Some may eat to live but,like a bird, I live to eat...<BR><BR>I simply love to cook and generally plan my menus while at work. There are many foods I enjoy preparing but here are some of my favorites:<BR>1. Greek lamb chops w/ greek potatos and avgolemino(sp?)soup. I marinate the lamb chops in olive oil, garlic, Greek oregano, bay leaves, pepper and lemon juice. Best when cooked on a barbeque and finished off with a little more sprinkled lemon juice. The potatos are quartered lengthwise and boiled in chicken stock and lots of lemon juice, then baked and drizzled with butter.<BR><BR>2. Saipan Chicken: Chicken marinated in equal parts soy sauce and vinegar with pressed garlic, chopped onions, cayenne pepper and a touch of honey. Must be grilled over hardwood.<BR><BR>3. Filet Dijon: Twin medalions sauteed in butter and dijon mustard, topped w/ sliced mushrooms and bearnaise sauce. Yum!<BR><BR>4. Tandoori Chicken: Chicken marinated for two days in yoghurt, cumin, coriander, garlic, ginger and lime juice. <BR><BR>5. Pasta Putanesca: Diced tomatoes, olive oil, anchovies, kalamata olives, capers and fresh basil over any pasta.<BR><BR>6. Chicken Breasts w/ goat cheese and whole basil leaves tucked under the skin, brushed w/ olive oil, sprinkled w/ fresh minced garlic and baked.<BR><BR>7. Crawfish Etoufee(sp?): spent years trying to perfect this one and have come close. Start w/ a roux(sp?) grab every type of pepper you can get your hands on, add diced onion, celery and green pepper, simmer for hours and deglaze pan over and over and over with wine AND beer. Actually, more complex than this but, Oh my god...<BR><BR>Strive

Vermicelli with cauliflower. Sprinkle some fresh romano and mamma mia, you talk about good.

Heat up a can of Wolfgang Puck's minestrone soup, throw away the pasta from the can and pour the rest over cooked perciatelli pasta with a small can of tuna packed in olive oil and a few chopped olives. A good lunch or very quick dinner for those rushed times.

You all are getting me soooo hungry! John, can you use chicken that is skinned and boned for your orange recipe?<BR><BR>I am sitting here eatin raw carrots and drooling! You are such good cooks. We are having my version of Daube provencal. I also grilled red, yellow and orange peppers.<BR><BR>I am going to reread this thread for ideas and recipes. Thank you all

Get skinned chicken tenders or chicken breast filets and pound a little flatter with a jar. Dip in milk and then in bread crumbs with oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Heat up a little olive oil and add a little white wine and the chicken to the sizzling oil and wine and cover for a few minutes until almost done, then turn the chicken over once and cook for a while without the cover. At the same time, cook some zuccini slices and fresh tomato in a little olive oil with salt. Serve the chicken over linguini drizzled with a little olive oil, serve the zuccini and tomato sprinkled with a little parmesan cheese. Have a glass of white wine. <BR>Then for dessert have some sliced fresh strawberries that have been marinated during dinner in a little bit of balsamic vinegar and sugar. You can put the strawberries over an angel food cake slice. Have some dessert wine. <BR>Chill out.

Baked chicken breast (with bone & skin) seasoned only with salt and pepper, baked to dark brown crispy skin<BR><BR>brown rice<BR><BR>jumbo artichoke, glob of mayo on the side for dipping leaves and heart<BR><BR>cottage cheese<BR><BR>Snapple iced tea with lemon<BR><BR>fresh peach (later, before bed)

Amazing - today I was thinking about the connection between loving to travel and loving to eat/cook. It seems whenever we travel somewhere, I come home and make the foods from that region.<BR><BR>Tonight it will encrusted tillapia (a fish we get here in Tucson from Mexico - but can use halibut or mahi-mahi) encrusted with crushed macademia nuts and panko (Japanese bread crumbs). The fish is dipped in egg white, then the bread crumb mixture then sauteed in a light mix of butter/olive oil. You can also add garlic if you choose.<BR><BR>The fish is placed on a bed of baby greens tossed with a sweet onion vinagrette.<BR><BR>Atop the fish is mango salsa - fresh mango, cilantro, lime juice, red onion and red pepper.<BR><BR>The entire presentation is colorful and easy to prepare - and great for the hot summers.<BR><BR>(Did you guess that we just returned from Hawaii??)

