Alright, you knew this was coming..what's some quick and easy dinners

I am sort of stuck in a pattern and want to mix it up for my little girl a bit more. I do a mean spag bog, killer hotdogs, awesome home made schnitzel (none of that pre made supermarket gunk), homemade salad and potato bake, just getting into learning how to make a good tasting rissole and she likes good steak, eye fillet only of course and the old fall back, sausages, mash and peas. Friday night is takeout so pizza or Maccas (blerch) but i need a couple of quick things that are good and healthy that i can whip up when i couldn't be bothered spending an hour or more doing some of the meals. Sometimes i am super lazy and we do pancakes or we just fry up some bacon and eggs with fried tomatoes and toast.

Hit me your quick dinner ideas if you have any !

Do nots - Carrots are a no no as is brocoli and brussel sprouts. They are her three 'not eating that' foods.

Hamburger helper. Quick and easy one pot method.

Oh wait, you are in OZ.

Do they have hamburger helper down there?

Buy a large slow cooker crock pot. Find recipes online. Throw stuff in it and it will be ready when you get home.

I have been known to cook pot roasts and stews and even bbq ribs and pulled pork and chili in a crock pot.

Tamale Pie!

Not more complicated or longer to prepare than anything you already do and can be done in a million different ways.
We actually do it gluten free (for the wife) and non-spicy hot (for the two little kids).

Simply brilliant.



That and a chicken drumsticks oven thingy mhy wife does with this killer sauce. I guess is something Soy or Teriyaki-
I just can't get enough!

Not sure how popular or easy to find hamburger meat/ground beef is in OZ but you can make all kind of stuff with it: meatloaf, tacos, chili, hamburger helper in a couple of dozen different flavors, hamburgers, meat ragu', meatballs, 3 bean soup, etc etc

Household fav that's easy: Pasta Kryptonite

1lb sausage, sliced abt 1/2" ea. Andouille or whatever you like.
1/2 lb chicken thigh fillets....or, even easier, possibly better, get a small rotisserie chicken, hot, and pull it apart while still hot
16oz Fettuccini, or rigatoni...whatever you like
Can of Rotel tomatoes/peppers
Red onion, sliced up
2tbs garlic, diced
Olive oil

Grill the chicken separately while you brown the sausage with the onions and garlic in some olive oil
and boil the pasta.
When finished, cut up the chicken into pieces.
Combine it all with the Rotel and stir up. Drizzle more olive oil over the top. Nice with some parmesan when served.

Makes enough for a family of 4 plus some lunches. Even better the next day.

*Reads RK recipe*

AAAAARGH!




J/k looks positively awesome.

You can always make quick hamburgers, nothing special for quick anbd basic.
1lb 80/20 ground beef for 4, 1/4lb burgers. Refrigerated meat is best, rather than room temp.

Make thin but wide patties, larger than your hand. Cook in frying pan. If warm, its hard to get it to stay together without adding anything to the meat.

Not the best way to make burgers, but only takes a few minutes and simple. Meat and bread. LOL

Got a crock pot?

4 good sized chicken breast fillets.
Thick cut bacon
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans cream of chicken
Rice.

Wrap the chicken up in the bacon, completely covered.
Put chicken and all cans of soup in the crock pot. 8 hrs on low or 4 on high.

Ok to go eat there, but I like to pull the chicken-bacon wraps, put in a dish and broil for about 15 minutes to crisp up the bacon. Prepare the rice.
Serve on rice with the crockpot soup as gravy over all of it.
AWESOME

Its good! The kids even love it.
You can also swap sausage for sliced Portobello's, still cooked like the sausage, for a little healthier version. The kids even like that.

You know it was in good humor- You ARE good at cooking.

Cooking? What's that?

Even better at eating. Unfortunately. LOL

Pizza. It's what's for dinner when you can't think of anything else that's not frozen solid.



The Jedi Master

You either eat your food warm, or you live long enough to see it becoming the next week side dish.

Flygande Jacob.
Looks like a lot of things that don't belong to each other, but it's tasty - if high in the calorie count. Kids love it.

