Cooking

# Baked Chicken

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs boneless chicken breasts
• Spices
• (Variation) Store-bought sauce such as buffalo, bbq, or hot sauce

Steps

• Season the chicken with spices or sauce.
• Cook in oven uncovered at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes.

# Beef Roast

Ingredients

• Boneless chuck roast or boneless rump roast
• 1 container of beef broth
• Potatoes
• 1 onion

Steps

• Brown the beef roast before adding to the roaster/slow cooker. Heat some oil in a pan on medium heat. Brown for 30s-1min per side.
• Add the roast to the roaster.
• Cut up potatoes and the onion and add around the roast.
• Add the container of beef broth.
• Set roaster to 300 degrees. If slow cooking, set lower.
• Cook until the internal temperature is 165. This usually takes 15-30 minutes per pound. Always check after one hour.

# Breakfast Tacos

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 6 strips of bacon
• 1 potato
• Tortillas (HEB Mixla, half corn, half flour)
• Shredded cheese
• Salsa

Steps

• Cook the potato in the microwave (7 minutes on high).
• Cook the bacon strips in a pan on the stove.
• Scramble and cook the egg in another pan on the stove.
• When the potato is done cooking, cut open, extract the insides, and add to the eggs.
• Mix the eggs and potatoes with some salt and pepper.
• Heat up the tortillas.
• Assemble the tacos. Eggs and potatoes on the bottom, followed by a strip of bacon, some shredded cheese, and salsa.

# Butter Masala

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken (prefer white meat)
• A few potatoes (prefer russets)
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• Tube of tomato paste
• 2 tb lemon juice
• 1/2 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
• 2 tb butter
• Spices. Garam masala, paprika, cumin, turmeric, curry mix.
• Rice
• Naan.

Steps

• Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes.
  • Cut up chicken
  • 2 tb lemon juice
  • 0.5 tb salt
  • pepper
  • 1 tb curry spices
• Peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes, and boil until cooked (15-25 minutes).
  • Since curry is acidic due to the tomatoes, if you try cooking the potatoes fully in the curry, it will cause them to become rubbery. So you always have to pre-cook the potatoes and add to the curry at the end.
• Dice the onion. Sweat the onions for 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, salt, and pepper.
• Add 1 tb tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute (to dull the flavor).
• Measure out and toast the following spices for 1 minute.
  • 1/2 tb paprika or kashmiri chili powder
  • 1/2 tb cumin
  • 2 tb garam masala
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • Other Indian spices
• Add the can of crushed tomatoes.
• Add 1 cup water.
• Reduce for 5 minutes.
• Add the chicken.
  • Do NOT add more water at this stage. The chicken will release water as it cooks, so adding water at this stage will make the curry too thin.
• Simmer for at least 15 minutes. Longer and slower is better.
• During this time, start cooking the rice.
• Add 1/2 cup of heavy cream or coconut milk. Stir for 5 minutes.
• Add in the potatoes.
• Add 2 tb of butter, turn off heat, and stir constantly (so that the butter melts and incorporates without separating).

# Chicken Enchilada Tacos

Ingredients

• 1-1.5 lbs chicken
• Enchilada sauce (or any green salsa)
• Tortillas
• Rice (basmati)
• Shredded cheese

Steps

• Cook or slow-cook the chicken in a large pot. Put the chicken in, add 1 cup of water or broth, simmer for an hour. If using white meat, the chicken should be done after an hour. If using dark meat, you can slow-cook for longer.
• Remove the chicken and shred with a fork.
• Start cooking the rice.
• Add the chicken back into the pot. Add the enchilada sauce, mix, and cook for a bit.
• Assemble the tacos. Tortilla, chicken, rice, cheese.

# Chicken Legs in the Oven

Ingredients

• 5 lb pack of chicken legs (these are always suuuper cheap in the grocery store)
• Olive oil
• Spices

Steps

• Preheat the oven to 425.
• Dry off chicken legs with paper towels and add to a couple of gallon freezer plastic bags.
• Add olive oil and spices to the bags and toss until the chicken is evenly coated.
• Put on a flat sheet pan. Cook for 30 minutes. Flip. Cook another 10 minutes after flipping.

# Chicken Soup

This is another hearty soup that will last for a week.

