NaNoWriMo Cookbook FINAL SUBMISSIONS

Ingrediants:

Risoni - I use half a cup.
Bacon - Half a racher.
Cheese - 1/4 cup grated.
Garlic - Half a clove.
Lemon Juice - Just a squeeze
Parsley - Just a twitch.
Salt - As per Risoni packet, and then another pinch.
Butter - As per Risoni packet, and then another titch.

Throw some risoni in to cook as per instructions on packet.
Mix some garlic, lemon juice and parsley together in a bowl and set to the side for now.
Drain risoni and throw it into the bowl with butter, salt and pepper.
Add some grated cheese and bacon on top.

Voila. Super quick, super yummy and heaps of writing power within!

A nom nom nom.

___
· Katharine
· ML of Elsewhere Australia
· My BFS Challenge Post.

I promised as soon as the boards were wiped clean that I would post a couple. Here are my favorites for NaNo time. All are snacks but are super easy or quick to make and easy to eat ... well perhaps one handed. LOL

Spicy Potato Wedges Recipe

1/4 c. canola oil
1 Tbs. chili powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. paprika
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
3-1/2 lbs. large red potatoes, cut into wedges

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with the exception of your potatoes. When you have cut the potatoes into wedges, drop them into the bowl and toss them to coat completely. Arrange the individual potato wedges in a single layer on a greased baking pan. You might need two, we usually do. Bake them at 400° for 30-35 minutes (be sure and turn them once about halfway) or until they are tender and golden brown. These are so good and are awesome served with a sour cream or cheese dip.

Delicious Fancy Bars (not sure why they are 'fancy')

* 4 cups graham crackers, crushed
* 1 cup butter, melted
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1 and 1/2 bags semisweet chocolate chips (3 cups)
* 1 bag butterscotch chips (2 cups)
* 3 and 1/2 cups flaked coconut
* 1 and 1/2 cups pecans or walnuts, chopped
* 2 cups sweetened condensed milk

Mix the first three ingredients together in a medium bowl and then spread into a 9" x 13" pan. Spread the remaining ingredients over the top in the order they appear in the recipe above. Top with the two cans of sweetened condensed milk poured evenly over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool before cutting.

Here's a quick dip for some chips... easy and delicious....

Quick and Easy Creamy Taco Dip

1 pkg (16oz block) of Processed Cheese (typically by Velveeta but we find generic brands constantly)
1 (16 oz. container) sour cream
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix

First, cut the cheese into small cubes. In a microwave safe bowl, put the cheese cubes, sour cream and taco seasoning mix and microwave covered for 3 minutes. Remove and stir well. Replace in microwave and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove and stir. If it still needs heating, do it 1 minute increments until creamy and smooth. This dip can be served hot OR cold and tastes great with crackers, tortilla chips, corn chips or on meats or over rice. It’s a great versatile sauce/dip.

Purple Cow

3 c. vanilla ice cream (we substitute vanilla frozen yogurt)
1 c. milk
1/2 c. thawed frozen grape juice concentrate (undiluted) (use any flavor you want!)
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Place the ice cream/frozen yogurt, milk and concentrate in a blender and process until smooth. Serve. Yum!

*****DM******
I have some more easy to follow/make recipes, but wasn't sure what else you were looking for. Do you need any other categories more than another?

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simplywriting, right now I'm really lacking in the breakfast and drinks categories, but I'll take whatever anyone has. 8'D

OH MAA GAA NANO COOKBOOK

Wait....people eat during NaNo? If it doesn't consist of delivery pizza or opening a bag of chips, it's too complicated for me. :) I might go as far as to pour cereal and milk in a bowl if I'm feeling really ambitious. More often than not I just forget to eat during Novemeber.

Jen

Reading and weeping opens the door to one’s heart, but writing and weeping opens the window to one’s soul. – M.K. Simmons

http://www.jenniferksights.com

Banana milk is quite yummy, but you can substitute fruits like strawberries or other such things if you're not too keen on bananas. It's very simple and best of all...healthy.

