Recipes with seven ingredients or less?

[Maxamillion]

I hate trying to cook a recipe that has ten billion ingredients. You go buy the stuff for it and half the ingredients you never use again, or else the recipe ends up taking several hours to make as you prep everything. And the more steps there are, the more chances of something going wrong. Which seems to happen to me a lot in the kitchen. :laff:

So I was wondering if anyone had any favorite recipes that don't have a lot of ingredients.

[lhamo]

Most of mine are probably that way, as I also dislike overly complex recipes.

Mark Bittman's "How to COok EVerything" and "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" might be a good resource for you. I think his food column in the NYT used to be called "the minimalist" and he is definitely a "less is more" kind of guy. For many of his recipes in the HTCE book, he gives a basic template and then offers suggestions for how you can alter it with different basic ingredients. I am really enjoying it as a resource.

lhamo

[RCWRTR]

One of my favorite easy, nutritious things to cook is roasted vegetables. I adjust veggies seasonally, but typically use onions, carrots, celery, asparagus, sweet potatoes and/or potatoes, turnips or parsnips and mushrooms. I slice or chop them into bite size pieces and layer them in a lasagna pan (extra deep 13x9 Pyrex pan), drizzling with a mixture of 3 parts extra virgin olive oil, 1 part balsamic, red wine or apple cider vinegar, a liberal sprinkle of kosher sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste. This works great as a side, you can add the roasted veggies to vegetable, chicken or beef broth for soups, serve over steamed rice or w/ pasta. It's great with chicken, fish, steak, etc. Making roasted veggies ahead cuts down on meal preparation time, too.

[Maxamillion]

The roasted veges sound great. Do you broil them or bake them?



Mark Bittman's "How to COok EVerything" and "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" might be a good resource for you. I think his food column in the NYT used to be called "the minimalist" and he is definitely a "less is more" kind of guy.

Sounds great. I'll see if I can find a copy of it.

[RCWRTR]

I bake them in the oven at 350 degrees F for about an hour.

[iris lily]

Most things that I make have fewer than 7 ingrediants, but one of those must always be onion. :)

The "many ingrediants" recipes aren't something I chase any more. I remember years ago following a long, involved, recipe that was for a shrimp/tomoate concoction and when is was all done, after extensive shopping and readign and cooking, it was basically the same thing as I make regularly. Mine has less complex flavors, but honestly, I have a stuned palate and I don't notice much complexity.

OP I think that your quesiton is a little broad. Give us an idea of wha tyou like to eat and we can better respond.

[Bastelmutti]

If you like pasta - Guiliano Hazan's 30 Min. Pasta and the Williams-Sonoma pasta cookbook. Everything turns out great + I can't think of any recipe in either w/ more than 7 ingredients.

[RCWRTR]

Stir-fry meals can contain 7 or less ingredients and be inexpensive, quick and easy to prepare. You can use raw chopped/sliced veggies or the veggies from the roasted vegetables recipe I shared with you previously for stir-fry recipes. I personally enjoy incorporating thinly sliced cabbage in many my stir-fry recipes and enjoy using a variety of oils and vinegars to vary the flavorings. Sesame oil and rice wine vinegar will produce an Asian-flavored stir-fry. Extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar produce an Italian-flavored stir-fry. Egg, chicken, tofu, thinly sliced beef, seeds and nuts can provide wonderful flavor and protein in stir-fry meals.

Chicken or tofu, almonds or cashews, cabbage, onion, carrots and celery with sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce makes an excellent Chinese stir-fry that pairs well with white or brown rice.

[Maxamillion]

Most things that I make have fewer than 7 ingrediants, but one of those must always be onion. :)

Onion makes everything better. Except maybe cheesecake. :laff:


OP I think that your quesiton is a little broad. Give us an idea of wha tyou like to eat and we can better respond.

Mexican and Chinese foods are favorites, and I'd like to try some Indian recipes (though the one time I tried curry, I didn't care for it.) And I love anything with cheese, onion, bacon or tomatoes.


If you like pasta - Guiliano Hazan's 30 Min. Pasta and the Williams-Sonoma pasta cookbook. Everything turns out great + I can't think of any recipe in either w/ more than 7 ingredients.

Pasta is good. I'll have to check those out.



Chicken or tofu, almonds or cashews, cabbage, onion, carrots and celery with sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce makes an excellent Chinese stir-fry that pairs well with white or brown rice.

I love stir-fries. A couple of years ago I stumbled upon sesame oil in a salvage grocery store and decided to try it. Good stuff and a little goes a long way. I'll have to try cabbage in my next stir-fry. Most of the time when I make rice, I use jasmine or basmati rice; that stuff's great.

[RCWRTR]

And I love anything with cheese, onion, bacon or tomatoes. Pasta is good. I'll have to check those out.

Why not make a pasta salad with cheese, onion, bacon and tomatoes? Penne or fusilli (corkscrew pasta) would work great! You can make a simple dressing of 2 to 3 parts extra virgin olive oil to 1 part red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, pinch of sugar and add some fresh basil, cilantro or baby spinach leaves for color, extra nutrition and flavor.

[Maxamillion]

That sounds fantastic! :D

Err, you cook the pasta first, right? (just kidding! I learned that the first time I tried making pasta salad. :laff: )

[RCWRTR]

LOL -- Yes, you cook the pasta first (and then drain and rinse it!). You can use bottled non-creamy Italian dressing, but it's less expensive to make the dressing yourself -- and it's healthier because you can avoid stabilizers, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives and other nasty stuff.

[RCWRTR]

Most things that I make have fewer than 7 ingrediants, but one of those must always be onion. :)

I'm with you, Iris lily. I use 3 to 5 large sweet white or yellow onions per week on average. I use about 2 lbs. of carrots per week, too. In the past, I've used up to 5 lbs. of potatoes per week, but I have been limiting potatoes to about 1 to 2 lbs. per week. I have been eating more and more brown rice and less potatoes lately.

[JaneV2.0]

Onions--along with garlic and eggs--are in heavy rotation around here, too.

[Jdemyen]

One of my favorite time saving recipes for pancakes only has three ingredients:
1 banana (mashed)
1 egg, beaten
1 heaping Tbsp of peanut butter
Mix it together and cook at med-low heat like you would any other pancake. I especially like these cold. They're great for my kids who would eat 20 servings a day of grains if I let them. This way I can at least get a little bit of protein into them!