Easy To Cook Recipe Ideas And Tips For Your Next Feast

Weeknights can be a whole lot easier with recipes this easy.

There are protein dishes, pasta dishes, and even super-simple sheet pan dinners here for every picky eater, and no complicated recipes.

From cheese board products to items you had forgotten about in the back of your freezer, there’s something for everyone to enjoy here.

Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1″ pieces
• 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 lb. dried green split peas
• 7 c. low-sodium chicken broth, divided
• 1 ham bone (optional)
• 2 1/2 c. diced baked ham (12 oz.)

Method

1. Cook the bacon over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, until golden brown. Drain the fat from the bacon and set it aside. Cook carrots and thyme for 7 minutes or until golden and tender.
2. Cook onion, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg, coriander, and paprika for 8 minutes, until softened. Add boiling water to the split peas, 5 cups broth, and ham bone. Stir occasionally as you simmer, cooking until peas fall apart, about 45 minutes.
3. Remove ham bone and peas from heat when they are tender. Stir in remaining broth and purée soup, if desired. Cooked carrots and ham should be added to the pot after simmering for about 10 minutes.
4. Before serving, sprinkle bacon over the dish.

Tips

Four strips of ham and split peas are used in this soup. Besides gaining a salty, crunchy, fatty topping for your soup, you also obtain liquid bacon fat that can be used to cook.

You should keep all the bacon fat in the pot because a slice of bacon yields about a tablespoon of fat.

Cook your carrots and thyme until they are golden and sweet in fat to create a super creamy soup with a nice texture.

It is possible to achieve super smooth soup with no immersion blender at all if you reserve a portion of liquid for adding in after the peas have broken down; simply stir the pot until it is a frenzy, and you will see how the peas lose their shape completely.

Shrimp Creole

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped 
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• Kosher salt 
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 tbsp. paprika
• 2 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 tsp. dried oregano 
• 1 tsp. ground cayenne
• 1 1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth 
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 (15-oz.) can whole tomatoes, crushed 
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish 
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil 
• 1 1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined 
• Cooked white rice, for serving 

Method

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. In a large saucepan, combine onion, pepper, and celery. Cook for 5 minutes until soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. During the last minute of cooking, add the garlic, paprika, thyme, oregano, and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about another minute. Bring the broth to a boil and add the bay leaf. Slowly simmer for 6 to 8 minutes or until about 1/4 of the volume has been reduced.
2. Cook for about 10 minutes until tomatoes are reduced by half. Cook for about 10 minutes more after adding green onions and Worcestershire Sauce. Add salt and pepper as necessary, and then stir in lemon juice once the heat is gone.
3. Heat the oil in a separate large skillet. Once hot, add the shrimp to the skillet and cook for about two minutes per side. Stir in prepared sauce, then season with salt and pepper. Serve with rice and garnish with green onions.

Tip

The tomato-based sauce of Shrimp Creole delivers a similar taste to Shrimp Étouffée but will take you to New Orleans’ balcony-lined streets.

You’ll build this saucy little dish around the holy trinity of flavors: aromatic onion, green bell pepper, and celery.

There is quite a kick to this dish! One teaspoon of ground cayenne is enough to make your tongue tingle. Reducing the cayenne to 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon is a good option if you don’t like spicy foods.

If you prefer, eat the shrimp tail-on for more flavor, but shelling them completely is easier–it’s your call! A bigger shrimp means plumper, juicier bites.

Vegetable broth or seafood broth can be substituted for chicken broth to keep it pescatarian.

British Fish and Chips

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour 
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
• Two lb. cod, cut into 12 pieces
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 (12-oz.) bottle lager (such as Harp’s)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Method

1. Mix flour, Old Bay, and one teaspoon salt in a large bowl, then add beer and egg. Set aside for 10 minutes. 
2. Season cod with salt and pepper after drying it with paper towels.
3. Add enough oil to cover 3 inches of the bottom of a large pot over medium heat and heat to 375°. Dip cod into the batter in batches and carefully lower into the hot oil. Fish should be cooked through and golden brown, around 5 to 6 minutes. Make sure you flip halfway through. Put the fish on a plate lined with paper towels and season with salt. 
4. Serve with lemon wedges.

Tip

When you make this recipe correctly, the results are absolutely delicious. The key to optimal crispiness can be achieved using these four steps.

1. Do not dredge the fish until the batter has sat for 10 minutes. The batter is activated and puffs up when it is fried. 
2. Before dredging your fish, dry it with paper towels (just as you would when frying chicken).
3. The pot shouldn’t be overcrowded! You will end up absorbing a lot of oil, and your fish will become soggy, not crisp, if you add too many pieces to the cooking oil.
4. Put your fish on a cooling rack or plate lined with paper towels. It will prevent the fish from sitting in excess oil, which will make it automatically lose its crispiness. 

Cod is one of the best fish to use, but other large, flaky fish, such as haddock, pike, and pollock, also have a great taste.

You may as well throw in a batch of french fries since you have already heated some oil.

Simply cut them a little thicker and shorter if you want a more authentic British-style chip.

It doesn’t need to be perfect since unequal shapes and sizes are what you’d find at the chip shop.