When I have my boys I'm big on steak tips, teriyaki chicken, soft taco's. I also like to use left over chicken and make Chicken Fajita's. So easy, cut up chicken, shaved cheese and fajita bread cooked on a frying pan. Topped with Sour Cream and taco sauce.

That actually sounds pretty good, and the ingredients can be had over here.

We need more food threads

Sandwiches, the underestimated treasure.

If done right, they can be a lot better than what one would expect. For example, I use the battery of barbecue sauces for seasoning rather than the standard mayonnaise. Iceberg lettuce (or some other salad) is a must, I like to mix various types of cheese and sausage or other cold meat. Mustard if you like, boiled eggs, sour gherkin (sliced), tomato, bell pepper slices - so you can smuggle a bit of healthy stuff in that's actually contributing to the experience.

Mac and Cheese (not the fluorescent orange kind out of a box!!)

My Kids love my homemade Macaroni and Cheese. From an really old cookbook that makes the old fashioned "White sauce" with milk/butter/flour poured over layers of cooked macaroni and cheddar (or any kind of) cheese with a topping of more cheese or parmesan.

Sauce:

2 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
3 TBSP butter
1 tsp salt, (or to taste)
black pepper to taste.

Make a quick roux with the melted butter and flour. Add the milk slowly with stirring along with spices. Bring to a boil and simmer for ~5 min until well thickened. I usually add more cheese to this mixture.

Pour over the layered cooked pasta and cheese and bake at 375 deg F for ~25 min or until the top layer of cheese is starting to brown.


We also like Empanadas.

Dunno if you you can find Empanada wrappers down under, but they are great as you can fill them with ANYTHING. I usually do refried beans cheese and salsa, but any kind of meat and whatever spices you fancy can be used. Dump on the filling, fold the empanada wrapper over and seal with a fork. Deep fry if you want, but I bake @425 deg F for ~15-20 min.

Stir Fry

Great with any kind of leftovers or fresh meat/tofu/vegetables/seafood. I uses broccoli a lot, but obviously leave it out!!! Can be all vegetarian or add whatever else you want.

Usually use a base of onions/peppers/garlic/celery and whatever other veggies are around. Add shrimp/beef/chicken/sausage/tofu as you like. Make Asian style with soy sauce/hoisin sauce and serve over rice, or make Italian style with Oregano/crushed tomatoes and serve over pasta etc. etc. etc..

Shepherd's Pie

Brown up your choice of meat + onions + peas + whatever else. I like to mix with seasoned breadcrumbs as you would for a meat loaf. Season as you like with tomato sauce (my kids like it with BBQ sauce)

Boil up some potatoes and mash coarsely. Make a bottom crust of mashed potatoes. But the meat on top. Cover with more mashed potatoes. Back in moderate oven ~350 deg F for ~25 min or until crust is a little hard on top.

Just give me a Reuben from either Stage Deli or Katz's and I'm totally content.

When the cooking falls to me I like to do roast chicken, beef or whole fish which are nice "fire and forget" dishes.

I know that roasts seem like a big deal and a lot of cooking but, in fact, they only take about 10-15 minutes up-front work but then they get popped in the stove and you can get the other essentials (homework/reading/shower etc.) done over the next hour. They also don't involve much cutting/peeling/cleaning and don't require much "watching" if any once you get to know the times.

Given that there's just the 2 of you, there will be a lot of leftovers, but that means some healthy and tasty lunches.

Roast chicken

Sprinkle the inside with salt+pepper to taste.
pat outside dry and rub with pat of butter
Sprinkle the outside with herbs (rosemary, thyme etc. to taste) you can also lay a couple of strips of bacon
place BIG chunks of carrot/beets/rutabaga/yams/sweet potato and/or potato on the roasting platter around the chicken (rubbing the unpeeled potato with butter = yum).
cook at 350F for 1 hour and then poke knife under the "leg-pit" to see if the juice runs clear or still pink (pinkish=give it more time).

