Oct 08 2007
Your Turn: Easy Meals
Let’s face it: Even if life is busy, we still need to eat.
I really do like to cook, but one of the casualties of my large family, homeschooling lifestyle has been frequent, fancy, experimental cooking. More often than not, I need quick, easy, nutritious meals that my family will actually eat. What simple dinners do you put together from stuff you have on hand? I really mean simple. You have to be able to describe your “recipe” in a few sentences like this:
Cook cubed chicken in a little oil with salt and pepper, add to prepared herb and butter flavored rice (from a box) along with frozen broccoli florets. Cook till broccoli is tender, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and serve with rolls.
Spill it, moms. You know you “cook” this way. Help the rest of us expand our repertoires.
How about that perennial favorite in New England salmon wiggle (or if you’re going the cheap route tuna wiggle). Make a white sauce stir in a can of salmon or a couple of cans of tuna. Throw in frozen peas and cook until the peas are cooked through. Serve on saltine crackers, toast, or rice. BTW my mother made this using canned peas, but I switched to frozen because I find canned peas disgusting. Serve wiggle with canned peaches for dessert. Gives you 1 protein serving, 2 fruit and veggie servings, a little bit of dairy and some grains. This was my favorite 4-H meeting night supper because I could throw it together so fast.
Okay, this is kinda embarassing…here are my two favorite "go to" meals when I just can’t handle another day of cooking (both are originally from "The Tightwad Gazette", but have my lazy person adaptations.) My hubby was raised on a beef ranch, so we are not really into the vegetarian thing…I promise the lentil one is very tasty!
Lentil-Rice Casserole (crock pot recipe)
Take 3/4 c. lentils, 1/2 c. brown rice. Place in crock pot. Add 3 cups liquid (leftover broth, water with boullion cubes, etc). Add any leftover onions or herbs, or add whatever herb spice mix you have in your cupboard (1 or more T.) Cook all day on low. As you are setting the table, add grated cheese to the top and let melt. Serve it up, add a vegetable if you are feeling ambitious.
Leftover quiche
Take 3-4 eggs, beat up in bowl with 1 to 2 c. milk and 1 c. (or less) flour. Add any spices you might like in your quiche. In a pie plate, spread leftovers (meats, veggies, whatever…I’ve put rice a roni in mine before) and top with grated cheese. Pour egg mixture over leftovers in pie plate, covering them all. Bake at 425 degrees for 30-35 minutes. No need for a side dish. Take a loaf of bread and butter, throw them on the table, and have everyone help themselves.
Corn Chowder is a family favorite. Brown cubed ham (I may use a ham steak or whatever type of ham in on sale) in butter with a diced onion. Then add 2 cans of corn, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, and 6-8 diced potatoes. To make it easier, use red potatoes so you don’t have to peel. Add milk to cover everything and simmer until potatoes are soft. This is really good warmed up the next day. Enjoy!
Tuna Pasta salad
Boil lots of curly pasta in big pot on stove until tender. Mix canned tuna, mayonnaise & pickle relish. Cut up any fruit you have – apples (just cut out the cores), canned pineapple, peaches, whatever; & veggies like cucumbers sliced or diced quickly & mix. Stir tuna mix and fruit/veg mix together. Cool & drain pasta; mix all & serve.
You can make a ton of this stuff and it is filling, goes a long way, & keeps well for days in the fridge if you don’t want to bother with preparing ANYTHING!
Here’s a recipe my kids ask for again and again, and I find myself making it when we’re pressed for time or I’m too tired to cook.
Throw a couple cans of beans into a saucepan (red beans, pintos, black beans work well)
Mash down and cook, simmer to dry out
Place Mission Style tortilla chips on plates according to appetite and size of child
Shred lots of cheese over top
Add beans if child will eat
Put in microwave until cheese melts
Serve with condiments of choice-Yum!
Quesadillas with leftover chicken or steak meat. Cube and put in tortilla with cheese, beans, corn, Rotel, whatever. Fold in half and cook on skillet.