Ingredients

• 5 medium-sized carrots
• 8 sticks of celery
• 1 white onion
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tsp corn starch
• 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
• 4 russet potatoes
• (Variation) pasta noodles

Steps

• Prepare all the ingredients and dump in the Dutch oven as you go.
• Peel the carrots and cut into circles.
• Cut up the celery.
• Dice the entire white onion.
• Peel and cube the potatoes.
• Season the veggies with salt and pepper.
• Add the chicken on top of the veggies in the pot.
  • Note that the veggies will significantly decrease in size after cooking, so don’t be afraid about adding too much.
• In a separate bowl, mix 4 cups of chicken broth and add to the pot.
• Bring to boil, reduce heat to one below medium, cover, let simmer for an hour.
• After an hour, take out the chicken, shred with fork, and add back into the pot.
• Add 1 cup of heavy cream.
• Add 3 tsp of corn starch to 1/2 cup of water, stir until smooth, and then add to the pot.
• Simmer until you think it is finished. If the sauce is too thick, add in another 1/2 cup of water.
• 10 minutes before finishing, add in dry pasta noodles. Cook until pasta is tender.

# Chili (Simple)

Just a simple chili recipe that you can throw together quickly and have leftovers for a few days.

Ingredients

• 1 can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 green pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 packet chili seasoning
• (Variation) tortilla chips for serving with
• (Variation) elbow pasta noodles for serving with

Steps

• Dice entire onion. Add to Dutch oven.
• Cut green pepper into small chunks. Add to Dutch oven.
• Add ground beef to Dutch oven.
  • It may look like there is way too much onion, but it will significantly reduce in size after cooking.
• Brown the beef and drain the fat.
• Add the can of crushed tomatoes.
• Add packet of chili seasoning.
• Add 1 cup of water.
• Simmer slightly covered for 20+ minutes. Add more water as necessary.
• (Variation) Serve over pasta.

# Coconut Ramen

Ingredients

• 1 can of coconut milk (1.5 cups)
• 2 things of chicken ramen
• 1 tb yellow curry powder

Steps

• Add 1 can of coconut milk (1.5 cups) and 3/4 cups of water to a pot. Bring to boil.
• Add 2 whole things of ramen.
• Lower heat, simmer for 3 minutes.
• Turn heat off.
• Add both packets of ramen seasoning. Add 1 tb yellow curry spice.

# Dumplings (Chive and Pork)

Ingredients

• Dumpling/wonton wrappers
• 1 lb ground pork
• Green onions/chives
• Garlic
• Oyster sauce
• Soy sauce
• Sesame oil
• Red chili oil
• Rice wine vinegar

Steps

• Add the ground pork to a large mixing bowl.
• Chop the green onions into small pieces (spend the extra time to make them small) and add to the mixing bowl.
• Finely chop a few cloves of garlic and add to mixing bowl.
• Add the following to the mixing bowl.
  • Ginger (paste or dry spice)
  • 1 tb oyster sauce
  • 1 tb soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 tb rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp red chili oil
• Using your hand, mix the filling well.
• Make the dumplings.
  • Set up a work station with a bowl of water, a metal teaspoon, and some place to put the dumplings.
  • Lay a wrapper down on the surface. Dip the spoon in the bowl of water and then wipe the edges of the wrapper with the back of the spoon.
  • Use the spoon to add the filling.
  • Using your hands, pick up the wrapper. Close the top middle. Then pleat or fold in the sides. Try to not trap air and also make sure the seams are tight.
  • This recipe makes about 25 total dumplings.
• Boil for 8 minutes. You will have to do 2-3 batches.
• Mix the dipping sauce.
  • 2 tb water
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp chili oil
  • 1 tb soy sauce
  • 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • Few drops of sesame oil

# Fried Potatoes

Ingredients

• 4 yukon gold potatoes

Steps

• Peel all of the potatoes. A trick is to stick a fork into one side, and then you can more easily use the peeler.
• Cut the potatoes into cubes or round slices.
• Set electric frying pan to 350 degrees F, or pan to medium-high on the stove.
• Add a bit of olive oil to coat the bottom.
• Cook the potatoes for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Season with salt, pepper, and (optionally) a bit of cayenne.

# Grilled BBQ Pork Loins

Buy the HEB preseasoned BBQ pork loins. Grill them on the George Foreman for 8 minutes.

# Hamburger Helper

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef (80/20 blend)
• 1 box of Hamburger Helper or similar (potato stroganoff is my favorite)

Steps

• Brown the ground beef.
• Drain the fat.
• Follow the directions on the box for the rest. Usually this is adding a few cups of water or milk and simmering for a bit.

# Hamburgers

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef (80/20 blend)
• Hamburger buns
• Whataburger spicy ketchup

Steps

• Form 8 patties out of the 2 lbs of ground beef (1/4 lb each).
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook on the George Foreman grill for 8 minutes. The juices will be clear when the inside is fully cooked.