When it's done you have a delicious roast chicken + carbs and all you need is a salad to round out the meal.

Roast beef

With a slim knife cut deep incisions into the meat, place garlic slivers in the incisions.
Salt + pepper outside. Do the BIG chunky carb thing all around the platter.
In the oven for 20 minutes at 450F to seal the outside.
Then turn down to 325F for 1hour+ (depending on size of roast and personal taste).

Fish

This is a faster one and I've only done it with salmon and arctic char (a type of salmon). It's more of a "special occasion" type of thing because of the cost and also because my eldest son is allergic to fish.

Assuming the fish is already clean.
Place 3 lemon slices on a piece of alu-foil large enough to tent/close fully over the fish. Place fish on 3 lemon slices.
Set 3 lemon slices on top of fish. Place lemon ends (what's leftover from cutting the slices) in the cavity. The aim is to use the ends to prop the cavity open for more even cooking, so the lemon ends have to be big enough for this purpose and placed in the cavity to ensure some airflow. I use two lemons to make sure this is the case.
I usually place a few thin slices of butter between the lemons on the top but don't add any sort of spices of any kind.
The alu foil "tent" is then closed up with a simple fold (it will be hot and difficult to open if you crimp it too much) and the baking pan goes into the pre-heated oven at F350 for about an hour. When opening to check watch out for the burst of steam.

There is a Kat'z in Florida?

No but I will go there next time I visit NYC.

Three leeks, sliced/halved and place the whites in a bowl of cold water
Two cans of potatoes
Can of chicken broth
Half cup of half and half
Package of diced ham

Blend the potatoes with the chicken broth in a food processor and set aside.
Melt two tablespoon of butter in a large boiler pan and add the drained leeks.
Cook until leeks are soft then add the blended potatoes and heat.
Add the half and half to the soup along with the hams.
Heat and enjoy with oyster crackers.

Kalamojakka (Finnish fish stew)



6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 onion chopped
2 lbs. fresh fish fillets cut into bite-sized pieces (preferably northern pike)
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1 c. whole milk or half and half
2 peppercorns
5 whole allspice
4 Tbsp. butter
Salt to taste

Put potatoes in kettle and place fish fillets over them; add onion, peppercorns, and allspice. Add enough water to reach fish fillets but not cover them. Cover the kettle and cook without stirring until potatoes are tender. Do not pour out the water. Add evaporated milk and whole milk (or half and half) and butter. Bring to a simmer for 2 or 3 minutes. Add salt to taste � do not boil after salt has been added.

Easy stuff with just ground meat:

tacos, buy the box kit and some shredded lettuce and a tomato or two

sloppy joes...can of manwich, buns. 1 lb of meat makes a bunch of them.

spaghetti...boil spaghetti, pour a jar of sauce in with the meat. Use 90% lean meat and there's not enough grease to have to bother to strain out. Doesn't have to be anything special for quick meal nights. Just get a good sauce.

patty melt....hamburger patties, saute some onions...stick them in a cheese sandwich.

Pasta kits like Hamburger Helper, Zatarins etc. We keep these on hand at all times. Everyone loves beef stroganoff kits. We have to make them 2 boxes at a time/2 lbs of meat though, they don't make a lot.
Even easier, tuna kits. No meat to cook and you can keep cans around forever.



Breakfast foods:

Learn how to make an omelet, if you don't know already. I make one, serve to someone, on to the next instead of making them wait. They suck when cold. Some shredded cheese, some bacon (get the kind that's already cooked, you just reheat in the microwave to save time and mess)...done.

You mentioned pancakes already. My shortcut: instead of making pancake after pancake, the first ones cold by the time you get done......everyone gets ONE plate sized pancake. They cook just fine, they aren't as dry this way and you're done quickly. Serve them as they get done. Just don't make it so big it won't fit your plates. There's a lot to eat, they usually don't even get finished. And mix up the batter in a large measuring cup instead of making a big mess. Easier to judge the water needed and easy to clean up.



