FAVORITE 3-4 INGREDIENT RECIPES
In winter and spring we’re more disposed to cooking, to exploring cuisines, experimenting and/or creating new recipes and updating old ones. Dinner is an anticipated part of daily life. The reasons are simple, we’re inside more, we crave comfort food and then we’re eager to enjoy the fresh crops as they arrive in market.
Then comes summer and the heat cuts appetites and interest in spending time in the kitchen, despite air-conditioning. Dinner becomes casual, frequently cold, often pick-up.
In early fall, schools open, activities and groups start-up, projects are planned and schedules are topsy-turvy. Organization meetings often occupy e the evening hours, there’s the return of home-work for parents and children. Dinner becomes a necessity wedged in between appointments, sometimes served in shifts. Take out is popular.
By the time routines are set in late fall, dinner once again takes a back seat to the activities connected with the hustle of the long holiday season. At this point we turn to those 3 and 4 ingredient recipes, which are so fast and easy but still convey the spirit of a home-cooked meal. You know the type recipe, a package of this mixed with a can of that, quickly baked with a sprinkle of cheese on top.
Unfortunately, these recipes, however tasty, are often learned by rote and quickly become boring. I’m as guilty as anyone of over-using the quick fixes and first, I tried expanding my collection. Then I realized that these recipes have to, fundamentally, be big on flavor to appeal with so few ingredients and that leaves room to add spices, herbs etc. to pop or shift the taste. Alternatively, replacing one or two ingredients with similar foods can create different dishes, with no extra time or effort, adding far more variety to menu options.
I took this idea and started working with some of my favorite 3 to 4 ingredient recipes. I found infinite creative room here and, so far, have come up with enough recipes to fill a book. I’ve selected my favorites for this post but at 20 it’s still a lot for a post. Note, the recipes below are not from books, they are mine, and if you want to find more visit my posts of Sept.7, 2017 Sept.6, 2018 Sept. 5, 2019 and Sept. 17, 2020. There are more recipes to be found by selecting September for any year from the drop-down menu in the right margin on any page of this blog.
Before I get to the recipes, I want to add a word about 3, 4 even 5 ingredient cookbooks or blogs, because there are a lot of them out there. They range from the very basic to quite elegant, and though most offer valuable content: First, their recipes are not to be confused with budget meals, and second, the recipes are not necessarily time savers, requiring lengthy prep. So read carefully before you buy or download, except, of course, the ones below.
RECIPES- I restricted myself to dinner recipes in this post, a wider field would have just too many. However, I’m going to start with my favorite quick 3 ingredient recipe because It goes with everything and it is truly the easiest 3 ingredient recipe I’ve ever see. Most of all, the fact that it’s no fail, putting to rest the old myth that this food is as tricky as a soufflé, blows my mind!
No Peek Popovers: Yields 8- from Cooking With 3 Ingredients by Ruthie Wornall
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
Combine ingredients and stir into a smooth batter, Fill greased muffin tins ¾ full (popover tins are better) Place in a COLD oven, turn to 450 deg. And bake 30 min. Don’t peek. Serve hot.
Basic Tomato Sauce for Spaghetti or Chilli: Serves 4
This is my own quick version with a twist I learned in Italy, substituting carrots and raisins for sugar. It’s healthier and gives the sauce more texture, but doesn’t affect the taste. The sauce serves for either spaghetti or chili and freezes beautifully, even in the ready to serve state for either dish. Make extra and freeze in separate containers of the size your family needs for a meal, or in single servings. If not thawed, reheat in the microwave at 1 min. intervals, stirring.
1 lb. ground meat –beef, sausage or turkey –I like a mix.
(1) 28oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 Tbs. oil
1 medium-small carrot, peeled and sliced thin (1/8 to 1/16 inch)*-larger end halved lengthwise
½ oz. raisons-half a 1 oz. box
2 tsp. garlic powder – or to taste
1 tsp pepper and salt to taste
2 tsp. dried oregano
For Spaghetti For Chil In 2020, with many working remotely, dinners need to be quickly ready when the family comes together at day’s end. The recipes should be simple enough that any responsible family member can begin prep, and to ensure this, they should be basic operations without methods which could lead to fat spattering or boil overs, yet with minimal mess and easy clean up. Actually this approach can be a bonding experience and help the family dynamic. See 11 recipes
#quickdinnersforthe new normal #simplisticcooking #nofussmeals
li
2tsp. dried basil –or to taste 1 Tbs. chili powder
Grated Parmesan 1tsp. paprika
(1) 15 oz. can pinto or kidney beans
Monterey Jack cheese
In a stockpot, over medium heat, brown the meat in the oil, when all pink in gone, add all the other ingredients. Simmer about 40 min. until the sauce reduces a bit and the carrots are very tender. Alternately, make the sauce and add the other ingredients before reheating. Serve spaghetti over cooked pasta and the chili over cooked rice. Pass with grated cheese.
