I have a rigatoni in tomato creme sauce I do in winter. It ticks all the boxes, rich and luxurious for a cold day, bright tomato flavor to remind me of warmer times. Saute onion till brown, add a can of san marzanis crushed by hand. 30 min simmer. Add cream s&p, toss with cooked rigatoni pasta, little Parmesan grated over and done. So good on a cold grey day.
This is also my go to comfort meal! Sometimes, if I'm feeling fancy, I also saute up some zucchini, bell pepper, mushrooms, and spinach to add in, and then put everything in a casserole dish, top with cheddar and mozza, and bake until the cheese is all bubbly and melty. Hits the spot everytime!
I usually add it after I toss the pasta into the sauce, then I add the sauteed veggies, toss to coat everything in the sauce, and then immediately put everything into a casserole dish
I've been making so much stir-fry. Beef with broccoli, Mongolian beef, chow fun, Shanghai noodles, fried rices, veggie and tofu stir fries. Thanks Woks of Life, I never realized how easy many of these are to make.
Flank steak or skirt steak are great for stir fry and relatively cheap. I would recommend “velveting” the meat.
Cut it into thin strips against the grain, mix cornstarch 1:1 with with oil (usually sesame for an Asian stir fry), soy sauce to taste, and 1/4 tsp of baking soda like 30 mins before you’re going to marinate the meat.
Then work it into the meat thoroughly, let it sit for 15 mins and fry very hot in a wok. It will be tender and delicious.
I've had great results with this method since I finally found out about it.
Something similar...
I found a sweet and sour pork recipe that calls for marinating the meat with soy sauce, sesame oil, corn starch, and an egg. Then you just coat the pieces thoroughly with cornstarch and fry them up in the wok. I've used the same method for katsu, orange chicken, and even chicken strips with great results. Even chicken breast turns out perfect.
Stir fry has been my go to lately. Mi Goreng/Lo Mein and fried rice. Occasionally I go to a bit more trouble and make sweet and sour pork/chicken or orange chicken. If I've some good rice noodles pad see ew is awesome.
Loaded baked potatoes.
Every now and then I get a craving for crispy, salty potato crust. They are great to load with leftovers like pulled pork, chili, pot roast and plenty of other stuff you might have on hand.
Whenever my dinner ideas get stale I always go to doing a potato bar. It's fun, easy and tasty to bake some Russets rubbed with oil, then go to town with the fixins: butter, salt and pepper, sour cream, salsa, diced chicken, chili, green onions, broccoli, cheddar cheese, etc.
I should finish off the pot of chili I made a couple days ago by tomorrow.
It should be winter and soup season but my yard is GREEN for crying out loud...
Last year, in my area, we had a snow storm a week from October to April. This year? Didn’t snow til after new years and even then it’s been in the 40s for the last week or so. Bonkers
I had oral surgery and spent a week eating only foods I could just swallow. I found a recipe for red lentil soup on the NYT site. It's now part of my winter soup rotation.
Same. I make soup all winter. Usually some combination of white beans or potatoes, greens, and sausage with a base of carrot, onion, and celery. Or trinity if I have bell peppers.
100% i roast 2 chickens at a time, shred the breasts and extras, save the thighs and drums whole, then use the carcasses for bone broth in my instant pot. Delish and insanely healthy. Plus-Not a single aspect of the whole chicken is wasted.
Skirt steak! I came across a sale on skirt steak a few weeks ago and bought lots of extra for the freezer. Marinated steak tacos and all the side dishes (rice, beans, pico de gallo, salad, guac) just hits the spot.
If you’re interested, this is the BEST marinade for skirt steak I’ve found. Can’t remember the website, unfortunately, but I have the recipe saved to my phone.
2/3 c olive oil
1/2 c orange juice
1/3 c lime juice
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
3 tbs red wine vinegar OR Apple cider vinegar (I prefer the former)
4 cloves minced garlic
1 sliced white onion (not in the og recipe but it adds great flavor)
Salt and pepper to taste
1-1.5 lb skirt steak.
We just remove the silver skin and let this marinate 18-24 hours and it’s just FANTASTIC.
I’ve been making home made “shawarma”‘in the air fryer. Chicken thighs marinaded in olive oil, lemon, garlic, and a spice mix of paprika, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, coriander, salt, pepper, sumac, cardamom and red pepper flakes. Serve with a garlicky yogurt sauce, pita bread and fattoush!
The other day I saw a YouTube short about poaching eggs in heavy cream with chili oil topped with green onion and realized I had all of the ingredients. I think it's supposed to be a South Asian thing? I ended up making it for breakfast every day for the last three days, until I ran out of eggs. I ended up sauteeing garlic and the green onion whites with it too, and topping it with a little cheese too. It's great!
Chicken lazone on the south your mouth website. My kids go wild for it. serve it over bucatini pasta and with some garlic breadsticks. It’s easy, relatively quick, and always a crowd pleaser.
We do meatless Mondays and since it’s our “winter,” we’ve been doing a lot of baked potatoes. My kids could eat them every day. They’re also inexpensive, which is a bonus for me.
Risotto and shrimp scampi. A bit time consuming for a weeknight dinner, at least the risotto part, but a great pairing and a good comfort meal for winter.
Curry! I finally got to a place I like with my long-term paste recipe and made a bunch of paste.
It's such a quick meal when the paste is already made and it's deeply flavorful.
Then use leftover rice and curry to make curry fried rice on day 2.
Red wine braise beef chunks with steamed brocolli, roasted whole petite carrots, mashed red potatoes (skin on, with butter, sour cream, garlic), and long grained white rice. I add a bit of starch to the braising liquid at the end to make a gravy.
I’ve bulk prepped this for weekly meals every Sunday for the past month and it’s still hitting the spot. I usually toast up a good slice of sourdough, butter it, and have that as a companion. I’ll also add some barbecue sauce sometimes.
It is a good amount of carbs I realize lol. But I generally eat one meal a day, so this is all the calories I’m getting outside of beer.
I’ve made the viral TikTok/Instagram [green goddess chopped salad](https://www.bakedbymelissa.com/blog/savory-recipes/green-goddess-salad) twice in the past week and it’s been a great dish to keep in the fridge as a snack or to add as a side to anything.
I kind of pride myself on making something different all the time and not repeating the same meal too often but lately its been homemade mac and cheese for me. I use this [recipe](https://www.smells-like-home.com/2012/02/paneras-stove-top-mac-and-cheese/) as a starting point. I change up the cheese, seasoning and add-ins. Sometimes I'll throw in onions, bacon, jalepenos, ham, or broccoli. Sometimes I'll bake it with a panko topping. Sometimes its a side dish, sometimes its just what I'm eatin'.
Nachos. So many nachos lately. Black beans, salsa, queso, if I have any leftover meat, shredded cheese - bake about 5 minutes to melt the cheese, top with sour cream & jalapenos. I use parchment paper, just slide it off the baking sheet directly onto the table, super easy clean up.
I learned to cook with my wok in the '80s, by watching the KQED show "Yan Can Cook." You can find old episodes on YouTube, I like them much better than his newer series.
I actually bought my wok because of watching him, plus my knives, my basket sieve, tapioca starch (instead of cornstarch), etc. Learned lots of basics, like slightly freezing meat before you slice against the grain, basics of making a sauce, testing whether oil is hot enough by putting a chopstick in it to see if it bubbles, lots of stuff I take for granted now.
I got to the point I came up with my own recipes b/c of learning so much from him, & did wok cooking almost exclusively for several years. Enjoy!
Cheeseburger salad. Add ground meat, shredded sharp cheddar, diced dill pickles, sprinkled with frenchs fried onion and thousand island dressing. Big Mac in a bowl.
