Lazy Cooking

[Munin-Hugin]

For quite a while, I have made asparagus in a certain way, and have always had excellent results. It's rather simple, really. I lay out a square of aluminium foil and place the asparagus within, then add a pat of butter, some garlic, then salt and pepper. After that, I just turn the foil into a pouch and toss it in the oven for 25ish minutes or so.

Well, tonight, after a very long day at work, I had no desire to put any effort into dinner. I discovered that I had a canned ham in the cupboard, so gave that a quick dice, then threw in whatever fresh veggies I had (potatoes, carrots, some broccoli, and asparagus) into a packet of foil. Added some seasoning, and into the oven it went. An hour later, I opened the oven, peeled back the foil, and voila! I gotta say, it was damn tasty.

So, what kind of things do you do when you're really not feeling like putting in the effort, but still want a decent, home cooked meal? Also, I'd suggest giving the foil thing a try. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Lazy Cooking

One thing I do that saves clean-up time, and uses foil, is to put a sheet of foil on a cookie sheet. Fold the edges up all around to make a tray shape, and cook my piece of chicken, fish, etc., on that. After cooking, just fold up the foil and throw away. 99 times out of 100, not a drop gets on the cookie sheet - give a quick wipe with a damp paper towel and that's all, folks! (I'm single so this is for one piece - obviously you can't contain the grease from a whole chicken this way.)

I make large pots of spaghetti sauce, stew, etc., and freeze in small containers so there's always something ready to nuke & eat. Lately I've been buying the last of the summer produce like green peppers from the farmers market, cutting up & freezing in little packets to add to different things over the winter. Sometimes I'll cook several pieces of chicken, eat one that day, and freeze the rest. When thawed, it's good to shred and add veggies for a quick stir-fry, or make chicken salad, etc.

[Heka]

I I cook asparagus just throwing it in a fey pan with butter and garlic. Takes like 10 min, but then I like it crunchy.

If I feel lazy (most of the time), I just chop it, throw it in a pan, season and voila, food.

My really lazy dinner is egg and beans on toast. It's also my favourite.

[Medusa]

Re: Lazy Cooking

I buy convenience store burritos. But I cook them in my toaster oven. Tastes great.

I cook my potatoes in the microwave for 5 minutes in a sammy bag. Works great every time.

[thalassa]

Re: Lazy Cooking

We do foil meals all the time. Also, crockpot stuff.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Lazy Cooking

Usually stir fry, pasta with pesto, salad, or baked potatoes topped with veggies.

[Torey]

Re: Lazy Cooking

My lazy meals would be:

Pasta bake (of any description)

Pasta (just sauce out of a jar, cheese and...well, pasta)

Baked beans (or tinned spaghetti) and cheese on toast

Spam and taters

Spaghetti bolognese

Breakfast-for-dinner

[Medusa]

Re: Lazy Cooking

Oh my lazy meals:
Chorizo con papas (all in the microwave with one bowl and one sandwich bag)
quesadillas (tortillas, cheese, oil and a pan)
Mexican rice in a box when I don't want disappointment.
rice pilaf, deli cooked chicken strips and teriaki sauce. Viola, teriaki bowl.
manwich, beef, hamburger bun, shredded cheese.

[nbdy]

Re: Lazy Cooking

Asparagus is placed on a cookie sheet, sprinkled with olive oil, kosher salt, and squirted with pressed garlic. Roll it around to coat and put in 450 deg F oven for about 10 minutes.

My go-to busy day meal is beans and rice. Slow cooker. Chop an onion, crush a few cloves of garlic, throw in a few chilis, dump in some beans and broth, cook on low all day. I find it is good to check the liquid late afternoon if possible because, um, who measures this stuff. Anyway, din-din time make some rice and wilt some greens. Too lazy to wilt greens? Salad!

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Lazy Cooking

I just throw stuff on the grill. Wood chunks make smoke, and everything tastes good.

[anunitu]

Re: Lazy Cooking

These days for me it is all about the Microwave...

[Munin-Hugin]

Re: Lazy Cooking

Awesome guys! It's funny the different ways people view lazy cooking, and the things we come up with to eat. I've always found using the grill to be more attention-consuming than I have the focus for, and I can't really remember the last time I've used the microwave to cook anything other than ramen or veggies in those self-steaming bags.

[Heka]

My most recent lazy meal:

Chopped up leftover veg and facon fried with garlic then 2 beaten eggs with cottage cheese in em and yummy salt.

Boom delicious scrambled eggs. Took about 6 minutes.

[Munin-Hugin]

Re: Lazy Cooking

Another night of lazy cooking, consisting of more aluminum foil goodness: Four bone-in pork chops with cayenne pepper and maple syrup.

[Heka]

Microwaving leftovers.....