Quick and Easy Recipes

Meals in 30 Minutes or Less

A Guide so Easy a Complete Idiot Could Succeed!

by Joi

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Meals in 30 Minutes or Less

I have nothing but crazy wild love for the Complete Idiot books. I have so many of them that some of my bookcase shelves are entirely orange! I was recently sent a few of these consistently wonderful books to review on the food blog, causing me to do a happy dance across the kitchen floor. One of these books was the one you see pictured above, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Meals in 30 Minutes or Less.

This priceless 450+ page  book contains more than just 500 recipes you’ll use again and again, it also has great tips and tricks of the trade dispersed throughout under the headings of…

  • Definition. Cooking terms you may not be familiar with are defined and explained.
  • Minute Morsel. Information that makes cooking even more fun.
  • On the Clock. Tips for making something simpler, quicker, faster, and easier.
  • Time Waster. Alerts for things to watch out for – mistakes, misunderstandings, and potential hazards.

One of the recipes I’m most anxious to try is the Fast Spinach and Artichoke Dip.  My own Spinach and Artichoke Dip recipe, which I make OFTEN (to the delight of all involved) takes about 1-1/2  hours to make – including baking time! I also notice that it would… cough, cough… appear to be a much healthier, calorie-friendly recipe than my own. So, I can’t wait to take this one for a test drive.

Fast Spinach and Artichoke Dip

2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
1 (14 oz) can artichokes, drained
1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup light cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
Dash hot pepper sauce
Tortilla chips or wheat crackers

  1. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process spinach, artichokes, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, yogurt, mozzarella cheese, garlic, and hot pepper sauce until thoroughly combined but still very chunky.
  2. Scrape mixture into a microwave-safe serving dish, and microwave on high for 2 minutes or until bubbling.
  3. Stir and serve with tortilla chips or wheat crackers.

Seriously??? You could practically do this on a commercial break!  Sounds delicious.

About the Author

Food and wine writer Tod Dimmick is the author of four cookbooks. His work has been mentioned in the New York Times and the Boston Globe, and can be found on bookstore shelves from Boston to Sydney. Since a book project in 2005 oriented around healthy eating, Tod has increasingly focused his food writing on topics related to a healthy diet, and the evolution of produce purchase decisions from those based on price to those based on quality and provenance. For 1000radishes, the Will Work For Food Project, and for the Powisset Farm CSA, he supplies recipes and suggestions for local, in-season produce. On the more indulgent side, he also creates recipes for the Phantom Gourmet television show. The Phantom crew films these recipes in Tod’s kitchen outside of Boston.In 1991, he founded Tasting Times, the food and wine publication for busy people on a budget. The Tasting Times Wine Hotlist and Wine Minute blog have an international following. In 2000, he agreed to design and write The Busy Person’s Guide to Gourmet Cooking on a Budget web page for WZ.com, the well-known online guide site. In less than a year, subscribership to his email newsletter of the same name grew from 0 to over 75,000.

Before you even get to all of the recipes, you have a couple of very informative (and creative) chapters:

  1. “Faster and Better” – You’re reminded of the importance of good meals and reassured that cooking meals quickly doesn’t compromise the taste or the quality.
  2. “Stocking Your Pantry” – Learn the essential ingredients you need to have in your pantry at all times. These “go to” ingredients are the ones no cook wants to be caught without. You’ll also learn more about herbs and seasonings, fun foods to have on hand, and a very convenient primer on substitutions.
  3. “Essential Equipment” – Pots, pans, tools, knives, technological marvels that’ll get you in and out of the kitchen in less time than I’m spending on this review!

Recipes Included in this Awesome Book:

