My Go-To Easy Recipes
I want to start out today’s post by acknowledging that this last week has been difficult and worrying for pretty much everyone, and if I can provide a bit of a respite from the noise and the scariness with a bit of positivity and ease, I will do everything I can to provide that. With that, since I am practicing social distancing, I will be using my extra time at home to be creating more content for you all and hopefully I can do even a small part to distract you from all the craziness, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. Since many of us will be home for the foreseeable future and will be made to cook at home, I thought I would share some of my favorite recipes that I use consistently and are easy, satisfying, and relatively cheap to make!
Buttermilk Marinated Roast Chicken ~ If you don’t already own the cookbook, Salt Fat Acid Heat, or haven’t seen the Netflix show by the same name, I highly recommend you do so! This chicken is the recipe I use the most out of that cookbook and it is both the best and easiest way to roast an entire chicken. The ingredients are also super minimal (it’s basically just buttermilk, chicken and salt) and the recipe basically requires zero skill so it’s great if you are a bit intimidated by roasting a whole bird. Because the meat gets so tender and juicy, it also makes for great leftovers and can last you for awhile after it’s initial preparation.
Spiced Chickpea Stew with Coconut and Turmeric ~ I know that everyone and their mother talked about this recipe last year, but that’s because it’s so darn good (it’s also completely vegan and gluten-free)! I love how much this recipe leans on pantry staples and it’s component parts are not only hearty but cheap as well! This recipe makes quite a bit, but luckily because it’s a stew, it just gets better with time so you can happily eat it a few days after you initially made it.
Simple Ribollita ~ My mom has always been an ardent supporter of a great minestrone soup when you’re feeling under the weather, and while I love minestrone, Ribollita is my preferred homey italian soup because it is slightly more indulgent and hearty. Like the Chickpea stew, Ribollita is mainly comprised of pantry staples like canned tomatoes, parmesan, bread, and root veggies such as carrots, celery, garlic and onions. This soup also comes together super quickly so you don’t have to prep hours in advance like a lot of other soup recipes require. It’s also vegetarian (not gluten-free though, unless you were able to find a really good crusty loaf of gluten-free bread).
Pasta Al Limone ~ Pasta is always my go-to easy weeknight dinner recipe. I am a self-professed carb queen and would happily eat pasta every single day if I was able to. I absolutely love a creamy pasta dish, but sometimes it just feels so heavy. I love how the lemon in this dish adds a nice hint of acidity without feeling too overtly lemony. There’s also a video on how to make this on the BA youtube channel if you’re more of a visual learner!
Caramelized Shallot Pasta ~ Like I said, I love pasta! This recipe is great for those of you who prefer more of a tomato-y sauce over a creamy sauce. One of the things I love about this recipe is it actually makes enough sauce for eight people, so unless you’re having a large gathering, you save the other half of the sauce for later to use with more pasta, or you can use it to fry eggs, spread on toast, really the world is your oyster! It’s easily one of the most deeply flavored tomato sauces I’ve ever made thanks to the tomato paste and the addition of a lot of shallots and anchovies (however if you don’t like anchovies don’t be too put off, it’s not a fishy-tasting pasta).
Instant Pot Pork Carnitas ~ Nothing says easy weeknight dinner like Instant Pot recipes! It took me a while to learn how to use our Instant Pot, but it has definitely become a staple in our kitchen arsenal. Since both Brad and I work all day, we don’t have tons of time to cook in the evenings and this recipe is great because it takes a process that would usually take over four hours and condenses it into about 45 minutes. We both love carnitas and will usually do taco night when we make this recipe and it makes enough to have leftovers fr the next day!