easy lunch recipes

Sloppy Joes

beef

onion, diced

garlic,

jalapeno, minced

red pepper, diced

small red beans

tomato sauce

tomato paste

red wine vinegar

molasses

Worcestershire sauce

mustard powder

salt

black pepper

whole-wheat burger buns

Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

soy sauce

brown sugar

dry sherry

rice vinegar

garlic cloves, crushed with a garlic press or minced

ginger

red pepper flakes

chicken thighs

sesame seeds

Lentil Vegetable Soup

French green lentils

yellow onions (3 large onions)

garlic (3 cloves)

olive oil,

thyme leaves

cumin

medium-diced celery (8 stalks)

medium-diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots)

chicken stock

red wine or red wine vinegar

Parmesan cheese

Shrimp Salad

kosher salt

lemon

shrimp shrimp

mayonnaise

Dijon mustard

white wine vinegar

dill

red onion (1 onion)

celery (6 stalks)

Bring 5 quarts of water, 3 tablespoons salt, and the lemon to a boil in a large saucepan. Add half the shrimp and reduce the heat to medium. Cook uncovered for only 3 minutes or until the shrimp are barely cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cold water. Bring the water back to a boil and repeat with the remaining shrimp. Let cool; then peel, and devein the shrimp.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, wine or vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and dill. Combine with the peeled shrimp. Add the red onion and celery and check the seasonings. Serve or cover and refrigerate for a few hours.

AWESOME!!!!!!! Made many times over the past months, but just now reviewing. Made as is, really good. Just added a little more mustard and pepper to taste. Awesome!  2nd time but used less mayo, more pepper and mustard. Outstanding. Then started modifying.  First basic mod is using less mayo, and adding Old Bay to it. Great. Then added jalapenos, just a few. Also, added quartered cucumbers and some halved cherry tomatoes later on. Then made a chipotle mayo aioli, again awesome. This is a great basic recipe, and all the kids love it, even the grand kids. We make it on vacation with fresh gulf shrimp and cooked grouper. I tried with sour cream instead of mayo too, and was great as well.

Great recipe! I made it with 2 tablespoons of mayo, 2 minced green onion stalks, 2 chopped celery stalks, 1 diced tomato and 1 tsp dried dill since I didn't have fresh dill available. I also had to sub regular mustard for dijon and apple cider vinegar for white wine vinegar -- it still tasted good. I added a little Mrs. Dash, and some pink Himalayan salt instead of kosher.

I signed up expressly to leave this review!  This is a fantastic recipe; so close to the shrimp salad from Eatzi’s.  I put About 1/3 less mayo but added triple the Dijon mustard and a jalapeño because was craving a little spice.  Definitely putting this in the rotation.

Simple and delicious. I added a few shakes of tobasco for a little heat. 

This couldn't be better, but it does take me longer to make it!

Absolutely delicious. I had never even tasted shrimp salad let alone made it! A family member requested it as a thanksgiving dish and I said "no prob!" Without knowing what I was getting myself into I searched many shrimp salad recipes on the Internet after much debate ended up deciding on this one. The salad received rave reviews and I myself thought it was out of this world as well! Will definitely be making again for my own family!

I love this recipe I make it for one by using seven Shrimp half salary 2 tablespoons of mayo 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard 1/4 cup minced onions and 1 tablespoon of dill Wonderful

Another great Ina recipe. I used a little lemon zest in the shrimp salad and served a nice full scoop on a salad I prepared. No salad dressing needed. This was easy and quick to make. I'm going to try this with crab, pasta and a litlle old bay next time as another reviewer recommended

Love this. Used a mid-range chardonnay for the wine and added jalepenos for a bite.  Served over spring mix. Yum!

https://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/inas-shrimp-salad-recipe-0170514

Shrimp, veggies and a creamy dressing make Ina's salad a cool summer treat.