  • Healthy Buttermilk Waffles
  • Quick and Healthy French Toast
  • Light French Toast with Fresh Strawberries
  • George Ames’s Blueberry Muffins
  • Raspberry Crunch Yogurt
  • Breakfast Yogurt
  • Frozen Berry Shake
  • Italian Herb Omelet
  • Baby Shrimp Omelet
  • Scrambled Eggs with Sun-Dried Tomato and Sweet Onion
  • Apple and Toasted Pecan Salad
  • Chickpea Salad
  • Three Bean Salad
  • Jean’s Oriental Cabbage Salad
  • Barry’s Taco Salad
  • Tuna-Cannellini Salad
  • Hearty Chili
  • Vegetarian Chili
  • Grilled Chicken and Sweet Onion Sandwiches
  • Tuna Salad Wraps
  • Vegetarian Wraps
  • Chicken, Mozzarella, and Roasted Pepper Bites
  • Corned Beef Cornucopias
  • Quick Crab Balls
  • Boiled Mushroom Caps with Fresh Mozzarella
  • Garden Salsa
  • Salsa Verde
  • Grilled Hummus Triangles
  • Crab Ricotta Dip with Roasted Red Peppers
  • Red Pepper-Parmesan Dip
  • Mozzarella, Almond, and Spinach Wraps
  • Sun Dried Tomato Spread
  • Tofu Salad Spread
  • Mexican Chili Dip
  • Baked Sole
  • Crisp Fried Haddock
  • Whisker-Licking Good Catfish
  • Grilled Shrimp Scampi
  • Lightning Seafood Stir-Fry
  • Quick Crab Cakes
  • Drumroll Chicken
  • Buffalo Wings
  • Quick Home-Style Barbecued Chicken
  • Orange Chicken
  • Aunt Jean’s Dijon Chicken
  • Chive Chicken
  • Mustard-Glazed Chicken Breasts
  • Chicken Paprika
  • Grilled Apple Chops
  • Steak and Onions
  • Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
  • Fast Stuffed Peppers
  • Ratatouille
  • South-of-the-Border Eggs
  • Stuffed Tomatoes
  • Sizzling Tofu and Asparagus Stir-Fry
  • Vegetable Stir-Fry
  • Portobello Pizza
  • Red Beans and Rice
  • White Bean Salad
  • White Beans with Olive Oil, Gorgonzola, and Sage
  • Italian Farmhouse Stew
  • 20-Minute Tomato Sauce
  • Fettuccini Alfredo
  • Linguini with Hot Pepper and Oil
  • Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Pizza
  • White Pizza with Olives and Fresh Mozzarella
  • Feta and Black Olive Pizza
  • Orange French Toast
  • Light and Fluffy Pancakes (calls for unsweetened applesauce!)
  • Secret Cheeseburgers
  • Meatballs
  • Quick Tacos
  • Chicken Quesadillas
  • Pepperoni Pizza Dip
  • Garlic Toast with Tomato Dipping Sauce
  • Onion Rings
  • White Beans and Dark Greens
  • Balsamic Green Beans
  • Baked Cauliflower
  • Broccoli with Cheese Sauce
  • Steamed Asparagus
  • Fried Tomatoes (green or red!)
  • Baked Acorn Squash
  • Skillet Parmesan Artichokes
  • Sauteed Spinach
  • Garlic Mashed Potatoes
  • Fast and Easy Scalloped Potatoes
  • Quick Chinese Cabbage Stir-Fry
  • Sauteed Cabbage with Bacon
  • Bacon, Eggs, and Rice
  • Spaghetti Carbonara
  • Penne Pasta Salad
  • Carol Ann’s Tortellini Salad
  • Garden Bruschetta
  • Skillet-Baked Cornbread
  • Buttermilk Biscuits
  • Scones
  • Peach Yogurt Parfait
  • Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
  • Blueberries and Cream
  • Almond Piecrust
  • Mixed Fruit Betty
  • Dad’s Baked Fruit
  • Velvet Fudge
  • Mocha Mousse
  • Chocolate-Chip Cookies
  • Almond Chocolate Parfaits
  • Almond Oatmeal Cookies
  • Grandpa Phil’s Pudding
  • Lightning Strawberry Shortcake
  • Grammalane’s Lemon Pie

And those are just the ones I’ve marked to make this month!

I LOVE everything about The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Meals in 30 Minutes or Less, but I’m especially excited about the SCADS of breakfast recipes and tips. There’s a very small window of opportunity to put breakfast on the table (or in a hand as it rushes out the door). These recipes will come in… pardon the pun.. very handy.

Click through one of the links or the picture for more information. You’re going to love this one!

*** Footnote: I have absolutely NOTHING against microwaves – I love and use mine with pride – but I just had to add this: You’d be surprised how few of the recipes in this book use the microwave!