*Commercial seasoning packets can also be used.
** You can use baby carrots sliced, it takes about ¼ lb. and they cook faster so slice them slightly thicker.
,so make extra if you wish, and freeze it in separate containers of the size your family needs for a meal, or in single servings for quick kid’s meals
New New England Boiled Dinner: Serves 4
A modern take on an old recipe. Ideally, this is made with thick slices of Canadian bacon, but once common, that’s hard to find, and very expensive now. Slices of smoked turkey can substitute for the ham.
1 lb. to 1 ½ lb. round bone ham slice=2 individual slices
(2) 1 lb. bags frozen French cut green beans
(2) 14 oz. cans small whole potatoes drained
(1) 10 1/2 oz. can beef consommé
(1)14oz can chicken broth
2 Tbs. butter
Cut the ham into 4 portions, and gently make tiny slits around the outside edges to prevent curling. Melt 1 Tbs. butter in the pot over medium heat, and cook the ham pieces on one side until their edges start to brown. Remove to a plate, and using the other 1 Tbs. butter, brown the potatoes slightly. Remove from pot. Put the frozen green beans in the pot, top with the potatoes, then pour in the consommé, and the broth, finally lay the ham, browned side up, on top. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15 min. until beans are tender. Check timing with directions on bags of beans.
Alternatives:
1) replace ham with smoked turkey or turkey ham or corned beef
2) Use cut, raw sweet potatoes, but be sure to cook until soft-about 20 min.
3) Use Brussels sprouts instead of beans.
Note-frozen leaf spinach can be used, but fresh cooks down to ¼ the original volume and is too fast for any potatoes to heat through. Trimmed kale would be the better option, but still cook too quickly for sweet potatoes.
Chicken is probably the most versatile meat, not only in the amount of ways it can be prepared, but in the fact that it can substitute for turkey, pork and veal in many dishes. We tend to forget that those meats can substitute for chicken too. So if looking for a change, think any of them in scaloppini cuts, cutlets or slices of lion or boneless or loin pork chops.
Chicken Parmesan
This may be a little different from most recipes, but it’s the one I learned from friends in Florence and uses no breading.
.4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup flour
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. oil
(1) 4 oz. can mushrooms-stems and pieces-drained
(2) 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
8 oz. Mozzarella cheese- in thin slices or coarsely grated
¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
Pound chicken and dredge by shaking in a plastic bag with the flour, one piece at a time. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat, and brown the meat on both sides @ 6 min. total for the chicken, 8-10 for the veal, depending on thickness. Add oil as needed to prevent sticking. Remove meat to an ovenproof pan or dish that holds the meat close, but not overlapping. Sauté the mushrooms for 30 seconds in the pan juices, and turn off the heat. Pour in 1 can of the tomato sauce and deglaze the pan, pour it, with the mushrooms, over the meat. Repeat deglazing with second can of sauce. Cover, and seal the meat dish with foil. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 min. Remove pan and turn on broiler. Carefully, mindful of the steam, remove the foil, and spread the Mozzarella evenly over the meat. Sprinkle the Parmesan on top and broil until bubbly and beginning to brown.
Alternatively: Broil the chicken, turning once. I use an aluminum pan. Add other ingredients and proceed as above.
OPTION
Chicken Marsala
Add 1 medium onion in thin slices to the ingredients and substitute 1 ¼ cups marsala wine for the tomato sauce. Proceed as above, adding the onion when chicken is turned over.
Artichoke Chicken: Serves 4 from Cooking With 3 Ingredients by Ruthie Wornall
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
(1) 6 ½ oz. jar marinated artichokes-drained and chopped
4 slices Swiss cheese
Pound the meat to an even thickness between pieces pf plastic wrap, brown them on both sides in a greased skillet. Arrange in an oven-proof pan and, spread artichokes equally over the tops. Top with the cheese and bake at 350 deg. For 20-30 min. until chicken is tender and cheese is golden.