Pasta bake-Use leftover meat sauce (ground beef and canned spaghetti sauce) and mix in casserole with cooked pasta (I like penne) and a few handfuls of italian, mozzarella, or parmesan cheese, bake.
King Ranch chicken-Mix shredded, cooked chicken (cooked in crockpot, rotisserie from store, or cubed chicken) with cream of chicken soup. Layer in dish with corn tortillas, chicken/soup mix (and Rotel for spicy lovers), and cheese, bake. You can also do enchiladas this way…soup/chicken and cheese rolled in flour tortillas, thinning the chicken/soup mix w/ water over the casserole, top w/ cheese and bake.
Shepherd’s Pie. Cook ground beef and mix with cream of mushroom, top with cooked frozen mixed veggies, mashed potatoes, and cheese. Bake in circular Pyrex dish.
I’m not so good on veggies; I try for a salad with these meals. Looking forward to the other recipes!
Try the Nigella Lawson website. Her new TV series, Nigella Express has easy cheat recipes.
http://www.nigella.com/recipes/index.asp
Mix 1 can of cranberry jelly, an 8oz bottle of 1000 island salad dressing and 1 packet of onion soup mix. Put 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a crock pot; pour the mixture over chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with
rice and steamed brocolli.
Taco Skillet for 5
(For a big family you might need 2 skillets or one electric one–they’re larger!)
Cook 1 lb of ground beef (this can be done ahead). Stir in one 8-oz can tomato sauce, 1 cup salsa, 1 cup frozen corn, 1/2 cup water and 1 cup Cheddar or Jack cheese shreds. Cut up a package of small flour tortillas into 1-inch pieces and stir those in. Cover and cook 10 minutes until everything is hot. Stir again, top with more cheese. Cover and cook 2 minutes so the cheese melts.
Doctored-up Corn Muffins from a Box:
Add egg and milk to a box of corn muffin mix. Stir in 3 tbl melted butter and 3 tbl real maple syrup. Optional: stir in 1/2 cup frozen corn (no need to thaw). Bake as directed on the box.
Brown Hamburger,drain, add can mushroom soup,and a can of peas, (amounts determined by your family size
serve over hot biscuits, I use the kind in the refrigerated section that come in a tube, Buttermilk ones are real good w/this 
This is also good over egg noodles.
In large skillet, melt a pat of butter. Add a pack or two of hot dogs, browning all around. Cut into bite size pieces. Add pork ‘n’ beans or any favorite type beans. Heat through.
Cook some seasoned boneless, skinless chicken breasts through (I use McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning and cook them on a George Foreman grill). Cut into strips or large cubes. Toss with bag salad and ranch dressing, or put chicken on a bed of salad and serve with dressing.
Pasta Fazul
(don’t know how to spell it, i’m not italian LOL)
Chop 1 small onion, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic in a few tablespoons of oil. Throw in a can of tomatoe sauce (16 oz.) with oregano, basil and salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes. Meantime, cook one pound of elbow macaroni. When macaroni is done combine with sauce and throw in about 1 1/2 cups frozen peas. Put the top on the pot for a few minutes and your dinner is done. Serve with salad if you want to, but my kids used to gobble this up and never had room for salad.
Quick Chili:
brown meat (or not) in large pot. drain. add frozen cut onions (if you didn’t brown any meat, you’ll have to heat a little oil first.) heat for a minute while you open cans of beans. throw in a couple cans of black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, or a combo. add one large can tomato sauce and one lg. can diced tomatoes. add palmful of chili seasoning. add frozen corn mixed with bell peppers. or not. heat through. serve with corn muffins.
My sister-in-law gave me this one and my family loves it. Cook cubed chicken in a skillet. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper if the kids can take some heat. Then mix half a jar of picante sauce and half a jar of apricot preserves over chicken and heat through. Serve over rice.