Ina's Shrimp Salad Recipe

Turn up the stove for Sunny Anderson's healthy Honey-Glazed Carrots recipe from Cooking for Real on Food Network.

Honey Glazed Carrots

Salt

baby carrots

butter

honey

lemon juice

flat-leaf parsley

Honey Glazed Carrots: Food Network

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add salt and then carrots and cook until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the carrots and add back to pan with butter, honey and lemon juice. Cook until a glaze coats the carrots, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley.

Good but needs adjusting. First, recipe says to cook in water til TENDER.  It takes a while to get there, so I covered it to speed things along. But then at the end it says to cook 5 mins more with the honey and butter, making it TOO tender. So next time I'd cook in water, covered, BUT I'd cook til FIRM TENDER and then proceed with the butter and honey.  I don't like carrots to be TOO soft, they can feel like baby food that way. Glad I tested this one before Easter!

The only comment that I have is that an extremely talented Cordon Bleu chef that I worked for always said that “if it grows below the ground, start with cold water and if it grows above, start with boiling water.

This is a "keeper" recipe.  I served it with my Easter Dinner and the family just LOVED it!!!  I used carrots with the tops still attached, and I trimmed and peeled the whole carrots so that they looked just like the photo, and I must say, it makes for a beautiful presentation.  I cooked as directed and my carrots were PERFECTLY cooked, tender, but certainly not mushy.  They were beautiful and delicious.

Great easy recipe, husband says I can cook this every day! Thank you.

Very tasty and not too sweet because of the balanced flavors.

jus made this tonite,im very pleased with the ease of this recipe yet so tasty

I loved this!  I used what I had at home, so I replaced the honey with agave syrup, butter with coconut butter, and omitted the parsley.  It came out great!

I have made these several times, always a hit.  Serving for Christmas dinner; standing rib roast and loaded baked potatoes.

I made this as a side for Thanksgiving. Everybody loved them.  I followed the recipe exactly that time but have made some slight tweaks since: I steam the carrots instead of boil them. It only takes a tiny bit more time and saves all the good nutritional content. Also, I leave the carrots slightly underdone at this stage before tossing them into the glaze mixture, as they will cook further in while in the glaze sauce and you don't want mushy carrots.  The second time I made it I also had the glaze sauce going while the carrots steamed. This way it thickened up quicker. If you wait to combine it when the carrots are done steaming then the glaze is too watery. Lastly, I also put in 1/3 less butter and it was just as good as the first time i made it. The important flavors to me were the sweetness of honey and tang of lemon.  I love this recipe 

https://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/honey-glazed-carrots-0149069

Quick as a rabbit, these honey-glazed baby carrots are ready to serve.

Honey-Glazed Carrots

Bobby Flay takes Southern-style Shrimp and Grits to the next level by adding sharp cheddar, bacon and lime juice in this easy recipe from Food Network.

Shrimp and Grits

water

Salt and pepper

grits

cheddar cheese

shrimp,

bacon, chopped

parsley

scallions

garlic, minced

Bring water to a boil. Add salt and pepper. Add grits and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese.

Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned; drain well. In grease, add shrimp. Cook until shrimp turn pink. Add lemon juice, chopped bacon, parsley, scallions and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes.

Spoon grits into a serving bowl. Add shrimp mixture and mix well. Serve immediately.

Between ease of preparation, outcome and simplicity of ingredients, this recipe was a winner all-round. My family loved it. One key was to use chicken stock for the grits instead of water. I could have spiced it up quite a bit more for my own taste, but kept it mostly as-is except substituted cilantro for the parsley and added chopped ham along with the bacon.

Very good and quite easy to make.  Better than mine but if you tell anyone I will deny ever having said that!

Absolutely delicious and so easy.  The only substitution I made was chicken broth rather than water for the grits. 