2 cups Milk
2-4 Bananas (however strong you like the taste)
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

(I bet it'd also be good adding a bit of icecream and making it more of a smoothy)

Pay no attention to the wackjob on the floor. She lost her mind today and the echo is driving her batty.

Chicken Avocado Soup

3 cups chicken broth
1 avocado
1 12 oz jar of Salsa Verde
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded
2 tsp cumin
1 Can Cannellini beans
tortilla chips

Blend or mash the avocado unless almost smooth, and then heat everything together, except for the tortilla chips. When hot, sprinkle tortilla chips on top.

For the chicken, buying a small rotisserie chicken is easy too, and requires no cooking in advance.

You can sponsor my first novel!

Oh - when I was in Thailand we ate sweet-sticky-rice-and-mango. Super easy! This is a make the night before type of meal that can also be eaten as breakfast, desert or a snack!

Ingredients
*one can 100% natural Coconut Milk (look in the Asian section)
*white minute rice
*fresh mango!
*1 cup sugar (optional)

Cook rice per normal instructions, only with coconut milk instead of water. Add sugar first and mix generously. Add rice at a rolling boil and let cook just a few minutes longer than normal. When done, spoon into container, let sit to thicken and refrigerate. Eat with freshly sliced mango!

OR - this is inspired by Rachael Ray

Homemade Monte Cristo's

Ingredients

* 16 slices thick-cut bacon
* 1/2 cup maple syrup
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 8 slices whole wheat bread
* Various cheeses
* 3 eggs, beaten
*1/2 cup powdered sugar

So you can cook the bacon how you normally like to cook it, only glaze the bacon with maple syrup and sprinkle with brown sugar. While your skillet is heating up, lay out your bread and apply your cheeses! Sharp cheddar is a favorite for this but I like mozzarella and feta and muenster; depends on your taste! Put your bacon on your sandwiches, you can add some veggies too; when I made it for my parents my dad likes to add lettuce and tomato, my mom adds black olives. Top off your sandwiches with another piece of bread, dip them into your three beaten eggs and plop onto your skillet and cook each side until the bread is brown and the cheese is melty!

Here's my submission! These are full of sugar and loved by crazy writers and hungry boy nerds alike:

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies:

- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (if you fear for your cholesterol levels, use 1/2 a cup of butter and 1/2 a cup of shortening)
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 bag of andes mints (found in most cooking aisles. if not, it takes about two packages of the regular kind, you just have to chop them up. Also, any other mint will do, but andes are my favorite)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and mint chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipe taken from this website (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-I/Detail.a...), but with my own adaptation. Eat them warm or from the freezer with ice cream.

"She blinded me with mad science!... no, seriously, bitch stole my eyes."

NaNoWriMo 2008: Siege (50k - WIN)
NaNoWriMo 2009: Cascadia University (aiming for 75k)

Follow my journey through November on my blog! http://hereto75k.blogspot.com/

Egg and Toast

2 slices toast
1 egg (as fresh as possible)
butter
salt, pepper, Tabasco, other condiments you like

Heat up a pan with the butter. When it's medium hot, crack the egg in the pan and let the egg fry for a minute. Put a cover on if you want the top to cook more and you don't feel like flipping it. While it's cooking, toast the bread and cut it into long finger-shaped pieces.

When the white of the egg is set and the yolk is not quite cooked through, take your spatula and turn the egg onto a plate. Season to taste.

Dip the toast fingers into the egg yolk (they're called "soldiers"), eat the whole thing and enjoy.

Or if you're lazy, just plop the whole fried egg onto toast and make yourself a breakfast (or anytime!) sandwich out of it. Or if you want, use more butter and instead of toasting the bread, plop it in the pan and fry it with the egg. Yum.

