For People Who Do Not Cook

Contrarian

This thread is so people who cook can pass on easy and healthy recipes to those who are new to cooking or are a bit intimidated.

This is my lentil chicken thing. It is easy, yummy and good for you.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 small cooking onion - diced
1 red pepper - chopped
Lg can diced tomatoes - drained
1 can lentils - well rinsed and drained
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (approx)
Dried thyme, dried rosemary and black pepper, to taste (about 1/2 tbsp each)

Heat olive oil in large pan on med-high heat. I use my wok because I don't get to use it often enough, and I love my wok.
Lightly brown chicken pieces
Add onion and peppers - cook until onions are translucent, stirring frequently (constantly)
Add balsamic and continue to stir until incorporated
Add herbs
Add tomatoes and lentils and stir
Reduce heat to simmer
Add black pepper

Stir occasionally and allow to reduce to desired consistency (about 45 minutes)

Variations - Asian - Add soy sauce instead of balsamic and 5 spice and ground ginger instead of herbs - drizzle with one tsp sesame oil after all ingredients have been added
Tex-Mex - Add hot sauce instead of balsamic and cumin and small quantity of cinnamon instead of herbs. You could also add salsa
Italian - Use oregano and basil instead of thyme and rosemary - or as well as - up to you
Vegetarian - Substitute 1 can of black or red beans (rinsed and drained) for chicken and add them with the lentils
Serve with rice, pasta or rice noodles or just serve alone. It also makes a nice side dish, especially if you make the vegetarian version.

If you make it, please let me know how it turns out.

As a side dish, it makes about 10 servings.

Cals 137 Fibre 4 Fat 3 Protein 12 Sodium 298 Sugar 5

MrsCon40

That sounds positively delicious!

anewattitude

Thanks for sharing. I'm a self-claimed culinary disaster but if I try this and I manage to not screw it up I will let ya kmow!

_GlaDOS_

Yum! Thank you for the vegetarian option. :flowerforyou:

Contrarian

If anyone else has any recipes they would like to share, please do. Links to favourite recipes online? Anything to help the non-cookers.

Jorra

If you have a rice cooker, cook up some rice and mix with seasoned ground beef and veggies. I like to mix a bit of packaged chili seasoning as I pan fry the beef and steam frozen veggies with my rice cooker, but heating them up in the microwave would work just as well. Add cheese, sour cream, or hot sauce on top for extra flavor.

_GlaDOS_

This is one of my favorite recipes: http://tinyurl.com/6kmtgak

Super easy and quick!

Contrarian

Thanks Jorra and sweetzoejane! Both of those look great.

Jorra

I just thought of another one. I made this in my school cafeteria so I didn't actually have to "cook" anything, but it was good.

I made a sandwich using an English muffin, tomato slices, one slice of swiss cheese, and some pesto. Any sauce would work well, but the pesto made it freaking delicious.

Contrarian

Yum!

lor007

Cowboy Chicken

6 oz Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
1/4 C Homemade (or store bought) Salsa
1 tsp Yellow Mustard
2 tsp Brown Sugar
1/4 C Fat Free Shredded Cheese (better with real cheese if you have the cals)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir mustard and brown sugar into the salsa and pour on top of chicken breast. Cover with foil and bake for one hour. In the last 15 minutes, remove the foil and top with the shredded cheese.

Calories: 376
Carbs: 15
Fat: 6
Protein: 64
Fiber: 1
Sodium: 855



Optional Toppings/Sides (additional calories): Sour Cream, Lettuce and Tomato, Whole Wheat Tortillas, Brown Rice, Homemade Refried Beans. Also, sodium will be less if you use a low sodium salsa.



Refried Beans without the Refry (from allrecipes.com)

1 Onion, Diced
3 C Dry Pinto Beans, Rinsed
1/2 C Diced Jalapeno Pepper (Optional)
2 tbs Minced Garlic
5 tsp Salt (obviously if you are watching sodium I wouldn't use that much, if any)
1 3/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/8 tsp Cumin
9 C Water

1. Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.
2. Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.

