We all have those days when we wake up hungry and realize that all we have in our fridge are leftovers. Perhaps we were too busy with work or just too lazy to go out for shopping. In this article, I am going to guide you step by step on how to prepare five delicious dishes with only a few ingredients.
You don't need to worry about not being good at cooking because these recipes are very easy to make. They require minimum time and effort while also managing to effectively satisfy your hunger.
1. Mac and Cheese
This is a simple, but tasty snack to enjoy during the evenings.
Things you'll need:
- Pasta
- Milk
- Cheese
Steps to make:
1) Pour the milk on a large pot and wait till it starts to boil. Reduce to medium-low heat, add macaroni and cook, stirring frequently, until the pasta is cooked.
2) The starch from the pasta thickens the milk making a nice creamy sauce for the cheese. This will take about 12 minutes.
3) Then remove it from the heat and add the cheese. Stir the whole thing until the cheese is melted and all mixed up.
4) Add black pepper and chili powder for seasoning.
2. Souffle Omelet with Cheese
This is just a big fluffy omelet with lots of cheese. For this, you must have a hand blender, or else you'll have to put in way more effort than needed.
Things you’ll need:
- Eggs
- Cheese
- Butter
- Salt
Steps to make:
1) Crack the eggs in a bowl and add salt. Using the hand blender, beat the eggs well and keep blending till it's all fluffy and big. This should take about 7 minutes and then mix in half of the cheese until well combined. If you are not using a hand blender it will take more time but be patient.
2) Next, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Pour the eggs into the pan and spread it into a circle. Cover it and let it cook for about 10 minutes till the bottom is brown.
3) Scatter the remaining cheese on top, cover it once more and cook till the cheese starts to melt; for about 1 minute.
4) Using the spatula, carefully slide it into a plate. Make a fold and add parsley flakes or black pepper for seasoning.
3. Teriyaki Chicken
This dish might look a bit complex and that it requires lots of ingredients, but what if I tell you that you only need three items to prepare this dish?
Things you’ll need:
- Chicken (Preferably thighs, but breasts work well too.)
- Soy sauce
- Honey
Steps to make:
1) Heat oil in a large pan and add the meat. The oil needs to be hot before you add the chicken to make you get that nice golden sear.
2) Stir fry the chicken till it’s brown and crisp. Then you pour in the sauce and honey.
3) Stir well till the sauce thickens to a shiny glaze. If it’s too sweet, you can add more sauce and if it’s too salty you can add more honey. This should take about 2-3 minutes and done.
You can serve this dish with any cooked vegetables to make for a healthy meal.
4. Potato Gnocchi
Okay, so this recipe does require a bit more effort to make but it is 100% worth it.
Things you’ll need:
- Potatoes
- Flour
- Eggs
- Butter
Steps to make:
1) Add potatoes to a large pot of cool water. Bring the pot of water to a boil and boil potatoes for 20-25 minutes, or until a fork can easily poke through it.
2) Drain potatoes and allow them to cool. Using a peeler or your fingers, remove the skin of potatoes.
3) Mash the potatoes until all lumps are gone, add salt and pepper and mix well.
4) Next, you add an egg and whisk until evenly distributed.
5) Knead the dough, adding flour along the way until the dough loses stickiness and becomes a more solid mound.
6) Slice dough into 4 parts, take one part and roll it out into a long rope, about an inch wide. Slice rope into ½-inch squares and set aside. Using an overturned fork, you can slide each gnocchi square over the fork prongs so they become serrated in a corkscrew shape.
Another way to shape the gnocchi is to simply press your finger into the gnocchi to form a small basin.
7) Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the gnocchi. Boil until they float to the top, then remove.
8) In a pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add gnocchi to the pan with butter, toss until lightly golden on the outside.
Now in case, you’re feeling it’s incomplete and want to jazz it up, here’s a recipe for the sauce!
Things you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Onions
- Tomatoes
Steps to make:
1) Put a large pan in medium heat and add your olive oil and onions.
2) Let it cook for about 5-7 minutes and then you add in the tomatoes. Feel free to add more items if you have them like garlic or chilies.
3) Next, all you’re left to add is water and a bit more olive oil. Let it cook for about 15 minutes till the tomatoes break down and form a cohesive sauce.
Add a little more water when it’s done and mix in the gnocchi.
5. Crème Brûlée
Because everyone needs a simple three-ingredient dessert recipe in their lives.
Things you’ll need:
- Vanilla Ice-cream
- 1 egg yolk
- Sugar
Steps to make:
Our key ingredient here is the vanilla ice-cream. The ice-cream contains everything Crème Brûlée needs: vanilla, cream, salt, eggs, sugar.
1) Microwave the ice-cream for like a minute so that it’s melted.
2) Pour it in a bowl, add in the egg yolk and stir well.
3) Let it cook in a 250°F (120°C) water bath for about 45 minutes and you’ll have your custard.
4) Take a frying pan and caramelize the sugar.
Caramelizing sugar is a term most often applied to melting sugar until it becomes a caramel color liquid. It is simply a mixture of sugar and water cooked until it becomes syrupy and darkens. Do watch closely so that you don’t burn it.
5) Pour the sugar quickly into the custard before it starts to harden and you have made yourself a tasty dessert.
Credits
The credits to these recipes go to - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFp8uSYCjXOMnkUyb3CQ3Q
This is an amazing channel filled with great content and so many more recipes that you might like to check out. They even provide step by step written versions of the recipes for you.
Now you have five new easy to make recipes, so what are you waiting for? Grab your utensils and get cooking!