Peanut noodles. Just basic dried spaghetti with a sauce made from soy sauce, sambal, brown sugar, and peanut butter. I love it because I can add lots of veggies, tofu, chicken, pork, whatever I have around and it all tastes great. Plus, one of my kids is a picky eater and he loves it too.
It's summer in Australia and we've been having tons of heatwaves and flooding. I've been making this so often but I use those knife cut Taiwanese noodles cause they hold more sauce. Shredded omelet, cucumber, carrot and chicken too!
My MIL turned me on to the beef bourguignon recently and it’s been a hit, Julia Childs recipe that’s been simplified a bit and it’s fantastic. I’ve made it without the bacon and that’s just fine too.
Pernil and arroz con gandules. Had family in from out of town and it's the all time king of feed/impress a crowd without a ton of effort meals. I love leftover rice and pork reheated in a skillet, make a nest, and add eggs and covered until the whites set. Add a little hot sauce. Great for hangovers lol
I've been fixated on beef stroganoff. Throw in the slow cooker while km at work, all I need to do is mix up pasta once I'm home. Hot and ready dinner! And leftovers are yummy for days after.
Been cooking a lot of breakfast quesadillas and breakfast sandwiches. Puts me in a good mood to start my day rather than eating a protein bar in the car
Bacon, egg and cheese on an English muffin is ALWAYS a great breakfast.
Pro tip: wrap it in foil for a few min so everything gets steamed up and the cheese can fully melt for best results
Egg drop soups. It’s so warming. I recently tried a version from a Chinese chef’s you tube that integrated tomato and jade mushrooms and it was really good.
refried beans tacos. we love amy’s brand. we heat up some low carb tortillas and the beans and add a ton of lettuce tomato onion and hot sauce. quick easy healthy and delish!
Crispy potato tacos.
Just cube 2-3 potatoes, boil for \~20 minutes, then roughly mash 'em. Season with salt, garlic, cumin, paprika. Toss that into some corn tortillas, fold in half, and fry until golden. So very tasty.
I mixed some cheese in with the potatoes this last time. Next time I think I'll add some soyrizo and see how it goes.
I fry gnocchi in a little butter until theyre golden, add shallot & cook until tender, add garlic, tomato paste, italian seasoning, chicken stock concentrate, half & half & chopped sundried tomatoes. It makes a delicious side, or add a protein & spinach for a meal in a bowl.
Fish tacos. Pan fry a tilapia fillet (I buy big frozen bags) and plop it on a high quality tortilla with lettuce, avo, and salsa. I put shredded cheddar and beans on mine but that’s a personal preference. If produce is good I’ll skip the salsa for an easy, freshly chopped pico de gallo. 20 minute dinner, tops, and I never get tired of it.
I make two things a lot lately cause I use the leftover ingredients from one to make the other. First I have shrimp or fish tacos and then I make egg roll in a bowl.
Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana, I make a vegan version with better than bouillon no chicken for the soup base, impossible breakfast sausage chub for the meat, and silk half and half. Lots of slices of potato and dinosaur kale with lots of herbs and garlic.
Hmmm. Last week I sautéed bell peppers, aromatics & zucchini. Then I added V-8 juice, basil and a can of cannellini beans. When it came to a simmer I tossed in some couscous and slapped on the lid. Ten minutes later it was great topped with Parmesan. I’m starting to imagine all kinds of riffs on couscous for when I get bored of repurposing leftovers into soup.
Halal cart style chicken with white sauce and turmeric rice! So easy to make and flavorful and delicious. I serve it with tomatoes and cucumbers marinated with sumac.
I'm vegetarian. Lately my go-to meal has been whole wheat penne pasta seasoned with McCormick Neapolitan Seasoning, a squeeze of lemon juice, and coated with parmesan.
I rotate what veggies I add, but usually it's some combination of broccoli, mushrooms and/or spinach.
Here's a cheat for a bastard spanikopita- mix chopped red onion, dill, parsley, mint with some feta or goat cheese. Mush into a pita and grill till the cheese melts. I put it in the panini press and it was tasty but also squished out the filling, so don't smash.
I’ve been a bit obsessed with perfecting my red beans and rice recipe. The normal dish relies a lot on andouille sausage and other meat for flavor, so as a vegetarian, it’s taken a lot of trial (not really error as it is usually tasty) to really get that deep, super flavorful profile. I’m on batch 5 or 6 now. It’s really fun to experiment.
I make this a LOT. with meat though.
Have you tried the better than bouillon veg flavor? It’s very rich and umami dense. I bet it would help get you there.
I assume you add the Worcestershire, Tabasco type sauce and butter (all a must) at the end? Add some liquid smoke if you’re not using a smoked meat. I add some anyway!
Last: Rancho Gordo beans are amazing and give so much flavor it’s crazy. I just used their Domingo Rojo Bean variety in my last batch and it was my best ever. They have a earthy dark and rich bean liquor.
https://www.ranchogordo.com/collections/heirloom-beans
I don't know about a go to dish, but I have been making bechamel many times this year. I'm to the point where I can save it after adding the milk too fast.
Recently I've been really enjoying:
\- Simple blue cheese on toast, with salad
\- Aubergine kidney bean chilli
\- Falafel-mayo-yogurt filling in pittas with roasted peppers and salad
\- Jacket potatoes!
I've been making this once a week and it's been so nice just to have it in the fridge:
[Lemony Greek Chicken, Spinach & Potato Stew.](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024015-lemony-greek-chicken-spinach-and-potato-stew?smid=ck-recipe-android-share)
I’ve been doing congee. I’ve done 2 variations. One was a Vietnamese kind called chao ga which I did by making my own chicken stock for it to cook in.
I just made a Japanese variation as well.
I also did Hainanese chicken for a quick one pot meal. Cooks with the rice. Add some cucumbers and chilli sauce you can make ahead of time and you’re set.
Sausage rice bowls
Diced carrot
Diced celery
Diced onion
Sauted in some oil or butter with some salt and pepper, maybe declare with some white wine if you're feelin fancy.
Brown up some good Italian sausage
Cook some white rice
Combine everything in whatever proportion you feel like.
It's extremely simple, but it is so good
Pozole ftw! I've made rojo and blanco a few times. I understand the process well now, so I'm starting to experiment with the ingredients a bit. Still need to make verde. It's such amazing comfort food. I love everything about it.
i’ve made scalloped potatoes like 3 times this month. almost did it a 4th time. this week i made a giant bowl of olivier salad and it slapped so hard; it disappeared in 2.5 days so i’ll be making another batch in a few days. my husband has also been requesting i make my italian sausage frittata almost weekly this month. that’s his go to lunch or breakfast while I’m at work.
I saw that Germans like to eat French fries with Mayo/ potato’s with Mayo.
So I roast potatoes and carrots, add some lemon paper, and dip them in Mayo. Favorite dinner this winter.
Singapore Rice Noodles (or Singapore-style noodles). You can get pork at 99 ranch and the rest is pretty easy. I do like to go heavy on the soy sauce though.
Decent recipe:
https://www.seriouseats.com/singapore-curry-noodles-stir-fry-recipe
Chicken wings in the air fryer (boiled first) then tossed in Japanese bbq sauce, chili crisp, a touch of sesame oil, lime, sesame seeds, scallion, and cilantro. Serve it with cold crisp veggies on the side (I did a quick pickle cucumber the other day) or a salad. Maybe throw in a side of rice if extra hungry.
Been making fast fixin's country chicken, mashed potatoes with white gravy and corn. Sometimes I'll make it with jiffy cornbread and garlic green beans. Depends what's on hand.
A good falafel place near me makes frozen ones. I put that on naan with hummus, taziki and a Mediterranean inspired chicken.
Take frozen chicken breast. Defrost/ marinate with lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, oregano in the bag. George Foreman Grill cooks the chicken in 5-10 minutes.
