Hey everyone, happy new year!!

I have been living off microwaveable macaroni cheese ready meals at uni and my new year's resolution is to start cook myself healthy meals!
I need to balance this around dance, exercise, cheerleading and studying so must be quick and very easy as my skills are lacking!!!

Please help, you will be doing me a huge favour!!!

xoxo

I want to say salads, but I think that is way obvious. But I would suggest you try this website I found with tons and tons of amazing recipes for all sorts of things. If you like the website and choose to use it, I recommend also reading some of the comments because they've found ways to switch it up to make the dish even better.

Also, I don't know how quick you want things made. I estimate if a dish can be ready from start to finish in 20 minutes, its quick! (Of course, I don't count the 5-10 minutes to prepare marinades the night before). I also don't know if you have access to an oven or stove top…

Here are a few (quick?) vegetarian dishes I found:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Three-Bean-Salad/Detail.aspx (prepare time is short, but needs to chill for 12 hours)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Eggplant-and-Pepper-Parmesan-Sandwiches/Detail.aspx (25 minutes total time!)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quick-and-Easy-Stuffed-Peppers/Detail.aspx (Microwavable stuffed bell peppers! My boyfriend tried this recipe and said it came out as good as ones baked in the oven)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/College-Students-Saucy-Chickpeas/Detail.aspx (college student's recipe!)

There's also lots of smoothie recipes and lots of fun salad recipes on there also.

I hope that helped a little. Just browse around a little more and I'm sure you will find some great recipes. Print them out, make your own little recipe book (that's what I did for my boyfriend's birthday) and have some cooking fun.

www.allrecipes.com

We run a very hectic schedule around here. There is usually not much time to cook a fantastic meal for dinner. We usually have something easy like Hamburger Helper or chili dogs or something. I'm running out of variety. Anyone have any yummy things I can make quick?

Beefy Rice:

1 pound hamburger
1 box beef rice a roni

Meatloaf:

2 pounds hamburger
1 box stove top
1/4 cup ketchup

Crap in a pot:
1 pkg. potatoes o'brian
1 pound smoked sausage - diced
1 can cream of mushroom
1 cup shredded cheddar added at end.

Crock pot high, 4 hours.

Meatballs: for sub sandwiches or spaghetti

1 pound hamburger
3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 egg

Either bake 'em or saute 'em.

Can't beat shake and bake pork chops, rice a roni and cream style corn.

Chicken or Beef Lo Mein:

INGREDIENTS
1 Pound sliced chicken or beef
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 (3 ounce) packages Oriental flavored ramen noodles
1 (16 ounce) package frozen stir-fry vegetables
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon soy sauce, or to taste

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil and add meat, cook until done.

Meanwhile bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add noodles from ramen packages, reserving the seasoning envelopes. Boil for about 2 minutes, just until the noodles break apart. Drain.

Add the stir-fry vegetables to the pan with the tofu, and season with the ramen noodle seasoning packet. Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender, but not mushy. Add noodles, and stir to blend. Season with soy sauce to taste and serve.

Neither of my parents really have time to make homecooked food anymore because of their demanding jobs. We have been eating those microwaveable dinners for some time now, but I had an idea: maybe I could help out by making dinner for everyone every night? And maybe you guys could give me recipies for quick, healthy meals that I could cook for my family?

I have decent (but not amazing) cooking skills because I'm only 16, so easy/medium recipies, please.

Thanks, everyone, for your help.

Anything you cook at home is more healthy than those microwaveable dinners or take-out.

Cook some boneless skinless chicken breasts in a large skillet with a little oil about 4 minutes per side on medium heat. Add one chopped onion, cook briefly and add 1 cup of chicken broth. Cook about 3 minutes then add one jar of spaghetti sauce. Turn heat to low, cover and let simmer until chicken is done, approximately 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook some pasta following directions on the box. Drain the pasta and serve the chicken and sauce over the pasta. Serve with a bagged salad and Italian bread.

———-

Hamburger Rice Soup

1 pound ground beef
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 cups cubed potatoes
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup uncooked white rice
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 cups water

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute the ground beef for 5 minutes, or until browned. Drain the excess fat and add the tomatoes with liquid, potatoes, carrots, onion, salt, rice, black pepper and water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour and serve

———

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
1 cup chopped green or red pepper
1 8oz jar Pace picante sauce, divided use
1 8oz package Philadelphia Brand cream cheese, cubed
8 flour tortillas (6 inch)
¾ LB Velveeta Process Cheese spread or Velveeta Light, cubed
¼ cup milk

Stir chicken, green pepper, ½ cup picante sauce and cream cheese in saucepan over low heat until smooth. Spoon 1/3 cup chicken mixture onto each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam side down, in lightly greased 8 x 13 baking dish.
Stir cheese spread and milk in saucepan over low heat until smooth.
Pour sauce over tortillas; cover with foil.
Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Pour remaining picante sauce over tortillas.
Makes 4 to 6 servings

Good luck - I think you shouldn't have any trouble with these recipes.

