The Chu Forums

if you have some favorites you like to make, please share them. i need ideas when i am doing the cooking. please provide ingredients and simple steps, i am not a pro like some.

I like making stews... they're simple. Just throw everything into a pot and let simmer for 6 hours.
If you have a pressure cooker, it's even faster... you can do it in 1 hour.

kd. seriously. delish. add weiners for double the yumz. but more work than i thought it would be.

Here are two chicken recipes:

BEV’S CHICKEN CASSEROLE
2 ½-3 lbs chicken pieces, skin removed
½ - ¾ tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
10 oz. Condensed cream of tomato soup
10 oz. Condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 bunch green onions and tops finely cut
1 small onion, chopped
1 fresh tomato, chopped

Arrange chicken pieces in bottom of large casserole or small roaster. Sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper.

Combine both soups with onions and tomato. Spoon over chicken. Cover. Bake in 350 degree oven for 2 hours or until tender. Serves 4.


CHICKEN HURRY
2 ½-3 lbs. chicken parts
½ cup Ketchup
¼ cup water
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 envelope dry onion soup

Arrange chicken parts in small roaster or casserole.

In small bowl, combine ketchup, water, sugar and soup mix. Mix together well. Spoon over chicken making sure some is on every piece. Bake covered in 375 oven for at least 1 hour until very tender. Serves 4-6.

do you guys have these ingredients already or do you actually go out to buy stuff specific to what you're going to make later that day?

i ask because i can't seem to wrap my head around people walking around at superstore and stuff and think, hm, i could use some brown sugar or whatever thing i don't know about and just buy it. i guess i just can't see myself being able to think that far ahead.

before i was married i had a thing of salt that was never used, a thing of ketchup that sat in the fridge for about 3 years, and some beef patties that were in the freezer since the day i moved.

joyce and i do the grocery shopping together once a week. we have set days where dinner is her responsibility or mine. typically at that time, we somewhat plan ahead what we might make on the days we are responsible, especially if it requires any produce and get it then.

occasionally, i may need to pick up an additional item or 2 as i narrow down the menu the day of.

most dry ingredients (sugar,flour,etc..) last a long time so usually people just have them available and don't need to restock regularly. produce typically goes bad pretty quick, so we need to buy those once a week. meats we usually buy 2-3 month supply and freeze most of it.

After you've cooked at home for a while you get into an understanding of what you need in your pantry on a regular basis, so really, we're just shopping to top up the pantry probably once every other week. Then it comes down to what's fresh at the market. We'll go once or twice a week to Kin's for the veggies and if there's some really great seasonal protein somewhere, then we'll plan the meals around that. Otherwise, we'll buy enough protein from Costco and freeze it once a month or so.

This way, before you head off to work in the morning, you glance at what you have in storage and defrost / pick up any missing ingredients (which is very rare) before you get home to make it. This way, you get to make pretty much whatever you want any day you want.

Obvious exceptions are for things like Hot Pot. In that case, we'd decide while we are already at TNT. We usually buy enough for two nights and we'd portion accordingly in the fridge. It usually ends up being a Monday and a Thursday for some reason. Then I'd just stop by Nikuya at lunch to get the meat.

Of course, this necessitates that you actually cook at least 4 times a week in order to cycle through everything properly so that nothing spoils. But you save A LOT of money doing this vs eating out all the time.

The funny thing right now is that we're debating about moving our dining room in the new house even though the plan is set. I'm actually leaning towards nixing the living room altoghter and merging the family and dining room into a giant living space. That way, what was supposed to be the living room with a whole wall of windows becomes a dining room with a fireplace / double chandelier / and a 12 ft. dining table that seats 16.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. I mean how often do you actually use the living room anyways?

keep the recipes coming in! thanks guys.

Food TV's app and their website has a TON of great free recipes that take less than 30 minutes to prepare a whole meal for 4. Highly recommended.

Especially Jamie Oliver's and Michael Smith's sections

isn't michael smith a christian singer?

Jamie Oliver has his own iphone app now.

yes, but that one isn't free... I have it and it's good too

i guess it's time joel got a smartphone haha.