Anyone wanna share recipes?

Yes, I admit it I'm bored. Husband is underway again and I've got a whole kitchen to play in and not enough new recipes so I'm hoping if I beg really nice you might share. :)

Here is one of mine that's proven popular. I normally cook for two people but it's not hard to add or subtract and we are fans of leftovers. However it does dirty a few different dishes, hope you like to clean. :D

4 porkchops (either bone in or deboned, personal choice)
1/3 c parmesan cheese, grated (you can also use pecorino parmesano but it's a bit more tangy)
black pepper to taste
dash of garlic salt (or powder, just add salt if you do that)
1/2 lb favorite pasta
1 can spagetti sauce
1 jar alfredo sauce or garlic parmesan sauce (generally ragu brand)

Use either a nonstick skillet or a cast iron skillet with olive oil or nonstick spray. Place over medium heat.

Preheat oven to 375.

In a dish or plate big enough to fit the porkchops on mix the cheese, pepper and garlic.
Coat pork chops in breading and place in skillet.
Cook chops til they are nicely browned on the outside.
Remove from skillet and put into nonstick baking pan (unless it's a cast iron skillet then you can leave them in it).
I use two heaping tablespoons of spaghetti sauce on top of each chop followed by two tablespoons of alfredo/parmesan sauce.
Place in oven for additional 20-30 minutes (this could vary by oven temp/type)

In another pan bring water to a boil (I always salt my water), add pasta and cook to al dente. Drain
Use your choice of the alfredo or spaghetti sauce (or both!) on pasta, put on plate. Pull out pork chops and slap that baby on the pasta and you're done.

Don't even bother asking about calories you don't want to know. :eek:

I don't know if anyone would want my vegetarian recipes =/

I like veggies too! Please share!

I like veggie things too!

Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup
(Except for the garnish, you can make this soup a day ahead.)

3 TBSP. Butter or margarine, divided (or olive oil for vegan version)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 LB. carrots, sliced (about 2 1/4 cups)
2 golden delicious apples
3 14-OZ cans or 5 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped (Use orange-hued sweet potatoes for best color.)
2 bay leaves
1/8 TSP. allspice
2 TSP. grated orange peel
1/4 CUP fresh orange juice (I just halved an orange and squeezed out the juice)

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook 2 minutes until tender. Stir in carrots; cook 3 minutes. Peel and chop 1 of the apples. Stir in peeled and chopped apple, broth, 1 cup water, sweet potatoes, bay leaves, and allspice. Bring soup to boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, for garnish, finely chop remaining apple. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add apple and cook, stirring, 5 minutes until softened. Stir in orange peel; remove from heat.

Once soup is ready (vegetables tender) remove bay leaves and discard. Cool soup slightly. Transfer soup, one-fourth at a time, to a blender container. Cover; blend until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with remaining soup. Return all soup to Dutch oven. Stir in orange juice; simmer 5 minutes until heated through. Ladle soup into soup bowls; topp each with apple garnish. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Mint Chocolate Cake

• 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter six 3/4-cup (6 ounce) ramekins. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

2 Using electric mixer, beat eggs, egg yolks, and 1/3 cup sugar until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add all purpose flour and beat until blended. Add chocolate mixture, peppermint extract, and salt; beat just until incorporated. Divide chocolate mixture among prepared ramekins. Place ramekins on baking sheet.

3 Bake cakes until edges are set but centers look shiny and still move slightly when ramekins are gently shaken, 10-11 minutes. (Start checking at 9 minutes.) Remove cakes from oven; let cool for 5-10 minutes.

4 Either serve as is, in the ramekins, or run a knife around the edges of the cakes and invert on to individual dessert plates.

Serve with raspberries, mint leaves, vanilla or mint ice cream, or whipped cream.

That cake sounds perfectly evil... my husband would love it.

And come on, there has to be more cooks here on BP.net

my recipe for the perfect cookies:

1) grocery store
2) fridge aisle
3) find that stupid doughboy
4) get those pre-made cookies
5) buyem and cookem, as per the instructions located on the back of the packaging.

typical male ;)

something I call "orange chicken"...might not sound so good yet, but wait...it gets better

this is something I have been making for 25 years, so bear with me on the correct amounts and calculations.