Optional additions:
- sprinkle of cheese (add it to the hot egg or toast so it melts)
- a few drops of truffle oil
- leafy greens (good in sandwich)
- sliced tomato and/or onion
- a few drops of balsamic vinegar
- mustard (trust me on this one)

p.s. Insert obvious warning here about eating undercooked egg and potential food poisoning. I've eaten runny egg yolks for years and never had any problem, but if you're really worried, just flip the egg over and cook till there's no runny parts left.

p.p.s. If you're busy writing a novel and haven't had time to run to the store in two weeks and you're not sure the eggs are still edible, fill a bowl with water and put the uncooked eggs in it. If they sink, they're good. If they float, they're rotten (filled with methane gas).

http://rainydayracer.blogspot.com/ - 30 weeks, 26.2 miles, 3:59:35 or bust.
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Inventor of NaNo Dare Multiple Bonus Points

My Favorite Couscous Recipe

1 cup couscous
1.5 cups water
8 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon capers
Feta to taste, well-crumbled
Red pepper to taste
Cumin to taste
Coriander to taste

Coat a saucepan with olive oil on medium heat. When the oil is hot, put in cumin, coriander, garlic, and olives. Cook about 1 minute, then add capers. 1 minute later, add red pepper. 1 minute later, add water, raise heat to high. When water boils, add feta, then couscous. Mix well and return to boil. Once water boils, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff couscous and serve.

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Chocolate/ Peanut Butter NO BAKE cookies

* 2 cups sugar
* 4 tablespoons cocoa
* 1 stick butter
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1 cup peanut butter
* 1 tablespoon vanilla
* 3 cups oatmeal
* Waxed paper

Directions

In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, wait 30 minutes for them too cool and harden.

Then you have a delightful, chewy, chocolatey, energy filled Nano treat!!

2007 - Food for Jackals - Win 62k!
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2009 - Shadow Walker - Win! 101k! Biggest Win Yet!

In our house a great little treat breakfast is Sundancer Eggs, lovely with toast:

Ingredients (for 1)

2 eggs
2 thin rashers of lean bacon (diced)
1/4 oz butter
1 oz finely chopped button mushrooms
Salt and Black pepper to taste
1 tbsp double cream
Chervil (optional)

Fry the bacon in the butter for about 3 mins, add the mushrooms and cook for another 2 mins season and spoon into two small or one larger ramekin. Break an egg into each one (or two in one if you're using the larger version), top with cream and sprinkle over fresh, chopped chervil put into a pre-heated oven at 350F/180C for 2 - 20 mins for the small, add a couple of mins for larger version.

I have a new cooking website that I have several recipes on (I try to add a few every day) Right now I am working on adding tons of Crock Pot recipes, which is perfect for NaNoWriMo...just throw it in and you can forget about it while you write. When the family get's hungry, its already there for them and they don't have to bug you while your pounding out the word count of the day.

www.cookingmadesimple.ning.com

I am going to try to put several quick, simple and non messy food snack ideas up for all us NaNoWriMo's who are too busy to cook...

Blessings,
Kat

Hi DM!!!
I was going to participate this year, with a theme even, and the year just got away from me.

Hope this year's will be good!!

Buy books 1 and 2 of The Askinar Towers Trilogy here

Free Shrimp Dinner

For those of you with a CrockPot :) Although this would be really simple to do on stove top as well.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings!
1 can of Cream of Chicken
1 can of Cream of Mushroom
2 cans of water
1 bullion chicken cube
2 cups of chicken
1 package of pillsbury biscuit dough
Salt and Pepper as needed.

Place all ingredients in crock pot. Turn on high for 4 hours, or cook on low for 6-7 hours. :) Personally, I like to wait until after the "soup" is cooked, and then add in the cooked biscuits, but that's just my personal preference. With this recipie you can add in what you think will be flavorful. If you want veggies in it, add in a ton of them - onions would be good in it too. It literally takes about five minutes to put together, and you can have a ton of writing time while they cook!

Oh, I can't resist!

VEGETARIAN QUESADILLA
I'm not sure how many other vegetarian nanoers there are out there, but this is a super quick and super easy recipe that takes just minutes! You can make it as just a regular cheese quesadilla or add in some faux-meat; both options are amazing!

