[YaYa]

I have been called the queen of the 15-minute meal because, although I love to cook, I rarely have time to devote to long preparation and cooking times. Please share your solutions for busy cooks... here's one of mine:

Broiled Seafood Extravaganza

Ingredients

• 1/2 LB. MEDIUM SHRIMP - PEELED, DEVEINED, CLEANED
• 1/2 LB. SCALLOPS - SEA OR BAY (CALICO) - DRAINED
• 1/2 PINT OYSTERS - STANDARD, SELECT OR MIXED GRADES, DRAINED
• 1/3 8 OZ. BOTTLE COMMERCIAL ZESTY ITALIAN DRESSING (KEN'S, KRAFT, ETC.)

Preparation

• PREHEAT OVEN TO BROIL.
• IF YOU'RE GOING TO USE YOUR TOASTER OVEN, LINE THE BROILER PAN WITH ENOUGH ALUMINUM FOIL TO FORM A 1 1/2-INCH LIP AROUND THE EDGES TO HOLD THE LIQUID.
• RANDOMLY ARRANGE THE SHRIMP, SCALLOPS AND OYSTERS ON THE FOIL OR BROILER PAN.
• SHAKE THE BOTTLE OF DRESSING WELL AND POUR SMALL TRAILS OF DRESSING OVER THE SHELLFISH. KEEP IN MIND THAT THE AMOUNT OF LIQUID IN THE PAN WILL INCREASE BY ONE-HALF DURING BROILING.
• IF USING A REGULAR OVEN, PLACE THE RACK NO MORE THAN 6 INCHES FROM THE HEATING ELEMENT.
• BROIL FOR 10 MINUTES THEN VISUALLY CHECK FOR DONENESS. THE SHRIMP SHOULD HAVE A PINK TINT WITH VEINS OF RED. TURN OVER THE LARGEST SCALLOP WITH A FORK. IF THE UNDERSIDE IS WHITE AND FIRM, YOUR MEAL IS READY. THE OYSTERS WILL APPEAR TANNED AND SLIGHTLY BROWNED ALONG THEIR FRILLS.

Note: In my toaster oven, average broiling time is 14 minutes.

Serving Tips: You may want to set out a large soup spoon in addition to your regular eating utensils. You can spoon up a piece of shellfish and some broth, or stab a shrimp, scallop or oyster and just dip it in the sauce.

Accompany with a green salad and perhaps a side dish of pasta with a garlic sauce.

Bon Appetit!
YaYa

[Becky]

That looks yummy, YaYa. I am also a fan of quick dinners. Who isn't?

Here's one of my favorites:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza crust (like DiGornio)
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup diced grilled chicken
• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Place pizza crust on cookie sheet. Spread with barbecue sauce. Scatter chicken over top. Sprinkle evenly with red pepper, green pepper and onion. Cover with cheese.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

[lewis4498]

I love the idea of sharing recipes. I have found quite a few that have become my favorites. A helpful hint too is to try to prepare ahead of time. If you have a few minutes in the morning to chop everything up, than when you are ready to cook in the evening, all you need to do is throw it all together. Here is one of my new favorites:

Chicken Stew

2 Tbs. olive oil
2 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
1 carrot, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
salt & pepper
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chopped tomatoes (I used stewed for more flavor)
1 (14 ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
2 chicken breasts (use boneless/skinless - saves more time)
1 (15 ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic) (optional)

Heat the oil in a heavy 5 1/2 quart saucepan over med. heat. Add the celery, carrot & onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is transulcent, about 5 min. Season with salt & pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf & thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.
Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low & simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over & stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 min. Add the kidney beans to the pot & simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 min (I omit this part).
Shred or cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

We like to serve this with fresh pesto & bread. YUM!

[Stephanie]

Does anyone have a great pesto recipe? I've made it a few times but it never turns out the same twice. Any ideas?

[lewis4498]

Well, I love to make fresh pesto, however I don't have a "written" recipe for it.
I simply eyeball all of the ingredients as I throw it all in to my small food processor. Here is what I throw in:

a couple walnuts
a small amount of grated parmesan cheese
a little (or a lot) of chopped garlic
a small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley
salt & pepper to taste
a lot of fresh basil
a lot of extra virgin olive oil

I usually just make this for me & my husband so the above just makes enough for the 2 of us to snack on. Good Luck!

[ChefJohn]

Okay, so I love to eat but because I work so much I never have time to cook. I am always on the run and stopping for fast food. But just recently I have discovered this great new cooking program on Comcast Video on Demand that teaches you how to cook a gourmet meal in just minutes (even Risotto).

The folks at Banyan Productions, (the producers of Trading Spaces, Epicurious, Birth Day, and Ambush Makeover), just released a new video that has a ton of great recipes that you can get to the table in 15 minutes or less. They've got some of them running on Comcast's OnDemand service (which is how I found out about it) and have a 2 DVD set that you can buy. Here's a link to their website with more info www.15andDone.com

Give it a try I know that you will love it as much as I do. I still have no time to cook but all i really need is 15 minutes!!!

[lewis4498]

I love watching foodnetwork (here in arizona). If you go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/ & look through the drop down box from "Find a TV Show" you will see a ton to choose from. My absolute favorites are 30 Minute Meals, Everyday Italian & Paula's Home Cooking. All of the recipes that I have made from these shows have been excellent,.....not one has been bad yet!

[bellerd]

Here's one that even my picky eaters like, and it goes together quickly. I often double or triple the recipe, then freeze in 5 cup portions. That way, I have a quick meal to pull out that you just need to heat 'n eat

1 lb. Lean ground beef

½ cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cans (15 ½ ozs. each) chili beans in sauce, undrained

1 can (32 ozs.) crushed tomatoes

1 can (15 ozs.) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (10 ¾ ozs) condensed tomato soup

1 Tablespoon. chili powder

2 Teaspoons cayenne pepper

1. Place ground beef, onion and garlic in Dutch oven. Cook and stir over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking beef into small crumbles. Drain, if necessary.

2. Open chili beans, tomatoes, black beans and soup. Drain and rinse black beans.

3. Add all ingredients including chili powder to meat mixture in Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer covered, over low heat 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.



Yield: 8 (1 ¼ cup) servings

[bellerd]

When I see bulk packages of ground beef that have been marked down, I bring them home then cook them with chopped onions, pepper and garlic. After I've drained the fat, I freeze in 2 cup portions (this is equivalent to about 1lb uncooked). Then I pull them out when I want to make tacos, casseroles, chili, soups, anything calling for browned ground beef. I can have tacos on the table in 10 minutes! It's easier to cook all the meat at one time, than have to do it each time you need it. Speaking of tacos, here's a recipe for a homemade mix I use:

1/3 c. dry minced onions
2 t. salt
2 T. chili powder
2 T. paprika
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. oregano
2 T. flour

2-3 T. of this mix equals 1 pkg taco mix.
Add 1/2 c. water and simmer 10 min.

I usually triple this recipe as well, since we like to eat tacos. This way, I'm not mixing it up every other time we have tacos.

[YaYa]

What a great idea about the large packages of ground beef! Thanks!