This site is exactly what this naive and lazy housewife needs! Now help me put meat on my husbands bones!

I am no cook so it very well may be my fault for his inevitable wasting away but I recently lost my job so I'm ready to focus more on home life and taking care of my skinny hubs. He never eats breakfast, rarely eats lunch and usually has 4 beers and jack in the box for dinner. What are some recipes I can make that will have him drooling for more? Let's also keep in mind I recently just learned how to cook oatmeal so be nice to me. Haha! Thanks :)

AmyRoehm
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7 Comments

Liz&butter April 22, 2012
Oops - forgot about one of my favorite easy recipes. This is the most incredible pasta sauce I've ever tasted, and it only has three ingredients:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/01/tomato-sauce-with-butter-and-onions/
 
Liz&butter April 22, 2012
Oops - forgot about one of my favorite easy recipes. This is the most incredible pasta sauce I've ever tasted, and it only has three ingredients:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/01/tomato-sauce-with-butter-and-onions/
 
Liz&butter April 22, 2012
Hurray for easy cooking! My mom wasn't a particularly fabulous cook, but I learned a few things from her about how to toss together a decent dinner if I don't have any brilliant ideas or a strict recipe to follow. The sauteed chicken she made a lot is still one of my basics. Pound out some boneless skinless breasts with a meat pounder (or the bottom of a saucepan), coat them in some seasoned flour*, and cook them in a frying pan over medium-ish heat in a drizzle of vegetable or olive oil until they're browned on both sides and the center isn't pink when you cut one in half.

A chicken sandwich made from the leftovers with tomato, salt, and mayo is one of my very favorite things. Along with BLTs (another good, easy idea).

*My mom's basic chicken coating was flour with some garlic powder, salt, and paprika, but she'd change it up sometimes by adding cornmeal and some Mexican-ish seasonings like cumin and chili powder, or (my favorite) parmesan cheese and crushed potato chips. I think just about any combo of spices or dried herbs mixed with enough flour to dip the chicken in would work fine as long as you don't use tons of any one thing.

Easy vegetables - frozen peas microwaved with a dab of butter and a finely chopped shallot.
Cooked spinach is great with a little butter and a sprinkle of vinegar, or fresh spinach with some sliced avocado, lime juice, and a little salt.
I love love love raw cabbage and coleslaw. There's a recipe here that my hubs and I love: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/coleslaw-recipe/index.html,
but if I need something quick, the bagged shredded slaw mix in the produce section with the dressing recipe on the back of the bag (I think it has mayo, vinegar, salt, and sugar) is pretty darned good.

Finally, I found this recently, and these beans are so good alone, in tacos, with rice, etc., and really easy to cook
http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2008/11/pinto-beans-three-ways.html
 
inpatskitchen April 22, 2012
I'm assuming that since he likes Jack in the Box that he's a burger guy...lot's of wonderful burger recipes on this site to sort of "ease" him in. Do a search for "burgers" in the recipe search box. And welcome to Food52!
 
SKK April 22, 2012
By the way, Amy, where do you live? Why I am asking is your guy may prefer regional foods and we may be able to point you to some specific recipes he would prefer.
 
AmyRoehm April 22, 2012
Thanks for asking!!! I'm in Southern California.
 
SKK April 22, 2012
You go girl, keep that husband of yours going!

These are some of my favorites and easy to make.
http://food52.com/recipes/9151_tuna_noodle_casserole_redux
http://food52.com/recipes/2534_baking_sheet_macaroni_and_cheese
http://food52.com/recipes/11440_a_bowl_of_red

And finally, an incredible easy to make chicken

Cooking times in the recipe are for a 4 ½ to 5 pound bird. A 3 ½ - 4 ½ pound chicken will take about an hour to cook, and a 5 – 6 pound bird will take close to 2 hours. This recipe is developed to work with a 5 – 8 quart Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. And always use organic.

INGREDIENTS
1 Whole Roasting Chicken
2 tsps kosher salt or 1 tsp table salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion chopped medium, about ½ cup
1 small stalked celery, chopped medium, about ¼ cup
6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and trimmed
2 bay leaves

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 250 F.
2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper
3. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until just smoking
4. Add chicken breast-side down; scatter onion, celery, garlic bay leaf around the bird
5. Cook until breast is lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
6. Flip chicken breast-side up and cook another 5 – 8 minutes
7. Remove Dutch Oven from heat and place a large sheet of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid.
8. Transfer pot to oven and cook until your brand new thermometer everyone recommends you get reads 160 F when inserted in thickest part of breast and 175 F in thickest part of thigh, 80 to 110 minutes.

Transfer chicken to carving board, tent with foil and let it rest 20 minutes.
Meanwhile strain chicken juices from pot through fine-mesh separator pressing on solids to extract liquid; discard solids (you should have about ¾ cup juices). Heat up the juices and you will have a fine sauce.




 
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