INGREDIENTS
1 large (10-inch) flour tortilla
1 bag of grated cheese (I usually go for the "mexican style" cheese, which has taco seasoning already in it)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp salsa (optional; you can also use as much or as little salsa as you want)
1 tsp taco seasoning (optional; but it gives it a lot of flavor)
1 bag of Morning Star brand "chick'n strips" (optional; but can be found at Target/most grocery stores in the vegetarian/frozen section)

DIRECTIONS:
Sprinkle as much grated cheese onto your flour tortilla as you want; make sure you cover the entire thing, getting close to the edges too. Heat tortilla for about 30 seconds in microwave; just long enough for the cheese to start melting. If you want to add any faux meat (like the grilled chicken strips), salsa, or taco seasoning, do this after taking the quesadilla out of the microwave. Fold the tortilla in half. Set a burner on your stove to "high" and place skillet on the burner. Add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil (you might have to use more, depending upon how much gets used up when cooking.) Place the folded tortilla and reduce heat on the burner to "medium." Using a spatula, lightly press down on top of the tortilla to get the cheese to melt and stick on both sides of the inside of the tortilla. After about 45 seconds to a minute, flip the tortilla and cook the other side. Continue flipping every minute or so to make sure the tortilla doesn't burn. When the cheese looks melted enough on the inside (and the "chicken" strips cooked, if you chose to add them) then go ahead and remove the quesadilla from the skillet. Don't forget to turn off the burner, too! And that's it! Enjoy your vegetarian quesadilla and get writing!

...

GOOEY BUTTER COOKIES
I know, I know...I hear that they sound disgusting all the time. However, they are anything but! Gooey Butter cakes/cookies are a tradition here in St. Louis, and I made sure that I learned how to make some mean gooey butter cookies as soon as I moved to STL. I get praised all of the time for them and they're usually gone before I even get to try one. :(

INGREDIENTS:
1 package (8 oz) of cream cheese
1/2 cup of butter (softened)
1 egg
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 package (18.5 oz) of yellow butter cake mix (or just yellow cake mix; but yellow butter works the best!)
1 cup powdered sugar (placed in a separate, small bowl)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 F (or 175 C.) In a medium sized bowl, mix together the cream cheese and butter until blended well (this part always takes a while and your arm WILL start to hurt; but keep at it!) Stir in the vanilla extract and add the egg in; don't get discouraged if your dough becomes mushy and lumpy...everything will be okay! Just keep stirring! Add in the yellow butter cake mix. After mixing the cake mix in, your dough will start to look more like, well, dough. Keep stirring until well blended. Take pieces of dough and roll them into one inch balls. Place them in the bowl of powdered sugar and roll them around in it until they are fully coated with the powdered sugar. After coating in powdered sugar, place the dough balls about an inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-13 minutes (I usually go about 10 minutes and 30 seconds; that seems to be the 'perfect' amount of time in the oven.) When finished, remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. After they've cooled, I generally take the extra powdered sugar and sprinkle it over the cookies one last time. And then you're finished!

...

CAFÉ MOCHA
Every morning, my roommate leaves me a cup of coffee before she goes to work (isn't she the sweetest?) However, I'm not the type of person to just drink it straight; it has to be loaded with flavor or else I just can't drink it! I came up with this little concoction one morning and I've seriously been hooked ever since.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup of strong coffee
2 tbsp sugar (I use sugar in the raw; it tastes amazing!)
2 tbsp milk/creamer (feel free to use more or less creamer/milk...I usually get very carried away with this step!)
1 tbsp chocolate syrup
2 tbsp white chocolate flavoring syrup (optional; I usually do either chocolate syrup or white chocolate flavoring syrup as opposed to using both)

DIRECTIONS
After you have your mug of coffee hot and ready to go, start combining things! Once you'd added all the ingredients, stir well and drink immediately!

