3lbs chicken thighs
1 cup rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package of onion soup mix
1 cup water

mix cream of mushroom soup, water, and onion soup mix and pour into 13x9 pan. Sprinkle rice into pan and top w/ chicken thighs. Trying to remember cook temp & time but I think its covered 1hr at 350 and uncovered 30 mins at 400 till you get to 165. Our family has been eating this for over 40yrs.

ftworthag02 said:

---

3lbs chicken thighs
1 cup rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package of onion soup mix
1 cup water

mix cream of mushroom soup, water, and onion soup mix and pour into 13x9 pan. Sprinkle rice into pan and top w/ chicken thighs. Trying to remember cook temp & time but I think its covered 1hr at 350 and uncovered 30 mins at 400 till you get to 165. Our family has been eating this for over 40yrs.

---

Whoa! That's like the multiplication of the loaves and fishes!

spaghetti and meatballs
frozen meatballs (we like HEB)
whatever pasta you want
Rao pasta sauce
frozen garlic bread
make salad to go with

ftworthag02 said:

---

I know! Actually probably more like 50yrs

---

ftworthag02 said:

---

3lbs chicken thighs
1 cup rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package of onion soup mix
1 cup water

mix cream of mushroom soup, water, and onion soup mix and pour into 13x9 pan. Sprinkle rice into pan and top w/ chicken thighs. Trying to remember cook temp & time but I think its covered 1hr at 350 and uncovered 30 mins at 400 till you get to 165. Our family has been eating this for over 40yrs.

---

Have faith, maybe your kids will break the cycle

texasaggie2015 said:

---

I'll admit it, I've never been a good cook. I used to eat out a lot but now I'm making it a goal to eat at home and get better in the kitchen.

Give me some of your favorite easy recipes.

---

Easy doesn't have to mean nasty casseroles.

Want to be a better cook? Step 1 Don't ever make anything with Cream of Mushroom soup in it. Ever. Dead serious.

Keeper of the Spirits is on the right track. Find recipes that use fresh, simple ingredients and don't look overly complicated. Alton Brown cookbooks are very instructional and Serious Eats is probably the most reliable website. Cooks illustrated has some good step by step videos on YouTube and is also worth subscribing to the magazine. Message boards and blogger websites are not great places to get recipes until you know how to separate good from bad at a glance.

I'll try to post a recipe later, but, one of the earliest things I learned to make when I wanted to impress people and not break the bank was bourbon brown sugar flank steak with white cheddar-horseradish mashed potatoes.

FIDO*98* said:

---

texasaggie2015 said:

---

I'll admit it, I've never been a good cook. I used to eat out a lot but now I'm making it a goal to eat at home and get better in the kitchen.

Give me some of your favorite easy recipes.

---

Easy doesn't have to mean nasty casseroles.

Want to be a better cook? Step 1 Don't ever make anything with Cream of Mushroom soup in it. Ever. Dead serious.

Keeper of the Spirits is on the right track. Find recipes that use fresh, simple ingredients and don't look overly complicated. Alton Brown cookbooks are very instructional and Serious Eats is probably the most reliable website. Cooks illustrated has some good step by step videos on YouTube and is also worth subscribing to the magazine. Message boards and blogger websites are not great places to get recipes until you know how to separate good from bad at a glance.

I'll try to post a recipe later, but, one of the earliest things I learned to make when I wanted to impress people and not break the bank was bourbon brown sugar flank steak with white cheddar-horseradish mashed potatoes.

---

Homemade pizza is a great idea. If the OP wants to try that, I would suggest getting a pizza stone and a pizza peel. Also, be sure to use corn meal on the peel and stone. It will make live a lot easier.

FIDO*98* said:

---

texasaggie2015 said:

---

I'll admit it, I've never been a good cook. I used to eat out a lot but now I'm making it a goal to eat at home and get better in the kitchen.

Give me some of your favorite easy recipes.

---

I'll try to post a recipe later, but, one of the earliest things I learned to make when I wanted to impress people and not break the bank was bourbon brown sugar flank steak with white cheddar-horseradish mashed potatoes.