# Hard-Boiled Eggs

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs
• Ice water (or cold water)

Steps

• Add eggs to a pot. Cover eggs with water.
• Put pot on stove and bring to a hard boil. (heh)
• Cover and remove completely from heat.
• Leave covered for exactly 14 minutes.
• At 14 minutes, immediately transfer the eggs to the ice bath. If there is no ice bath, rinse eggs a few times with cold tap water.
• Put eggs into a bowl and place immediately in the fridge.

# Jambalaya (Simple)

Ingredients

• 1 box of jambalaya rice mix
• 1 thing of turkey smoked sausage (about 13 oz)
  • I have tried other types of sausage, but turkey sausage is the best. It doesn't have a strong flavor and doesn't get tough or chewy.

Steps

• Follow the instructions on the box for cooking the jambalaya rice mix. Slice up the turkey sausage and add to the pot before cooking.
• You'll generally simmer the rice for 25 minutes to cook it.

# Japanese Curry

Ingredients

• 1-1.5 lbs chicken
• 3-4 yukon gold potatoes
• 1 onion
• Japanese curry paste (spiced beef bouillon cubes that come in a box)
• Rice

Steps

• Cut potatoes into normal sized pieces.
• Chop an onion into small pieces.
• Cut chicken into normal sized pieces.
• Brown the chicken. Remove.
• Cook the onions for ~5 minutes.
• Add in the chicken and potatoes. Add 3 cups of water (or enough water to just barely cover everything).
• Cover. Simmer 15 minutes.
• Uncover. Add Japanese curry paste cubes two at a time. Simmer uncovered and stir constantly. Add 6 total cubes.
• Simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes. Add water as necessary. The curry really thickens up as it stands.
• Serve over rice.

# Korean Beef

I got this simple but tasty recipe from an Ethan Chlebowski YouTube video. Funny enough, he moved to Austin and also plays ultimate frisbee, and we've played together before. Anyways, this recipe is just ground beef with a simple sauce served over rice.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• (Optional) 1 cup frozen peas
• Spices for the sauce
• Rice

Steps

• Brown the ground beef. Drain the fat.
• Make the sauce. You can eyeball a lot of the measurements here.
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Add the sauce to the beef.
• Add 1/3 cup water and simmer for a minute.
• (Optional) Add frozen peas.
  • Less is more with peas. If you add too many, the pea flavor will overwhelm the rest of the dish in a bad way.
• Simmer for 3 minutes until peas are cooked and you have a good sauce consistency.
• Serve over rice.

# Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 1 box of small tomatoes
• 1/2 box of pasta
• 1/2 onion
• Garlic
• Tomato paste

Steps

• Try to time finishing cooking the sauce with the finish of cooking the pasta.
• Cook the sauce.
  • Chop onion.
  • Slice garlic.
  • Medium heat pan, add olive oil.
  • Sweat the onions for a few minutes.
  • Add garlic for a few minutes.
  • Add whole cherry tomatoes.
  • Add a small amount of tomato paste. If you don’t add this, the sauce stays very sweet.
  • Lower the heat until the tomatoes burst.
  • Crush the tomatoes.
  • Add herbs. Be careful with using fresh herbs because they can be overpowering.
  • Simmer the sauce for any amount of time.
• Cook the pasta al-dente.
• Add the pasta directly into the sauce and mix.

# Pasta with Homemade Meat Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 1 onion
• Garlic
• Fresh basil
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce
• Pasta

Steps

• Cook everything in a very large pot, like a Dutch oven.
• Dice and cook the onion and garlic in some olive oil.
• Add the Italian sausage and brown.
• Add crushed tomatoes, reduce for a bit.
• Add can of tomato sauce, reduce.
  • You can always add a bit of water if the sauce gets too thick.
• Cut up basil and add.
• Finish with olive oil and oregano.
• Serve over pasta.

# Pasta with Tomato Sauce

Nothing easier than cooking some pasta, heating up a store-bought can of tomato sauce, and combining. The HEB spicy red pepper sauce is great! Top with parmesan and black pepper. Spaghetti is the worst noodle, prefer something like penne or rigatoni.