"Orange Chicken" or "Saucy Chicken" (also good on pork chops)
(will feed 4 to 6 people)

2 Large cans Campbells cream of chicken soup
1 to 1 1/4 cups ketchup
3 tablespoons worchestershire sauce

mix together in a bowl and pour over chicken breasts (or your preference of chicken cuts)

bake in a covered dish at 350 for 90 minutes.

gravy can be served equally well over rice or mashed potatos


(hey if someone tries this can you let me know how you like it?)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Entropy

typical male ;)

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as the eupers say..."ya darn tootn eh?"

I'm soooo not a cook. Although I like anything easy, so I'll share this one.

Place chicken breasts in a pan. Cover with sliced swiss cheese, and then top that with cream of chicken soup. Sprinkle your favorite stuffing mix on top. Cover and cook at 350 until chicken is done. Yummy and easy!

Here's a salad I like a lot:

Fennel bulb, large - 1 thinly sliced
Belgian endive - 2 - cut on the bias, 1/2" slices
Watercress - 1 cup
Granny Smith apple, large - 1 thinly sliced
Asiago cheese - 1/4 to 1/3 cup (depending on taste), shaved
Toasted pine nuts - 1/2 (or more if you like)
Aged Balsamic vinegar (real, not the crap supermarket $3.99-a-bottle wannabe's)- to taste (as dressing) (mix w/ EV olive oil if desired)
Salt/coarse ground pepper - to taste

Toss the above ingredients together in a large bowl until well coated with vinegar. Divide among plates & serve!

Serves 2 as an entree, 4 as an appetizer. Grilled chicken goes well on this for an entree addition...

Enjoy!

K~

Stick pizza in oven, wait 20 minutes and eat. Simple enough.

Salt crust rub for prime rib roast.

Depending on the size of your roast.
Imade 5 whole prime ribs for a party i thru.
I used 1/2 to 3/4 of a box of koshar salt.(1pound box)
1 whole jar (1/24oz) of whole pepper corns,freshly ground
1oz of fresh thyme ( mince very very fine)
1oz of fresh rosemary(mince very very fine)

You could also use parsely, cilanto. of what ever you like

Mix all items into a mixing bowl and pour in extrs virgin olive oil until you make a paste. a wet sandy mix.

let set in the frig for a few hours.
take your prime rib roast and scoar the fatty side with a knife in a criss cross pattern. take salt mixture and rub all over to coat all the meat. cook in oven or on a spit.....

heres a recipe for a mexican dinner pie .

the ingredients .
12 ounces ground beef or turkey
8 ounces refried beans
6 ounces chedder jack cheese
6 ounces sour cream
4 ounces each of chopped onions , bell peppers , black olives , and tomatoes
1 nine inch pie crust

brown off the ground beef or turkey put in pie crust and level it out . spread refried beans over ground meat (ad a little water to beans to thin if needed) cover with shredded cheese and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until crust and cheese are browning . remove from oven and cool in fridge for 20 minutes . add sour cream and spread evenly over cheese . top with assorted veggies . slice into quarters and nuke for one and a half to two minutes (depending on your microwave ). the sour cream will ooze down all around the pie . serve with salsa . you could add some taco seasoning to the meat if you like a little more zip . you can also switch out veggies for what ever you prefer .

If you know anyone with an intolerance to gluten or has celiac disease this is a great cookie recipe for them (especially for kids). They are also just plain old yummy for anyone but you MUST have many large glasses of cold milk nearby!


GLUTEN FREE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy your choice)
1 cup white sugar
1 egg (beaten)

Dump everything in a big bowl and mix very well. Put the bowl in the fridge for at least an hour so you can handle the cookie dough easier. Form into balls and put on a greased cookie sheet, press down gently with a fork to form a nice crosshatch pattern. Dust lightly with a little extra white sugar. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 8 minutes. Let cookies completely cool before removing from the cookie sheet as they will break when warm.