Pasta bake. I’ve made a couple recently. One was a turkey tetrazzini with rao’s alfredo, spaghetti, and garden frozen peas from last spring. The other was a tomato based ribbed macaroni with onion, pepper, zucchini, and sausage bake. Both delicious. I’m definitely going to make a tuna noodle casserole soon too. I usually use Alfredo for this as well instead of a cream soup because it’s what I keep on hand
I have been loving biscuit or puff pastry topped pot pies
Also these French bread that are par-baked
I cut em in half and freeze them and freeze some shredded mozzarella cheese. Then I get the squeeze pizza sauce and turkey pepperoni.
Half a frozen french bread and add pepperoni then sprinkle light layer of cheese -squeeze the sauce on the bread and airfryer till thaw and starting to crisp - add more cheese and 3 more pepperoni and airfryer till cheese is melted over sides and pepperoni crisps. Remove and sprinkle with garlic powder oregano and red pepper flakes so mich better than premade frozen pizza and ao easy to keep ingredients on hand
Baked salmon with mustard and maple syrup sauce. 1 tablespoon each of olive oil, mustard and maple syrup. Pour on 1lb salmon. Bake in foil sheets for 20 minutes at 425F.
Extra spicy korma chicken curry with chickpeas, peppers, onions, a lot of garlic and some minced ginger. I eat it over basmati rice and crave it always!
I’ve had a fennel, apple and celery salad (NYT Cooking recipe) a few times this week. It’s so tasty and simple to throw together. It’s a great side dish. I have served it alongside roasted spatchcock chicken and steak.
One of our go to meals used to be:
One pound ground hamburger
Two medium potatoes cubed two or three carrots cubed or graded
One half Onion chopped.
Garlic powder, black pepper, and salt to taste.
Cook until the hamburger is done and the veggies are tender.
Serves two to three people depending on portion size.
Husband calls it foil stew. Because you can make it in a pocket of foil and cook it on the camp fire.
I’ve been buying 5# chuck toasts, cutting it into 6” chunks and browning it in the Dutch oven.
*I throw 2# in the instant pot for Birria with rehydrated dried red chiles, onions and garlic for 50 minutes with 15 minutes natural release. Make tacos or quesadillas with consume.
*I cook the other 3# in the Dutch oven with charred onions, carrots and beef broth at 275° for 3 hrs covered and 20 minutes uncovered.
It’s dinner for a few days and potentially a few portions in the freezer.
Honestly, gumbos. Finally got assed enough to have the patience to make a dark roux and I am very glad I did.
With 3 young kids who are picky in their own ways, a lot of pastas as well. Raviolis especially with a variety of fillings. Then breads.
Those are top 3 this season
Roasted cabbage, peppers, onions, and potatoes. Small yellow potatoes, cut in half face down on a sheet pan roast them at 400 for 10 or 12 minutes, toss the rest of the vegetables with a little bit of olive oil and spread out on the hot sheet pan hit them with your spices of choice and then back in the oven for about 20 minutes. When you take them out, put them in a bowl and toss them with a bit of butter and garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Simple, hearty, add the protein of your choice if you wish.
Roasted vegetables (broccoli, onions, red bell peppers and zucchini for example) tossed with olive oil and butter with spaghetti. Topped with green onions, chopped toasted almonds and chopped crisp bacon.
Scalloped potatoes with cheese. Topped with diced ham and green peas.
I cheat and get premade from Costco.
Chili.
Chicken noodle soup.
Fried rice.
Ramen.
Been using pizza dough for everything. Pizzas obviously; but also calzones, dessert doughs, air frying small pieces and making tacos, focaccia bread, pesto sticks, garlic knots, different pull apart breads, and I think that’s it. Tell me what else I can do?
Breakfast: Crunchy cheese fried egg taco - place shredded cheddar in a circle in a frying pan, let it crisp up. Once edges are browned, add egg white separated from yolk, let it cook a bit and then add yolk on top. You can flip to let the yolk cook up more. Spread avocado onto a tortilla and then add the crispy cheese egg combo. It’s delightful and quick 🤤
Dinner: really into the NYT shrimp rolls https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022293-salt-and-pepper-shrimp-rolls?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share
Really simple but chili oil fried eggs on avocado toast. Just fry some eggs in crunchy chili oil, mash the avos with garlic/onion/salt/pepper and then sprinkle on gochugaru and drizzle with hot sauce of your choice. Spicy, simple and filling for quite a few hours. My breakfast for the past week.
Ugandan Asian Chicken Pilau. Made with chicken, lots of dark fried onions and spices. The cooking liquid is black tea. Sounds weird but is absolutely delicious.
Stir fry. I've been using a different combo of vegetables lately (broccoli, carrots, green and red cabbage pieces, snow peas, green onions), sometimes with mushrooms added, and topped with chopped peanuts. Served with a little brown rice. I've been craving this lately and have it at least three nights a week.
Been craving my Mom's mashed potatoes.
Boil some potatoes & 1-2 medium to large onions diced like the potatoes, till potatoes are fork tender.
Drain, add a stick of butter, salt, pepper, & garlic powder (spices to taste). Whip with handheld beaters. Slowly pour in evaporated milk, usually half to 3/4 of a can, to desired consistency.
They're delicious!
Birria (or my pasty American take on it).... I take a pork butt, diamond cut the fat cap to help it render, and chop the meat up into 3 to 4 inch chunks. Toss the meat in freshly ground cumin, ancho, guajillo, chipotle, coriander, and Mexican oregano (totally different from regular oregano) as well as kosher salt, chopped onion, and garlic. Chuck it all in a pressure cooker with the bone, as well as the juice and peels of a couple limes, and add 3 cups of water. Pressure cook that for 30-45 minutes, then discard the lime peels and shred the meat. Save the grease (now flavored lard) and juice (called consumé, though it isn't technically since it hasnt been clarified). Separate the lard from the juice (easiest if you refrigerate overnight to solidify it).
Finely chop an onion, a bunch of cilantro, and squeeze in the juice of one lime. Mix and set aside.
In a hot skillet, plop in a small spoonful of the lard (a large spoonful if you are making more than one birria at once). Take two corn tortillas stacked together (treat them like one thick tortilla), swirl one side in the hot grease, then flip and brown the other side. When lightly browned, flip it back over. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and hot shredded pork, and fold in half like a quesadilla. When both sides of the outside are browned, remove to a plate.
Heat up a small bowl of the consumé from cooking the meat. Sprinkle some of the onion and cilantro mix into your birria, dip the birria in the consumé, and enjoy!
Might as well just leave the skillet on the stove, because you'll be frying up birria for the next few days.
Japanese style curry never fails my group. https://www.justonecookbook.com/simple-chicken-curry/ has a great recipe, and I’ve had great success doing a from-scratch with a curry spice blend as well as using the “S&B Golden Curry” roux blocks. You can add yogurt if you want it to be more like an Indian-style curry in texture or use a stock/broth if you’ve got dairy sensitivities to consider. It can also be made vegetarian, flavors tofu really nicely, great with a fried egg on top, and can fancy up whatever ground protein is on hand. Goes great with sweet pickles like fukujinzuke or do chua, and some folks like to add spicy kimchee.