Sandwiches
Even basic roast beef or ham sandwiches seem pretty special if you use buns or split rolls, put them together and lay them out, open, on a pan to broil for a few minutes in the oven. Meat, cheese, broil...done in 5 minutes total. Much better than a cold meat sandwich, but all you're adding is heat.


Salad night
If we do this, I have some small chicken breast fillets I throw on the grill. Takes just a few minutes to cook the small ones. Then cut into strips for the salads. Nice to have something hot on there and it's filling that way.

Risotto is always a good way to use up some scraps for a quick meal. So long as you have some arborio rice and some stock, anything else can be chucked in - mushrooms, ham, peas, leeks, asparagus, shellfish..

Top with some grated parmesan or gran padano, serve with crunchy bread and salad...

Man..you guys are awesome ! Going to try as many of these as we can and get into it, cheers ! Totally forgot about omeletes, so easy and so goooood..just finished whacking one up then and we are chowing down

cheers again all for taking the time to put your recipes down

@DaBBQ: no disrespect intended.

I can't stand Leeks and Radishes and Beets and similar vegetables.

I rather eat broccoli!

Here's another one that's finished in 15 minutes:-

Foo Yong Hai

3 large eggs, at room temperature
75 gr bean sprouts
75 gr ground pork
4 medium-sized shrimp, peeled and cut into small pieces
1 scallion, cut into small rings
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
dash of cooking wine (or sherry)
small dash of oyster sauce
soy sauce
Pinch of sugar
white pepper
3 tablespoons oil
(White) rice - as much as needed for two.

Cook rice according to instructions.
Break eggs into bowl and stir. Add all other ingredients (except the oil) and stir again. Make sure oyster sauce is fully dissolved in the mixture.
Heat a wok (or frying pan), add a spoon of oil, wait a few seconds to let the oil heat, turn heat lower, add 1/3 of the egg mixture. Or maybe in your case 1/4. Let the egg set until the top is still just liquid. Flip the egg, fry until both sides are golden brown. Serve with the rice.

Lol +1


Wheels

RK,
We had this one tonight. I did the crispy bacon version. "AWESOME" is right. My two teenage boys loved it -- one was just in after track practice and he ate nearly half the pot. I added some ground black pepper to mine. Next time I'm going to add an onion and may try some chipoltle on there. What do you add to put some kick in there without killing the flavor?

Really good. Thanks for sharing.

Glad you like it!
I forgot to mention adding some flour, it thickens it up a bit. Probably up to 1/4 cup MAX, if that much. You can do it from the start or while the chicken is in the oven. It isn't necessary, but if you found it a little thin, that's why. If adding at the end, do it slowly and stir it in as you go so you don't do too much.
Pepper is right, I just leave that for at the table. No salt needed. Might be good with a can of Rotel if you want to spice it up a bit, and swap the cream of mushroom for a cheddar cheese soup? Would come out more like chicken spaghetti that way, but I like it as-is. I could live off of just the gravy and rice.

These recipes usually help me Easy Shrimp Recipes , when I need something quick and easy, try it!

Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!

I can barely boil water so “quick and easy meals” for me means microwave stuff like TV dinners.

I bought an air fryer last year. Barely use my microwave now. Frozen fryables are easy. Chicken, chicken fried steak, shrimp, all kinds of fried potatoes (curly fries, waffle fries, potato wedges, tots, hash brown patties, etc. even sweet potato fries), fish stick and fillets. The only think I'd warn against is anything that might burst or leak like mozzerella sticks or egg rolls or something.. Tip: start by cutting however long the box tells you for toaster oven or oven in half. If you go for the full time it'll probably be too dry to eat.

Southern biscuits and gravy.

Go ahead and cheat, getting biscuits in a can, as we want this on the table in 16 minutes once the oven pre-heats.

Um, US biscuits, mind you!

So, once one puts the biscuits in the oven, brown about a third a tube of breakfast sausage, around 4 patty's worth, at medium heat.

Add a bit of shortening or lard, maybe a tablespoon or two, and sprinkle on flour until the sausage crumbles are all nicely coated - say, um, two cup's worth.