This recipe will only make a dozen smaller cookies so I usually at least quadruple it as we like big cookies and the darn family eats them as fast as I can get them on to a plate LOL.

Got another one for ya!!!

I hate sweet potaotes but i made them for turkey day and loved them

5or6 big sweet pot.
4 bannas
honey
brown sugar
flour
pecans

Roast the sweet pot. at 375 until mushy, put the bannas (in the peel) on the same sheet for the last 10 to 15 minutes of potatoe roasting. the banna peels will be black.
Pull the peel of the potatoes and bannas and mash together squeese a good glob of honey ( to taste) in the mash. then put in a 2x4x4 pyrex dish and smoth out, then in a seperate bowl put half a bag of brown and a cup of flour and crush a cup of pecans, mix together and put on top of sweet potatoes and put back in the oven for 20 minutes or until the crumble gets hard...

Oh those sweet potatoes sound good! Lots of these recipes do! I know where I'll come when I'm looking for something nice to make and have run out of my usual stock ideas. :D

Today I've been making Christmas pudding.
This is probably the best recipe for a traditional English Christmas pudding. It takes a long time to steam but actual prepartion time is fairly quick. I use vegetable suet to make it vegeterian. Barley wine is hard enough to get hold of here - it is sickly sweet and very alcoholic ale - any strong sweet beer will do or you can just increase the amount of stout (guinness works great!). I think it works fine if you adjust the quantities of dried fruit for what you can get hold of too. As a student I used to make this in industrial quantitites for cheap christmas gifts.

Ingredients

4 oz (110 g) shredded suet
2 oz (50 g) self-raising flour, sifted
4 oz (110 g) white breadcrumbs
1 level teaspoon ground mixed spice
¼ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
good pinch ground cinnamon
8 oz (225 g) soft dark brown sugar
4 oz (110 g) sultanas
4 oz (110 g) raisins
10 oz (275 g) currants
1 oz (25 g) mixed candied peel, finely chopped (buy whole peel if possible, then chop it yourself)
1 oz (25 g) almonds, skinned and chopped
1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
grated zest ½ large orange
grated zest ½ large lemon
2 tablespoons rum
2½ fl oz (75 ml) barley wine
2½ fl oz (75 ml) stout
2 large eggs

You will also need a 2 pint (1.2 litre) pudding basin, lightly greased.

Begin the day before you want to steam the pudding. Take your largest, roomiest mixing bowl and start by putting in the suet, sifted flour and breadcrumbs, spices and sugar. Mix these ingredients very thoroughly together, then gradually mix in all the dried fruit, mixed peel and nuts followed by the apple and the grated orange and lemon zests. Don't forget to tick everything off so as not to leave anything out. Now in a smaller basin measure out the rum, barley wine and stout, then add the eggs and beat these thoroughly together. Next pour this over all the other ingredients, and begin to mix very thoroughly. It's now traditional to gather all the family round, especially the children, and invite everyone to have a really good stir and make a wish! The mixture should have a fairly sloppy consistency – that is, it should fall instantly from the spoon when this is tapped on the side of the bowl. If you think it needs a bit more liquid add a spot more stout. Cover the bowl and leave overnight.

Next day pack the mixture into the lightly greased basin, cover it with a double sheet of silicone paper (baking parchment) and a sheet of foil and tie it securely with string (you really need to borrow someone's finger for this!). It's also a good idea to tie a piece of string across the top to make a handle. Place the pudding in a steamer set over a saucepan of simmering water and steam the pudding for 8 hours. Do make sure you keep a regular eye on the water underneath and top it up with boiling water from the kettle from time to time. When the pudding is steamed let it get quite cold, then remove the steam papers and foil and replace them with some fresh ones, again making a string handle for easier manoeuvring. Now your Christmas pudding is all ready for Christmas Day. Keep it in a cool place away from the light. Under the bed in an unheated bedroom is an ideal place.

To cook, fill a saucepan quite full with boiling water, put it on the heat and, when it comes back to the boil, place a steamer on top of the pan and turn it down to a gentle simmer. Put the Christmas pudding in the steamer, cover and leave to steam away for 2¼ hours. You'll need to check the water from time to time and maybe top it up a bit.