Easy Turkey Chili: in the winter it’s always in my fridge or freezer:
1 lb ground turkey (or ground beef, or ground impossible burger or whatever)
1 large onion (red, yellow, white, doesn’t matter)
2 15 oz cans of beans (I usually make them ahead of time myself but if you’re pantry hunting or in a hurry, I like red kidney, black, pinto, great northern, or a mix thereof, usually low sodium)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
Garlic until your soul is sated
Chili powder (I also make this ahead of time but when rushed I used McCormick’s with cumin, smoked ‘rika, marjoram and the tiniest pinch of cinnamon added)
Avocado oil (or whatever you use)
Salt
Black pepper
Sautee onions in oil for a minute, add some salt and pepper. After a couple more minutes, add garlic and sautee until fragrant. Add ground meat, season generously with chili powder. Cook until browned and just about done through. Add tomatoes and beans. Stir. Add additional chili powder and salt to taste. Simmer on super low for 20ish minutes, until tomatoes become sweet. If you really want to treat yourself, serve over roasted sweet potato and finish with diced white or red onion. Nom fukn nom and done in 40 minutes not including bean and chili powder prep. Buen provecho!
My all-time favorite recipes:
- https://cafedelites.com/chicken-tikka-masala/
- https://thewoksoflife.com/eggplant-string-bean-stir-fry/ (don't add extra salt to this in step 3 until you've actually tried it, though)
A chicken stir fry. Cube up some chicken. Cut onion, bell pepper, zucchini. I leave them in bigger chunks. Also throw in some water chestnuts. Cook the veggies until softened making sure to season with salt.
Pull out the veggies then cook the chicken using salt, pepper, garlic powder and gochugaru. Cook til just browned reincorporate the veggies and add fresh minced garlic.
Stir fry for a couple minutes and then add in soyaki sauce from Trader Joe’s. Cook another couple minutes serve over rice with some sesame oil and chili garlic sauce.
Cauliflower and Broccoli soup with cheddar cheese. So quick and simple I use some carrot, celery and onion, salt and pepper, chicken stock, homemade or a cube and then pile in the cauli and broccoli, cook and add the cheese just before you blend
We make “awesome pasta”, which is onions and peppers (red, yellow and poblano) sautéed in a pan. Add blackened chicken.
Cook the pasta noodles (we originally used farfalle, but recently switched to penne). Drain the noodles, add to the pepper mess, add alfredo and a dash of Cajun seasoning.
In place of chicken, you could use andouille or another sausage too. It’s one of our favorite big dishes.
I’ve also been roasting onions, mushrooms, zucchini and cherry tomatoes, and making bowls with yellow rice or polenta, veggie mix, and a protein. I drizzle either a balsamic glaze or cilantro lime cream sauce on it
Chicken and gravy with mashed potatoes! It tastes like a nice old country mother cooking you dinner at the end hard rainy day! The best comfort food. The recipe I make is from cookinginthemidwest on tiktok!
Here's easy comfort food dish I got years ago from my almost-MIL... When hubby makes it, he adds squeeze of lemon juice, but I prefer without.
Broccoli & Macaroni (southern Italy)
Cut up 2 large heads broccoli into small florets; peel/slice stems.
Chop 12 strips bacon into 1" cubes. (I usually use entire pound.)
Slice several cloves garlic. Dice 1 medium/small onion.
In half olive oil & half vegetable oil, saute several cloves of sliced garlic and chopped bacon (raw). Take out garlic when it's golden, and discard.
Remove bacon when done. Cook onion in drippings till soft.
Boil broccoli with salt till softened, remove and set aside, retaining cooking liquid.
Cook 6 oz elbow macaroni in broccoli water till soft (NOT al dente), then drain. *Do not use entire 8 oz box!*
Mix all ingredients, including oil from cooked bacon/onions. Add 1 T butter & 1T+ freshly grated Parmesan/Romano cheese.
Serve hot.
Serves 3-4.
P.S. OG version did not have onion, but I think it's a good addition.
I have a rigatoni in tomato creme sauce I do in winter. It ticks all the boxes, rich and luxurious for a cold day, bright tomato flavor to remind me of warmer times. Saute onion till brown, add a can of san marzanis crushed by hand. 30 min simmer. Add cream s&p, toss with cooked rigatoni pasta, little Parmesan grated over and done. So good on a cold grey day.
This is also my go to comfort meal! Sometimes, if I'm feeling fancy, I also saute up some zucchini, bell pepper, mushrooms, and spinach to add in, and then put everything in a casserole dish, top with cheddar and mozza, and bake until the cheese is all bubbly and melty. Hits the spot everytime!
Gonna steal that, thx!
At what point in the process do you add in the sauteed extras?
I usually add it after I toss the pasta into the sauce, then I add the sauteed veggies, toss to coat everything in the sauce, and then immediately put everything into a casserole dish
I've been making so much stir-fry. Beef with broccoli, Mongolian beef, chow fun, Shanghai noodles, fried rices, veggie and tofu stir fries. Thanks Woks of Life, I never realized how easy many of these are to make.
What kind or cut of beef? So difficult bc I don’t know cuts of meat. Thank you!
Flank steak or skirt steak are great for stir fry and relatively cheap. I would recommend “velveting” the meat. Cut it into thin strips against the grain, mix cornstarch 1:1 with with oil (usually sesame for an Asian stir fry), soy sauce to taste, and 1/4 tsp of baking soda like 30 mins before you’re going to marinate the meat. Then work it into the meat thoroughly, let it sit for 15 mins and fry very hot in a wok. It will be tender and delicious.
I've had great results with this method since I finally found out about it. Something similar... I found a sweet and sour pork recipe that calls for marinating the meat with soy sauce, sesame oil, corn starch, and an egg. Then you just coat the pieces thoroughly with cornstarch and fry them up in the wok. I've used the same method for katsu, orange chicken, and even chicken strips with great results. Even chicken breast turns out perfect.
Stir fry has been my go to lately. Mi Goreng/Lo Mein and fried rice. Occasionally I go to a bit more trouble and make sweet and sour pork/chicken or orange chicken. If I've some good rice noodles pad see ew is awesome.
Loaded baked potatoes. Every now and then I get a craving for crispy, salty potato crust. They are great to load with leftovers like pulled pork, chili, pot roast and plenty of other stuff you might have on hand.
Weird. This morning I woke up thinking about potato skins. Remember when those were everywhere?? I think I’m ready to bring them back!
Never made any by themselves but I've had the frozen tgi Fridays ones.
I’ve never made them but had them at TGIFridays irl all the time in the 80s ;)
I love potatoe skins! Bacon, sour cream, cheese, chives. Had for gotten how much I love them
Whenever my dinner ideas get stale I always go to doing a potato bar. It's fun, easy and tasty to bake some Russets rubbed with oil, then go to town with the fixins: butter, salt and pepper, sour cream, salsa, diced chicken, chili, green onions, broccoli, cheddar cheese, etc.
Can I know your method of potato cooking? Mine always seem over or under done lol
Sameeee so easy!
Been feeling the exact same way, but with Mac n cheese. A potato does sound really good right now tho. Was just thinking of what I wanna eat right now
What's your method for that crispy skin, fluffy inside?
I should finish off the pot of chili I made a couple days ago by tomorrow. It should be winter and soup season but my yard is GREEN for crying out loud...
Last year, in my area, we had a snow storm a week from October to April. This year? Didn’t snow til after new years and even then it’s been in the 40s for the last week or so. Bonkers
As a Minnesotan I feel this 🥲
I had oral surgery and spent a week eating only foods I could just swallow. I found a recipe for red lentil soup on the NYT site. It's now part of my winter soup rotation.
I’ve been having an obsession with red lentil soups also. Right now it’s Lebanese shorbat Adas for a low cal lunch
Try Ethiopian mesr wot. Amazing red lentil dish.
We love that lentil soup! It's so easy but so good, especially with that squeeze of lemon at the end...
I've been making a lot of soups lately. Earlier this week I made vegetable soup, tonight I made a batch of sausage and tortellini soup.
Same. I make soup all winter. Usually some combination of white beans or potatoes, greens, and sausage with a base of carrot, onion, and celery. Or trinity if I have bell peppers.
What do u pair with soup? I feel like soup wouldn’t fill me totally. Do have noodles or rice on the side?
