Asian-y Noodles

 Mondays can be hard. Some might say that Mondays are inevitably hard. Which is why I'm giving you this recipe for Asian-y noodles of awesomeness. Because they're easy. And you can make them on a Monday. And your kids will probably eat them. And if you make them with some sort of veggie on the side, you can even feel good about your parenting. And if you don't, you can still feel good about your parenting. Because, guess what, you just made your family a delicious, home-cooked meal that somebody else would have gotten paid to make and put in a little Asian-y box for you to take out of their restaurant. But in the time it would take you to park your car, walk to the restaurant and wait to carry something out, you can make this meal. Also, it costs you $.20/serving, or less. So do it. (If you want; because Mondays are hard.)

 And maybe these don't seem like a big kid pleaser (note: they're brown; I know), but my kids--who are some of the pickiest kids alive (like, almost kind of clinically picky--I'm looking at you, Mark)--love these noodles. And try to eat them with chopsticks (which also makes you a good parent; or at least that is what I tell myself).

So get out the chopsticks, and some broccoli if you're rocking this Monday thing, and make these.

Asian-y Noodles
adapted from The Cooking Jar
Serves 8
Cook time: 20 minutes
Cost: $1.50 (See that price; it's about $.20/serving. Yeah, I know there's not a butt load of nutrition going on here, but there IS a lot of flavor, and go on and tell me how healthy your take out lo mein was, okay... Also you can add bean sprouts if you want, and that makes everything healthy, so there.)
noodles: $1.00, butter: .20, soy sauce: .10, teriyaki sauce: .10 (okay; I admit to BS-ing a little on the Asian sauces since I'm really not sure how much these small amounts would cost; maybe I'll figure it out on a day that is NOT Monday), other stuff: .10

1 lb spaghetti noodles
3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp sugar
3-4 Tbsp soy sauce (Note: I use about 3 and add 1 Tbsp of water to get it a little less salty)
1 Tbsp teriyaki sauce
Optional toppings: Green onions, seseme seeds, bean sprouts, chicken, whatever sounds good

Cook and drain your noodles. Try to get them al dente.

Melt butter in a frying pan. Add garlic and saute for a minute or so until fragrant (don't burn, so don't have your heat up way high).

Toss in noodles and stir to mix.

Add sugar, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, and mix.

That's it. You're done. I know it sounds too easy. That was kind of the point. So make it already. Become a believer.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Dumb Easy Dinner: Barbecups

I don't know how you could possibly not make a dinner with a name as cute as Barbecups. I mean, come on, it's adorable.

 Also, these are very easy. I should warn you, however, that these are not a perfect whole food. You're going to be using some biscuits or croissants out of a can. If that bothers you feel free to make a batch of your own little biscuit dough from scratch. Just know that that will make these a little less dumb easy.

I should also warn you that these don't involve a vegetable (unless you count BBQ sauce as a vegetable, which you probably shouldn't, but I won't judge you if you do). To rectify that you can just use a bagged salad or--my husband's favorite option--open up a can of corn. I know that sounds super lame, but it will totally work and be delicious. You could also add olives to these if olives are your thing.

Barbecups
makes 12 (can make more if they're tiny)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes if you cook the chicken
Cost: $4.75
croissants: 2.00, chicken: 2.00, cheese: .50, bbq: .25

Note: If you want to make this incredibly fast, you can use canned chicken (that's been drained). I'm not going to lie--it's not as good. But it's very fast.

Note: You can used browned beef in place of the chicken. You'll probably need about 1/2 pound.

2 packages croissant dough (you know, the one in the tubes); you could also use biscuit dough
2 breasts shredded chicken (if you're chicken breasts are huge, you only need one)
3/4 C barbeque sauce
1 C shredded cheddar cheese

If you need to, cook your chicken breasts.

While your chicken breasts are cooking, open your croissants and lay them out as rectangles. Cut squares big enough to fit into the muffin portion of a muffin tin. Press them into the muffin tins.

When the chicken is cooked, shred it. A quick way to do this is to put them in your Kitchenaid if you have one--use the paddle mixer and it will shred that warm chicken breast.

Add barbeque sauce to your chicken breasts.

