During NaNo, I find that quick/easy meals are best, particularly ones that have enough leftovers to eat later. So I thought we could do a little recipe sharing for good food to eat during NaNo.
Vegetarian Fajitas!
(Easily modified to include meat, but being a cheap, broke student, veggies are cheaper. Please remember not to combine raw meat with veggies! Cook it first!)
In a plastic bag, combine:
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp paprika
2.5 tsp vegetable bouillon powder (you can use chicken or beef, too -- basically whatever you have on hand.)
1.5 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne (or more, depending on taste)
1/2 tsp cumin
This is more than you'll need for one batch of fajitas, unless you're making a *huge* batch.
Cut up your veggies of choice -- to make enough for four fajitas, I use two bell peppers (one green, one yellow or red or orange), one onion, and if I have them on hand, a handful of mushrooms. Put the chopped up veggies into a bag (I find the plastic bags that you put the veggies in at the grocery work really well), drizzle with a few teaspoons of lime juice, then add fajita mix to taste -- I don't really measure here, but I probably use around 4 tablespoons. Hold the bag closed and shake it up until the veggies are evenly coated with the fajita mix.
Heat oil in a large pan. Add veggies. Cook until tender and delicious.
Serve with salsa, sour cream, grated cheddar cheese and tortillas (I really like the flavoured ones that people used to make sandwich wraps). Enjoy!
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32,166 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 16 36
I have a failsafe method of making sure I eat well during NaNo despite having no time. Are you ready? Here it is!
Marry a guy who will make dinner every night.
Aren't I helpful? He's making ham tonight. :)
150,049 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 16 38
omg that is genius! I definitely need a Quick & Easy dinner. At the moment, I am lucky to have a TV Dinner in my freezer!
12,524 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 17 06
This is my latest lazy slow-cooker thing (big pot on the stove works too). This is made even faster/lazier by the fact that we generally have browned ground beef and fried onions & peppers in the freezer in appropriately-sized containers.
Mediterranean Spaghetti
Take slow cooker/big pot, dump in:
One can diced tomatoes
One (or two) can(s) tomato sauce (homemade, pre-frozen, or from the store)
Bunch of browned ground beef (or crab flakes, or sausage slices, or whatever other leftovers you have)
Feta cheese crumbles
Can of olives (sliced)
Several minced garlic cloves or two spoonfuls of pre-minced garlic if you're lazy like me
Selection of onions and peppers, other veggies you have on hand also allowed. Pre-browned is nice, but fresh is fine too.
If in the slow cooker, turn on high for four hours.
If on the oven, bring to a boil then simmer for a while.
When you get hungry, cook a lot spaghetti, dump a little of the sauce over it for now, and make up freezer-packs with the rest of it.
When you get hungry for the next five days or so, pop one out of the freezer and heat in the microwave for 4-6 minutes, stirring in the middle.
----------Used to be untuxable. Have finally found a name for myself.
30,001 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 17 07
My quick and easy dinner...an omlette. Beat a couple of eggs, pour in the pan, add cut veggies/meat/cheese. Cook. Flip out of pan. Eat.
It's high in protein for novelling fuel, healthy with veggies and yummy with cheese!
----------Canoegirl
Clan QWERTY
EdmoWrimo Literary Ninjas
51,485 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 17 28
Marry a guy who will make dinner every night.
Aren't I helpful? He's making ham tonight. :)
That's my aim eventually, at the moment, I believe that toast makes a good dinner. Or if my mom likes me enough, she'll cook.
----------37,122 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 18 57
One of my favorites is an online recipe we found called 'Tater Tot casserole'. It takes a little bit of prep work, but is well worth it considering how much leftovers it yields if only feeding one or two people. It's also quite cheap.
You will need:
1'ish lbs of ground beef (would probably work with ground turkey or chicken as well, but we've never tried it)
1 bag frozen tater tots
1 can cream of celery soup (or cream of broccoli cheese soup, or cheddar cheese soup - all are good!)
1 green pepper
1 small yellow or white onion (this is personal preference, I just don't like red onions but they'd probably work okay)
1-2 cups of grated cheddar cheese (I always err on the side of extra cheese!)
Cook tater tots as directed on bag (cook the entire bag)
Chop green pepper and onion while tots are cooking
Also while tots are cooking, brown your ground beef in a frying pan (no oil needed) until it is no longer pink. I like to rinse ground beef to get all the fat off, but it's a matter of preference.
Toss the chopped green pepper and onion in with cooked beef and fry for a few more minutes, just to soften the veggies a bit. I add in a little garlic powder and season salt here, but you can season it to your preference.
Once the tots and veggies are done, take a casserole pan (or a big round pyrex - something that will hold all this food!) and layer it as follows: tots (smoosh them into the bottom of the pan), beef mixture, shredded cheese - repeat.
Empty your cream soup into a large bowl and add the advised amount of water (usually a can) - mix until no longer lumpy.
Pour soup over casserole mixture and bake at 350 until cheese is melted and soup is bubbling (about 35 minutes, depending upon your oven).
It's got almost all of your food groups covered and tastes absolutely fantastic reheated.
-----------=-=-=-=-=- Earth. Air. Fire. Water. Write! -=-=-=-=-=-
50,001 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 19 31
I'm makin' this tomorrow, Nikki :) I happen to have all the ingredients on hand!
----------The one, the only, the amazing, the I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter Crystalkins!
@livejournal
25,018 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 20 11
Marry a guy who will make dinner every night.
Aren't I helpful? He's making ham tonight. :)
My boyfriend made some awesome pasta tonight! I love men who can cook~
44,262 / 50,000
Nov 9, 2009 - 23 00
I tend to fall back on pastas, often. Just boil, and pour pasta sauce from jar to pot to heat up. You don't even have to heat the sauce up though if you don't want to, lol. Although I usually fry up some sausage and mushrooms, just so I don't feel too lazy.
The other dinner I may do on the weekend is chili. Slightly time consuming due to vegetable chopping, but easy to make lots at once, freeze, and then reheat for future dinners. =)
----------Fight the good fight. Write the good write.
41,180 / 50,000
Nov 9, 2009 - 23 18
Here's another quick and easy recipe that's been in my family for ages.
Cheese Dreams
serves one
1 bagel
4 strips bacon
2-4 slices of tomatoes
cheddar cheese
mayonnaise
Fry bacon until deliciously crispy.
----------Cut open bagel. Broil bagel face-down until nicely toasty.
Remove bagel from oven. Spread with mayo, then top each half with two piece of bacon. Top with tomato slices. Slice off enough cheddar to cover bagel. Put slices of cheese on top of tomato slices.
Broil bagel halves until cheese melts.