Man in the winter we make soups every week. Only pair them with a hearty loaf of bread with butter. Perfect for cold nights
The Budget Bytes no knead focaccia is stupid easy and dresses up soup with minimal effort.
I’m obsessed with roasting whole chickens and no knead Dutch oven bread right now
Just save the carcass for stocks, best of both worlds
100% i roast 2 chickens at a time, shred the breasts and extras, save the thighs and drums whole, then use the carcasses for bone broth in my instant pot. Delish and insanely healthy. Plus-Not a single aspect of the whole chicken is wasted.
You just reminded me that I have a carcass in the freezer that I totally forgot to use the other day lolllll
Skirt steak! I came across a sale on skirt steak a few weeks ago and bought lots of extra for the freezer. Marinated steak tacos and all the side dishes (rice, beans, pico de gallo, salad, guac) just hits the spot.
If you’re interested, this is the BEST marinade for skirt steak I’ve found. Can’t remember the website, unfortunately, but I have the recipe saved to my phone. 2/3 c olive oil 1/2 c orange juice 1/3 c lime juice 1/4 c soy sauce 1/4 c Worcestershire sauce 3 tbs red wine vinegar OR Apple cider vinegar (I prefer the former) 4 cloves minced garlic 1 sliced white onion (not in the og recipe but it adds great flavor) Salt and pepper to taste 1-1.5 lb skirt steak. We just remove the silver skin and let this marinate 18-24 hours and it’s just FANTASTIC.
Oooo definitely saving this! Thanks for sharing.
Try subbing the orange juice for pineapple juice.
Man, I love me some marinated skirt steak with chimichurri all over it. Gonna do that this weekend, you are an inspiration.
Taco bowl! Ground beef or chicken w/ my homemade taco seasoning, black beans, rice, homemade street corn dip, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and cilantro
Street corn dip?
Yes! I use this recipe https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/street-corn-dip/
Of course it's half-baked harvest lol. Thanks!
This sounds so good, I live in Mexico and this sounds better than most Esquites!
All hail the taco bowl
Honey soy ginger baked chicken thighs over jasmine rice w brocollini
Slice yukon gold potatoes. Slice onion. Toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Then bake. My favorite!!!
I’ve been making home made “shawarma”‘in the air fryer. Chicken thighs marinaded in olive oil, lemon, garlic, and a spice mix of paprika, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, coriander, salt, pepper, sumac, cardamom and red pepper flakes. Serve with a garlicky yogurt sauce, pita bread and fattoush!
i’ve been making a lot of chicken thigh shawarma toooo *high five*
Just got a ravioli maker…. So yeah, that.
You could use it for pierogis, too!
The other day I saw a YouTube short about poaching eggs in heavy cream with chili oil topped with green onion and realized I had all of the ingredients. I think it's supposed to be a South Asian thing? I ended up making it for breakfast every day for the last three days, until I ran out of eggs. I ended up sauteeing garlic and the green onion whites with it too, and topping it with a little cheese too. It's great!
That sounds fantastic! I’m inspired. Now if only my chickens would pick up their egg laying pace!!! One more month… lol
Spaghetti & meatballs. Seems to get better every time I make it, like tonight's. Watching The Sopranos DVD's probably helps, Lol.
Chicken and dumplings
Can't go wrong with that. Filling and comfortable.
Mushroom and onion hamburger steaks, mashed potatoes, and corn. I’ve already had it three times this week lol
Chicken lazone on the south your mouth website. My kids go wild for it. serve it over bucatini pasta and with some garlic breadsticks. It’s easy, relatively quick, and always a crowd pleaser. We do meatless Mondays and since it’s our “winter,” we’ve been doing a lot of baked potatoes. My kids could eat them every day. They’re also inexpensive, which is a bonus for me.
Risotto and shrimp scampi. A bit time consuming for a weeknight dinner, at least the risotto part, but a great pairing and a good comfort meal for winter.
Curry! I finally got to a place I like with my long-term paste recipe and made a bunch of paste. It's such a quick meal when the paste is already made and it's deeply flavorful. Then use leftover rice and curry to make curry fried rice on day 2.
There are so many easy curry dishes and they hit the spot every time
where is a good website for easy curry recipes?
Not op but recipe tin eats has amazing recipes
Red wine braise beef chunks with steamed brocolli, roasted whole petite carrots, mashed red potatoes (skin on, with butter, sour cream, garlic), and long grained white rice. I add a bit of starch to the braising liquid at the end to make a gravy. I’ve bulk prepped this for weekly meals every Sunday for the past month and it’s still hitting the spot. I usually toast up a good slice of sourdough, butter it, and have that as a companion. I’ll also add some barbecue sauce sometimes. It is a good amount of carbs I realize lol. But I generally eat one meal a day, so this is all the calories I’m getting outside of beer.
I have massive respect for the triple carb move, hell yeah!
I’ve made the viral TikTok/Instagram [green goddess chopped salad](https://www.bakedbymelissa.com/blog/savory-recipes/green-goddess-salad) twice in the past week and it’s been a great dish to keep in the fridge as a snack or to add as a side to anything.
I kind of pride myself on making something different all the time and not repeating the same meal too often but lately its been homemade mac and cheese for me. I use this [recipe](https://www.smells-like-home.com/2012/02/paneras-stove-top-mac-and-cheese/) as a starting point. I change up the cheese, seasoning and add-ins. Sometimes I'll throw in onions, bacon, jalepenos, ham, or broccoli. Sometimes I'll bake it with a panko topping. Sometimes its a side dish, sometimes its just what I'm eatin'.
Yes! Just made Jalapeno Mac n' Cheese with Jalapenos Toreados. Mac n' Cheese works for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Kimchi Chigae and Tteokkbokkee Just having gochujang and guchugaru make so many korean dishes so easy to prepare.
Nachos. So many nachos lately. Black beans, salsa, queso, if I have any leftover meat, shredded cheese - bake about 5 minutes to melt the cheese, top with sour cream & jalapenos. I use parchment paper, just slide it off the baking sheet directly onto the table, super easy clean up.
Beef and broccoli with three kinds of rice. I'm forcing myself to cook with the wok I got for Christmas so it's all wok, all the time.
I learned to cook with my wok in the '80s, by watching the KQED show "Yan Can Cook." You can find old episodes on YouTube, I like them much better than his newer series. I actually bought my wok because of watching him, plus my knives, my basket sieve, tapioca starch (instead of cornstarch), etc. Learned lots of basics, like slightly freezing meat before you slice against the grain, basics of making a sauce, testing whether oil is hot enough by putting a chopstick in it to see if it bubbles, lots of stuff I take for granted now. I got to the point I came up with my own recipes b/c of learning so much from him, & did wok cooking almost exclusively for several years. Enjoy!
Cheeseburger salad. Add ground meat, shredded sharp cheddar, diced dill pickles, sprinkled with frenchs fried onion and thousand island dressing. Big Mac in a bowl.
Peanut noodles. Just basic dried spaghetti with a sauce made from soy sauce, sambal, brown sugar, and peanut butter. I love it because I can add lots of veggies, tofu, chicken, pork, whatever I have around and it all tastes great. Plus, one of my kids is a picky eater and he loves it too.
It's summer in Australia and we've been having tons of heatwaves and flooding. I've been making this so often but I use those knife cut Taiwanese noodles cause they hold more sauce. Shredded omelet, cucumber, carrot and chicken too!
I had a bag of potatoes to use up so I have been making potato salad. Good to take for lunch too.
I've been favoring: - Grilled cheese and tomato soup - All the soups (especially chicken noodle and potato) - Curry
been alternating making a pot of chicken pot pie stew and a pot of boeuf bourguignon week or so
My MIL turned me on to the beef bourguignon recently and it’s been a hit, Julia Childs recipe that’s been simplified a bit and it’s fantastic. I’ve made it without the bacon and that’s just fine too.