Mary’s Dish
Brown ground meat with chopped onion. Add two cans whole, peeled tomatoes, broken up. Stir in 1 c. cooked elbow mac. Add 1/2 bag frozen peas. Heat through. Salt to taste.
Beefy Mac ‘n’ Cheese Skillet
Prepare 1 box (7 oz.) macaroni ‘n’ cheese according to package directions. Meanwhile, brown 1 lb. ground beef in skillet; drain. Stir in 1 tsp. Italian seasoning. Add macaroni ‘n’ cheese to beef mixture. Stir in 1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes. Cook until heated through. Sprinkle 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese on top. Continue cooking on low-medium heat until cheese is melted.
my quick meal is pizza! (and this IS quick!)
In the morning when I have five minutes or so, I make the dough:
2c flour, 3/4c warm water, 1tsp yeast, 1tsp salt, 3-4Tbsp olive oil…. heat water and dissolve yeast, pour everything into bowl and mix (I mix by hand b/c I will over-mix with an electric mixer, and this being a recipe for a single large pizza crust, it is very quick to mix by hand).
Let rise… punch down if you get a chance and/or remember after it doubles in size… I’m not to cautious about this step
30 min before meal time: heat oven to 450*, dip dough into flour, roll out onto baking stone, brush with olive oil, add tomato sauce, mozzarella, spices toppings… bake until done (approx 10-12min).
Very simple. My 2yo loves to help make pizzas, too!
Tip for shredding mozzarella: freeze for approx 15 min before shredding so that it doesn’t crumble up on you since it’s such a soft cheese. When I remember to do this, it’s right after I turn on the oven, but by that time it’s only in the freezer for about 5 min.
The dough can easily be doubled. It also can be used for cheese sticks/bread sticks/calzone.
Super easy, no fuss meals from our house:
Mexican Soup-can be doubled easily for a large crowd!
2 cans black beans, drained
1 jar salsa, 15 oz.
1 10oz. pkg. frozen corn
1 15 oz. can chicken broth
Put in crock pot. Heat. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and corn bread.
Tortellini Soup-great for a meatless meal option!
9 oz. tortellini
14 oz. can whole tomatoes
1 can navy beans
1 jar artichoke hearts
1 c. chopped onion, 1 c.red pepper and garlic (amount to taste)
1 1/2 large box vegetable broth
1 bag fresh spinach
Heat in crockpot. Serve with Parmesan cheese and sourdough bread.
Chicken and Rice-an old standby taught by my MIL (mom to 11)
1 cup rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cans soup water
1 pkg. onion soup mix
Mix all together in a 9 x 13 dish and place uncooked chicken pieced (whichever kinds you prefer)on top of this mixture. Bake uncovered at 325 for 2 hours. I usually double or triple the rice and bake in a 10 x 15 dish.
Drain two cans of black beans. Mash slightly and stir in, oh, about a cup salsa and a cup of shredded cheese. Spread on tortillas, top with another tortilla. Bake in 350 oven for about 8-10 minutes. Cut into wedges. Voila you just made quessadillas. Serve with minute rice and canned peaches.
I don’t think I have ever commented here but I love your blog! Here are a couple of our favorite fast meals.
Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo
Boil Spaghetti noodles, any kind, add cooked cubed chicken, cooked broccoli and a jar of Alfredo Sauce. You can increase this to make as much or as little as you want.
A recipe from my grandmother who never cooked. Brown 1lb. of meat add a can of Vegetarian Vegetable Soup and a can of Spaghetti and Meatballs. Serve by itself or over noodles or bisquits. Again this can be increased to make more.
Burritos. Everyone loves these and they make a great meatless meal. Prepare one box of Spanish Rice. Add 1 can of refried beans, 1 envelope of Taco Seasoning and 1/2 -3/4 lb. of Velveeta cheese. Cook over low heat until the cheese is melted. Heat Tortillas and serve with you choice of toppings, Black olives, Lettuce, Tomatoes.
