Eating is something everyone has in common. We all need to do it, so why not make it as simple as possible for those who have busy schedules? Whether you’re strapped for cash, or have tons of homework to complete, you still deserve a good meal at the end of the day. We should enjoy eating. After all, food is said to be a great pleasure all around the world. Let’s bring some of that to your table.

This first recipe is something I created on my own. It’s great for a snack or maybe a side to a larger dish.

 

Bagel Pizzas

1 Bagel

2 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste (get the kind with basil and oregano)

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup of mozzarella cheese

8 slices of pepperoni

To make this easy dish, cut the bagel in half and lightly broil the tops (cut side up) in your oven. This will help prevent the bagel from getting soggy once you put the sauce on. After the bagel slices are lightly browned, take them out of the oven and spread the tomato paste on them. You can add salt and pepper to the paste to make it have more flavor. Once the bagels have sauce on them, sprinkle the cheese on top. Put 4 slices of pepperoni on each bagel slice, and put them in the oven on broil. Leave in the oven until the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

 

Crockpot Chicken Chili

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast

2 cans of white beans, drained and rinsed

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

2 cups of chicken broth

1 medium onion, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

1 bay leaf

¼ tsp salt

Dash of pepper

1 ½ tbsp. crushed red pepper (optional)

Place the chicken breast in the crockpot. Pour remaining ingredients over chicken. Set the crockpot on low for 7 hours. Remove chicken breasts from crock pot and shred the chicken with 2 forks. The chicken will be tender. Return the chicken to the crockpot and cook for one more hour. Keep crock pot on warm until ready to eat.

 

Southern Lima Beans and Rice

1 bag of baby lima beans, soaked overnight

1 can of chicken broth

1 can of beef broth

1 ham hock

2 cups of rice, extra long grain

4 cups of water

Salt and pepper to taste

Pour the cans of broth into a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the ham hock and let cook for 10 minutes. Add lima beans to the boiling broth and hock. Add enough water to completely cover the beans. Set temperature to low-medium (3 or so) and let cook for two hours or until beans are tender. Keep checking to make sure liquid is covering beans. If not, add more water. There should be about an inch of broth/water mixture covering the top of the beans.

To make rice:

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt for flavor. Once water is boiling, add 2 cups of white rice. Turn down heat to low and let cook for 15 minutes. Take rice off heat and serve.

 

Teriyaki Chicken Stirfry

5-7 strips of boneless skinless chicken tenderloin pieces, cut into chunks

1 cup broccoli florets

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup frozen green beans

½ chopped red bell pepper (you can use any color, I just like how the red looks in this dish)

¼ c teriyaki sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Steam broccoli and carrots until tender. In a medium saucepan, cook chicken thoroughly. Add in green beans and bell peppers and also the teriyaki sauce. Once the bell pepper is cooked, add the carrots and broccoli. Toss so that everything is coated with teriyaki sauce. May serve over rice.

 

Spaghetti

1 onion, chopped

2 cans tomato sauce

2 cans diced tomato

1 can tomato paste

1 container of fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)

1 pound ground beef

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp dried or fresh oregano

1 package angel hair pasta

In a large pot, add ground bee. Cook on high heat until thoroughly browned. Drain fat. Add back to the pot and add all the other ingredients except for the pasta. Stir well and occasionally while on low-medium heat. Cook for 2 hours or longer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook the pasta and serve together.

 

Soft chicken tacos

2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

½ cup salsa

8 flour tortillas

1 cup chopped tomato

¼ cup preshredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup sour cream

Combine first three ingredients in a medium bowl, tossing well to combine. Spoon about 1/3 cupp chicken mixture onto each tortilla; microwave each taco for 30 seconds or until warm. Top each taco with 2 tbsp tomato, 1 tbsp cheese, and 1 ½ tbsp. sour cream. Fold in half.

 

Lemon baked chicken

1 package chicken drumsticks

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tbsp melted butter

1 lemon

Salt and pepper

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare chicken by mixing juice of one lemon, olive oil, and melted butter in a small bowl. Lay raw chicken in a casserole dish.  Spoon lemon juice/olive oil mixture onto chicken pieces. Put into the oven. Every 15 minutes, take the dish out of the oven, gather all of the juice from the bottom and spoon it over the chicken again. Bake for 1 hour.

 

I hope these recipes catch your eye and you feel like making them sometime soon. I know they are really good for being able to pretty much cook themselves. What’s good about most of these is that you can get them ready and put into the oven, or on low heat, and then forget about them for an hour or two while you’re studying or taking a shower after a ball game or something. Get creative, but mostly stick to the recipe. And always cook the meat thoroughly.

Have a good Spring Break!