Add in whole milk, around four cups. If you think you may have too much, put in another half cup. Seriously. You need more milk.

Bring it to a mild boil, stirring, pausing only long enough to put what looks like too much black pepper -say three tablespoons. Put in some salt, but be skimpy here. If you can't really see the pepper in the gravy, add more.

Taste it. Needs more pepper, doesn't it?

Keep stirring it around until that magic moment where it turns from soup to a nice gravy. Lower the heat. Heck, turn it off if you want. Stir it around some more until the timer for the biscuits dings.

Pull the biscuits out of the oven, cut them in half, and put the gravy on top of them.

The gravy will thicken as it cools, and if it's too thick, just heat it gently and add more milk.

[edit]. This is for two people who like each other. It could serve three or four if you don't really like them very much. More sausage means more flour which means more gravy.

Coconut oil in the frying pan + 3 1/3 lb burgers, salted, peppered, and cook on low heat with a top over the skillet. Only flip once.

Yum.


Grass fed beef @ 90% lean is excellent, too.

my version is to agree with what ever my wonderful bride of 42 years suggests, don't get any easier than that...

I’ve got a lot of new ones, but most belong more in the Weight Loss Recipes thread. Most are pretty quick or make enough for multiple meals.

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4402291/re-weight-loss-recipes#Post4402291

The grand kids ask for my shepherd's pie a lot

2kg of minced beef (mutton if you can get it - sadly very difficult to get sheep/lamb meat here)
2 large onions diced finely
4 good sized carrots, sliced or diced
500g peas
2 tins of tomato puree concentrate
1 clove of garlic
couple of sprigs of thyme or a table spoon of dried if you don't have fresh
same of Rosemary
Bisto/gravy browning (for this size I use 2 teaspoons of bisto and 3 teaspoons of cornflour mixed as I don't want the mixture to be too salty)
4kg potatoes boiled and mashed

Put the oven on to 180c and let it warm up

Brown mince in a large pan and add the onions and garlic stirring the mixture, then the carrots and then add water to cover the mixture bring back to a simmer and add the tomato puree, then add the Thyme and Rosemary, next the peas and let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes until the carrots are cooked, take off the heat and thicken with the Bisto/gravy browning and return to the heat to let the browning /cornflour cook out and thicken.

Meanwhile peel the potatoes and boil them for mash, when making the mash make it a bit more runny than normal as when cooked in the oven it will dry out a bit, also it is easier to pipe when runny
in a deep baking tray put the mince mixture and let cool off slightly so the gravy becomes a little firmer, then pipe the potato mash over the top sealing in the mince mixture underneath. place in the oven and let it bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is starting to go golden brown.


I make this every few weeks for the kids and grand kids, sometimes it is not enough to feed all of them tho, as they keep coming back for 2nds and 3rd helpings

Funny how one spam post can resurrect an old thread.

Don't change SimHQ

I know, right?

Two awesome comfort food things here, Dart's Biscuits and Gravy and Allicat's Sheperds Pie.

Any excuse! LOL

^ I finally got to use this.

Much time has passed, wondering if this is still the case. Man, that's three of my favorites!

Some people *really* don't like brussel sprouts...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNd-Psr1i-8

...but I wonder if they've ever tried them oven roasted. Same with cabbage and onions (especially big red onions).

Gratin de courgettes

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/courgette_gratin_04270
A real eye-opener on how to turn boring zucchinis into an easy super yummy dish.

Cheers,
Slug

Quick and easy :



Ajay, carrots come in other colours besides orange, you could try to trick her.

With a little effort you can add sliced hot dogs to KK's suggestion for "Beanie Weinies". A favorite of my son for more than twenty years, so far.

PSA:

or if that is tooooo much work, then you can get the beans with the sausages in them already

Quesadillas with just grated cheddar and salsa, done in a skillet with a bit of oil. That's if I want to be done in 5 minutes (assuming I don't have to open up a new block of cheddar, divide it up, and get it into storage).

