Easy Dinners

My Aunt read the post from yesterday and wanted to share her Get It Done Tips for easy meals.  Enjoy!

Here's something I make when I don't feel like cooking. I'm sure you do this but in case you don't.

Margarita Pizza

Get Trader Joe's or Whole Foods' dough.  I get one whole wheat and one white and then knead them together.

Make the crust.

Put a little oil and garlic on pizza dough Place  fresh mozzarella (yes it goes on first) then Plum tomatoes.  Plum tomatoes work well as you don't have a lot of seeds or juice.

Any kind of vegetables you might have in fridge or not.  I love it plain but I've put left over onions and peppers or chicken sausage.   

Bake 500 for 10 minutes.  Check to see if crust is done before taking out.

Kids love to put it together and put everything on the pizza too.

 
Slow Cooker Soup

Get everything already chopped, i.e.,raw onions, small carrots, celery.  And throw in slow cooker with beans.  1/2 cup barley, 1/2 cup lima bean, 1/2 cup any other beans you might have and a lamb  bone/hock.  Add whatever spices you have.  Just bought about 10 different spices that I plant in a large pot outside by my kitchen door.  Put in 6 or 7 cups of water or broth.  

 

Frittata

On Food Network yesterday while I was on the treadmill    I finally found what we had in Spain.  It was a potato/egg/frittata.   I loved it. They sell the "pies" every where in Spain.  Good to make ahead too as all they did was give you a slice that was warmed up.     I tried to get the recipe on line but couldn't find it.

Peel potatoes and slice thinly.  Put in boiling water until still firm but not hard (cooks quickly, don't want too soft or will fall apart)

5 eggs with little milk or so, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, chorizo or chicken sausage, chopped onions.  

Drain potatoes and add to the mixture of cheese, eggs, cooked sausage etc.  Don't over stir or potatoes will fall apart.  I'd say 30 minutes but I'll check other recipes before making.

Stuffed Vegetarian Peppers

Here's another from Spain.  I usually ask the waiter the ingredients if I like the dish and then try to make it.  No actual recipe with measurements, of course.  Had stuffed vegetarian peppers.

Here are the ingredients:  Brown rice, prunes (yes that's right) chopped, almonds (chopped), curry powder.  You wouldn't be able to guess that one of the ingredients was prunes. You could probably use wild rice, quinoa or whatever.  It did have a sauce on it but I don't remember what it was.   They also did a tomato cream sauce on top of stuffed peppers with cod.  I'd blanch the peppers before stuffing.

Fish Cooked in Parchment

Of course to make clean up easy, I always use parchment paper when making fish, peppers, cookies, etc.  Also get a full side of wild fish and enclose in parchment with carrots, celery,  (not onions), thyme, dill or whatever, little butter, wine.  Close the parchment and have a delicious fish dinner in 15 minutes.  Can't be quicker than that.  If you think it needs a bit more cooking, put under the broiler for 2 minutes.  Big salad tops it all off. 

 

YUM!