I guess I'm obligated to supply at least one other vegetarian recipe for other vegetarians, then. Maybe I should make it vegan for those who are insane enough to give up that which is cheese and ice cream.

Hm, let's see.

PEANUT BUTTER AND PICKLE SANDWICH
Simplicity: 8/10
Trust me, this tastes so much better than it sounds. I ate my first bite with my nose closed and my eyes shut too.

INGREDIENTS
2 slices of bread
Peanut butter
1 kosher pickle, either sliced into rounds or cut lengthwise.

DIRECTIONS
Make a sandwich out of the ingredients. If you've forgotten how to do this, you may need to tone down your word goal a little bit and take breaks to see the outside world.

LAMINGTONS
Simplicity 4/10
These chocolatey, coconuty, spongey things of delight are excellent rewards for word count achievements. Surprisingly, they are not overly sweet and taste like their own thing, not much like sponge cake (which I don't like), shredded coconut, and chocolate icing.

INGREDIENTS
Sponge cake (8 inches by 8 inches preferably)
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)
1/2 cup milk (soymilk works fine if you're vegan)
2 cups of shredded coconut

DIRECTIONS
1: Cut the sponge cake into two inch squares and chill them. While they're in the refrigerator, write.

2: Heat the butter, if you are using it, in a small bowl in the microwave until it has melted.

3: Mix powdered sugar, cocoa powder, butter, and milk until the mixture is smooth.

4: This is messy, so do it over newspaper or some such. Take a square and dip each side in the icing so that it is covered
completely. Put it on wax paper, repeat.

5: When all squares of cake are iced, put the shredded coconut in a bowl and cover each square in it. Ideally, you should cover it so thoroughly that you will be able to hold them without getting your hands messier.

6: Chill the lamingtons in the refrigerator. I suggest putting them in a tupperware container separated by layers of aluminum foil or wax paper. (Lay some down at the bottom, put foil over, lay some down over those, put foil over, repeat until all lamingtons are stored.)

They will keep for about 2 weeks like this and should last you that long, unless you gobble them all down right away.

EASY HOT COCOA
Simplicity: 10/10
Hot chocolate that isn't as rich but is far easier to make if you need something fast that won't take away from writing time.

INGREDIENTS
Chocolate milk

DIRECTIONS
1: Microwave some chocolate milk until it's hot.

There, that's some stuff that's simple enough for NaNo. I mean, I'd give you the recipe for the delicious melt-in-your-mouth bread with the beehive-esque shape but that's not something I'd want to be making with dozens of thousands of words to write.

Three Cheese Chicken Bake - for a tasty, easy meal when you have a nice little break.

Chicken breasts - as many as you want
Spaghetti sauce!
Sharp or Extra Sharp white chedder cheese
Parmesan cheese
Provolgne cheese (or your favorite cheese)
Garlic powder
Bread crumbs (I recommend the italian seasoning)

Bake chicken at whatever temp you need until it's white all the way through, and still juicy. Or grill it!
Let cool on tray for five minutes.
Spread tomato or spaghetti sauce (cooked or uncooked) evenly over the cooked chicken breats.
Grate cheddar cheese over chicken to create a pizza-like look.
Grate your favorite cheese over that, in a fine layer.
Sprinkle parmesan.
Lightly sprinkle garlic powder.
A thin thin thin thin sheet of seasoned bread crumbs.

Place in until cheese is melted. Or microwave it. xD

I'm no cook, so I can't really remember the bake times or oven temp that I use for this. But man is it tasty! =P

Oh man. I have a couple I'm willing to share, so forgive me for the recipe spam. D: These recipes come from cookbooks very dear to me and my family. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do.

Sour Cream Coffee Bread (From the Farm Journal's Homemade Bread, a must have, never fail book.)

