Simple but impressive recipes?

Question

I'm cooking for a guy I've been seeing tomorrow night, but have no idea what to cook!! Can anybody suggest some recipes which aren't too time consuming (up to 45 mins MAX preferably as I work long shifts) and aren't too expensive or too complicated? I'm a fairly confident cook but don't want to try anything too over-the-top! Thank you very much!!

Answer 1

Preheat oven to 325.
Flatten some chicken breasts
Layer on Basil, Mozzarella cheese and 1-2 slices of tomato.
Fold breast over and toothpick shut.
Cover in bread crumbs.
Bake for 30 mins.
Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Serve with a simple pasta dish.

Enjoy.

Answer 2

Simple Mexican Rice
"A very simple tomato Mexican rice recipe. I can have this in the oven and cooking in one set of ads on the TV. If you don't have chicken stock, use hot water and chicken bouillon."

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 cup uncooked short-grain white rice
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato paste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is translucent. Stir in the chili powder and cumin, and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the rice, chicken broth and tomato paste, and bring to a boil. Transfer to a 1 quart casserole dish, and cover with aluminum foil or a lid.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender. Let rest for 3 to 5 minutes before serving.

Answer 3

K this is simple . . 1 bag of cheese tortellini, 1 jar of a high end spaghetti sauce try to find a basil and olive oil. No funny Parmesan things and I'm not talking Prego. I think the kind I get is Bertolli's or something. Anyway. . . 1 bag of pre cooked frozen shrimp.

1.) Put your sauce in a soup pan and simmer (do not burn, spice if you feel it needs it)

2.) Should your shrimp have tails, cut them off and either leave the shrimp whole, or cut into good size pieces (men hate little bites of meat) Then put them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil and cook ( not too long they will get tough, just enough to un-thaw, you don't want to microwave them)

3.) In seperate pan Boil water and add your tortellini cook as directed too long and the cheese will come out.

4.) Add all of your things together and carefully mix up.

5.) Serve with a nice white wine and bread.

This is my hunny's favorite and he has no idea it isn't completely homemade. LoL I've been making it for him for 3 years now . . I'm sure I'll get caught one of these days.

Answer 4

Roasted Vegetable Pasta This is a tried and true favourite. You can add whatever vegetables you prefer

Ingredients : 3 large leeks, white parts only, split in half lengthwise and cut to bites sized pieces 1 medium red onion, cut into eighths 2 red pepper cut into wide strips olive oil 2 fresh sprigs of thyme vegetable stock or water 4 large garlic cloves, chopped 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil 1/4 glass white wine 1 tablespoon (or less) of salt 3/4 pound dried penne pasta (doesn't have to be penne) 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese optional: 3 ounces mozzarella or goat cheese

cooking procedure :

Answer 5

I don't use a recipe for this but it's fairly simple and not too expensive but should leave a lasting impression on your guest!

You can get filet mignon at your local grocer for a fair price. Make a slit in the side and load it up with Gorgonzola cheese. Pan sear it and finish in the oven. Top it with Maderia Sauce! You haven't had dinner until you've tried this!
Serve with potato and a veggie!

Answer 6

How about Chicken Parmesan? Put chicken breasts in a casserole dish sprayed with Pam. Cover with your favorite spaghetti sauce (26 oz jar) which you've added about 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese to. Cover with foil and bake 30-45 minutes at 375 degrees. Uncover and top with mozzarella cheese and another 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese. Bake another 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted. Serve over Linguini. Add a nice tossed salad and garlic bread sticks and you're all set. YUM!