---

Oh yeah man, that sounds REAL easy!

And pantry friendly!

Cassius said:

---

fav13andac1)c said:

---

I like this taco meat recipe if you like that kind of thing. https://www.homesicktexan.com/2007/06/good-bad-and-puffy.html

The taco meat recipe is really good if you don't want to make taco shells. I made this once a week my senior year at A&M when I was getting started cooking and still make it 8 years later.

---

With all due respect, that doesn't seem very easy to me.

---

"To make the tacos, for the meat, heat the oil in skillet on medium heat. Throw in onions and jalapeños, and cook for about 10 minutes. Add garlic, and cook for 1 more minute.

Stir in the beef, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, cayenne, cilantro, and salsa until well combined. While stirring occasionally, cook the meat until meat it's browned, about 15-20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings, then stir in the lime juice."

HOPEFULLY should be pretty easy if you're not making shells, as I said in the post. One pan, some basic chopping skills with the veggies (or leave them out), brown some meat, add spices, and you're done. OP did ask for recipes to get better in the kitchen. This recipe encompasses basic skills that ANY home cook should know.

Cassius said:

---

Oh yeah man, that sounds REAL easy!

And pantry friendly!

---

I'm going to give OP the benefit of the doubt he can measure 4 ingredients for marinade + add 1/2 cup white cheddar and 1 Tbls horseradish to basic mashed potatoes mashed potatoes

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup bourbon or other whiskey
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar, preferably dark
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard

Marinate a flank steak 4-6 hours and remove. Pat dry and apply salt and pepper. Grill over hot coals until medium rare. Slice very thin

Potatoes
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced. Put in a pot and cover in water with 1/4c kosher salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender.
Drain and return to pot. Add in 3 Tbls butter + 1/2c half and half plus cheddar and horseradish. Mash until desired consistency and add in a little more half and half if necessary. Season with salt and pepper

Breakfast tacos, and it doesn't have to just be for breakfast. Warm up some tortillas in the oven. Heat up a non stick skillet over medium heat with a little bit of oil. Throw in some pico de gallo and cook for a couple minutes. Beat eggs, season with salt and add to skillet. Scramble the eggs. Place in tortillas with bacon, cheese, avocado and cilantro.

Learn to make a basic tomato sauce.
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
pinch of red pepper flake
olive oil
1 sprig of fresh basil
1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes (make sure they are the authentic DOP, and not a knock-off), either crushed by hand or masked while cooking.
salt and pepper
1, In a medium saucepan over medium low heat, add a swirl of olive oil and the onion and a heavy pinch of salt. Slowly cook the onion until it just starts to brown, and then add the garlic and pepper flake. Cook that for about another minute. Then add the basil and tomatoes. Cook that over a simmer for about 30-45 minutes, mashing the tomatoes at 15 minutes if they weren't crushed already. Remove the basil, and adjust the seasoning. Congrats, you now have a basic red sauce that can go a million different directions.
1. Add some parm rinds and a tiny splash of fish sauce when you add the tomatoes to give it more umami.
2. Add some dried Italian seasoning when you add the tomatoes for more herbal flavor.
3. Add a pound of browned and drained ground beef or Italian sausage for a meat sauce.
4. Add some cooked bacon and mushrooms cooked in the bacon fat for a hunter style sauce.
5. Add meatballs for a sauce with meatballs.
6. Add chopped olives, capers, and an anchovy for a puttanesca sauce.
7. Brown a pot roast, and add the tomato sauce and some water, and braise the meat in the tomato sauce.
8. Add half to a whole stick of butter to make the richest red sauce you've ever had.
9. Add some cream and vegetable stock to get to a soup consistency, blend it, and now you have tomato soup.
10. Add some sauteed onions (cut julienne) and red peppers, cook that for a while, and then add some Italian sausages in the casing for sausage, peppers, and onions.

HTownAg98 said:

---

1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes (make sure they are the authentic DOP, and not a knock-off), either crushed by hand or masked while cooking.

---

Now I have to wear a ****ing mask while cooking?!?! This **** has gone WAY too far.