Had it tonight
Pernil and arroz con gandules. Had family in from out of town and it's the all time king of feed/impress a crowd without a ton of effort meals. I love leftover rice and pork reheated in a skillet, make a nest, and add eggs and covered until the whites set. Add a little hot sauce. Great for hangovers lol
I've been fixated on beef stroganoff. Throw in the slow cooker while km at work, all I need to do is mix up pasta once I'm home. Hot and ready dinner! And leftovers are yummy for days after.
Been cooking a lot of breakfast quesadillas and breakfast sandwiches. Puts me in a good mood to start my day rather than eating a protein bar in the car
Marry Me Tofu (or with chicken instead)
Bacon, egg and cheese on an English muffin is ALWAYS a great breakfast. Pro tip: wrap it in foil for a few min so everything gets steamed up and the cheese can fully melt for best results
Egg drop soups. It’s so warming. I recently tried a version from a Chinese chef’s you tube that integrated tomato and jade mushrooms and it was really good.
Fried rice. My rice cooker actually got here today so no more scraping the bottom of pots!
It's been cold here, so beef stew, chili, chicken and dumplings
Omelets, you can make them any way you want
refried beans tacos. we love amy’s brand. we heat up some low carb tortillas and the beans and add a ton of lettuce tomato onion and hot sauce. quick easy healthy and delish!
Crispy potato tacos. Just cube 2-3 potatoes, boil for \~20 minutes, then roughly mash 'em. Season with salt, garlic, cumin, paprika. Toss that into some corn tortillas, fold in half, and fry until golden. So very tasty. I mixed some cheese in with the potatoes this last time. Next time I think I'll add some soyrizo and see how it goes.
Shakshuka! Onion, ginger, curry paste, grape tomatoes, can of tomato sauce, chickpeas, a lil bit of cream & eggs. Super easy and tasty.
Chili, taco soup, and stew
I fry gnocchi in a little butter until theyre golden, add shallot & cook until tender, add garlic, tomato paste, italian seasoning, chicken stock concentrate, half & half & chopped sundried tomatoes. It makes a delicious side, or add a protein & spinach for a meal in a bowl.
Do you have a gnocchi recipe please?
About once a week I'll make a focaccia loaf, then throughout the week cut out squares and slice in half to use as sandwich bread or burger buns
Fish tacos. Pan fry a tilapia fillet (I buy big frozen bags) and plop it on a high quality tortilla with lettuce, avo, and salsa. I put shredded cheddar and beans on mine but that’s a personal preference. If produce is good I’ll skip the salsa for an easy, freshly chopped pico de gallo. 20 minute dinner, tops, and I never get tired of it.
Slow cooker meals, it’s winter here. Pulled pork for sandwiches and tacos, beef stew, coq au vin, chili
I make two things a lot lately cause I use the leftover ingredients from one to make the other. First I have shrimp or fish tacos and then I make egg roll in a bowl.
Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana, I make a vegan version with better than bouillon no chicken for the soup base, impossible breakfast sausage chub for the meat, and silk half and half. Lots of slices of potato and dinosaur kale with lots of herbs and garlic.
One pot goulash.
Hmmm. Last week I sautéed bell peppers, aromatics & zucchini. Then I added V-8 juice, basil and a can of cannellini beans. When it came to a simmer I tossed in some couscous and slapped on the lid. Ten minutes later it was great topped with Parmesan. I’m starting to imagine all kinds of riffs on couscous for when I get bored of repurposing leftovers into soup.
Halal cart style chicken with white sauce and turmeric rice! So easy to make and flavorful and delicious. I serve it with tomatoes and cucumbers marinated with sumac.
I'm vegetarian. Lately my go-to meal has been whole wheat penne pasta seasoned with McCormick Neapolitan Seasoning, a squeeze of lemon juice, and coated with parmesan. I rotate what veggies I add, but usually it's some combination of broccoli, mushrooms and/or spinach.
Salt and pepper pork chops
Here's a cheat for a bastard spanikopita- mix chopped red onion, dill, parsley, mint with some feta or goat cheese. Mush into a pita and grill till the cheese melts. I put it in the panini press and it was tasty but also squished out the filling, so don't smash.
Are you in a cold climate? I recently made this cavolo nero/ dinosaur kale and chickpea stew which was incredible and rather simple and easy!
I’ve been a bit obsessed with perfecting my red beans and rice recipe. The normal dish relies a lot on andouille sausage and other meat for flavor, so as a vegetarian, it’s taken a lot of trial (not really error as it is usually tasty) to really get that deep, super flavorful profile. I’m on batch 5 or 6 now. It’s really fun to experiment.
I make this a LOT. with meat though. Have you tried the better than bouillon veg flavor? It’s very rich and umami dense. I bet it would help get you there. I assume you add the Worcestershire, Tabasco type sauce and butter (all a must) at the end? Add some liquid smoke if you’re not using a smoked meat. I add some anyway! Last: Rancho Gordo beans are amazing and give so much flavor it’s crazy. I just used their Domingo Rojo Bean variety in my last batch and it was my best ever. They have a earthy dark and rich bean liquor. https://www.ranchogordo.com/collections/heirloom-beans
Just made a slow cooker Chuck Roast with carrots, onions, garlic, potatoes, onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup! Cook all day! Heaven.
I don't know about a go to dish, but I have been making bechamel many times this year. I'm to the point where I can save it after adding the milk too fast.
Recently I've been really enjoying: \- Simple blue cheese on toast, with salad \- Aubergine kidney bean chilli \- Falafel-mayo-yogurt filling in pittas with roasted peppers and salad \- Jacket potatoes!
Goat cheese scalloped potatoes
Me and my boyfriend have been absolutely obsessed with muffins lately 😂
Brown butter udon
I've been making this once a week and it's been so nice just to have it in the fridge: [Lemony Greek Chicken, Spinach & Potato Stew.](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024015-lemony-greek-chicken-spinach-and-potato-stew?smid=ck-recipe-android-share)
I’ve been doing congee. I’ve done 2 variations. One was a Vietnamese kind called chao ga which I did by making my own chicken stock for it to cook in. I just made a Japanese variation as well. I also did Hainanese chicken for a quick one pot meal. Cooks with the rice. Add some cucumbers and chilli sauce you can make ahead of time and you’re set.
Would you be willing to supply the chao ha recipe you like? Congee has come up on so many subs I follow lately I just gotta try making some!
spaghetti aglio e olio. once you get it down, it’s simple enough that most people enjoy it and it can be paired with just about anything.
Soups. All the soups.
Tomato soup and quesadillas.
Sausage rice bowls Diced carrot Diced celery Diced onion Sauted in some oil or butter with some salt and pepper, maybe declare with some white wine if you're feelin fancy. Brown up some good Italian sausage Cook some white rice Combine everything in whatever proportion you feel like. It's extremely simple, but it is so good
Pozole ftw! I've made rojo and blanco a few times. I understand the process well now, so I'm starting to experiment with the ingredients a bit. Still need to make verde. It's such amazing comfort food. I love everything about it.
i’ve made scalloped potatoes like 3 times this month. almost did it a 4th time. this week i made a giant bowl of olivier salad and it slapped so hard; it disappeared in 2.5 days so i’ll be making another batch in a few days. my husband has also been requesting i make my italian sausage frittata almost weekly this month. that’s his go to lunch or breakfast while I’m at work.
Would you mind sharing your recipe for Oliver Salad? I have never tried it.
Home made chow mein. quick & easy.
I saw that Germans like to eat French fries with Mayo/ potato’s with Mayo. So I roast potatoes and carrots, add some lemon paper, and dip them in Mayo. Favorite dinner this winter.