OPTIONS
1) Replace the marinated hearts with (1) 12 oz. jar of artichoke salsa, the Swiss with Monterey Jack cheese and proceed as above. From 500 3-Ingredient Recipes by Robert and Carol Hildebrand
2) Chicken Florentine:
(1) 10 oz. box of frozen chopped spinach-thawed and drained.
2 Tbs. Cream cheese, sour cream or plain yogurt-mixed with the spinach
4 thin slices of Mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Brown the chicken in a bit of oil in a skillet or under the broiler. Cover with the spinach and top with the mozzarella and bake as directed above. Halfway through the baking, sprinkle the Parmesan over the chicken and finish the baking.
Pork Loins with Apricot Glaze: Serves 4
Shadybrook Farms makes turkey tenderloin that is the same size as this type of pork loin and can substitute.
(2) 1 lb. Pork Tenderloins – Commercially prepared in plastic sleeves*
12 oz. jar apricot preserves
15 oz. can apricots in syrup-drained, contents reserved
Chop fruit, boil syrup to reduce by half and dissolve jam in syrup , add fruit
Remove wrappers from pork and pat dry. Rub each with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper. Heat grill or broiler. Brush meat with glaze and place on a foil lined pan or on grill and cook 4 inches from heat source 10-15 min for the grill, 15 – 20 min. under the broiler, basting with glaze and turning every few minutes, until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Allow to rest, tented under foil 5 min., before carving. Slice meat and serve topped with a drizzle of glaze and be sure to pass any remaining glaze warmed.
OPTIONS
Easy Pork Loin # 1- from Cooking With 3 Ingredients by Ruthie Wornall
(2) 1 lb. pork loins
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 tsp. crushed rosemary for the apricot glaze.
In a pan, rub the meat with the mix and rosemary, pour 1/3 cup of water in the bottom and roast at 350 deg., basting occasionally, adding more water if needed, until a thermometer reads 170 deg. About 30-40 min.
Easy Pork Loin # 2- from Cooking with 3 Ingredients by Ruthie Wornall
Replace the soup and rosemary with 2 tsp. powdered mustard and 2 tsp. marjoram. Proceed as above.
FISH
Coconut Tilapia: Serves 4
4 Tilapia filets
1 cup Panko
½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
½ cup mayonnaise
Lemon pepper
Oven 350 deg.
Toast coconut on a piece of foil until golden, about 4 min. don’t burn. When cool mix with Panko.
Place fish on a lightly oiled cooking surface, pan or baking sheet. Cover the tops with a thin veneer of mayonnaise. Dust with lemon pepper. Sprinkle with Panko-coconut mix, and bake 8 min. per 1 inch width of filet, until top is golden, fish puffs and edges bubble. Serve at once.
Tip: Put the breading mix in an empty herb bottle with a shaker top. Eases application, and extra stores in the bottle.
Salmon in Mustard-Orange Coating; Per portion
1 salmon fillet
1 ½ Tbs. Dijon or spicy brown mustard
2 tsp. sugar-preferably brown
½ tsp. finely diced orange peel
Place the fish on a lightly oiled baking sheet or piece of foil. Spread the mustard evenly on top and sprinkle first with the sugar and then the orange peel. Bake in a 350 deg. oven about 15-20 min. until a light crust forms. Serve hot.
VEGETABLES
Microwave Ratatouille: Serves 4
Slice 2 medium zucchini, and 2 small onions into a microwave safe bowl. Top with 1 Tbs. oil, and ½ tsp lemon pepper. Microwave 3 min. Add ¾ cup salsa *, or ½ z 15oz can diced tomatoes*, or an equal amount of peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes, and a sprinkle of red pepper, if desired, and microwave an additional 2 min.
Spinach Tart: Serves 4
(2) 10 oz. boxes, chopped spinach. Drain, put in a greased pie plate or shallow casserole.
Mix with 2 raw eggs and 2 packets chicken or beef flavored bouillon granules. Top with a sprinkle of nutmeg, and bake along with meat .for 30 min. at 250 degrees, or 20 min at 350 degrees. Can also be microwaved for 4 min. on high power.
Potatoes Seaview: Serves 4
Cover a baking sheet with foil. Wash 2 large potatoes—baking are good for this. Slice them about ¼ inch thick and lay them in lines on the foil, overlapping about 1/3 of their surface. Dot liberally with butter, and broil until nicely brown-@ 10min. Use a spatula to place them in segments on the plates. Can be done ahead and kept warm.