Answer 7

a totally simple, yet impressive dish is salmon en paupiette. go to your local grocer's fish counter and/or fish monger and have them cut you two nice, fresh salmon fillet portions (about 1.5" to 2" wide is plenty for a single portion). make matchstick cut carrots, celery, a pretty bell pepper (yellow, red, or orange) and cut some green onions long-ways into strips. thinly slice a lemon. buy some fresh thyme or dill and some parchment paper. cut two 12 x 12 pieces of parchment paper, and in the center of each, place the 1/2 of all of the herbs, veggies and lemon slices. top with salmon fillet and then the remaining half of the herbs, veggies & lemon slices. drizzle with olive oil, then wrap up the packettes by drwaing the long edges up together and folding over by 1/2 inch until you are 1" from the top of the fish, then folding in the short edges in the same manner. you can clip closed with metal paper clips if you like, but it probably won't be necessary, since parchment is pretty stiff. place packets on a cookie sheet or in a baking dish & bake at 350 f for 15 minutes per 1" thickness of the fillets (measure thickness from top to skin). serve with a whole grain pilaf (Far East is a good packaged brand, with seasonings included - try the wheat pilaf) and some steamed asparagus or green beans (use your microwave! it works great for steaming veggies!). if you and he drink alcohol, serve the above with a nice Pinot Gris or Pino Grigio (chardonnay is too common) in the $9 - 15 range. when you serve the packet, just place on serving plate with the sides & rip open the top of the packet somewhat to let out steam (be careful-steam can burn you badly). you should be able to accomplish the whole dinner for about 15.00/person, which is waaaaay less than you would pay for this out on the town. and he will be sooo impressed!

Answer 8

If you want to eat truly healthy, lose body fat consistently, normalize your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, prevent cancer, and even boost your brain health and energy levels, you may have heard all over the news that the Paleo Diet has been found to be one of the best methods of achieving all of these benefits compared to any other popular "fad" diets out there. Go here https://bitly.im/aMEhH

The truth is that the Paleo Diet will never be considered a fad because it's just simply the way that humans evolved to eat over approximately 2 million years. And eating in a similar fashion to our ancestors has been proven time and time again to offer amazing health benefits, including prevention of most diseases of civilization such as cancer, heart disease, alzheimers, and other chronic conditions that are mostly caused by poor diet and lifestyle. One of the biggest misunderstandings about the Paleo Diet is that it's a meat-eating diet, or a super low-carb diet. This is not true

Answer 9

Here's my favorite:

-Pan fry salmon fillets in olive oil. Just season with salt and pepper.
-In another pan, sautee diced red and green bell pepper for about 5 min on medium heat, just until they're heated and slightly cooked. About one minute before you take them off the heat, add diced tomatoes (just long enough to heat them).
-Put the salmon on warm plates and spoon some of the veggie mixture over the salmon.

Potatoes:
-Cut potatoes (any kind, but red is best) into bite size chunks and boil until they're just barely cooked through. Don't peel the potatoes first.
-Strain out water, and put potatoes in an ungreased baking pan. Season with salt and pepper, add chopped bell pepper and some finely diced red onion, drizzle with a fairly generous amount of olive oil, and stir to mix.
-Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep potatoes from getting dry.

I usually serve this with a really simple veggie, like steamed broccoli.

Good luck!

Answer 10

I found this one in the back of a Stovetop Stuffing Mix Box, it's really good and has lots of flavor.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
1 teaspoon salt
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (6 ounce) box chicken-flavored dry bread stuffing mix STOVETOP
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
Toss the cubed chicken with the salt in a large bowl. Place the chicken in a layer into the bottom of the baking dish. Stir together tomatoes, water, garlic, and stuffing mix in a large bowl; set aside to soften. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the chicken, then sprinkle with the Italian seasoning. Spread the softened stuffing mixture on top.
Bake uncovered until the chicken cubes have turned white and are no longer pink in the center, about 30 minutes.







Once you taste this, you won't ever go back to the marshmallow-topped variety! I have peeled and cooked in the microwave, and also boiled the sweet potatoes. They taste the same no matter how you cook them. So, use the technique that works best for you!


INGREDIENTS
5 sweet potatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they begin to soften. Cool slightly, peel, and mash.
In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.