a mess of green beans (a "mess" is basically whatever will fit on your cookie sheet or in your roasting pan)
olive oil
salt and pepper
Heat the oven to 425F / 218 C or whatever it is on Celsius ovens.
Snap the stem end off the green beans. If the little tails are nice and perky and green, you can leave them on. My chef-instructor always used to say that was how you could tell the beans were fresh -- the beans are old if the tails are sad-looking.
Toss the beans onto a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan big enough to hold all of them in one layer. A few can pile up, but you don't want much pile, you want good contact with the pan for browning purposes. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
Roast for 20 minutes, tossing again at the 10-minute mark so that you get more nice charred bits on different parts of the beans. Scarf down immediately once they're ready.
This chili takes less than an hour, from start to serve. Recipe below ofc, it's a refinement of one I posted many moons ago
Cheater's Chili
4 lbs. ground protein, cheap and fatty (I like to use two different ones like beef and pork, loose sausage works wonderfully too)
1-2 white or yellow onions, chopped as fine as you can stand
2 cans of Ro-Tel diced tomatoes or an equal volume of your favorite salsa
2 cans of chili beans (I like using black and pinto)
2.5 oz or so of chili powder (a whole small bottle or weigh it out from your Costco stash)
½ tsp. garam masala
As much garlic as you want, the minced stuff from a jar is fine
Whatever other seasonings you deem appropriate, this is VERY hard to fuck up
Procedure:
Chop your onions. A vegetable chopper is worth the investment, you just have to peel and quarter them before pushing them through the cutters and it saves so much time and risk. Anyway, throw your chopped onions into a big pot and then dump in the protein, being sure to remove any "meat diapers" that wind up in the pot. Add all the spices and then turn the heat on medium-style. Using some sort of spatula, break up your protein into roughly cherry sized pieces as you stir it all together, then cover your pot and let it cook for about 20 minutes, enough time for all the meat to brown.
Open up the cans (if you don't have an edge-cut can opener, put a magnet on the lids before you open for easy and safe removal) and dump them into the pot, liquid and all. Fold this into the mix with a different spatula from before to avoid cross contamination, then cover your pot and let it go until it simmers, this takes about another ten minutes. Take the lid off, marvel at your chili, and serve it up with crackers and milk/alcohol.
11 Women Who Hate To Cook Share Their Go-To Weeknight Meals
To discover the hack-packed, low-lift recipes that keep the cooking-averse satisfied, we asked millennial women who hate to cook to share their go-to weeknight meals. Ahead, you'll find our favorite responses. These meals could inspire even those who enjoy cooking because, let's face it, we all have nights when we don't have the energy to spend too much time in the kitchen.
Spinach, sausage, mushroom, white bean sauté
Occupation: Writer Age: 41 City: Portland
Why do you like this meal?
It's easy to prep, has a quick cook time, and contains solid protein and veg.
What is the recipe for this meal?
1 pound bulk chicken sausage
1 can cannelini beans
1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
2+ cloves of garlic, diced
Crumble and brown chicken sausage in pan, along with onions and garlic. Add spinach and mushrooms and cook until al dente. Add beans and spices to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes before serving.
Where did this recipe come from?
It's a quick recipe my ex (a chef) threw together.
Pimped-out Top Ramen
Occupation: Social media specialist in digital marketing
Age: 29 City: Los Angeles, CA
Why do you like this meal?
It's always good and you add whatever you have in your fridge.
What is the recipe for this meal?
Top Ramen Packet (shrimp, chicken, or really any flavor), a teaspoon of butter, cheese (sliced preferably), salt, pepper, green onion, Sriracha, spam (if you have it), seaweed flakes or seaweed, and an egg.
Where did this recipe come from?
My grandma would always add an egg to my top ramen when I was a kid, and all the other additions have been from whatever I had in the kitchen. Butter was a tip from Kylie Jenner. Cheese is my newest addition and it's sooooo good. It makes it creamy.
Rice, tofu, and veggies
Occupation: Graduate student Age: 22 City: Bethlehem, PA
Why do you like this meal?
It's easy, quick, vegan, and healthy.
What is the recipe for this meal?
Frozen steam bags of any vegetables (I usually use peas, corn, carrots, green beans, and mix them together in a bigger bowl)
Frozen steam bag of brown rice (take as much as needed of rice and veggies for one meal and save the rest in the fridge)
Firm tofu, sliced into small squares, seasoned with black pepper and nutritional yeast
Mix a serving of rice, tofu, and veggies together in a bowl
Flax and sesame seeds sprinkled on top
Where did this recipe come from?
It's my own creation.
"Poor Man's Dirty Rice"
Occupation: Librarian Age: 23 City: Boise, ID
Why do you like this meal?
It's super quick, simple, and really flexible.
What is the recipe for this meal?
Cauliflower rice, ground meat, and salsa. I usually use two bags of rice and cook those in a pan. In a separate pan, I will cook some ground meat — usually turkey or beef, but it can be anything. Then, when both are cooked, I mix them in a pan and add a few tablespoons of salsa, a little salt and pepper, and maybe some garlic powder.
Where did this recipe come from?
It's a family recipe.
Scrambled eggs and veggies with cheese
Occupation: Journalist Age: 22 City: Davenport, IA
Why do you like this meal?
It's super cheap and reasonably healthy, especially since I go so heavy on the veggies. I'm trying to limit my meat intake and most of my attempts to meal prep vegetables have ranged from mediocre to sad, so I also appreciate that it's fast enough to make fresh each time.
What is the recipe for this meal?