Posting anonymously for obvious reasons :-) Tonight for dinner my son had two tuna sandwiches (his request, self-made), husband had a Marie Callender turkey pot pie and I had leftover veggies from the fridge: yellow squash sauteed with onions, baked potato skin with cheddar, brussels sprouts. Everyone had a melange of fresh fruit culled from the fridge and the kitchen counter fruit basket. Promise I'll do better tomorrow night--it was a long day.

Arlene, yes, but add a little oil to the pan then saute the onions in the oil after you brown the chicken. I use boneless thighs because they're more moist and have more flavor than (healthier, I know) breasts.<BR><BR>Forgot to mention, garnish with sliced almonds (hello again, Sussane.)

Cheetos and beer for me tonight.

One of my fave quick meals is portobello mushroom "pizzas," where the mushroom is the "crust." I fill it with pizza sauce and whatever I am craving at the time. Found the recipe on epicurious.com. Very healthy!<BR><BR>Another quick & simple meal is pasta with mizithra cheese. I dress it up with sauteed mushrooms & onions. <BR><BR>When I am sick, I will drizzle flavored olive oil (+ salt & pepper) over a head of garlic and roast it. It takes an hour to roast, so I can pass out & rest while it cooks. When it is ready, I can spread it over a baguette and enjoy. <BR>Delicious, with antioxidants to boost. Perfect!!

David,<BR><BR>If you have any of that tandoori chicken left over.... slice it and put on a bed of romaine lettuce. Make a dressing of yoghurt (Greek if you can find it), a few tablespoons of orange juice and a teaspoon of honey. <BR> Makes a great quick lunch.<BR><BR>Patricia

Patricia,<BR><BR>Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely try that next time I make it.<BR><BR>Strive

I'm getting some good ideas from this thread!<BR><BR>When I'm cooking for myself, I like to make a salmon filet sauteed on its skin (first heard of this courtesy of Jacques Pepin & it's so easy I can't believe it), seasoned with nothing but salt and pepper and served with fresh lemon juice and a little butter, with steamed asparagus or broccoli on the side.<BR><BR>But my sweetie can't eat fish, so when I'm cooking for us, my favorite thing to make is grilled or broiled lamb chops seasoned with salt and peppter and fresh rosemary, served with sauteed scallions, redskin potatoes, and a salad (to be honest I often cheat and use the salad in a bag to save time and just add fresh tomato and other veggies I have on hand -- but I make an olive oil, red wine vinegar, and mustard dressing from scratch).<BR><BR>When my sweetie cooks, he makes GREAT stir fry (usually chicken with peppers, broccoli, snow peas -- whatever's on hand -- served with jasmine rice). He's also an expert at fettucine alfredo (to which we often add chicken and asparagus), but that's too rich to eat very often.<BR><BR>I also like to make pork chops -- they're quick and easy.<BR><BR>And we love to saute baby spinach with olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, and raisins -- so fast to make and so good!

Today I cooked for lunch the non-diet Fabada Asturiana (a traditional Asturian stew made with beans, chorizo, morcilla, meat, carrot and garlic, all put together with water to boil for 2-3 hours; delicious). For dinner I'll have a lettuce and tomato salad (olive oil and vinegar dressing) and a piece of fruit to compensate.

After trips to Italy bought a Risotto cook book... regularly make a mushroom risotto or risi e bisi (pea risotto) or asparagus or indeed whatever's in the fridge. It is so much easier than people think!<BR>Also grilled salmon with salad and couscous... eat lots of couscous flavoured with lemon juice and coriander or tomatoes and basil.<BR>Chicken liver pate is great because I can add lots of garlic and brandy!<BR>Calamari too... trouble is finding good sized fresh squid in the UK (lots of baby ones but they're not really meaty enough) and moules mariniere... can't get enough of mussels. mmm... and to night for dinner I'll be doing Veiner Schnitzel (which will be a first for me) served with a fresh ratatouille and maybe a little carmargue red rice cooked with red onion and garlic.<BR><BR>And finally for a real quick dinner when I cant be bothered for a major assault on the kitchen it has to be spaghetti with garlic and chili. Oh goodness me that is soooo good. Comfort food par excellence!

Please tell us where you are from..

fruitloops and milk