Per 1/2 C:
Calories: 139
Carbs: Fat: .5
Protein: 8.5
Fiber:6.2
Sodium: 785

(Note, sodium will be less if you use less salt)



Also: www.skinnytaste.com has a lot of great things that are easy to make. She includes calorie/macro numbers as well as weight watcher points. Allrecipes.com is another one I like to use.

jtsmou

1. get bread

2. put in toaster

3. select setting

4. push down the thingy

5. wait till it pups up

6. add butter

jtsmou

1. boil water

2. open ramen package

3. add to boiling water 3 mins or so

4. add seasoning packet

5. eat

jtsmou

1. get bag of microwave popcorn

2. put in microwave oven

3. select popcorn setting

4. wait

5. eat popcorn

bregalad5

I appreciate this thread! Bookmarked it for future reference

Contrarian

1. get bread

2. put in toaster

3. select setting

4. push down the thingy

5. wait till it pups up

6. add butter

How do you add the butter? I'm confused...

jtsmou

1. open can of chicken noodle soup

2. put in pan

3. add a can of water

4. heat it on the stove

5. put in bowl or mug

6. eat

jtsmou

1. pull up to drive through of closest fast food place

2. order a combo #4 (it doesn't matter what it is it is always number 4 no matter what)

3. pay person at window

4. get bag of food

5. park behind a public transit station and eat it

Contrarian

jtsmou, I know you can cook. Please stop ****ing around.

jtsmou

I know.. I suck

cmriverside

15 Bean Soup

Go to Safeway.
Buy the package of "Hambeens 15 Beans" dried beans in the dried beans section. There is a recipe on the back of the bag. I suggest looking at it before you leave the store, in case you need to buy something on the list of ingredients needed.

Go home.

Find the crockpot.

Follow the directions.

Best soup ever. With all kinds of great fiber, potassium, vitamins and stuff. Go to the database for the breakdown of nutrients.

Welcome to Autumn.

Contrarian

*sigh*

darla499

1. get bag of microwave popcorn

2. put in microwave oven

3. select popcorn setting

4. wait

5. eat popcorn

LOL!

That's about the extent of my cooking. I think I'm in the wrong thread :-)

stevwil41

Tuna Melt (same recipe I posted last week)

1 light english muffin
1 can of water packed tuna
1.5 tbsp light mayo
salt and pepper
2 tbsp reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 and split the muffin in half.

Toast the muffin.

While toasting squeeze the liquid from tuna. Mix in the mayo and salt and pepper to taste.

Top each muffin half with half of the tuna mixture and 1 tbsp of shredded cheese.

Bake until cheese is melted.

I use Healthy Life 80 calorie english muffins and the recipe has about 330 calories for the whole thing.

stevwil41

Chicken with Green Peppers

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 green peppers, seeded and chopped
1/3 low-sodium soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350

Put chicken and peppers in a large baking dish. Pour soy sauce over everything.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

150 calories

bregalad5

*sigh*

Some of us appreciate your thread (I have actually bookmarked it) I was incredibly proud I managed to make edible brownies today... that's how bad I am! :flowerforyou:

Imahottmess

*sigh*

Some of us appreciate your thread (I have actually bookmarked it) I was incredibly proud I managed to make edible brownies today... that's how bad I am! :flowerforyou:

LOL, I still have not accomplished edible brownies. I can bake anything else, but brownies are a mystery to me.

I this thread. I have copied a couple already that i want to try next week.

_GlaDOS_

Ok thought of two more that are my "go to" recipes...