But what I love about quesadillas is you can make them quick and simple, or long and "complex", and you can put just about anything in them.

I'm making sort of a seafood type tonight with jumbo shrimp (shelled but I'll still have to remove the tail shells), avocado, brown mushrooms, red and green bell pepper, pearl onion (sliced along the meridians and then meticulously torn apart) grated cheddar (not pre-grated), tomato, and horseradish cocktail sauce.

Two of these will take me between 20 and 40 minutes depending how many of the ingredients are fresh or already prepped and stored...

Another quickie I do sometimes is various canned soups, then add torn up bread (good stuff from store bakery) and various already prepped veggies I need to use up, sometimes even meat I need to use up...

Soups, quesadillas, and eggs are often how I use up various pre-prepped ingredients that are about to go bad if I don't use them up...

I was wondering what the heck this post was doing back here again 2015, man, times have changed, now she can cook dinner for me!

Steamed then tossed with butter and Italian bread crumbs. I can make a meal out of just that.

Macaroni Cheese.

Put 1 or 2 tbsp of flour in a pan. Add the same amount of oil or butter. Cook on low-medium heat. Stir constantly til it becomes very smooth and starts to change color. Do not stop stirring or it will burn. Do not heat it too high or it will burn. Just keep stirring.

Once the color starts to change a bit, begin adding milk slowly. It will thicken into gloup. Keep stirring and it'll smooth out. Don't add too quickly or you won't be able to get the lumps out. Just keep stirring and adding slowly. Once it reaches a nice consistency, lower the heat and add grated cheese - lots of it. Add to taste. Salt and pepper to taste. Do not overheat when adding cheese or the sauce will split and it's not a nice texture and pretty much impossible to fix. If adding multiple cheese types, add cheeses with high melting points first then things like mozzarella last to avoid splitting the sauce.

While you're doing that, boil up some pasta in well salted water. Should taste like seawater. Drain when al dente.

Pour the cheese sauce over the the drained pasta, mix it up. You can eat it just like this, or if you want to make it better, put it in a casserole dish, top it with some grated cheese and panko / breadcrumbs and bake it for a bit til it gets a nice crust on the top.

If you don't like the texture of the flour based sauce you can make it with corn starch too, just be careful about mixing the starch as it turns into a weird slimeball texture if you leave lumps, and they can't really be removed except by straining or blending in a powerful blender like a vitamix. Once the pasta is in it can't be fixed. You've been warned! The unbaked version can be done in about 10-15 minutes if you start the sauce at the same time you start boiling the water.

Note about pasta: Use a huge pot of water. If you're getting tons of foam in your pasta pots it means that your pot is too small for the amount of pasta you're using. I typically use 4L of water for 1 or 2 portions of pasta.

Simple fajitas

Slice up a cheap cut of beef or chicken or pork and set it aside. Very thin slices are key. 1cm thick at the most.
Crush some garlic with a garlic press or mince it up, or just use the stuff from a jar. Slice some onion up if you like. Slice 2 bell peppers (Paprikas) into long strips about 1cm wide. Heat up a frying pan with oil (not olive oil, use something with a high smoke point). Get it nice and hot. Chuck in the pepper strips, stir fry them quickly and chuck in the onion before the peppers are too cooked. High heat is really critical, you want to keep the crunchy texture, too low a heat and you'll get a soggy mess. Add the garlic and fry for 10-15 seconds, then add all the meat. Throw in around a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of paprika, a teaspoon of mild chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat as soon as the meat is almost cooked through. It will finish cooking once off the heat. Throw it all in a bowl and serve with tortillas. Serve with grated cheese and sour cream and salsa. I just put out bowls full of each condiment. Lettuce optional. This dish can be completed in under 10 minutes.


Pepperoncino Pasta
Boil some noodles of your choice. Common is spaghetti but I often use penne or shells. Cook to al dente in salted water. Seawater technique.

