Some days, even if you like to cook, it’s hard to get motivated to get in the kitchen and make something. Sometimes, I truly enjoy shopping and measuring and stirring and sautéing. But there are other days that just take it out of me, and I don’t even want to think about cooking. But since I always think about eating (and eating out all the time isn’t a good idea for the aforementioned reasons), it’s kinda necessary.
That’s why we are devoting this month’s food pages to “quick and easy” recipes as well as some tips and shortcuts that will make many of them – and lots of others already in your repertoire – even quicker and easier. Thanks to these reader-submitted recipes, if you can find about 30 minutes (sometimes less!) and muster up just a bit of energy, you can put a delicious homemade dish on the table.
Cooking your meals and eating at home is almost always better for your health and your budget.
– Jennifer Kornegay
Cook of the Month
Pat H. St. John, Cherokee EC
Pat has been making her Easy Chicken Pot Pie for years and came up with the idea when she realized while she liked eating chicken pot pie, she didn’t always want to make pie crust. “I really cook from scratch, but I sometimes use frozen biscuits, so I thought they might work in place of a homemade pie crust and make enjoying pot pie much easier,” she says. “I don’t know how I came up with using the Alfredo sauce though. I always make pasta sauces myself, so this recipe is actually the only time I use jarred sauce.”
No matter how the idea arrived, you’ll be glad it did. This recipe is one of the simplest you’ll find that’s also extremely satisfying. You don’t even have to dirty more than one dish! “And it’s great the next day warmed over,” Pat says.
Easy Chicken Pot Pie
- 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
- 1 16-ounce jar Alfredo sauce
- 1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 6 frozen biscuits, thawed
In a casserole dish, stir together all ingredients except biscuits. Place biscuits on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until biscuits are done.
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Recipe Tip
Pat often adds additional veggies when she makes her pot pie. When we made the recipe, we included ½ cup steam-in-bag peas and 1/3 cup frozen chopped onions. We steamed the peas and defrosted the onions before we put them in. We also used Mary B’s Thin & Crispy biscuits on the top per Pat’s suggestion. She’s found that thinner biscuits work better.
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Tilapia Tacos
- 2 pounds tilapia fillets, thawed
- 1 packet Casa Mexicana Fish Taco Seasoning
- ¼ cup oil
- ¼ cup water
- Corn tortillas
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 4 Roma tomatoes, sliced
- Mayonnaise
- Cilantro (remove leaves, discard stems)
- Fresh limes, wedged
In a large Ziploc bag, place oil, water, and seasoning. Mix completely. Add tilapia and let marinate for 15 minutes. Place marinated tilapia on a hot, non-stick skillet and cook on medium for 5-10 minutes or until flaky. Slice into 1-inch slices. Warm corn tortillas and place 4 tilapia slices, 2 avocado slices, 2 tomato slices, squirt of mayo, a sprinkle of cilantro, and squeeze lime wedge over it all. Delicious!
Esther Briddick, Joe Wheeler EMC
8-Can Soup
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small diced onion
- 1 can Rotel tomatoes
- 1 can whole kernel corn
- 1 can mixed vegetables
- 1 can chili with beans
- 1 can chili without beans
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 can tomato soup
- 1 can vegetable soup
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ cup ketchup
- Salt and pepper to taste
Brown the beef with onion and drain. Put meat mixture into a large crockpot and add all other ingredients; do not drain the canned goods. May simmer all day if desired.
Mrs. Harold Batchelor, Covington EC
Easy Meat and Veggie Casserole
- 1 link Polish sausage
- 2 cans black-eyed peas, drained
- Onion and green pepper, optional, or to taste
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 package Jiffy cornbread mix
Slice and cook Polish sausage. Saute onion and green pepper, if desired. Add to sausage with peas and tomatoes. Pour into a 9-inch by 13-inch casserole dish. Mix cornbread as directed and pour on top. Bake at 350 degrees till cornbread is done, about 20 minutes. Other options: Use ground beef instead of sausage (brown and drain); add shoepeg corn or Rotel. Pinto beans can be used instead of peas.
Beverly Bentley, Joe Wheeler EMC
Quick and Easy Orange Rolls
- 1 tube crescent rounds
- 1/3 cup orange marmalade
- Glaze:
- ½ cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon corn syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon water
Unroll crescent rounds. Spread marmalade over all. Separate rolls and re-roll into individual rolls. Put into a greased baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Make glaze and drizzle over rolls. If glaze is too stiff, add a drop or two more water. The corn syrup or honey can be omitted, but it makes a glossy appearance. Fig or fruit jam also works.
Linda Ryan, Joe Wheeler EMC
Hesta’s Dream Dessert
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¾ cup melted butter or margarine
- 1 large carton of non dairy whipped topping
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 12-ounce bag frozen raspberries
- 1 cup flake coconut
Make a crust from first 3 ingredients. Press in the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch dish. Bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Mix whipped topping, condensed milk, cream cheese and lemon juice. Add raspberries and pour into crust. Lightly toast coconut in the warm oven where you baked the crust. Sprinkle over the top of dessert. Cover and chill or this can be frozen for later. Cut into squares to serve.
Hesta A. Gurney, Joe Wheeler EMC
Onion Casserole
- 1 tube of 10 biscuits (any brand works)
- 5-6 sliced, cooked onions, drained and cooled
- 1 small carton (8 ounces) sour cream
- 3/4-1 stick butter (not margarine)
- Sprinkle of red pepper flakes
In a 9-inch by 13-inch Pyrex dish, press the biscuit dough on the bottom and slightly up the sides. Layer on the cooked onions. With a spoon, add the sour cream in small dollops; do not try to mix these in. Pour the melted butter over all and sprinkle with red pepper flakes for taste and color. Cook at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes. Optional: Bisquick can be substituted for biscuits in the tube.
Tina Robertson, Baldwin EMC
Crescent Bars
- 1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 can ready-to-use coconut/pecan frosting
- ½ stick butter, melted
Spray a 9-inch by 11-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spread crescent rolls out in pan, sealing perforations to form a “crust.” In a bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk and frosting. Spread this mixture on top of the crust. Drizzle the melted butter on top. Bake at 350 degrees approximately 30 minutes until lightly browned. Cool and cut into bars.
Dolores Childree, Baldwin EMC
Super Easy Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookies
|Click here to view a video how-to for this recipe|
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 bag Hershey’s kisses
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix peanut butter, sugar and egg together well, and chill for one hour. Roll small amounts of the mixture (about the size of a walnut) by hand and drop onto a cookie sheet. Press a chocolate kiss into each roll. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes; let cool on a wire rack. Makes a dozen.
Melissa Cames, Cullman EC
Upcoming recipe themes and deadlines:
- April Greens February 8
- May Chicken Salad March 8
- June Picnic Meals April 8
Submit:
Online: alabamaliving.coop
Email: recipes@alabamaliving.coop
Mail: Recipes, P.O. Box 244014
Montgomery, AL 36124
We welcome your recipes!
Please send us your original recipes, developed by you or family members, and not ones copied from a book or magazine. You may adapt a recipe from another source by changing as little as the amount of one ingredient. Cook of the Month winners will receive $50, and may win “Cook of the Month” only once per calendar year.
Share a story about your recipe! Whether it’s your grandmother’s best cake or your uncle’s camp stew, every recipe has a story behind it. We’ll pay $50 for the best recipe-related story each month.