Ingredients

1 cup of Butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup Sour cream
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
2 Cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
OPT: (Feel free to change or leave out, spiced nuts are really good here, but anything works really.)
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions
-Cream butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Then beat in eggs one at a time, mix thoroughly.
-Beat in sour cream and vanilla.
-Add in flour (They say sifted, I usually skip this), baking soda and salt.
-In a different bowl, combine the rest of the sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Mix well.
-Spoon about half of the batter into a well greased ban (they say tube pan, I usually make in a square pan)
-Sprinkle half to three-fourths of nut mixture on top
-Spoon in remaining batter and top with the rest of the nut mixture
-Bake in oven at 350(Fahrenheit) for 1 hour, or until done. Remove from pan and let cool on a cooling rack.

I let it slightly cool and have it with hot chocolate of coffee. My mom likes it with black tea. This recipe makes 10 servings.

So, It's not the shortest or the easiest, but I think it's worth the little bit of work :3

Another good, easy dish-thing is Hummus. Great with just about everything. I like mine with pita chips, but is also good with bread and veggies. You do need a food processor though,

Ono Hummus (From Ohana Style Cookbook, We picked this one up in Hawaii and the food is really good! They have a recipe for malasadas and if you have a some extra time they are really good. Kids used to sell them on the side of the road for $.25 per pastry)
2 cans (15 1/2 oz. size, if you can't find those 16 oz cans work too) garbanzo beans
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon White wine vinegar
1/4 cup coarsely chopped yellow onion (I have used sweet onions here and it's just as good)
2 cloves garlic (I use 3-4 for a stronger garlic taste) coarsely chopped
a pinch of cayenne pepper (More or less depending on your taste)
salt to taste

Open both cans of garbanzo beans, drain one of them, and then pour both cans into food processor. Add everything else. Process until it's very smooth. Serve with crackers, pita bread/chips, cucumber slices, any other veggies, good in wraps, can be used where mayonnaise is used in most recipes. For a thicker consistency drain both cans. Make 3-4 cups.
It's filling, high in protein, and tasty.

You asked for drinks, and it's time for the funniest cookbook ever. It's the Disney cookbook. I'm kidding, I got it as my first cookbook and it actually has some really good stuff in it XD

Heroes' Herculade

1 pint purple grape juice
1 pint ginger ale
1 pint club soda

Really easy. Either mix warm ingredients together and chill, or chill ingredients overnight and mix. You can make more or less, as long as you add the same amount of everything. Very very VERY easy and pretty good!

From my Mom:
Something really easy for breakfast is really easy and reminds me of what I had after school every day after kindergarten, but a classic, is graham cracker and milk, you can put them in a bowl like cereal, or dip the crackers into milk.

Another easy one is puff pastry or store bought pie crust, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake for a few minutes in a hot oven. It becomes crisp and really tasty.

So, that's my addition for the year ^___^ Enjoy!

As promised, my new and improved soup recipe! This one uses REAL potatoes as opposed to instant flakes.

Perfect One-Pot Potato Soup

3 large potatoes
3 strips of bacon (or ham), pre-cooked and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 pieces of garlic clove
1/2 a red onion (regular onion is okay to, but I think red gives it more of a kick)
2 tsp. olive oil
Salt, pepper, oregano & parsley to taste

Finely chop the garlic and cut the onion into small pieces. Sauté together over low heat with olive oil, salt, and pepper for about two minutes, then add bacon and go another minute or two. Peel the potatoes, and cut into approximately 1/2 inch cubes. Add them to the pot along with just enough water to cover everything. Add oregano and parsley, and more salt and pepper as desired. Boil over medium heat for 25-30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and their edges have become rounded. Makes about three servings, and warms up well in the microwave.

It's not very fast to prepare/cook, but it's really easy (except for the potato-peeling; I hate peeling, but I hate having the skins in my soup more), filling, and tasty and doesn't generate many dirty dishes. All you should need are a cutting board, knife, potato peeler, a pot, a large spoon to stir with, and of course a bowl and spoon to eat it with. And you could probably squeeze in a few hundred words while it's cooking (or more, if you have somebody else watch the pot)!

Break out the old Crockpot or Dutch Oven.