Put a spoonful of chicken/BBQ into each muffin tin. Top with cheese. That's it. Bake it according to the package instructions. And add some veggies to the side if you're feeling righteous.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Enchilada Rice Pot

This seems like it won't be much--it's rice, beans, some sauce, some cheese. I mean, really, every time I assemble it I think, "How is this going to taste good? Won't it just be boring?" No. It's actually kind of fabulous. It's got all the flavors and goodness of enchiladas, but the total hands-on time to prepare it is five minutes. And the total cook time is just about 20 minutes. Who knew that riffing on the rice and beans, beans and rice theme could be so luxurious. And so simple. And adaptable. And leftover-friendly. And cheap, of course. (Also, gluten-free and vegetarian if that's something you need.)

In my experimenting with this, I made it a few ways. My favorite was to make it as a one-pot meal--no need to cook the rice beforehand, just throw everything in.  This is a dumb easy meal for under 30 minutes. It's filling and satisfying. 

The other great way to make this is as a leftover meal with rice you've already got cooked. This makes for a 10-minute dinner. However, since your rice is already cooked it won't be able to absorb as much fluid as I've got listed below, so you'll want to scale back the enchilada sauce by half and maybe cut back on the tomato juices some as well. Also you'll be using twice as much rice since yours is already cooked. The instructions below are for the one-pot meal.

Could this be made with quinoa or barley or something? I bet it could. But I just stuck with reliable white rice. Also, I should note that usually black beans aren't my favorite ones, but they just kick it in this recipe. Try them.

Enchilada Rice Skillet
adapted from Damn Delicious
Serves 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Cost: $4.50 (about $1.12/serving)
rice: .50, tomatoes: .60, beans: .60, enchilada sauce: 2.00, cheese: .80

1- 1 1/4 C rice, uncooked
1 can diced tomatoes, not drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans enchilada sauce (red or green or a combination--I do a combination)
1-2 C grated Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese

Add-ons for fabulousness: These aren't necessary, but one or a combination of these make this meal just amazing.
sour cream
squeeze of lime
cilantro
avocado

Add rice to pot. Add all other ingredients, except cheese. [Note: To clarify--You are NOT adding any water to this--the liquid will come from the sauces.]

Cover and cook as you would an every day pot of rice (that means cover it, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat significantly--to low--and let it cook for about 20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed). When it's just about done, have a taste. If your rice is just about done, you're good. If it's still a little tough in the center or too chewy, add a bit of water and let it cook a few minutes longer.

When it's about 2 minutes from being done, add the cheese to the top, re-cover the pot, and let the cheese melt.

Serve. You can serve it plain or add any of the add-ons for fabulousness that you choose.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Spinach Mushroom Coucous Toss

March might not have any major holidays (except occasionally when Easter falls into this month), but it makes up for it through an abundance of quirky, insignificant holidays--there's Dr. Seuss's birthday, National Pancake Day, Pi Day, St. Patrick's Day. Only one of these holidays was around when I was a kid and, while it could be argued that we--as a culture--have gone a little nuts, I do love me a quirky yet insignificant holiday. You forget about it? No big deal. You remember it? It's kind of fun. I've already got big Pi plans. This week we'll focus on some ideas for St. Patrick's Day. Today's recipe, I must admit, is a fairly grown-up idea. Your kids might not cheer it, but don't worry, there are some green muffins coming later.

Besides its lovely green, it's super healthy and dumb easy, yet surprisingly sophisticated. Also perfectly adaptable. It can be on your plate in less than ten minutes.

Spinach Mushroom Couscous Toss
adapted from Julia's Album
serves 4
Prep time: 3 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes for all
Cost: $2.20 (that's $.55/serving for a perfectly respectable and well-rounded lunch)
mushrooms: 1.00 (Aldi price), spinach: 1.00, couscous: .75, other stuff: .20

Note: In place of couscous, you could use any grain you've got--quinoa or even rice or barley.

1 lb button mushrooms
2-3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
5 green onions, or a dash of onion powder if those you love are chunky onion averse
5 oz fresh spinach
2 C cooked couscous (or another grain of your choice)
salt and pepper to taste

First, get your couscous cooking. Follow the instructions on your box.

While it's cooking, slice your mushrooms. Then heat oil and butter in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms and cook until they start to give off their juices. I salt them at this point also. At that point add the garlic and green onions (if using). Cook for another couple minutes. Then add the spinach and cook, stirring, until it's wilted (another couple minutes). Now throw in your cooked couscous. Add salt and maybe a bit of pepper to taste. And you've got yourself a restaurant-worthy meal in about ten minutes. Go on you fabulous person, you.

PRINTABLE RECIPE