Two eggs, whatever chopped vegetables you wants (I like kale and tomatoes, a Brussels sprouts slaw I buy pre-cut, or even butternut squash), fresh (or not) herbs, and cheese. If the vegetables are hard, cook those first, otherwise scramble the eggs and add the vegetables at the same time. Add the herbs or any other greens and cheese toward the end. Lately, I've been using smoked cheddar with parsley or Brie and rosemary. I usually try to have an equal amount of vegetables and eggs, but the texture is definitely better with more egg than roughage. I'll add toast or an extra egg if I'm especially hungry.
Where did this recipe come from?
It's really just scrambled eggs.
Cilantro-lime rice with chicken apple sausage
Occupation: Graduate student Age: 23 City: Orange County, CA
Why do you like this meal?
Super easy and lasts for about three days.
What is the recipe for this meal?
Cook cilantro lime rice packet from target, cook chicken apple sausage, then mix together!
Where did this recipe come from?
I came up with it through sheer desperation of something easy and lots of time roaming around Target.
Why do you like this meal?
It's packed full of protein, is quick to make, can be eaten warm or cool, is easy to store for later or meal prep, and contains simple ingredients.
What is the recipe for this meal?
Half a link of soy chorizo (from Trader Joe's), 1 egg, 1 flour tortilla, 1 cup of mashed avocado, olive oil, hot sauce for taste (I prefer the Mexican Valentina brand).
Where did this recipe come from?
My boyfriend is Costa Rican, and he makes burritos that are to die for. Since I don't eat a lot of meat, this is an adaptation from what he makes.
Spaghetti with a green salad
Occupation: Temporary receptionist Age: 25 City: Vancouver, British Columbia
Why do you like this meal?
It is relatively easy to make and there is enough pasta for at least two other meals.
What is the recipe for this meal?
Boil water; start cooking extra lean ground beef until completely brown; add dry pasta to boiling water and cook for 8 minutes, occasionally stirring; add tomato sauce to the cooked ground beef. When the pasta is al dente, you can drain the water and put the pasta in a strainer. Prepare a green salad to go with the spaghetti dinner.
Where did this recipe come from?
It is a family recipe but I am sure there are many online recipes for spaghetti.
Rice and chicken with sauce
Occupation: Teacher Age: 28 City: Dallas, TX
Why do you like this meal?
It's incredibly easy to make, balanced, and fast. Almost every part can be store bought, so the only thing left to do is heat it up.
What is the recipe for this meal?
There are several options for the rice. I'm Korean, so I like a sticky rice. There are companies who sell a microwaveable bowl of rice - that's the easiest way. You can also, of course, just make rice (easy, but time-consuming). Two cups of water per one cup of rice.
The chicken can either be mixed in with the rice or eaten separately. Take some diced chicken (whenever I buy chicken I dice it and separate it into different Ziploc bags, so they're easy to freeze and thaw as needed) and put them in a pan. Optional: before putting them in a frying pan, cover with flour. This will make them crispy. I put flour in a bowl and toss the chicken around in it. I'm sure you could add egg and whatnot, but this is the easiest way. Once that's done, I heat up some oil in a frying pan and then add in the chicken (if there's flour I try to use a little more oil so it can "fry").
Once the chicken is fully cooked, I add in store-bought General Tso sauce mixed with water, about a 1:1 ratio. Target carries several kinds of General Tso sauce, as does any other grocery store I've looked into. The Panda Express brand is one of my favorites. Once the sauce and water are in there, I swirl everything around to mix and let the sauce simmer. I wait until most of the water has evaporated and the sauce is thick. At this point, you can add in the rice. Add a little more sauce as desired and serve!
Where did this recipe come from?
It mostly came from a love of Chinese takeout, rice, and easy dinners.
Mashed cauliflower and tofurkey Italian sausage
Occupation: International PR Age: 26 City: Brooklyn, NY
Why do you like this meal?
It's super easy, quick, and relatively healthy.
What is the recipe for this meal?
Mashed Cauliflower:
2 Tablespoons of butter
1 bag of frozen riced cauliflower or medium head of cauliflower
1 cup water
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
Directions: Add butter and finely chopped garlic gloves in a 4 quart pot over medium-high heat and add cauliflower once the butter is almost melted. Sauté cauliflower for 3-5 minutes until it becomes a little lighter in color. Add in the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pot and cook about 10 minutes. Reserve 1/8 of a cup of the cooking liquid and drain the remainder. Purée the cauliflower with food processor or hand blender.
Veggie Italian Tofurkey Sausage:
Heat one link with olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Where did this recipe come from?
I adapted the mashed cauliflower from a couple of recipes.
Instant noodles with all the (some) trimmings
Occupation: Journalist Age: 30 City: London, England
Why do you like this meal?
It's balanced, tastes great, and ridiculously easy.
What is the recipe for this meal?
Chop up some vegetables like peppers, broccoli, pak choi, Chinese leaf.
Boil water on the stove, add vegetables and a protein like eggs, prawns, or chicken.
Once the vegetables and protein are almost cooked, add a packet of quality, authentic instant noodles like Mama, Indomie or NongShim to the pot, with all their accompanying seasonings.
Once everything has been cooked to your desired texture (I would recommend al dente noodles over soggy noodles), you're done.
You can vary the proportions of noodles, vegetables, and protein according to your dietary needs.
Where did this recipe come from?
I learned it from family
Pictured with her Cheddar-and-Thyme Scones as well as Kerrygold Cheddar
Ingredients
2 lb roma (plum) tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
a pinch of crushed red pepper
black pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
Directions
in a saucepan, combine the tomatoes, sugar, salt, crushed red pepper, and a few turns of black pepper. set over medium heat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has cooked off, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. press through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the tomato skins. stir in the lemon juice. let cool and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Roasted pork knuckle bought from the supermart and spaghetti were given the Southeast Asian makeover with dark soy sauce, egg and loads of white pepper. We loved breakfast this morning 👌