Italian Chicken

4-6 Boneless skinless Chicken breasts or BLSL Chicken Thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1/2 bottle of bottled Italian Salad Dressing, shaken well

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Pour some of the dressing on the bottom and layer chicken and dressing. Use about 1/2 bottle. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve w/ rice and green beans or broccoli or whatever.

You would be wise to make a double recipe and use the leftovers for Chicken tacos or fajitas.

Pulled Pork or Beef

2-3 lbs pork shoulder or beef round roast
1 med. bottle Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
1/2 can of Rootbeer, Gingerale or lemon-lime

or

1/2 bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's
1/2 bottle of Teriyaki marinade
1'2 can Ginger ale

Add all to your crockpot. Set it on low for 8 hours. Use two forks to pull meat apart. Serve on whole wheat buns with shredded cabbage.

If you double the recipe, it freezes very well.

Extremely easy Meatloaf

2 lbs ground beef, chuck or round
1 box of Stove Top Stuffing type Mix
2 eggs

Combine ingredients in a bowl. If you like, you can add 1/2 of the liquid called for on the stove top box. Mix thoroughly and bake at 375 F for an hour. Again, freezes well if you double this recipe.

Happy cooking!

chrisd
"Always tell of God's love. If necessary, use words." St. Francis

Quick Orange Julius (variant recipe)

1/3 Cup dried milk
8 oz Orange Juice
Dash of Vanilla
Splenda (to taste)
Ice

Place all ingredients in a tightly sealed container and shake until blended and frothy.

Joey's Quick Bean Dip

1 can cannellini beans
garlic (to taste - I cheat and used the jarred minced variety)
Olive Oil

Throw in food processor and add olive oil until the bean spread or dip is the desired consistency.

I was going to include my coffee cake in a huge mug but I can't find where I put my notes.

Live Long & Bead Forever!!!

Okay DM,

After making the last post, I found a non-chocolate cinnamon whole wheat brownie recipe given to me by a friend. I'm trying to see if I can make it into a mug recipe.

BTW, if that cookbook is the one you sent me I can send you a copy back.

Joey

Live Long & Bead Forever!!!

Here are a few more for the cookbook. When is the deadline? Not sure when I need to stop sending them in. LOL

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

These are great for a quick pick me up anytime of day or night. Pair with a nice warm cup of coffee or tea and you have the perfect NaNo food!

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1/4 butter, melted.
1 med. sized egg
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. nuts, finely chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In the center, form a well.

In another bowl, combine the milk, canned pumpkin, butter and egg; Mix well. Pour into the center well of the flour mixture.

Add the chocolate chips and mix until entire mixture is moist. Spoon the mixture into greased muffin pans (or use muffin papers), filling about 3/4 full.

If you want the nuts, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of chopped nuts over each muffin.

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and allow to cool on wire racks. Makes 12 deliciously moist muffins.

Banana Orange Pineapple Smoothie

1 banana
1 1/2 c. pineapple chunks, drained
1/2 c. orange juice
1 /2 c. milk
2 Tbs. honey
4 to 5 ice cubes

Place all ingredients into the blender. Blend until smooth. Serve. Delich!

Special Dark Cocoa

2 c. whole milk
2 oz. dark chocolate, grated
2 tsp. honey
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cinnamon stick

Pour the milk into a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the grated chocolate, honey, sugar and cinnamon stick.
Continue heating and stir gently and constantly until the chocolate melts. Add the vanilla. Remove the cinnamon stick just before serving.
Add some whipped cream on top and heat yourself up on a cold evening.

Hot Vanilla

2 c. milk
1/4 c. whipping cream
1 whole vanilla bean
1 1/2 tsp. sugar

Split the vanilla bean in half, lengthwise and save one half for another recipe. In a saucepan, mix the milk, the cream and the sugar. Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla pod and mix them into the pan also. Bring the vanilla mixture to a low simmer. Remove from the heat, and "steep" for 15 minutes.