May add more later, but my kids all time favorite was always:
1 can tuna (drained)
1 box mac N cheese
1 can Veg-All (drained)
Make mac N cheese according to box, then add tuna and veggies. If you serve with applesauce (and I always threw in biscuits) you hit every food group too!
And shrimp boil! Cook red potatoes cut in fourths or so, corn on the cob cut in half, kielbasa (or your favorite sausage) cut in probably 10ths?, and peeled shrimp all in one big pot. The proportions and cooking times are to your preference. One pot, less dishes, all good!
Thanks Moms for all your recipes! I didn’t know there was another way to "cook!"
This is ultra simple gourmet type stuff. A dinner of sauteed veggies (you can also use chicken in this, and you meat eaters will know how to cook that).
Chop up veggies on hand. This recipe is ideal if you at least have onions, garlic, either broccoli or cauliflower, and any number of other favorites, like carrots, celery…blah blah blah.
Make this < a href="http://www.calorie-count.com/recipe/11842.html">sauce . It is pretty forgiving, so don’t sweat it if you don’t have ginger or sesame oil (I sometimes just sprinkle in ginger powder from the spice rack). Heat pan or wok, add oil (in China I use peanut oil, but any cooking oil is fine). Cook onions until you can see through them (I guess the cookbooks would say transparent), then add the thicker veggies (broc or cauli, carrots). When they are halfway done, add the smaller veggies. When everything is almost done, add any leafy veggies and sauce. Stir around another minute or two. Toss with some cooked angel hair pasta or cooked ramen noodles (without the little flavor packs. Have cashews or peanutes? Throw them in with the leafy veggies.
Chopping is the only work involved.
MMMMMMMMmmmmmMMMMMMM
My easy meal is hamburgers/ cheeseburgers with oven baked fries (soak the potato slices in ice water and white vinegar for about an hour. Serve w/fresh fruit or veggies.
That is my "everyone is happy" meal.
Oh, all right. I will take some time off from tonight’s meal preparation of parsley-chopping, sauce-reducing, scallop-searing and vegetable-julienning, (at this point I just need to figure out the garnish) to tell you what I throw in the pan when I’m really pressed for time.
Honestly, though, as a homeschooling mother of five with a new puppy, Cub Scouts, Choir, First Communion prep and piano lessons, I am hardly EVER pressed for time!
Anyway. Here’s the meal:
1. Crumble a pound and a half of raw ground beef into a largish pan.
2. Chop up a half a cabbage and throw it on top of the ground beef.
3. Dump a can of Condensed Tomato Soup on top of all of this.
4. Lid it. Cook it. Yum.
This turns out to be a truly tasty stew. Seasonings are optional but with all the time you save in the preparation, you may even be inspired to whip up a batch of homemade biscuits.
But that’s another recipe.
My comment didn’t read right! What I meant was I thought throwing cans of stuff in with a meat product WAS cooking!
Anyway, I have a yummy concoction!
Mexican Chicken Soup
Cooked cubed chicken, 1 can of corn(drained), 1 can ranch style beans(not drained), 1 can ro-tel tomatoes(1/2 or 3/4 of the can), 1 can chicken broth, 1 can water. A shake of chili powder, a shake of comino(cumin), salt and pepper, a couple shakes of garlic salt and minced onions. Simmer all and serve over chips and add sprinkled cheese. I serve with a side salad (the bagged variety). Feeds my family of 7.
1 package sausage. We usually use the turkey because it is our favorite, but any "Hillshire Farms" type will do.
1 large can of the Bush’s vegeterian beans, although I am sure any type of baked beans would be just fine.
1/2 onion chopped.
Slice entire sausage into chunks, fry along with the onion. Add the beans and heat thru! While it is heating I also add a bit of BBQ sauce, brown sugar, pepper and onion powder.
Simple as that!
This requires some time planning (ie get it in oven atleast 1.5 hrs before dinner, but you don’t have to do anything else, the oven does the work for you!).