While that's going on, crush some garlic and chop some dried chili peppers into thin rings. Use as much pepper as you like, I love spicy food so I typically go for 2 or 3. Deseed if you can't handle heat. Throw the chilis in a frying pan with olive oil, fry on medium heat for 20-30 seconds, then in with the garlic, fry a few more seconds til fragrant, then turn off the heat. I often cut a couple slices of garlic and leave them whole instead of crushing just for the texture. Add italian parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Dump it over the drained pasta or vice versa. Be careful not to go overboard with the olive oil or it can become quite greasy.

Caramel Popcorn

This is not much of a dinner but it might be nice for a movie night. Make some popcorn - I just put a tablespoon of oil in the bottom of a pot, put another tablespoon or two of popcorn kernels in and shake shake shake til it's done popping. Don't overheat! Keep a small crack in the lid to let the steam out, popcorn probably won't come out of the gap if you're doing it right.

Once that's done, add some sugar and a little butter to a nonstrick frying pan. I typically go with 2 tbsp of each. Melt on medium-low heat, stir constantly. Very important to stir. Once it starts to melt, turn the heat down QUICKLY. If cooking on electric, take if off the burner to control the heat, put it back on the burner if it's not there yet. As soon as it starts turning brownish, stir stir stir then pour it over the popcorn while mixing with a spoon. Don't touch this stuff, nothing sticks and burns skin like caramel.

This stuff is quite yummy. Takes maybe 5-10 minutes to make.

I am surprised no one has added how to make the "perfect" grilled cheese sandwich.

I can't cook for $#&%. I usually just end up helping with the dishes ( wish means I do them all).

Yep, quesadillas are a weekly thing here. One of few things everyone likes! I just get turkey breast fillets for it. Cheap, taste good, cooks fast. Throw it on the griddle...some rotel, cheese, jalapenos...good stuff.

I am really liking this from my local take-out lately, need to try this at home myself

Chicken Jalfrezi

https://www.harighotra.co.uk/chicken-jalfrezi-recipe

PM's potato salad

https://scontent.fyyz1-1.fna.fbcdn....8b040cd5ab6e3e48f1304b21&oe=5DC17B2C

Yup, that’s pretty much what it would look like if I tried to make it.

It’s not my fault! I was raised in a Latino household so cooking is something that women do.

Proper potato salad is a tough thing. Everyone has a different idea. I am a mustard, egg, mayo, celery and potato type of guy. It's the way my mother made it.

Not only am I lazy, but I'm extremely cheap too. I tend to take the easy way and if there is already something like crab salad or potato salad at the Walmart deli I'll buy those and doctor them up. I find they have way too much dressing, and I can stretch them considerably by just adding more of the other stuff. I buy celery, onions, and canned diced potatoes to add to the potato salad. My cousin recently gave me a smoked paprika spice can (pimenton de la vera on the label) that is soooo much than just regular. Oh and dill, lots of dill for the potato salad and the crab salad. The crab salad I'll buy imitation crab flakes and break those up into the store bought crab salad. I do both of these in much larger bowls than the original packaging. Celery for the crab salad too. If I want to get fancy I'll buy a package of pre-cooked small frozen shrimp and add about 1/5 of the package to my crab salad making it more of a seafood salad. If I'm not making it for my mom I'll add some horseradish to give it some kick.

Three bean salad from the canned isle is another good one, I'll buy no salt dark red kidney beans and after rinsing the kidney beans dump them in with the three bean salad(don't need to rinse the three bean salad. Then slice up some banana pepper rings into it. More dill, my sister told me some well to do women her boyfriend crewed for had a saying "when in doubt, dill". lol If you want a kick some cloves of garlic yet and a garlic press, and shake a bunch of turmeric into it because it's supposed to be good for you. You could probably turmeric the potato salad too. Turmeric has a mustardish taste. Once I've eaten on the bean salad for awhile I'll dump another can of the dark red kidney beans into it. Maybe add some apple cider vinegar if it's lost some kick. Good eats, cheap. LOL

No matter what kind of grilled sandwich - cast iron or carbon steel skillet for the win!

I even sometimes make my burgers that way - sliced sourdough, PATTY MELT!