Maple Salmon - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/maple-salmon/detail.aspx
(this one is so easy to make and the best salmon recipe I've ever found)

Quinoa and Black Beans - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quinoa-and-black-beans/detail.aspx
(really great for those who are new to quinoa)

therobinator

This is my lentil chicken thing. It is easy, yummy and good for you.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 small cooking onion - diced
1 red pepper - chopped
Lg can diced tomatoes - drained
1 can lentils - well rinsed and drained
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (approx)
Dried thyme, dried rosemary and black pepper, to taste (about 1/2 tbsp each)

Heat olive oil in large pan on med-high heat. I use my wok because I don't get to use it often enough, and I love my wok.
Lightly brown chicken pieces
Add onion and peppers - cook until onions are translucent, stirring frequently (constantly)
Add balsamic and continue to stir until incorporated
Add herbs
Add tomatoes and lentils and stir
Reduce heat to simmer
Add black pepper

Stir occasionally and allow to reduce to desired consistency (about 45 minutes)

I made this last night and it was very good. I'll be eating it for lunch a few days this week, along with a side of rosemary roasted carrots. Check out my blog post to see what it looked like and small changes that I made in the recipe: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/therobinator/view/basic-chicken-lentil-stew-151788

MsBaby117

"Cheesy Beefy Quesadillas"

Ingredients:
1 Large La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low Carb/High FIber tortilla
1/3 cup frozen ground-beef-style soy crumbles
1/4 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
One-half wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss Cheese
1 tablespoon fat-free sour cream
1/2 tablespoon chopped scallions
1/4 teaspoon dry taco seasoning mix
Optional: additional fat-free sour cream, for dipping

Directions:
In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine soy crumbles, cheddar cheese, scallions, sour cream, and seasoning mix, stirring thoroughly. Microwave for 30 seconds. give mixture another stir and set aside.
Lay tortilla flat and spread cheese wedge evenly over one half.
Bring a medium-large pan sprayed with non-stick spray to medium heat and lay tortilla in it with the cheesy side up. Cook for about 30 seconds.
Top the cheese tortilla half with the soy crumbles mixture.
Using a spatula, carefully fold the plain tortilla half over the other half, pressing down with the spatula to seal. Cook for about 1 minute, until slightly toasted on the bottom.
Flip and continue to cook for about 1 minute. The quesadilla is done when both sides are toasted. Remove from heat and cut into four triangles. Serve with sour cream for dipping, if you like.
MAKES 1 SERVING
196 Calories, 5g. Fat, 931mg. Sodium, 25g Carbs, 13.5g Fiber, 2.5g Sugars, 25.5g Protein

lessardstroud

"Cheesy Beefy Quesadillas"

Ingredients:
1 Large La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low Carb/High FIber tortilla
1/3 cup frozen ground-beef-style soy crumbles
1/4 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
One-half wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss Cheese
1 tablespoon fat-free sour cream
1/2 tablespoon chopped scallions
1/4 teaspoon dry taco seasoning mix
Optional: additional fat-free sour cream, for dipping

Directions:
In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine soy crumbles, cheddar cheese, scallions, sour cream, and seasoning mix, stirring thoroughly. Microwave for 30 seconds. give mixture another stir and set aside.
Lay tortilla flat and spread cheese wedge evenly over one half.
Bring a medium-large pan sprayed with non-stick spray to medium heat and lay tortilla in it with the cheesy side up. Cook for about 30 seconds.
Top the cheese tortilla half with the soy crumbles mixture.
Using a spatula, carefully fold the plain tortilla half over the other half, pressing down with the spatula to seal. Cook for about 1 minute, until slightly toasted on the bottom.
Flip and continue to cook for about 1 minute. The quesadilla is done when both sides are toasted. Remove from heat and cut into four triangles. Serve with sour cream for dipping, if you like.
MAKES 1 SERVING
196 Calories, 5g. Fat, 931mg. Sodium, 25g Carbs, 13.5g Fiber, 2.5g Sugars, 25.5g Protein

This sounds awesome! I am going to make these for my 9 year old because he loves quesadillas and he needs to lose weight per his doctor. Thanks for sharing!