Roast Chicken
5 or 6 lb bird, clean out inside. Rub olive oil & kosher salt on body. Stuff inside with thyme & bay leaf. Put in roasting pan with some plum tomatoes, cut up red potatoes and a few cut up onions. Drizzle olive oil over everything and add some more kosher salt and pepper. Roast in oven 45 min at 400 then lower heat to 350 for next 45 mins or so. Baste now & then. Let sit for 15 min then cut up & serve.
Jennifer: I thought about the bird just before I sat down to read more quickie meals…
don’t forget that after the bird is cleaned of meat to pop it in a pot (or slow cooker) to make chicken stock or soup for another meal (or two).
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a 15 min meal:
Cook penne, toss w/ butter, garlic, etc… add peas or broccoli.
Or whip up a white or cheese sauce while penne is cooking (recipe found on box of cornstarch) and add tuna (better than tuna helper!) and a veggie.
If you prefer a meat sauce, that will cook in the same amt of time as the penne.
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Unstuffed Cabbage Recipe:
I# ground meat crumbled
2# cabbage chopped or torn
2 Cans tomato soup
1/2 cup rice
1/2 can water
Mix it all in a roaster pan–(do not pre cook meat)
put in oven at 325 for 2 1/2 hrs.
Easy, quick & tastes just like stuffed cabbage without all the work!
One of my all-time favorite meals is just 2 ingredients, although you can certainly add more if you like.
Buy a bag of saffron rice and prepare according to package. In a seperate skillet, brown 1 lb of sausage. (we use Jimmy Dean Bold for extra flavor, but regular is just fine). Drain sausage and stir together with rice when rice is done. Sounds too basic, I know, but the saffron flavor is just fantastic with the sausage. You can buy lower fat sausage if you like and if I really want to dress it up I throw in some onion, broccoli and maybe some mushrooms.
Quick Chili (for Fritos Pies)
Brown 2 lbs. ground meat (we use turkey, you can use beef). Add 2 large cans (not regular sized cans) of Ranch Style Beans plus 1/2 to 1 can of water. Add 2 Tbl. minced onion and spices to taste (garlic powder, paprika, cumin, cilantro, chili powder, etc… all of these are dried spices that I always have on hand or you could just use a packet of chili or taco seasoning). Simmer for 15 minutes and serve over a bowl of fritos and shredded cheese on top. Makes one big pot which serves 6 in my house with enough left over for lunch.
sunday night- pasta with sauce and garlic bread. monday night- chicken and potato or rice. tuesday night- tacos made w/ ground turkey. wednesday night- mac and cheese and sausages (kielbasa or hotdogs) thursday night- in fall/ winter, hot sandwiches like meatball subs or open faced chicken with hot gravy, friday night fishsticks. saturday night rice and stir fry. No thinking. No complaining.
Fry up a pound of hamburger (more if you have a large family), add a big can of baked beans, add a handful of shredded cheddar cheese, and heat through. Add cornbread and salad and done!!
Baked chicken:
Whole chicken(s), depending on family or appetite size. Large rectangle of aluminum foil (one per chicken). Place in the center a patch of Lawry’s seasoned salt. Place rinsed chicken on pile, generously sprinkle the rest of the chicken until well coated.
Roll foil around chicken (meet shorter ends over breasts of chicken, roll short ends up – be sure no holes). Bake in oven at 350 for about 1 1/2 hours (more if more chickens). Serve with rice and a veggie (or two).
Hi Dannielle,
I am a mother of 7 children and this was my style of cooking for little children many years ago, it was a busy, hectic household!
While I was baby sitting the kids, a 6 year old and younger and cleaning house and doing the laundry (by hand)
I had a pot of stew simmering on the gas stove.
Ex: pieces of cut beef, a large onion and salt to taste
simmering on the stove till almost tender. I add some cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and celery. I served it
with rice and the kids love it, even the baby about 9 months
old gets the mashed patatoes and carrots with a little mashed rice.