Super easy and delicious. Made exact first time and it turned out good. Second time I used chicken broth for my grits and they tasted amazing!!!! Going to make again but add in some red pepper and asparagus to the shrimp. A good basic shrimp and grits recipe that can easily be tweaked to each individuals liking.

This was our first time eating shrimp and grits.  This recipe is delicious and the meal was very easy to make.  It is a very rich dish and no one was able to enjoy a second plate!  We added some extra black pepper and a dash of hot sauce to the shrimp because we thought it needed a little heat.  NYers like shrimp and grits!

This was my bf's first time eating shrimp and grits. His response? "This is so *expletive* good!" Haha. This really is a delicious recipe, the only thing I added was a dirzzle of chili oil around the grits. Be ready for a nap when you finish eating. 

Excellent recipe. Didn't have fresh parsley, so I substituted Cilantro. I think it may be better with the Cilantro. Plan to add chopped green chilies to the grits next time. 

Very good and easy too.  I dusted the shrimp with Old Bay before sautéing in the bacon fat.  How can you go wrong?  The grits were cheesy and flavorful.  I will definitely make this again.  Quick easy meal.

One of the very few recipes I followed verbatim. Nothing needs to be changed - this recipe is INCREDIBLE!  Served with Paula Deen's collard greens for a spectacular meal!<div> </div>

https://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/grits-with-shrimp-93113

Chef Bobby Flay does his take on Southern grits, with shrimp and cheese.

Grits With Shrimp

A good friend of mine went to Israel and brought me back a delicious rub for meats. This is my attempt at replicating it. It works on anything and everything! Make extra and store in a cool, dry place for up to six months.

Israeli Spice Chicken

(1 1/2 palmfuls) sweet paprika

(1 1/2 palmfuls) ground cumin

(1/3 palmful) dried oregano

(1/3 palmful) coriander

(1/2 palmful), coarse kosher salt

boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

pita bread,

Serving suggestions: Serve

(a couple of glugs) extra-virgin olive oil

lemon,

coriander

Kosher salt

(3 turns around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil

(half a bundle) chopped fresh mint

flat-leaf parsley leaves (a couple of handfuls)

Kosher salt and pepper

vine ripe or small round red tomatoes

orange tomatoes

sweet onion, thinly sliced

(2 handfuls) flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

For the spice rub combine the paprika, cumin, oregano, coriander, crushed red pepper flakes, and kosher salt in a bowl. Place in a sealable jar, keep in a cool dry place for up to 6 months.

Place chicken in a shallow dish. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil to barely coat the meat. Rub chicken liberally with 4 tablespoons of the spice blend. Let stand 10 minutes.

Grill chicken 6 or 7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

Seed and chop the tomatoes and combine with onion and parsley in a shallow bowl. Combine oil, lemon juice, and spices in a small plastic container with a lid. Shake dressing to combine and pour over salad. Season salad with kosher salt and toss to combine well. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

This was quite good. I would have like to have a stronger spice flavor to the chicken. I think next time, I might mix some of the rub with some oil and marinate the chicken in this in the fridge overnight and then rub it with more rub before grilling. I also made the zucchini with mint and parsley. very good side dish.

This is my new favorite spice rub. I made it originally for chicken, but I've been putting it on pretty much everything, including salmon and potatoes.  It's delicious. 

My son found the recipe, and helped me to make this dish.  It was easy to make and very
tasty!!!  

I was sifting through my 30 Minute Meals 2 book for something new to try.  This caught my eye and I am SO GLAD I tried it!   

If you skip the pita (which we didn't--I used the Hungry Girl 100 cal pita--very chewy and soft!, you have a very healthy dish.  
For the salad, I used regular tomatoes that looked good in the store (no Israeli tomatoes around here!, and I used just a small bit of fresh parsley since it's normally too strong for us.  I might try cilantro next time per some of the suggestions here.  We crammed it all into the pita and I served it with Rachael's yogurt sauce from another recipe (which is a STAPLE in our house when we make Mediterranean food!  Use the yogurt sauce from Rachael's Chicken or Lamb Patty Pockets recipe here.

