My Easy Recipes

Busy Cooks

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Busy Cooks

My Easy Recipes

Every cook has a collection of recipes that are considered "fail safe", and I'm no exception. Never mind that I've made puff pastry, have been making bread from scratch since I was 13 years old, and love cooking the most complicated recipes I can find. Sometimes, when the dinner hour approaches, I need to pull out a recipe that I can make in my sleep. And that goes double when I've been testing recipes all day! I always choose one that uses ingredients I know are in my pantry, fridge, or freezer (see Your Personal Mise En Place for more ideas). Browse through this list of recipes and add some to your repertoire. They will never fail you!

The first list is a group of entrees that are so simple, they don't even need recipes! They come from different cookbooks, mostly Pillsbury's new Come And Eat! series, and some are my own inventions. And the second list comes from my Recipe Box, those that are the easiest of the easy.

Cacciatore Chicken Sandwiches
Cook frozen chicken patties and toast onion buns. Place patties on buns, and top with heated marinara sauce and shredded Parmesan cheese.
Italian Shrimp And Broccoli
Heat diced garlic and herb tomatoes with frozen broccoli. Stir in cooked shrimp and serve over rice or cooked noodles.
Creamy Chicken And Asparagus
Cook fresh asparagus and add to bottled Alfredo sauce and frozen cooked, diced chicken. Heat over low heat until hot and serve over cooked fettuccine
Swedish Meatballs
Heat frozen cooked meatballs with a jar of brown gravy in heavy saucepan. Stir in some sour cream and a bit of nutmeg. Serve on refrigerated mashed potatoes, heated according to package instructions.
Steak Supper
Broil your favorite type of steak (I like ribeye). Add 2 tsp. soy sauce to frozen mushrooms in butter sauce and heat according to package directions. Top steaks with sauce and serve over mashed potatoes made from flakes, according to the package.
Cheesy Tortellini
Cook refrigerated tortellini and frozen broccoli in the same pot until pasta is tender and broccoli is heated through. Add refrigerated four cheese alfredo sauce and heat.
Meatball Sandwiches
Heat frozen cooked meatballs with a jar of spaghetti sauce. Spoon onto toasted hoagie buns and top with mozzarella cheese slices. Broil about 1 minute to melt cheese.
Chicken a la King
Heat bottled alfredo sauce with frozen diced cooked chicken, frozen baby peas, and some bottled chopped pimiento. Serve over biscuits.
Chicken Cacciatore
Cook fettuccine according to package directions, adding frozen broccoli florets during the last 4 minutes of cooking time. Drain well, return to pot, and add 1 can cooked chicken, drained, and 1 can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes. Heat well and serve.
Olive Pizza
Top a boboli pizza crust with chopped olives, salsa, and shredded cojack cheese. Bake as directed on crust package.
Smoked Salmon Pizza
Top a boboli pizza crust with softened cream cheese, then spoon refrigerated pesto on top. Top with soft cold-smoked salmon strips and Havarti cheese. Bake as directed on crust package.
Tuna Alfredo
Cook bow tie pasta with frozen mixed vegetables and drain well. Mix with canned, drained tuna and refrigerated alfredo sauce and heat.
Salsa Wraps
Brown chicken breast pieces in olive oil in skillet, and stir in some salsa. Layer on heated tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream. Fold tortilla and serve.
Shrimp and Couscous
Heat together cooked shrimp and Italian diced tomatoes. Serve over couscous, cooked according to package directions.