I also cooked pork ribs, with the fat cut out the
same style, the hot soup is good for everybody, and I get thngs done by myself.
I hope this will help, very nutritious too.
Thelma Clark Santiago
Seal Beach, CA
P.S. I am now 77 years old, the grandmother of 12 and still looking sexy!!!!
good ideas, but just reading them gives me heartburn! "lol".
Here’s a yummy pasta salad kids are sure to love. I think it’s a version of a Waldorf salad..
boil and drain curly tube-shaped pasta,(like ziti, but curly)
mix with:
cubed turkey
sliced red grapes
diced celery
walnuts
and shredded carrots for color
add mayo to your liking
(serve cool)
okay. i don’t cook. so, i don’t have anything to add. BUT I AM PRINTING THIS OUT IMMEDIATLY BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! thank you to everyone. my family thanks you. no more mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. (except on the weekends when my husband actually cooks wonderful meals-he would be mad at me if i didn’t mention that
))). i can actually do this and this is sooooo what i need. i list of some easy, healthy, basic stuff that is EASY TO SHOP FOR (because this is my main issue-when i take kids to the grocery store it is almost impossible to go around and find complicated ingredients to make a meal, i just get crazy)… and easy to prepare AND good and healthy and feels homecooked. i am thinking book anyone? THE HOMESCHOOLERS GUIDE TO DELICIOUS AND SIMPLE MEALS or something…..i don’t know. someone can come up with a better title. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!
i’ve blogged this elsewhere but my mom’s old stand-by was what we call "Chicken Alissa" (after my older sister who loved this as a little girl).
*use 1 cut up fryer or 6-8 chicken breasts. Put in baking pan. On top of each, sprinkle with the following: salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder. On top of each, put a piece of thinly sliced lemon and a pat of butter. Then, splash white wine on top (or worchestire sauce if preferred).
Bake at 350 uncovered for 1 hour and 15 minutes. (At the last minute, you can turn it to broil if you like the skin crispy.)
this goes great with any starch (pasta, potato, rice) and a mixed green salad (or any other green veggie). It makes for a pretty presentation and is good for a "new baby meal-drop off," as the flavors are not too overpowering.
I know now why we had it once weekly growing up- I always have the ingredients! I have also used this for fresh fish, substituting thyme for the oregano.
Here’s some easy meals that I make.
CHICKEN AND RICE
Chicken Rice Roni
cooked chicken meat
mixed veggies
You can really experiment with rice a roni the mexican rice is good with ground beef and corn
CHICKEN POT PIE
cooked chicken meat
cream of soup
mixed veggies
bisquick and milk
Combine the meat soup and veggies. Make the Bisquick biscuits so they are runny closer to pancake batter. Top the meat mixture and bake in the oven at 375-400 until golden brown roughly 40 minutes. You can also top this with tube biscuits instead.
SMOKED SAUSAGE CASSEROLE
smoked sausage cut up (I use lower fat turkey)
cooked pasta (slightly firm is better if you are baking it)
spag sauce
cheese
Combine meat, sauce, and pasta top with cheese Put in oven until bubbly and hot if you have the time.
This works with cooked chicken and mozzerella cheese too. Rather like a chicken parmesan.
A family favorite that is a bit more complicated is what can nicely be called Taco Dip. It looks gross but tastes good. It’s cheese sauce (white sauce with cheese) taco meat kidney and/or refried beans and salsa all mixed up and we use tortilla chips to eat it.
I didn’t see one like this yet:
Curried Ham & Pineapple
Start cooking as much rice as you need for your family. While that is cooking, saute some onion in a large skillet, using butter or oil; Add cut up ham…cubes from a steak work nicely, but I’ve used any kind, even lunchmeat. Add pineapple cubes–use canned cubes or slices cut up, save the juice for now. Add curry powder to taste, maybe a little salt and pepper. When the rice is done, set some aside for the picky kids, (add butter to that if necessary). Stir the rest into the ham/pineapple mixture until mixed. Add some pineapple juice and heat a bit, if you like it juicier.