Heart Healthy Recipe: Red Beans and Tuna Fish Salad

Trust Me, You'll Love Every Single Bite

by Joi

Red Beans and Tuna Fish Salad

A Heart-Healthy Recipe: Red Beans and Tuna Fish Salad

There’s really nothing quite like a beloved family member having to undergo open heart surgery to make you think (long and hard) about heart health, heart healthy foods and drinks, heart healthy activities, and heart healthy recipes.

I’ve been researching the most heart healthy foods lately.  I found a great list of the 25 Top Heart Healthy Foods on WebMd.  Some of the foods listed are:

  • Tuna
  • Brown Rice
  • Blueberries
  • Spinach
  • Salmon
  • Broccoli
  • Tomatoes
  • Cantaloupe
  • Dark Chocolate
  • Tea

I hope you’ll click the link above and see the rest. Even more importantly, I hope you’ll write the list down and add the recommended foods and drinks to your daily diet.  Even if you just add a few to your everyday routine, the benefits will improve your heart’s health.  Don’t wait until you’re sitting in front of a grim-faced doctor before you do something about your heart’s health!

I’m kicking off a new category here on the food blog dedicated entirely to heart health.  I’ll have heart-healthy recipes, foods, heart healthy food reviews, foods to buy and foods to never buy, etc. I’m kicking things off today with a recipe I whipped up for lunch.  I have my uncle (the beloved family member in need of open heart surgery) very much on my mind this week.  I’m also thinking about the rest of my beloved family members – and thinking of ways we can, hopefully, protect ourselves from heart disease.

Naturally, I’m beginning to experiment wildly with heart-healthy foods.  I want to add a lot of recipes to the food blog that are heart-healthy, simple, economical to make, fast and easy, and (as often as possible) made with ingredients you probably already have on hand.

The first recipe up is one I actually just made and enjoyed. Naturally, feel free to add more garlic, or less if you’re so inclined. In fact, add more or less of any of the ingredients – custom fit it to your own tastes. Made as I did, here, the tuna fish flavor is delightfully front and center. Just be sure to leave in the lime – it adds a beautiful little kick.

Red Beans and Tuna Fish Salad

15.5 oz can Red Beans
5 oz. can Chunk Light Tuna in water
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 chopped green onion (white and green parts)
A couple of cloves of garlic, minced OR 1/4 tsp Garlic Gold Sea Salt Nuggets
Juice from 1/2 a lime

Combine all of the ingredients and eat to your heart’s content. Literally. I used 1/4 tsp Garlic Gold Sea Salt Nuggets (review of Garlic Gold products and recipes coming tomorrow) in my recipe, but you could substitute minced garlic.

If you’d like a little crunch, add whole wheat croutons.

Hungry Girl’s Sweet and Spicy Tuna Tacos

All Recipes from the Hungry Girl are Winners

by Joi

Hungry Girl Recipe: Tuna Tacos

Hungry Girl Tuna Taco’s Recipe: Just in time for Cinco de Mayo!

One 4.5-oz. pouch StarKist Sweet & Spicy Tuna Creations®
1/4 cup salsa
4 corn taco shells (flat-bottomed shells, if available)
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced tomato
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix Tuna Creations® and salsa.

Evenly fill shells with lettuce, Tuna Creations® mixture, onion, tomato, and cilantro. Yum!!

YIELD: Makes 2 Servings
PER SERVING (2 tacos): 224 calories, 6g fat, 577mg sodium, 28g carbs, 3g fiber, 6g sugars, 15g protein

The Hungry Girl Cookbooks:

If you’ve never watched Hungry Girl on television or tried her cookbooks and recipes, promise me you’ll do so. You’ll fall fast in love AND find yourself eating a lot healthier to boot? Win, Win.

Turtle Cheesecake Tartlets

From Pillsbury Christmas 2011

by Joi

Pillsbury Christmas 2011

Here’s a fast and easy Christmas/Holiday (or anytime!) dessert recipe that’s simple to whip up, but looks and tastes like you labored for days. This is from a wonderful cookbook, Pillsbury Christmas 2011. I collect Christmas cookbooks (as well as ALL cookbooks!) and this is my newest addition.

Funny thing about great Christmas and holiday cookbooks, they can be used all-year long. Mine are never stored away – I honestly use them throughout the year.

This particular Christmas cookbook is one of the best. The recipe below is just one of the countless outstanding recipes inside.