We loved this dish so much!  It was quick and easy &amp; I have plenty of spice mixture on hand to make it again.  Can't say enough good things about it!

Wow was this tasty!  To save time, I just used some of the spice mixture made for the chicken in the salad dressing (instead of individually adding the ingredients).  I will DEFINITELY make this again (maybe tonight :)!

the title says it all, use fresh lemon juice

I made this tonight and it was too windy and the grill wouldn't stay lit so I broiled them and it was still amazing. I am making this again for sure. 

The spice was perfect, you could probably add more chili if you have the taste for it. This will be a regular for me!! Also, make extra of the spice mix, i sprinkled it over hummus and it tasted SO good :)

I've been making ths recipe for years, and it is definitely one of my very favorite recipes! At times, I make a huge batch of the rub, package it nicely in containers, and give it out as gifts with the recipe attached.  Thank you Rachael Ray. This recipe is  the BEST!  

This is a wonderful rub - It is delicious on pork tenderloin and on lamb chops!

Leslie

Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers

zucchini, coarsely grated (about 2 cups)

small onion, minced (about 1 cup)

bulgur

egg, lightly beaten

oregano

red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, cores and ribs removed

feta cheese

In a large bowl, combine the beef, spinach, zucchini, onion, bulgur, egg, oregano, salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Arrange the pepper halves cut side up in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and fill each pepper half with the meat mixture. Pour the tomatoes over the peppers and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the meat mixture is completely cooked and the peppers are tender, about 25 minutes longer.

This recipe is good, and even better with some tweaks. The first time I made it I followed the instructions and thought it was delicious, but I had to cook for longer than the time stated because the peppers were still pretty crunchy. I probably cooked 1 hour with the foil on and another 20 with it off. The second time, I used an equal amount of uncooked rice instead of bulghur, I mixed in some mild Italian sausage with the ground beef, and I mixed some feta in with the meat in addition to adding feta on top. It was awesome like this! I also put the pepper halves in the oven to pre-bake while I prepped all the filling, and this reduced the cooking time to roughly what's stated in the recipe. Next time, I plan to use ground lamb instead of beef and maybe make some tzatziki sauce to go with!

Loved it. The bulgur was really a nice touch.I used lamb ground meat which a sauteed a little bit with the onions and the tomato i scooped before and then add them with the rest.I also added some more feta in the mixture.Delicious summer recipe and fullfilling.

Very good. Needed to add more salt and also would suggest mixing the feta cheese in with the meat filling.  Made way more filling than needed so I would buy an extra pepper to stuff.  Family loved them and they are healthy!

my family just loves this dish....however, i used other recipe reviewers suggestions and changed it up a tad. instead of bulgar, i use brown rice. i use italian seasoned ground turkey for a lighter taste and mix some feta and garlic into the stuffing mixture for extra taste.  italian seasoned stewed tomatoes are a great addition as well.  

So excited to see Ellie back.  Loved the stuffed pepper recipe.  Can’t wait to join her other classes.

Delicious. Love all the veggies and beautiful color. Because of limited time, I changed the cooking method to all skillet . I browned the meat, onions, 1tsp oregano and 1tsp cinammon (for the Mediterranean twist). I also added 3cloves of garlic. I used leftover cooked farro instead of bulghur. Dumped all the rest except cheese into the pan and let it simmer 10 minutes (red peppers also, cut into bitesize pieces). Laced it with cheese, stirred in.

This was delicious and a nice change from the usual stuffed pepper. I used leftover couscous instead of bulgar. Did not have the zucchini so omitted that also used diced tomatoes. Did not have feta cheese and substituted asiago cheese.  It was awesome and is a nice healthy and light dinner with a salad. Love it will make again. 