I like it because I can serve plain ham and rice to the picky kids, and the rest of us will eat the curry mix. I bet cut up peppers would be nice too, but I can eat them, so I don’t add them.
From my sister:
1 pie crust
1 can vegall
1 jar gravy
left over meat
Bake till crust is done.
From my Mom
1 pie crust (or a pumpkin on a ‘special’day
left over pork cubed
handful of raisins and nuts
a couple apples chunked and sprikled with cinnamon
top with a couple pats of butter
Bake till crust is done, (1 hour if in pumpkin)
from me:
1 full ckicken breast in bottom of caserole (we use very little meat)
1 cup rice
1 cup frozen veggies
2 1/2 cups water
Microwave on High 5 mins on Med for 20 mins
Can be doubled if you make the cooking tim 10 on high.
This is the dish I sneak greens into.
Toss a pound of bacon on the floor and stand back. The fastest meal ever.
Oh, how I LOVE this thread- I will be cooking these meals from you ladies for the rest of my life!
Here’s my quickie recipe:
1 Can Cream O’ Mushroom
1 can tuna
1/2 cup milk
heat up and serve over white rice with rolls and green beans. My kids love this!
my husband call this goulash:
cook 1lb elbow mac. cook one onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1lb ground turkey* in olive oil and add to cooked pasta with one lg can tomato sauce. serve with whatever veggies you have on hand that the kids will eat.
*we buy ground turkey much cheaper than ground beef, here, but the "original" recipe calls for ground beef
My favorite: cook 2lb fettuccine; warm up 2 jars alfredo sauce, add 2 cans mushroom pieces and stems and 1 pkg frozen broccoli florets. (You can also brown some chicken or add leftover chicken to this).
Green Bean casserole:
1 can of cut green beans
1 pound ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1 box instant mashed potatoes
Brown the beef and drain. Put beef into a casserole dish and mix with the can of tomato soup. Drain the green beans and mix them in with the soup and meat.
Make the instant mashed potatoes on the stove-top and then spread them on top of the meat/beans/soup mixture as a topping.
Bake at 350 degrees for about half an hour.
Even my picky kids eat this one and it takes me five minutes to prepare!
This is a hearty breakfast or dinner and probably some of the best hash you’ll ever have.
In a large, deep, non-stick skillet, brown one large sweet yellow onion (chopped) in one stick of butter. When the onion is soft, add 2or 3 pint jars of canned venison(drained) and warm through. Then add about 6/8 med. red potatoes that have been peeled, boiled, cooled and diced. Heat/mix all ingredients together. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lots of powdered garlic . Serve with toast and eggs for breadfast or with your favorite vegetable for a hearty dinner. Great for camp!
This is a recipe I came up with that is really tasty and super simple! Just give it a try and I think you’ll enjoy it too:
2 cans of rinsed kidney beans
2 cans of diced tomatoes (I usually use the unsalted)
1-2 cups of raisins
green pepper, chopped (or any color you have on hand)
2 TBSP chili powder
2 TBSP cumin
cooked rice
Cheddar cheese
Add all ingredients except cooked rice and cheese together in a pot. Cook until boil, stirring frequently. Let simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice and top with cheddar cheese! This recipe will serve about 4-6, so if you’ve got a large family, you may want to double or triple!
Yum! Great recipes I can’t wait to try. Here’s one that always comes through for us.
Hawaiian Pork (this recipe is for the 6 of us, ammend as necessary)
3-4ib. pork butt or shoulder, trim the fat and cut into large, steak size, chunks
Mix in a a bowl
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced (more if you like)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup whiskey (optional)
Line 13 x 9 baking pan with heavy duty foil Use a large sheet of foil lenght wise and a large sheet width wise in order to have enough to "tent" over the pork. Place chunks of pork in bottom of pan. Spoon sauce over all the pork. Bring up and fold the opposing sides of the foil and seal over the pork in a dome shape (to allow for steaming room). Make sure foil is tightly sealed. Place in 325 degree oven for 3 – 4 hours. You can’t overcook this! Serve with rice and broccoli (or veggie of your choice).