Turtle Cheesecake Tartlets

Servings: 24 Tartlets

1 box Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts, softened as directed on box
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons caramel topping
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons finely chopped pecans

  1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Remove1 crust from pouch; unroll on work surface.  Roll lightly with rolling pin. Cut 12 rounds from crust with 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 inch cookie cutter.  Press rounds in bottom and up sides of 12 mini muffin cups, with edges extending above cups about 1/8 inch.  Repeat with remaining pie crust. Place about 5 of the chocolate chips in each crust.  Bake 6 minutes. Leave crusts in pan.  Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
  2. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat cream cheese, brown sugar, caramel topping, and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.  Spoon evenly over chocolate chips, about 1-1/2 teaspoons for each tartlet.
  3. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until cheesecake is set.  Cool in pan on cooling rack 10 minutes; remove from pan.
  4. In a small custard cup or other small microwavable bowl, place remaining chocolate chips and the oil.  Microwave uncovered on High 30 seconds; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until melted; stir. Drizzle over each cheesecake; immediately sprinkle with pecans.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.  Cover and refrigerate any remaining tartlets.

Take a closer look at Pillsbury Christmas 2011 by clicking the link. This one’s outstanding.

Chicken-Broccoli Casserole

A Budget Friendly Recipe That Tastes Like a Budget Buster

by Joi

Piggy Bank

It seems like most budget-friendly recipes and meals involve ground beef, don’t they? I love when chicken recipes play by the penny-pinching rules. This casserole is also a quick and easy recipe, so basically there’s nothing you won’t love about this Chicken Broccoli Casserole!

4 chicken breasts
2 pkg. frozen broccoli
1 cup grated swiss cheese
1 stick margarine
5 Tbsp. flour
1-1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup bread crumbs
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Cook chicken thoroughly and discard all bones (be sure to get them all!). Cut chicken into bite-size pieces and place in a baking dish. Cook broccoli in salted water and drain well. Place broccoli on top of chicken.

Melt margarine in saucepan over medium heat. Blend in flour. Add cheese and broth and cook until thickened. Add whipping cream, stir until smooth.

Pour the creamy mixture over the chicken and broccoli. Cover with bread crumbs and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Photo Credit: Carters Smiley Happy Piggy Bank, Silver

Hot Dogs and Corn Bread

Budget Friendly Meal that's Also Fast & Easy

by Joi

Budget Friendly Meal

Budget Friendly Meal Idea: Hot Dogs and Cornbread

2 16 oz cans Pork & Beans
1 12 oz. pkg Hot Dogs (feel free to buy any variety you’d like, but Oscar Mayer Angus Beef Hot Dogs are extraordinary)
2 Tbs Brown Sugar
2 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbs Mustard (prepared)
1 box Jiffy Cornbread Mix
1 cup shredded cheese, shredded
Chopped green onions (optional)

 

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Transfer to a greased 9 inch square baking dish.

Prepare cornbread batter according to the directions on the box.  Stir in cheese.  Drop by spoonfuls onto bean mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped green onions or chopped sweet onions.

Yield: 6 servings

Oscar Mayer Angus Hot DogsThis isn’t your grandma’s hot dog. Oscar Mayer Angus Hot Dogs are absolutely delicious.  My favorite ways to fix them:

  • I cut them into thirds, wrap bacon around each, securing with a toothpick. Then I place them all into my crock pot (slow cooker).  I drizzle brown sugar over the whole shebang and cook on low until they’re just perfect. Delicious!
  • I “grill” the hot dogs on my cast iron grill skillet.  It leaves the marks I cherish and the taste is out of this world. Naturally, you have to heat the buns and complete the masterpiece with chopped onions and mustard.

If you’ve never tried Angus hot dogs, try them asap. You’re going to love these guys.

Sour Cream Cucumber Salad

From Eating Well on a Budget

by Joi

Cucumber FreshSplash

The following recipe is from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Well on a Budget by Lucy Beale and Jessica Partridge, one of the cookbooks I’ve been recommending the most lately. What’s so wildly wonderful about this cookbook?

  • It’s filled with recipes you’ll actually make.
  • All of the recipes call for ingredients that are readily available AND inexpensive.
  • The recipes are healthy!
  • The cookbook, itself, is inexpensive.  Appropriate, given the subject matter, right?
  • Did I mention that they’re all recipes you’ll actually make?! As in again and again.

I’m wearing my copy of this cookbook out!