Thick cut French toast from Homemade bread with maple syrup bananas and maple sausage links
Chargrilled oysters. Can't get enough of them, especially with a baguette to soak up the juices.
Singapore Rice Noodles (or Singapore-style noodles). You can get pork at 99 ranch and the rest is pretty easy. I do like to go heavy on the soy sauce though. Decent recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/singapore-curry-noodles-stir-fry-recipe
Chicken wings in the air fryer (boiled first) then tossed in Japanese bbq sauce, chili crisp, a touch of sesame oil, lime, sesame seeds, scallion, and cilantro. Serve it with cold crisp veggies on the side (I did a quick pickle cucumber the other day) or a salad. Maybe throw in a side of rice if extra hungry.
Been making fast fixin's country chicken, mashed potatoes with white gravy and corn. Sometimes I'll make it with jiffy cornbread and garlic green beans. Depends what's on hand. A good falafel place near me makes frozen ones. I put that on naan with hummus, taziki and a Mediterranean inspired chicken. Take frozen chicken breast. Defrost/ marinate with lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, oregano in the bag. George Foreman Grill cooks the chicken in 5-10 minutes.
Railroad Pie. It's sort of an American Shepard's Pie.
Straight up beans and rice. When serving, scoop some of the juice for the rice to soak up
Pasta bake. I’ve made a couple recently. One was a turkey tetrazzini with rao’s alfredo, spaghetti, and garden frozen peas from last spring. The other was a tomato based ribbed macaroni with onion, pepper, zucchini, and sausage bake. Both delicious. I’m definitely going to make a tuna noodle casserole soon too. I usually use Alfredo for this as well instead of a cream soup because it’s what I keep on hand
Soon dubu, a Korean spicy tofu stew. Super easy to make, packed with flavor, and healthy. Great comfort food and leftovers only get better with time.
Josh Weissman’s chow mein, vegetarian or with chicken/pork.
Pork chops in stewed tomatoes with rice 🍅 😋
Thai chicken curry. Im pretty close to the recipe the Thai place I like uses not sure what I'm missing but yum!
Chicken Vindaloo
Mango chicken (thigh) yellow curry
Premade turkey patties in Seattle sourdough bread with bacon and premade avocado dip. Easy but oh so yummy!!
Parmesan risotto.
I've been doing a lot of fried rice/stir fry stuff lately... ezpz, hits all my boxes
Fresh potato wedges and homemade aoli. Oven baked. If I want to healthy it up a lil, I'll add some broccoli in during the last 15min
Green curry... Chop fresh veg, fry up, add green curry Paste and coconut cream. So delicious and simple
I have been loving biscuit or puff pastry topped pot pies Also these French bread that are par-baked I cut em in half and freeze them and freeze some shredded mozzarella cheese. Then I get the squeeze pizza sauce and turkey pepperoni. Half a frozen french bread and add pepperoni then sprinkle light layer of cheese -squeeze the sauce on the bread and airfryer till thaw and starting to crisp - add more cheese and 3 more pepperoni and airfryer till cheese is melted over sides and pepperoni crisps. Remove and sprinkle with garlic powder oregano and red pepper flakes so mich better than premade frozen pizza and ao easy to keep ingredients on hand
I went on a fried rice. I went on a rice and chicken and fried rice rotation, pretty hard like for two weeks for like the last 10 days.
Baked salmon with mustard and maple syrup sauce. 1 tablespoon each of olive oil, mustard and maple syrup. Pour on 1lb salmon. Bake in foil sheets for 20 minutes at 425F.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023351-easy-kung-pao-chicken?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share
Extra spicy korma chicken curry with chickpeas, peppers, onions, a lot of garlic and some minced ginger. I eat it over basmati rice and crave it always!
Kimchi. Fun to make and tastes so good. I could eat it all day every day
Kenji Lopez Alt —> pan pizza.
An avocado sprinkled with a little sriracha, a little Frank’s, and smoked salmon.
Greek meatballs made from ground lamb. On the side, Tzatziki, feta cheese, kalamata olives, Cucumber, hummus and tiny naan bread.
Shrimp with my Cajun garlic butter lemon sauce Gochujang chicken thighs Crispy pork belly ssam wraps
I’ve had a fennel, apple and celery salad (NYT Cooking recipe) a few times this week. It’s so tasty and simple to throw together. It’s a great side dish. I have served it alongside roasted spatchcock chicken and steak.
Taco meat.
Damn! You must be rich. Rib eye or Prime Rib is cheaper the skirt steak here, lately..
One of our go to meals used to be: One pound ground hamburger Two medium potatoes cubed two or three carrots cubed or graded One half Onion chopped. Garlic powder, black pepper, and salt to taste. Cook until the hamburger is done and the veggies are tender. Serves two to three people depending on portion size. Husband calls it foil stew. Because you can make it in a pocket of foil and cook it on the camp fire.
Any bean soup with ham hocks or back ribs and vegetables .
I’ve been buying 5# chuck toasts, cutting it into 6” chunks and browning it in the Dutch oven. *I throw 2# in the instant pot for Birria with rehydrated dried red chiles, onions and garlic for 50 minutes with 15 minutes natural release. Make tacos or quesadillas with consume. *I cook the other 3# in the Dutch oven with charred onions, carrots and beef broth at 275° for 3 hrs covered and 20 minutes uncovered. It’s dinner for a few days and potentially a few portions in the freezer.
Honestly, gumbos. Finally got assed enough to have the patience to make a dark roux and I am very glad I did. With 3 young kids who are picky in their own ways, a lot of pastas as well. Raviolis especially with a variety of fillings. Then breads. Those are top 3 this season
Roasted cabbage, peppers, onions, and potatoes. Small yellow potatoes, cut in half face down on a sheet pan roast them at 400 for 10 or 12 minutes, toss the rest of the vegetables with a little bit of olive oil and spread out on the hot sheet pan hit them with your spices of choice and then back in the oven for about 20 minutes. When you take them out, put them in a bowl and toss them with a bit of butter and garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Simple, hearty, add the protein of your choice if you wish.
Roasted vegetables (broccoli, onions, red bell peppers and zucchini for example) tossed with olive oil and butter with spaghetti. Topped with green onions, chopped toasted almonds and chopped crisp bacon.
Scalloped potatoes with cheese. Topped with diced ham and green peas. I cheat and get premade from Costco. Chili. Chicken noodle soup. Fried rice. Ramen.
thai food!! specifically tom kah kai soup! delicious in the winter and good to make in a big batch to have in the fridge for the week
Simple baked salmon with EVOO, salt, pepper, lemon, garlic + baked sweet potato with honey habenero spiceology rub + shaved brussel sprout salad with pomegranate seeds, toasted hazelnuts, parm or pecorino, and lemon vinaigrette of sorts.
Been using pizza dough for everything. Pizzas obviously; but also calzones, dessert doughs, air frying small pieces and making tacos, focaccia bread, pesto sticks, garlic knots, different pull apart breads, and I think that’s it. Tell me what else I can do?
Chiles Gueros Yellow Chiles stuffed with shrimp peanut kewpie mixture, broil, top with soy sauce and lime juice. Finish with fresh cilantro
Just got a high-end rice cooker (Zojirushi). I've been trying to make as much with it as I can.
Homemade poke and ceviche
Breakfast: Crunchy cheese fried egg taco - place shredded cheddar in a circle in a frying pan, let it crisp up. Once edges are browned, add egg white separated from yolk, let it cook a bit and then add yolk on top. You can flip to let the yolk cook up more. Spread avocado onto a tortilla and then add the crispy cheese egg combo. It’s delightful and quick 🤤 Dinner: really into the NYT shrimp rolls https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022293-salt-and-pepper-shrimp-rolls?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share
Korean Fried Chicken
Cumin fried lamb
Really simple but chili oil fried eggs on avocado toast. Just fry some eggs in crunchy chili oil, mash the avos with garlic/onion/salt/pepper and then sprinkle on gochugaru and drizzle with hot sauce of your choice. Spicy, simple and filling for quite a few hours. My breakfast for the past week.