To serve, remove the pudding from the steamer and take off the wrapping. Slide a palette knife all round the pudding, then turn it out on to a warmed plate. Place a suitably sized sprig of holly on top. Now warm a ladleful of brandy over direct heat, and as soon as the brandy is hot ask someone to set light to it. Place the ladle, now gently flaming, on top of the pudding – but don't pour it over until you reach the table. When you do, pour it slowly over the pudding, sides and all, and watch it flame to the cheers of the assembled company! When both flames and cheers have died down, serve the pudding with rum sauce, or rum or brandy butter.

If you want to make individual Christmas puddings for gifts, this quantity makes eight 6 oz (175 g) small metal pudding basins. Steam them for 3 hours, then re-steam for 1 hour. They look pretty wrapped in silicone paper and muslin and tied with attractive bows and tags.

From:
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/t...g,1234,RC.html

Heres yet another one.

i haven't tried it yet but i'm going to in a few days
INFUSED VODKA, for the christmas season..
take a bag of fresh or frozen cranberrys and a cup of sugar, and the juice from one orange, and put into a pan and cook until it reduces and the cranberrys just start to pop. put that into a large clear container with 2 to 3 oranges peeled and sliced. then pour a bottle of vodka(your choice) over the top. then seal the jar and leave for a week. then strain the mixture and the vodka will be red. pour vadka back into oringal bottle and enjoy an instant martini..:8: ummmmm ummmmm good.

Wow guys, these sound really good. I don't dare make those cookies though. My husband is a sweets obsessed fiend and he has PFA coming up and already has to lose weight for it! Keep em comin!

Quick one from me.

White Spaghetti

1lb spaghetti
1 cup parmesan cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1lb fresh mushrooms (or canned)
1/2 lb fresh or frozen broccoli
1/2teaspoon minced garlic (can use jarred or use fresh...in a bind powder will work)
salt and pepper to taste
OPTIONAL: 1 lb chicken of your choice cut into small pieces


Put pan of water on stove, bring to boil (once again I salt my water)
While that is working on coming to a boil put a skillet on med-high heat. Ad a few rounds of EVOO (ends up being a few table spoons) then add the garlic and if you decided on chicken add it now before the mushrooms and broccoli so it has time to cook. Hopefully you cut it in small pieces :)
When chicken is 90% done add mushrooms and brocolli (I like my broccoli NOT crunchy but if you like yours crunchy then you can wait and ad it for the last second, tis up to you).
Water should be to a boil, add spaghetti (or fettucini, or angel hair, or linguini...the choice is yours) cook to al dente. Drain and return to pan.

Add everything from the skillet (including the oil) and mix. You can finish here for less calories but if you're a cheese fiend like my grandmother and I you now add the cup of parmesan and mix it in.

Now you can serve and enjoy. :)

This is a great thread, guys! I'm loving it. I'll have to see if I have any recipes I can add. In the meantime, I'm gonna shift it over into the Creative Corner forum so it doesn't get buried and lost as quickly as it would in the ever-so-busy Off Topic. ;)

Here's a recipe for canning your own salsa...makes the BEST salsa I've ever had! Got this from my sister:


Salsa

1 gal canned tomatoes (5 28oz cans)
2 large yellow onions
3/4 c vlassic hot sliced jalapenos w/ juice
4T dried minced garlic
3T salt
4T sugar
1t cumin seeds
1/4 c vinegar
1 8oz can tomato sauce

• Grind tomatoes, onions & peppers to desired consistency. (I like my salsa to be very fine, without a lot of chunks)
• Dump into a large stew pot and add remaining ingredients.
• Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. (Do not allow the bottom to scorch or it will ruin the whole batch.)
• Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Pour into sterilized canning jars until not quite full. Cap the jar and turn it upsidedown to cool and seal.
• Best if aged at least two weeks before unsealing a jar.