Strain out any remaining vanilla seeds. Then put the pot back on the stove, and heat through again. Whisk through and pour into a mug. A nice little twist on hot chocolate, we enjoy them anytime of year.

Mocha Frappuccino

1/2 c. milk
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, plus
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/3 cup strong coffee
1 cup ice

In a blender, combine everything but the ice, and blend until sugar has dissolved. Then add the ice and blend until smooth. If you want more ice, add and then blend again. Also if you would like a hot version of this, mix all ingredients except ice together in a pan on the stove. Heat until hot, stirring constantly. Pour into mugs and add some whipped cream on top. Love this!

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Here's a recipe to one of my favorite things to make and it's perfect for Nano because seriously it takes all of 2 minutes to make, you have massive leftovers, and oh yeah it's yummy as heck!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Taco-Soup/Detail.aspx?p...

It's all about comfort food! :)

Sausage/Sauerkraut Crock Meal

1-20oz can or jar sauerkraut
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 lb smoked sausage, cut into chunks
1 small onion sliced and separated into rings.

Mix sauerkraut and brown sugar. Place into crock pot. Place
sausage on top of mixture and top with onion.

Cook on high for 2 hours then on low for another two hours.

It has only four ingredients, needs little prep and is wonderfully tasty. Enjoy!

Apple Cider Vinegar "Tea"

A lot better tasting than you'd think. It's like extra tart apple cider. XD

1 tsp apple cider vinegar (preferably Braggs, because it has the floaty pulpy stuff in it)
1 or more tsp honey
hot water

XD I'm sure you can guess what you do with it. Put the vinegar and honey in your mug, fill with hot water. The drink is incredibly refreshing and soothing.

Quick fudge:

12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
14 ounce can unsweetened condensed milk
1-2 ounces crushed baking chocolate-optional
Nuts, dried fruits, or other flavorings can be added to spice it up.

Place chocolate chips, condensed milk, and any nuts or flavors in sauce pan, melt on low heat and stir until combined. Don't stop stirring! This can burn very easily.

Let cool in fridge until firm. Cut into squares or eat with a spoon.

Recipe can be doubled or tripled.

I had a bunch of random ingredients around the kitchen this week, so I just threw this together. I'm not a great cook, but it turned out so fabulous, I fell in love with it! Not only is it super easy and fast, it's also filling and quite economical! I ate it alone, but I imagine it would make a fabulous brunch alongside an omelet or scrambled eggs.

Turkey Tomato Hash

-1 pkg ground turkey (I think it's usually about 1.3 lbs)
-3/4 pkg prepared refrigerated hash browns (can use more or less depending on taste)
-1 can seasoned black eyed peas
-1 can diced tomatos (plain or Italian)
- minced garlic (as much as you like)
- cumin, to taste
- ground red pepper, to taste (optional)

Saute turkey in skillet until cooked through; drain. Season with plain salt and pepper. Add in garlic and saute until just golden. Add in hash browns and cook until they soften up and start to brown a bit. Add black eyed peas and tomatos; heat through. Stir in cumin and red pepper (I used a LOT of cumin, because I love the smokey taste... I also used a fair bit of the pepper... it turned out pretty spicy!).

The great thing about this is that you can substitute pretty much anything for what you have on-hand. Don't have ground turkey? Use ground beef or chicken (or veggie crumbles for a meat-free alternative). No black-eyed peas? Use cannelini beans or black beans instead. So easy!

cake in a cup.

1 big mug.
4 tbsp self-raising flour.
4 tbsp sugar.
2 tbsp hot chocolate.
1 egg.
splash of milk.
splash of oil.

basically, mix your flour, sugar and chocolate together with a fork in your mug, then beat your egg in, making sure you get all the flour and .. stuff. i'm bad at writing recipes, don't mind me. ;/ pour in as much milk as you need ( doesn't really need a lot ) and mix that, then add your oil and mixxxx. put it in the microwave ( prolly best to put a plate or something under it <_< ) for 2 minutes and voila. omnomnom. <3