# Pozole

This is a very hearty Mexican soup that makes enough for a week.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 onion
• 1 jalapeno (or green pepper for way less heat)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 cups chicken broth (can use concentrate)
• 45 oz hominy (prefer yellow, 1 big can + 1 small can, or 3 small cans)
• 28 oz diced tomatoes (2 small cans)
• 1/2 chiles in adobo (1 very small can)
• 2 tsp oregano

Steps

• Make sure to use a very large pot for this, like a Dutch oven.
• Dice the onion.
• Finely chop the jalapeno.
• Mince the garlic.
• Add a bit of olive oil, onion, jalapenos, and ground turkey to pot on medium high heat. Cook until the turkey is fully cooked.
• While cooking, finely chop the chiles in adobo.
• Add the garlic. Cook for a few mins more.
• Drain the hominy.
• Add the diced tomatoes, 4 cups chicken broth, the hominy, and 1/2 of the chiles in adobo.
• Add 2 tsp of dried oregano.
• Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

# Risotto with Italian Sausage

I've made normal risotto a few times, but it's kind of bland and doesn't reheat well for leftovers. But the addition of Italian sausage adds much more flavor and makes it a better dish overall.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 1 bag of arborio rice (2.5 cups)
• White wine (can substitute vinegar)
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 3 tb unsalted butter

Steps

• Prep everything ahead of time because you don’t have extra time to do it while cooking.
• Shred 1/4 cup parmesan.
• Create 6 cups of chicken stock in a separate pot. Keep it hot on the stove.
• Chop an onion into very small pieces.
• Chop 3 cloves of garlic.
• Use a large pot and a nonstick spatula or wooden spoon. Don’t use a metal spoon. As soon as the rice is added below, stir constantly.
• Heat to medium-high. Add Italian sausage. Brown.
• Add onions and garlic. Sweat for 3 minutes until translucent. You don’t want any color.
• Add 2.5 cups of arborio rice. Toast for 1 minute. You don’t want the rice to brown.
• Add 1 cup of white wine. (Can substitute a splash of vinegar and a cup of stock). Stir until all liquid is absorbed.
• For the next 18 minutes until the rice is cooked, add 1 cup stock at a time and stir constantly until the liquid is absorbed. The pot should maintain a good simmer. During the middle of this process, add salt and pepper.
• When rice is done, remove from heat.
• Add 3 tb unsalted butter. Stir until creamy. If too thick, add more stock.
• Add the shredded parmesan last. Stir and add stock to get desired consistency.
• Plate.
• Sprinkle red pepper flakes and sesame seeds over the top.

# Sausages

Buy pork or beef sausages, heat up for 15 minutes on the George Foreman grill, and serve in hotdog buns with ketchup.

# Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef (80/20 blend)
• 2 cans of sloppy joe sauce
• Hamburger buns

Steps

• Brown the ground beef.
• Drain the fat.
• Add the sloppy joe sauce. Simmer for a few minutes.
• Serve on hamburger buns.

# Stir-Fry Chicken

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs chicken
• Stir-fry sauce (store-bought or make your own)
• 1 green bell pepper
• Garlic
• Ginger paste or ground ginger
• Green onions
• Rice (basmati)

Steps

• Prepare all the ingredients ahead of time because stir-fries cook fast.
• Cut up the chicken, green pepper, garlic, and green onions.
• Start cooking the rice.
• Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and ground ginger.
• In a medium-high pan, add a bit of oil and brown the chicken for a few minutes.
• Add ginger paste, garlic, and the green pepper. Stir fry for a minute.
• Add the stir-fry sauce. Follow the directions on the package, which is usually simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the green onions at the end. Mix well and serve over rice.

# Tacos

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef (80/20 blend)
• 2 packets of taco seasoning
• Tortillas (HEB Mixla, half corn, half flour)
• 1 bag of pre-grated Mexican cheese blend
• Chips
• Salsa

Steps

• Brown the ground beef.
• Drain the fat.
• Add the taco seasoning. Follow the recipe on the packet for how much water to add.
• Simmer 5 minutes.

# Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs chicken breasts
• Teriyaki marinade
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/8 cup rice wine vinegar
  • Spoonful of sugar (white or brown)
  • Sesame oil
  • Garlic powder
  • Ground ginger

Steps

• Mix the teriyaki marinade in a small pot on medium heat on the stove until sugar is dissolved.
• Add teriyaki marinade to a baking pan. Add chicken to the pan. Cover and seal with aluminum foil. Marinate for 1 hour.
• Cook in oven at 350 deg F for 40 mins.
• Take chicken out.
• Start cooking rice.
• This is the most important part! You are going to create a teriyaki glaze.
  • Drain chicken juice into the small pot.
  • On medium-high, reduce the marinade for 10 mins while the rice is cooking. At the end, if glaze is not thick enough, add a small amount of corn starch slurry.
• Pour glaze over chicken and serve with rice.