I’m looking for some quick and easy meal ideas that don’t contain a lot of ingredients. My husband, our 6 year old and myself are going to Orlando for 2 weeks in December. We will be spending most days at Disney or enjoying other attractions. We plan to eat out some but in order to stay within budget we will often be making meals at our rented house.

bbq chicken drums (chicken w/a handle as my son calls them)

Pasta w/ sauce

Basic salad w/ beans and tomato’s

Just after some tasty quick meal ideas for 10 month old?!

Avocado dip
1/2 ripe avocado
1/4 cup finely grated cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped tomato
1 teaspoon yougurt
Blend all together and serve with blanched vegetable sticks, cheese sticks, bread sticks or sausages

its quick and has lots of vegie goodness

Can anyone please recommend to me any websites or books that have recipes for meals that are quick .easy ,healthy and not requiring to much work .Say done in 20 mins to an hour (excluding baking time in the oven ) .

I don't cook often ,and may have to start cooking on a regular basis ,help?
Many thanks .
Wow thanks Amy , and others .

It's great that you've started cooking your own meals. Here are some easy, healthy dinners…

***Healthy Spicy Sausage Jambalaya***

8 ounce(s) turkey andouille sausage, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 green or yellow pepper, chopped
1 can(s) (14 1/2-ounce) stewed tomatoes
1 cup(s) uncooked instant brown rice
8 ounce(s) chicken tenders, each cut crosswise in half
1 bunch(es) green onions, sliced

1.Heat 12-inch skillet on medium until hot. Add sausage and pepper, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2.Stir in tomatoes with their juice, rice, chicken, 1/2 cup water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; heat to boiling on high. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until rice is just tender. Remove skillet from heat; stir in green onions.

***Citrus Scallops***

1 lemon
1 lime
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 pound(s) sea scallops, rinsed
3 teaspoon(s) olive oil
1 tablespoon(s) finely chopped shallot
1 teaspoon(s) Dijon mustard
1 bag(s) (5- to 6-ounce) baby greens
1/4 cup(s) fresh parsley leaves, chopped

1.From lemon, grate 1/4 teaspoon peel and squeeze 2 tablespoons juice. From lime, grate 1/4 teaspoon peel and squeeze 1 tablespoon juice. Set juices aside. In small bowl, combine peels, salt, and pepper.
2.Place scallops on paper-towel-lined plate; pat dry. Sprinkle with citrus-peel mixture.
3.In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil on medium 1 minute. Add scallops; cook 6 to 8 minutes or until opaque throughout, turning once. Remove from pan; cover.
4.To skillet, add 1 teaspoon oil and shallot; cook 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in Dijon mustard and citrus juices, scraping up browned bits; cook 1 minute. Toss sauce with greens; place on plates. Top with scallops and chopped parsley, and serve with whole wheat couscous (to make couscous, follow package directions).

***Chicken Gyros***

1 teaspoon(s) olive oil
1 1/2 pound(s) skinless, boneless chicken-breat halves, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon(s) dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup(s) tahini
1/4 cup(s) water
3 tablespoon(s) nonfat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
1 clove(s) garlic, crushed
1/4 cup(s) cilantro leaves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon(s) ground red pepper (cayenne)
4 (6-inch) pitas
2 cup(s) romaine lettuce, sliced
1/2 seedless cucumber, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
2 green onions, sliced

1.In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil 1 minute on medium. Sprinkle chicken with oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and toss to coat. Add chicken to skillet and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink throughout. Transfer chicken to plate or bowl; cover with foil to keep warm.
2.Meanwhile, make tahini sauce: In small bowl, with wire whisk, combine tahini, water, yogurt, lemon juice, and garlic. Stir in cilantro, ground red pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Makes about 3/4 cup tahini sauce.
3.To serve, cut off one-fourth of each pita and save for use another day. Carefully open each pita pocket and fill with one-fourth each romaine, cucumber, tomato, chicken, and green onions. Top with tahini sauce; serve gyros with any additional sauce on the side.

***Straciatella with Escarole***

3 can(s) (14- to 14 1/2-ounce) chicken broth
3 cup(s) water
1 head(s) (12-ounce) escarole, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 large eggs
1/3 cup(s) freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) coarsely ground black pepper

1.In 4-quart covered saucepan, heat broth and water to boiling on high. Stir in escarole; reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes or until escarole is tender and wilted.
2.Meanwhile, in 2-cup liquid measuring cup or small bowl, whisk eggs, Romano, salt, and pepper until combined.
3.Drizzle egg mixture from measuring cup into simmering broth, gently stirring just until egg shreds are set. Ladle soup into warm bowls and serve immediately. Makes 10 1/2 cups.

I am home alone a lot of the time and I want something that I can cook for lunch for just me. I don’t want any left overs from it and I don’t want to dirty up a lot of dishes.

