Three Easy Recipes

I love to cook, and I love to cook new things, but I am not an experimenter; I am completely recipe dependent. While I occasionally adapt or substitute ingredients, I very rarely invent something from scratch. In instances when I have a specific thing in mind that I don't know how to make, I'll scour the Internet and my cookbook collection for a recipe rather than make it up, even if it is really simple.

That said, here are three recipes that are SO ridiculously easy that it is almost embarrassing to call them recipes. I am not sure where or when I found them, but at some point I jotted them down in my kitchen journal and have made them many times since. Assuming that some of you, like me, appreciate having quick and easy recipes on hand, I thought I would share them with you today.

Oven Roasted Carrots

PRINT ME!

Buy a bag of baby carrots. Throw them in a 9x13 glass dish.  Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, some sea salt, and some freshly ground pepper and stir to combine.  Roast at 475 degrees until tender and slightly browned (about 30 minutes).

These are perfect to make when bags of baby carrots go on sale. I roasted two bags yesterday morning and between afternoon snack yesterday and lunch today, they are all gone. They are seriously addictive!

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

PRINT ME!

Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Brush over four salmon fillets.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil 10-15 minutes.

How easy is that?

Quick Hummus

PRINT ME!

1 16 oz. can chickpeas
1/4 cup liquid from the can
3-5 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp tahini
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Blend and serve! The key ingredient here is the liquid from the can. I've tried lots of hummus recipes and could never get the texture quite right. This is super yummy, super economical, and super easy to throw together. Tahini is the only unusually ingredient; however, once you buy a jar to make this once, you'll have it on hand whenever you want to make more.

Happy cooking, all!