I've been looking for recipes that are healthy AND easy on the pocket. These greek-style stuffed bell peppers definitely fit the bill! Smelled great cooking and tasted great too. Thank you for sharing!

I think the recipe is very good, but needs some tweaking to make it great.  I made it with ground beef and sweet Italian sausage, but would stick to all ground beef next time, I added the equivalent amount of uncooked rice like others suggested and would do that again next time.  I cooked it for 60 minutes covered and 30 minutes uncovered which was perfect, but probably my biggest suggestion would be to add either a can of tomato sauce, tomato paste, or tomato soup because the juice was like water.  I think the watery juice was a great disappointment as we like to serve our stuffed peppers with mashed potatoes and the juice was too bland and too thin.

EXCELLENT! Instead of the ground beef however, my boyfriend and I used ground sausage. It was amazing and so filling!! 

Chicken Waldorf Salad

apple, unpeeled, chopped

chicken (about 1 large breast)

grapes,

celery,

golden raisins

walnuts,

yogurt (preferably Greek non-fat)

orange (about 1/4 cup)

Serving suggestion: Baby greens, extra grapes, raisins and walnuts for garnish

Coat the chopped apple with the lemon juice in a large bowl. Add the chicken, grapes, celery, raisins and walnuts, and gently combine.

In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, orange juice and salt. Gently fold the dressing into the salad. Serve on a bed of greens.

Why do people review recipes but "tweaked" the original recipe into their own. It's would be nice to hear from people who did not alter the recipe. Most people do not care to hear about what you did to suit your own palate. I can understand adding onion for a little more flavor. But completely altering someone recipe into their own is an unnecessary review. 

Terrific! I poached the chicken breasts. In the poaching water I added 1/1 a yellow onion, a bay leaf a couple of peppercorns and a bit of salt. After poaching I let them cool and followed the rest of the recipe to the letter. My family loved it.

Absolutely scrumptious! My version involved tweaking it via including dried cherries to accompany &amp; complement the golden raisins, in addition to using ready-made chopped packaged walnuts instead of preparing my own, along with freshly squeezed lemon for the body of the salad and orange for the dressing. Garnished with the remaining flesh of the orange that was leftover after the squeeze. The results were outstanding! I was so impressed that I couldn't wait to share...thus ran a plate featuring this, my new all-time-favorite Chicken Waldorf recipe, gracing the top of a bed of micro super-greens: baby arugula, red &amp; green swiss chard, tat soi &amp; spinach. Ingredients were highly compatible and conducive toward providing a light and tasty meal. Exquisite! I rate it a two-forks-up !!!!!!!

This recipe is simple and delicious. I used reduced fat sour cream instead of yogurt because that's what I had in my fridge. 


Great flavor....had to tweak based on what I had on hand.   Miracle Whip instead of Mayo; Greek yogurt with pineapple at bottom omitting as much fruit as possible; no grapes available;  lemon chicken from previous night dinner; pecans and walnuts; regular raisins not golden....pure delish

This salad was PERFECT as is! Made it exactly as recipe stated and it was wonderful! Everyone just ate this up on some bagels and crackers! Must make. Very simple full of flavor! Will be making a lot!!

This is a flavorful,delicious chicken salad. I used a rotisserie chicken,pecans instead of walnuts and dried cranberries. You can make substitutions with this recipe and it’s still delicious!

I made minor modification on the recipe by using leftover rotisserie chicken breast, a combination of Chinese Fuji apples for some sweetnes &amp; Granny Smith apples for tartness, roasted &amp; salted cashew nuts instead of walnuts, red &amp; green seedless grapes, Sultana raisins &amp; some dried cranberries. My family loved it !!!.

Loved this recipe. Made it awhile back per directions. Knowing me, I used rotisserie chicken. Delish! My favorite chicken salad!

Giada De Laurentiis' Cioppino, an Italian-American fisherman's stew, is a lighter alternative to heavy holiday meals, from Everyday Italian on Food Network.

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