Very easy to do if you have a decent food processor. Fun too, although getting the boiling salsa into glass jars without burning yourself can be tricky. :P This makes moderately spicey salsa. It can be made milder by using a mild jalapeneo...or hotter by adding more jalapeneos, and/or crushed red peppers to taste.

you can also make a cranberry sauce out of the first part of this, just ad 2 sticks of cinnomon(sp?) to the cranberrys and orange zest and let simmer. and then you have a cranbeery sauce....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jar2476

Heres yet another one.

i haven't tried it yet but i'm going to in a few days
INFUSED VODKA, for the christmas season..
take a bag of fresh or frozen cranberrys and a cup of sugar, and the juice from one orange, and put into a pan and cook until it reduces and the cranberrys just start to pop. put that into a large clear container with 2 to 3 oranges peeled and sliced. then pour a bottle of vodka(your choice) over the top. then seal the jar and leave for a week. then strain the mixture and the vodka will be red. pour vadka back into oringal bottle and enjoy an instant martini..:8: ummmmm ummmmm good.

---

pour into sepeate bottles and give them away for christmas...who wouldn't like that?????

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jar2476

Heres yet another one.

i haven't tried it yet but i'm going to in a few days
INFUSED VODKA, for the christmas season..
take a bag of fresh or frozen cranberrys and a cup of sugar, and the juice from one orange, and put into a pan and cook until it reduces and the cranberrys just start to pop. put that into a large clear container with 2 to 3 oranges peeled and sliced. then pour a bottle of vodka(your choice) over the top. then seal the jar and leave for a week. then strain the mixture and the vodka will be red. pour vadka back into oringal bottle and enjoy an instant martini..:8: ummmmm ummmmm good.

---

Zuccihni Chocolate Chip Cake


1/2 c. soft marg.
1/2 c. veg. oil (or applesauce)
1 3/4 sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c sour milk
2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. coco
1/2 tsp cinnaimon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1tsp cloves
2 c. shredded zuccihni
1/2-1 c. chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350 deg.
greese and flour 9x13 pan
mix all ingredients together
bake 30-35 min.
cool, frost as desired

*** NOTE***
to sour the milk.. place 1/2 cup of whole milk in a slightly larger cup and add a table spoon of vinegar let sit for 10 minutes.

also if you are watching your fat intake... adding the applesause instead of the oil cuts down on it for you... also adds to the flavor

just another one for fun (for those who like sweets)


get a bag of the round beer pretzels, a bag of hershey kisses and a bag of mint M&Ms ...

turn oven on to WARM

place pretzles on a baking sheet with a kiss in the center put into oven for about 3 minutes .... just long enough to get the kisses soft take out and place a M&M in the center... cool and ready to eat

***NOTE***

also a good gift idea for those with the sweet tooth ;)
hint hint my address is :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dusty

just another one for fun (for those who like sweets)


get a bag of the round beer pretzels, a bag of hershey kisses and a bag of mint M&Ms ...

turn oven on to WARM

place pretzles on a baking sheet with a kiss in the center put into oven for about 3 minutes .... just long enough to get the kisses soft take out and place a M&M in the center... cool and ready to eat

***NOTE***

also a good gift idea for those with the sweet tooth ;)
hint hint my address is :P

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We make something almost identical to yours and call it Take 5 Movie Snacks....they taste like the chocolate bar of that name (but better!) and totally addictive. The only difference in my recipe is I use Rolled Gold square pretzels, peanut butter M & M's and caramel kisses. I use a piece of parchment paper on my cookie sheet so they don't stick and refrigerate for a bit before eating. They are fantastic for a family movie snack as even the youngest kids can help make them.

I didn't know M&M's came in "mint"! :O

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JLC

I didn't know M&M's came in "mint"! :O

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Me either! http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ke/drool51.gif

they come in mint?