Please give me something good.

pb & j
grilled cheese
mac and cheese
tunafish
hot pockets

By the time we get home from work, there are some nights that we just don't feel like cooking. What are some quick and easy meals to make? It doesn't have to be extremely healthy….just not junk food every night, ya know? Crock pot meal ideas are a plus because we have one of those large ones that have the single vessel, and also has the two inserts to do two different things in one crock pot. Any ideas are appreciated!

Here is my own stew meat stew concoction for the crock pot. I fix it the night before, stick it in the fridge, so I can throw it on in the morning. OR you can make beans and rice (see below) rice my way or steamed rice, which on my cooker takes 45 min. Kids could be doing homework during this time.

Slivered onion
stewing beef
chopped celery
chopped carrots
some cilantro (optional)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can of red beans
1 can of black or navy beans
A few dashes of worcestershire sauce
a few dashes of red wine vinegar
you can add potatoes but I don't
Same goes with cabbage
Must have 1 beer. 1/2 goes in the crock pot, the other 1/2 you drink

Combine all in the crock pot. Setting on high for about 5-6 hours. Then low to keep it warm till it's ready to eat. I will cook rice to lengthen the stew to eat throughout the week.

Mel’s Beans & Rice
Cook rice first. Then cook beans while rice is cooking.

RICE
1 Tbs. olive oil per cup of rice
Water
Salt

Heat oil in skillet on high. Add rice and fry. Stir occasionally for first few minutes. Do not walk away. When rice starts “puffing”, stir constantly until rice is about to or starts to brown. Add water till it is ¼ of an inch above rice. Add salt and stir. Turn to low* and cover. Let cook for 30 minutes and stir.

*If cooking on a flattop stove, turn to medium and cover. Cook for 15 minutes and turn off stove. Let rice continue cooking on same burner for 15 more minutes.

BEANS
2 Tbs. olive oil
½ small sweet onion, sliced thinly crescent moons
2-3 cloves minced garlic
Cumin
1 14.5* oz. can of diced tomatoes
Cilantro to taste
2 15.5* oz. cans of beans
Salt & Pepper

*These are regular cans. So it doesn’t have to be exact. You can use 1 of the large cans of beans for 2 of the regular ones. I like to use red and black beans. For every 2 cans of beans, use 1 can of tomatoes. You can also add other veggies such as bell peppers, etc. and combine with the onions step.

Heat oil in a sauce pan on medium. Add garlic, onions, and cumin. Sauté until onions is soft or till sautéed preference. Add tomatoes and cilantro. After mixture is bubbling, add beans, salt, pepper, and heat till bubbling.

Good luck and hope you like it.

I’m wonder if you understand just how important it is to eat breakfast every morning. You should never start your day without eating breakfast. If you go the whole morning without eating, then when it comes time to eat lunch your more likely to over eat to compensate for the extra hunger. Because your metabolism hasn’t been given a kick start by not eating breakfast, this means that you’re also more likely to not burn those calories. Which also means that they’ll end up being turned to fat and stored somewhere on your body where you don’t want them.

Thus, you want to make sure and eat breakfast every morning. The following is a list of quick breakfast ideas to help ensure that you don’t skip the most important meal of the day ever again.

Quick and Healthy Breakfast Tip #1 Cereal

It was a great way to start your day when you were a kid and it’s still just as effective now that you’re an adult. However, you’ll want to avoid the cereal that’s high in sugar. A healthy bowl of cereal contains a whole grain cereal, such as Cheerios and a small amount of low fat or non fat skim milk.

Quick and Healthy Breakfast Tip #2 Parfait

No, this doesn’t mean take a trip through a McDonald’s drive thru. It means that you make your own healthy version of it. You can mix some low fat vanilla yogurt with some granola and some frozen berries in a blender. It is the perfect breakfast you can eat while on your way to work.

Quick and Healthy Breakfast Tip #3 Whole Wheat Bagel

This is a simple enough breakfast. You can add a small amount of butter or non fat cream cheese to make it exciting. You don’t need to feel guilt because everything about the bagel is good for you, especially the fiber.

Quick and Healthy Breakfast Tip #4 Smoothie

Some yogurt, juice, fruit, and ice mixed together with maybe a scoop of protein powder is ideal for the busy business professional with very little time in the mornings. Smoothies make a large breakfast that is very low in calories and very filling.

Quick and Healthy Breakfast Tip #5 Hardboiled Eggs

This is a quick and easy breakfast if you make it a point to boil a few of the eggs a day or two in advance so that when you’re looking for a quick breakfast fix you can easily reach into the refrigerator grab too, peel them and eat. For flavor you can add a dash of salt, but be careful not to overdo it.

Not only does eating breakfast allow you to maintain a healthier diet, but it also makes you more productive at work or at school. When you don’t have the inconvenience of a growling stomach, your mind is more focused on the tasks at hand. Never allow yourself to skip breakfast, you’ll find that you’re much healthier and a more productive person if you don’t.

Yuki Shoji
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/5-quick-and-healthy-breakfast-tips-138873.html