What's for dinner?

On the menu tonight, we have Lemon Pepper Chicken, green beans, and what would any meal be without starch!

Not going to get too involved here. Remember, I am not complicated when it comes to cooking.

Grab some chicken. My breasts(not mine personally) were pretty large, so I filleted them and made two substantial portions out of one. Place chicken in a seal-able bag and add a little EVOO. For those not up to snuff on the cool cooking lingo, EVOO is extra virgin olive oil. Get your seasoning and coat each piece well. If possible, marinate over night to let the flavors infiltrate the chicken.

I use a lemon pepper, that also includes various herbs for a more beautiful flavor sensation.

Cook as recommended. Never eat raw chicken. Yuck. 

I use an indoor grill because we live in an apartment and are not allowed to have gas grills. I am too lazy to use charcoal, plus that can get messy.

Plate and enjoy,

As always, I do not endorse any product shown and if any company would like to come forward and help my cause, it would be appreciated.

Beef stew. The easy way.

We have another quick and easy recipe for you today.

Beef stew.

It is hearty and perfect for a chilly day. Again, there are only several ingredients, making this very simple, for even the basic cook in your family. A large sized Crock Pot  is utilized for this stew and prep time is only 20 minutes or however long it takes you to peel potatoes!

Ingredients.

In a mixing device, is one package each of stew seasoning and brown gravy mix. Trust me on the gravy mix! I have never liked gravy on anything and gravy should not be put on anything, except to cover up something that is not very great tasting to begin with. This aides in thickening up the juice while cooking.

Place stew meat into Crock Pot and pour in juice concoction. Set Crock Pot temperature to high setting. Mine has low, high, and warm.

In the meantime, peel potatoes. I use a peeler. I know many women who can use a knife, including my mom, but I have cut myself and bled before, so I recommend doing what feels safest to you. If that involves taking the potatoes to a neighbor, then by all means, do it. We don't want blood in our stew.

I then, slice the potatoes into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. I cut those slices into thirds and even fourths, if they appear too big.

Add the starch (potatoes) and carrots to the Crock Pot.

Stir.

Cover and wait. Normally, 6 hours is the right amount of time. Take a carrot or potato and stick a fork into either to see if they are still hard or are easy broken. You do not want to cook them too long, otherwise you end up with mushy beef stew.

Ingredients:
4lbs potatoes. I use baking potatoes because they are large in size.
12oz carrots. You can use a whole 16oz bag if you prefer, but I don't eat cooked carrots, so I minimize my chance of getting a stray carrot.
1-1 1/2lbs stew meat. I use closer to 2lbs when possible, because I like red meat.
Stew seasoning.
Brown gravy mix.
Water. Duh!
Servings:
6 people.
Cook time:
6 hours or until carrots and potatoes are tender, but not mush.

Extra tidbits of info. Do not, ever wash potatoes! Potatoes are already full of moisture and by washing them you are just adding more moisture. A moist potato, equals mush on a plate. You may also like to add other vegetables if you like. This picky eater does not want vegetable soup, so I stick with the orange and the good ole starch. All stew meats are not created equally. I have used every grocery store stew meat imaginable and the only one that is any good is Dodge & Sutton. I have only found this product at Target. This meat is so tender when the beef stew is done, that you can't even tell it is meat.

I normally start this dinner around noon, so it can be done by the time the wife gets home. Left overs can be taken for lunch the next day and are equally just as fantastic.

Enjoy and feel free to leave comments.

Easy Peasy Spaghetti

Once again, I have an easy dinner without many ingredients. I believe in a, "no hassle" approach to dinner, as I see myself as an uncomplicated guy.

And.

This spaghetti, takes only 15-20mins from start to plate.

I am in no way endorsing any products, nor receiving monetary gain(although, I would not be opposed to doing so).

Ingredients.

Bring water to a boil. Also, add some EVOO and sea salt to it. You don't have to add much of either.

Brown hamburger while water boils. Always cook meat thoroughly!

Add tomato sauce. I use a can and a half, but it all depends on how you like your meat to sauce ratio. Play with it and comment letting others know what you have done differently.

Once water comes to a boil, add noodles. I use thin spaghetti and serving size is posted below. Follow directions for cooking time if you wish. I like mine "al dente", but more than likely you will have to add 2-3mins like I do.

I have and always will rinse my noodles! They used to have this step on boxes years ago, but have since discontinued that practice. Just rinse enough to hit all noodles..... you don't need to drown them because you have already done this in previous steps.

Finished product.

Add parmesan if you like.

Ingredients:
3/4lbs hamburger
1 1/2-2 cans(medium) tomato sauce
1 package zesty spaghetti seasoning
1 tsp evoo
2 pinches sea salt
1/2 lb thin spaghetti noodles
Servings:
4-6 people
Cook time:
15-20 minutes


Additional ideas. I add dill weed to the top of my spaghetti. Some use parmesan and snub there nose at me(I am okay with that). If you use parmesan, please do me a favor and get some good stuff. One, could also use chunky tomato sauce if they wish(I am a picky eater). 


Enjoy and feel free to leave comments. 

Simple "No Frills" Chili

Chili.

One of the staples in our household. Simple and fast make this nearly a weekly menu item. This recipe contains only four ingredients but you could make it as complicated as you want. I dislike complicated and when you have children to watch while cooking the easier the better.

And.

It only takes 15-20 minutes from start to finish!

I am in no way endorsing any products shown below and receiving no monetary gain(although if any of the products shown below wish to, I would not be opposed).

Ingredients.

After getting ingredients together, start cooking hamburger.

Always remember to cook your meat thoroughly! I will not take any responsibility for under-cooked meat.

After hamburger is thoroughly cooked, I drain any grease into whatever you can find. I typically use tinfoil.

Never put grease down a drain! It will clog your drain over time.

Add all ingredients to hamburger. A little trick I do...... I add a couple teaspoons of the seasoning straight into the hamburger first and stir in to give the meat a little extra kick. The rest of the seasoning can be added once the wet ingredients have been combined with the hamburger. *If you have kids, please note that you will want to get theirs out before adding the rest of the seasoning. It will be too hot for little ones mouths.

Your done! Serve and enjoy.

Don't forget the tums.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb hamburger.
1 can tomato sauce. You can use diced, but I don't like the texture so I use puree.
1 can pinto beans in chili sauce. The brand I have always used is Bush's mild or medium.
1/2-3/4 packet of hot chili seasoning. You can use mild if you have a weak stomach.
Servings:
4-6 people.
Cook time:
15-20 minutes.

Additional ideas. My wife infuses a handful of Frito's(crunched up) and a couple spoonfuls of sour cream.

Enjoy and feel free to leave comments.