Crab Chowder

½ lb. bacon

1 can of crab (slightly bigger than a tuna can- maybe 6 oz?)

½ onion, chopped

Potatoes, cooked and chopped (I used one can of potatoes, cause that’s what I had. So, if you use fresh, maybe 1-2 medium to large potatoes?)

A few dashes of cayenne pepper, or other powdered red pepper (or chop up some fresh if you have it)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

2 cans of milk

1 can corn, drained

Good pinch of thyme

Salt

Pepper

Cook up bacon in large soup pan. Near the end, add the crab (I had the pan at an angle at this point to avoid saturating the crab in bacon grease, but that was pointless, since it all ends up in the same place).

Remove bacon and crab, leaving grease in pan. Place mixture on paper towel.

Add onion to grease, and cook until onion is tender (add red pepper here if you use fresh, to allow it time to cook). Add potatoes and red pepper. Stir and let simmer for a couple minutes.

Mix in soups, milk, corn and thyme.

Stir thoroughly.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add back in the bacon/crab mixture.

Let soup warm through, and enjoy.

Chicken Parmesan

This was easy, fast, and delicious. The only non-staple ingredient was fresh parmesan.

I was working off this recipe http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001998parmesan_chicken.php.

Cut 3 chicken breasts into 8 pieces. Cut them the long way first, so you have two wide round peices that are 1/2 the thickness of the original piece. You're trying to maximize surface area for the cheese part.

Dip #1
1/3 cup butter
1 clove minced garlic
1 egg

Dip #2
equal parts breadcrumbs and fresh parmesan
italian seasoning (or i used seasoned breadcrumbs)
salt/pepper

So roll the chicken pieces around, then put them in a 9x13 baking dish. Cook at 450 for 15-20 minutes.

Chicken Noodle Soup

3 cans of chicken soup stock
1 cup of water (could have used more)
1 boullion cube
1 big chicken breast
celery
carrots
1 lb pasta
1 bay leaf
salt/pepper
any other seasonings you wish- some recipes call for basil or oregano

Throw everything in the pot and bring up to pressure. Cook for 4 minutes. Serve with biscuits on a rainy day.
Note: I don't really like the soup part of soup, so I went a little too light on the liquids department. Mine ended up more like chicken soup flavored pasta, which was alright too.

Breakfast Burrito

Eggs
Cheese
Bell pepper
Onion
Salsa/sour cream
Tortillas

Other optional additions:
potatoes
meat of some kind

Pasta Salad

Since this is an idea blog as much as a recipe blog, I thought I'd add pasta salad up in here. I don't have an actual recipe for this, and if I leave anything out, feel free to add.

1 lb rotelle pasta

Any of the following:
artichoke hearts
broccoli
tomatoes (sun-dried or normal type)
salami
peas
cheese
olives
cucumber
red onion

Cover in italian dressing. Refrigerate. I believe Bernsteins Restaurant Style Italian is the dressing of choice. Again, if you have any tips or tricks to add, please do.

Pasta Carbonara

This might as well be called bacon and egg pasta, but carbonara sounds so much more fancy. It was really easy and tasted very much like a restaurant pasta. The only ingredients you may not have are fresh parsley and fresh parmesan.

I used this recipe http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/09/cooking-with-ryan-pasta-carbonara/

chicken vegetable soup

Ingredients:
Chicken, carrots, potatoes, 4 cups chicken stock, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp parsley, salt/pepper, whatever other spices you're in the mood for.

Cut every thing about the same size, put in a pressure cooker. Bring up to pressure. Cook for 4 whole minutes. Use quick release method to release the steam. Eat the soup. The potatoes were even a bit over done, so I might cut down the cooking time next time.