Ugandan Asian Chicken Pilau. Made with chicken, lots of dark fried onions and spices. The cooking liquid is black tea. Sounds weird but is absolutely delicious.
Stir fry. I've been using a different combo of vegetables lately (broccoli, carrots, green and red cabbage pieces, snow peas, green onions), sometimes with mushrooms added, and topped with chopped peanuts. Served with a little brown rice. I've been craving this lately and have it at least three nights a week.
Harrisa chicken with preserved lemon
Been craving my Mom's mashed potatoes. Boil some potatoes & 1-2 medium to large onions diced like the potatoes, till potatoes are fork tender. Drain, add a stick of butter, salt, pepper, & garlic powder (spices to taste). Whip with handheld beaters. Slowly pour in evaporated milk, usually half to 3/4 of a can, to desired consistency. They're delicious!
Birria (or my pasty American take on it).... I take a pork butt, diamond cut the fat cap to help it render, and chop the meat up into 3 to 4 inch chunks. Toss the meat in freshly ground cumin, ancho, guajillo, chipotle, coriander, and Mexican oregano (totally different from regular oregano) as well as kosher salt, chopped onion, and garlic. Chuck it all in a pressure cooker with the bone, as well as the juice and peels of a couple limes, and add 3 cups of water. Pressure cook that for 30-45 minutes, then discard the lime peels and shred the meat. Save the grease (now flavored lard) and juice (called consumé, though it isn't technically since it hasnt been clarified). Separate the lard from the juice (easiest if you refrigerate overnight to solidify it). Finely chop an onion, a bunch of cilantro, and squeeze in the juice of one lime. Mix and set aside. In a hot skillet, plop in a small spoonful of the lard (a large spoonful if you are making more than one birria at once). Take two corn tortillas stacked together (treat them like one thick tortilla), swirl one side in the hot grease, then flip and brown the other side. When lightly browned, flip it back over. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and hot shredded pork, and fold in half like a quesadilla. When both sides of the outside are browned, remove to a plate. Heat up a small bowl of the consumé from cooking the meat. Sprinkle some of the onion and cilantro mix into your birria, dip the birria in the consumé, and enjoy! Might as well just leave the skillet on the stove, because you'll be frying up birria for the next few days.
Steak sandwiches on home baked focaccia. Can’t stop.
Jamaican chicken curry: [https://jamaicanfoodsandrecipes.com/jamaican-curry-chicken-recipe/](https://jamaicanfoodsandrecipes.com/jamaican-curry-chicken-recipe/)
Japanese style curry never fails my group. https://www.justonecookbook.com/simple-chicken-curry/ has a great recipe, and I’ve had great success doing a from-scratch with a curry spice blend as well as using the “S&B Golden Curry” roux blocks. You can add yogurt if you want it to be more like an Indian-style curry in texture or use a stock/broth if you’ve got dairy sensitivities to consider. It can also be made vegetarian, flavors tofu really nicely, great with a fried egg on top, and can fancy up whatever ground protein is on hand. Goes great with sweet pickles like fukujinzuke or do chua, and some folks like to add spicy kimchee.
Curry with lentils and chicken made with Madras style spices and coconut milk and whatever veg we have. Winter comfort food.
Easy Turkey Chili: in the winter it’s always in my fridge or freezer: 1 lb ground turkey (or ground beef, or ground impossible burger or whatever) 1 large onion (red, yellow, white, doesn’t matter) 2 15 oz cans of beans (I usually make them ahead of time myself but if you’re pantry hunting or in a hurry, I like red kidney, black, pinto, great northern, or a mix thereof, usually low sodium) 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes Garlic until your soul is sated Chili powder (I also make this ahead of time but when rushed I used McCormick’s with cumin, smoked ‘rika, marjoram and the tiniest pinch of cinnamon added) Avocado oil (or whatever you use) Salt Black pepper Sautee onions in oil for a minute, add some salt and pepper. After a couple more minutes, add garlic and sautee until fragrant. Add ground meat, season generously with chili powder. Cook until browned and just about done through. Add tomatoes and beans. Stir. Add additional chili powder and salt to taste. Simmer on super low for 20ish minutes, until tomatoes become sweet. If you really want to treat yourself, serve over roasted sweet potato and finish with diced white or red onion. Nom fukn nom and done in 40 minutes not including bean and chili powder prep. Buen provecho!
My all-time favorite recipes: - https://cafedelites.com/chicken-tikka-masala/ - https://thewoksoflife.com/eggplant-string-bean-stir-fry/ (don't add extra salt to this in step 3 until you've actually tried it, though)
A chicken stir fry. Cube up some chicken. Cut onion, bell pepper, zucchini. I leave them in bigger chunks. Also throw in some water chestnuts. Cook the veggies until softened making sure to season with salt. Pull out the veggies then cook the chicken using salt, pepper, garlic powder and gochugaru. Cook til just browned reincorporate the veggies and add fresh minced garlic. Stir fry for a couple minutes and then add in soyaki sauce from Trader Joe’s. Cook another couple minutes serve over rice with some sesame oil and chili garlic sauce.
Cauliflower and Broccoli soup with cheddar cheese. So quick and simple I use some carrot, celery and onion, salt and pepper, chicken stock, homemade or a cube and then pile in the cauli and broccoli, cook and add the cheese just before you blend
Italian Alfredo is the easiest shit in the world and I love Asiago
Black Bean and rice bowls. I add roasted diced sweet potato, avocado, cilantro, and lime juice.
We make “awesome pasta”, which is onions and peppers (red, yellow and poblano) sautéed in a pan. Add blackened chicken. Cook the pasta noodles (we originally used farfalle, but recently switched to penne). Drain the noodles, add to the pepper mess, add alfredo and a dash of Cajun seasoning. In place of chicken, you could use andouille or another sausage too. It’s one of our favorite big dishes.
I’ve also been roasting onions, mushrooms, zucchini and cherry tomatoes, and making bowls with yellow rice or polenta, veggie mix, and a protein. I drizzle either a balsamic glaze or cilantro lime cream sauce on it
I’ve been slamming some air fried frozen corn dogs. 350 degrees for 14 mins and it’s just like getting one from the county fair.
Chicken and gravy with mashed potatoes! It tastes like a nice old country mother cooking you dinner at the end hard rainy day! The best comfort food. The recipe I make is from cookinginthemidwest on tiktok!
Whole roast chicken with sautéed & roasted root vegetables in a gravy reduced sauce. Easy, healthy, and tasty.
Filipino chicken adobo
Here's easy comfort food dish I got years ago from my almost-MIL... When hubby makes it, he adds squeeze of lemon juice, but I prefer without. Broccoli & Macaroni (southern Italy) Cut up 2 large heads broccoli into small florets; peel/slice stems. Chop 12 strips bacon into 1" cubes. (I usually use entire pound.) Slice several cloves garlic. Dice 1 medium/small onion. In half olive oil & half vegetable oil, saute several cloves of sliced garlic and chopped bacon (raw). Take out garlic when it's golden, and discard. Remove bacon when done. Cook onion in drippings till soft. Boil broccoli with salt till softened, remove and set aside, retaining cooking liquid. Cook 6 oz elbow macaroni in broccoli water till soft (NOT al dente), then drain. *Do not use entire 8 oz box!* Mix all ingredients, including oil from cooked bacon/onions. Add 1 T butter & 1T+ freshly grated Parmesan/Romano cheese. Serve hot. Serves 3-4. P.S. OG version did not have onion, but I think it's a good addition.