*pushes everyone out of the way as she runs for the store* :bolt:

okay, i'm ready to share a thing or two here ;)

(firstly, i'm going to make that vodka with cranberries... my daughter would LOVE it - she's 20)

okay this is our favorite family christmas recipe... my girlfriend years ago created it.

get a couple of boxes of CHERRY candy canes... honestly cherry works best for this.
a bag of chocolate chips or melting chocolate... whatever you prefer.

remove the wrappings from each candy cane and break it up in a large bowl. wash your hammer. take your hammer and beat the living crap outta those canes... beat em gooooooooooooooooood. take out all those holiday frustrations... visualize aunt bertha's face if you want.... just beat those canes till you have some dust and the rest are smaller than 1/2"

melt chocolate on the stove... carefully so you don't overheat and burn it.

when it's melted... pour it over the candy cane dust/pieces.

have wax paper on some cookie sheets... and pour the mixture out, smoothing it to a nice 1/4-1/2" thickness.

place in fridge or freezer till hard.

break the pieces up into bite size portions and store in the fridge till someone wants to eat em!!!

we also so a less aggressive mix...

some peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
some chocolate chips or melting chips

melt choc. in pot... when it's melted add in some peanut butter...

pour onto wax paper on cookie sheets and place in fridge or freezer till hard. break apart. these must be kept in the fridge or they melt!

suuuuuuuuper yummy!!!!!

of course, you can experiment and add crushed almonds to the choc - whatever tickles your fancy!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KLG

Here's a salad I like a lot:

Fennel bulb, large - 1 thinly sliced
Belgian endive - 2 - cut on the bias, 1/2" slices
Watercress - 1 cup
Granny Smith apple, large - 1 thinly sliced
Asiago cheese - 1/4 to 1/3 cup (depending on taste), shaved
Toasted pine nuts - 1/2 (or more if you like)
Aged Balsamic vinegar (real, not the crap supermarket $3.99-a-bottle wannabe's)- to taste (as dressing) (mix w/ EV olive oil if desired)
Salt/coarse ground pepper - to taste

Toss the above ingredients together in a large bowl until well coated with vinegar. Divide among plates & serve!

Serves 2 as an entree, 4 as an appetizer. Grilled chicken goes well on this for an entree addition...

Enjoy!

K~

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I'll have to try this :)

Tis the Season


for mint M&Ms ;)

The vodka IS tasty!!!!:8: :carouse:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

okay, i'm ready to share a thing or two here ;)

(firstly, i'm going to make that vodka with cranberries... my daughter would LOVE it - she's 20)

okay this is our favorite family christmas recipe... my girlfriend years ago created it.

get a couple of boxes of CHERRY candy canes... honestly cherry works best for this.
a bag of chocolate chips or melting chocolate... whatever you prefer.

remove the wrappings from each candy cane and break it up in a large bowl. wash your hammer. take your hammer and beat the living crap outta those canes... beat em gooooooooooooooooood. take out all those holiday frustrations... visualize aunt bertha's face if you want.... just beat those canes till you have some dust and the rest are smaller than 1/2"

melt chocolate on the stove... carefully so you don't overheat and burn it.

when it's melted... pour it over the candy cane dust/pieces.

have wax paper on some cookie sheets... and pour the mixture out, smoothing it to a nice 1/4-1/2" thickness.

place in fridge or freezer till hard.

break the pieces up into bite size portions and store in the fridge till someone wants to eat em!!!

we also so a less aggressive mix...

some peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
some chocolate chips or melting chips

melt choc. in pot... when it's melted add in some peanut butter...

pour onto wax paper on cookie sheets and place in fridge or freezer till hard. break apart. these must be kept in the fridge or they melt!

suuuuuuuuper yummy!!!!!

of course, you can experiment and add crushed almonds to the choc - whatever tickles your fancy!

---

I have made this recipe of mine, since I was in grade school; I was a pretty self-sufficient kid with working parents, and had to create my owl meals a lot of the time.
I make some rice; about a plateful. There is no set rule to this recipe; but you basically use the rice as a base, and mix things in. I have made everything from a casual leftover-steak-and-gravy rice mix, to an awesome elaborate one containing Asiago cheese (awesome cheese, K!) lobster, shrimp, homemade Italian dressing, and slivered homegrown sweet onion. At any rate, this meal is filling and it just pops in your mouth, with the contrast between the rice and the other things!
I am a nut for Italian food, growing up in an Italian family; but funnily, not crazy about red spaghetti sauce. I use just a tad, and add bacon bits, cheeses, and pepper.. mmm.