The recipe below is from page 177  (in chapter 12: Salads).  We’re having a good crop of cucumbers in our garden, so I’m always looking for different ways to use them.  We love cucumber and onions in vinegar, we love them in tossed salads and on cucumber sandwiches (Thinly sliced cucumbers on  bread that has been de-crusted and spread with cream cheese and sprinkled with either mint or chives), and my oldest daughter and I love sliced cucumbers in water. Fresh and delicious!

I’m making the following tonight to go with grilled chicken, broccoli & cheese, fried okra & squash, and three bean salad.

Sour Cream Cucumber Salad

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 TBS dried dill
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 cucumbers, sliced
1/2 cup sliced white or sweet onions, optional

In a large bowl, combine sour cream, dill, salt, and pepper. Stir well.

Add cucumbers and onions. Toss gently to coat. Chill 1 hour before serving. The cucumbers and onions will wilt and become softer the longer you let them marinate in the dressing.

Recipe Credit: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Well on a Budget by Lucy Beale and Jessica Partridge.

Image Credit:
Cucumber FreshSplash Photographic Print from Allposters.com

Barbecue Baked Beans and Ground Beef

Economical, Quick, Easy, and Delicious

by Joi

Baked Beans and Ground Beef Recipe Image

2 24 oz. cans Bush’s Baked Beans with Onion
1 small onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1-1/2 lb ground beef
1/3 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
1/3 cup mustard
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef; drain. Briefly saute’ the ground beef with the onions and peppers.

In a large bowl, combine the beans, BBQ sauce, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar. Add the beef mixture and stir thoroughly. Pour into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Sprikle with a little extra brown sugar. Bake for 1 hour.

Optional: My mom always added strips of bacon on top before baking.

Egg-straordinary Eggs!

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for - - - Eggs

by Joi

Fried Egg with Tomatoes

I’m an egg head. In fact I’m pretty sure I’m the biggest egg head in the world. Only, that is, if we take it to mean someone fanatically obsessed with eggs. I love the little buggers.   A personal favorite breakfast is fried eggs, over easy.  Sunny Side up is the only way to go!  I used to fry my eggs in butter, simply because butter is another obsession (I just don’t want to be called a butter head) but lately,  I’ve been using Extra Virgin Olive Oil instead. I love the flavor and don’t miss the extra calories that butter brings to the party.  I just brush my skillet with a little evoo, heat it just right, and fry up one, two, seven, or twenty eggs.

Depends on how hungry I am.

Right at the end, I love to throw on some sliced grape or cherry tomatoes.  My husband grows delicious little grape and tomatoes.  This year he put out some yellow grape tomatoes and they’re outstanding.  When I add the halved tomatoes to the pan with the egg(s), I drizzle a little extra evoo on them.  Before plating, I hit everything with a little sea salt.   If I’m in the mood for a walk to the herb bed, I’ll also snip some chives or parsley over the eggs.

Fresh. Delicious. Wholesome.  What part of that isn’t eggs-ceptional?

By the way, do you know the difference between grape tomatoes and cherry tomatoes?   I remember when the only miniature tomatoes were cherry tomatoes.  My girls always called them “baby tomatoes” and I still slip up and refer to them this way sometimes.  Grape tomatoes are more elongated than cherry tomatoes (hence the name).  They also taste a little sweeter.  They have thicker skin than cherry tomatoes and are lower in water content.  For obvious reasons, this makes them more ideal for salads as well as for fixing with eggs as I did above.

Both are a Heavenly taste of summer right off the vine.

Egg Salad with a Different Kick

4 eggs, boiled
2 TBS mayonnaise
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp honey mustard
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped sweet onion

Chop boiled eggs and combine with the chopped bell pepper and onion. Add mayo, sugar, and mustard and mix well. Serve on fresh bread or toast.

For a lot more egg love, check out Kitchen Daily’s 14 Egg Recipes for Breakfast.

Easiest Macaroni and Cheese in the World

An Amish Recipe You'll Use Over and Over...

by Joi

Amish CookbookOne Step Macaroni & Cheese Recipe

4 cups elbow macaroni
6 cups milk
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
2 Cups Velveeta Cheese
dash paprika

Combine ingredients and put into a large casserole dish.  Bake, covered with aluminum foil, at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Recipe from Cooking With the Horse & Buggy People

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