss in lots of sliced veggies, with olive or sesame oil, season with 5-spice, ginger or whatever you fancy. Different every time.
And on the roasted veggies. Love them, but I always include cherry tomatoes, and when they burst, their juices get all caramelised with the onion... add a splash of balsamic vinegar.... mmmmm.
And http://www.recipezaar.com/ has loads of recipes, and you can search by whatever ingredients you have on hand. Useful.
Oddly, I hadn't even read your post yet when I posted this 15 minute Tuna Nicoise recipe on my blog (please click my name to see it!) Though I don't often comment, I read your blog nearly everyday and I'm often amazed how you're on my wavelength, or I'm on yours or somehow we're often thinking the same thing. Yay!
Thanks for asking.
xo, Brooke
Hey there, this is SUPER easy and so fast. First, take a can of tuna, drain it and put in a bowl. Then add a raw egg a diced tomato and small onion, sweet chili sauce (or really whatever sauces you are partial to...I sometimes use dill and cheese as well) and some salt and peppa. Then make patties out of the mixture (hamburger sized)and fry in a frying pan w a bit of oil. In about 10 mins, voila! Protein packed tuna burgers : ) I usually eat mine on a bun with tomato and lettuce. Hope you get a chance to try them.
(and p.s. like reading your blog!)
Hi!
Hello! I have been eating this every day for the last week. I used to be a cook (not a chef) and am going to someday write a book entitled, "Two Minute Dinners." True chefs will cringe and avoid me, I know, but everyone really DOES like this!
Three-Second Beet Soup
Drain a can or two o' pickled beets and blend with one cup of soup stock and a half cup (or more) of cream or milk or WHATEVER you have on hand but not soy milk as it might curdle. Heat this. Eat this.
If you have more than three seconds? Chop and brown some onions (chop finely, cook for some time in oil) and/or chop (really finely) some garlic and ginger.
Do keep cans of stock in your cupboard! Easy, easy, easy!
Also... you can omit the beets and make asparagus soup (needs the onions) or really ANY veggie you have on hand, fresh or frozen or canned. If I use something besides beets, I usually add nutmeg and lots and lots of curry powder. Even my little darlings love it.
http://www.calorieking.com/recipes/Chicken-Turkey-Fowl-and-Egg/Chicken-Turkey-Fowl-Dishes/Sesame-Garlic-Chicken-Stir-Fry_Y2lkPTUmc2lkPTE5JnJpZD00NDg.html" REL="nofollow">Sesame Garlic Stir-fry -- we have this almost once a week, it's a favorite in my household. You can vary the recipe with chicken, beef, tofu... and the sesame garlic sauce I highly recommend is Iron Chef. The BEST.
Other quick, healthy favorites include:
- http://innerself.com/recipes/soups/Cabbage_Soup.htm" REL="nofollow">Cabbage Soup
- http://www.recipezaar.com/181987" REL="nofollow">(Dairy Free) Tuna Casserole
- Pita stuffed with greens, tomato, cucumber, feta cheese, olives, dried cranberries, balsamic vinaigrette.
Yum. This topic is making me hungry!