I cannot wait to pick out some new recipes to try, but I hadn’t seen anything like this listed. Pretty quick for breakfast or dinner.
We call this Minnesota scramble.
Scramble a bunch of eggs in a large skillet. When they are cooked through throw in some frozen cubed hash brown potatoes (or cut potatoes yourself – but this is my quick recipe – no time to chop) and add some oil, fry until the potatoes are somewhat crispy. Then throw in some frozen mixed vegies (preferably thawed first – but if not just watch to make sure nothing else burns while the vegies are cooking. I usually season with some cayenne pepper and salt- or whatever I feel like adding at the time. Then I serve it with some sort of rolls or just plain toast. No complaints from any one of my half-dozen youngsters.
Preparing a simple meal for a family brought back so many memories—My husband was always able to be home from work by the time I went in for second shift as an R.N. at our local hospital…..so hoping to help him in caring for the six children at home, I usually prepared a cassarole or a one dish meal. One day I asked if he would like it if I would set the table before I left. Being the wonderful husband and dad that he was–his reply was. "Don`t bother mom. It`s so easy, I just put the dish in the middle of the table and give them each a spoon and tell the to "Go at It". Those were the good old days!!
Chicken-cutlets
Pre-cut chicken breast tenders (family pack)
Two sticks of butter, melted
Big bowl of Panko breadcrumbs mixed with 1/4 cup of grated parm cheese
—-
1. Dip chicken pieces into melted butter
2. Roll chicken in breadcrumb mix till coated
3. Put in large saucepan over med-high heat
4. Repeat with all chicken pieces (butter, breadcrumbs, saucepan)
5. Flip the chicken pieces when browned on one side
6. Cover and lower heat to simmer, maybe 10-15 min tops
7. Serve over salad greens, with some flavor of dipping sauce on side
Better Tomatoe Soup
1. In a medium heavy bottom sauce pan or dutch oven, saute 1/2 chopped onion and 2-4 cloves crushed garlic (depending on your families taste) in vegetable oil or olive oil until onion is translucent and garlic is aromatic. 2. Add the liquid from 1-2 cans (depending on size of family, for 2 adults and 2 small kids we use one can)of diced or whole tomatoes.
3. Simmer the liquid with onions and garlic until reduced by half.
4. Add tomatoes and whatever seasonings that you like. Example: dried basil and or oregano, paprika, curry powder etc. If you what to add fresh herbs wait till just before serving. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes
5. Puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return to pot and return to a light simmer.
6. You can now add whatever fresh flavours you want. A splash or cream or milk. Parmesan cheese. Fresh basil or parsley or coriander. Worchestershire sauce, tabasco sauce.
7. Serve hot. You ‘fancy’ it up with cheese on top or croutons, or a couple of shrimp or diced ham or chicken.
WAAAAYYY better than canned and the whole recipe should take about 12 minutes.
Did you know you can cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker?
This is absolutely delicious:
1 whole chicken, skin removed (takes a few minutes, but worth it)
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. olive oil
1/4 c. honey
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 TBSP. minced garlic (or garlic powder)
Place chicken in slow cooker. Mix all other ingredients. Pour over chicken and cook on low for 8hrs or high for 4 hours. Thicken juices for gravy, serve over rice. Yum, yum!!!
**I like to cram 2 chickens into my big slow cooker and freeze the leftovers (if there are any!).
My favorite meal: (Prep chicken and rice first.) Saute a 16-oz bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables until just tender. Add about 2 cups of cooked cubed chicken (we like a lot of meat in these kinds of dishes, and I tweak it according to how many people are at dinner, from 5-8). Stir in 1/4 cup of honey teriyaki (my favorite is KC Masterpiece) and a can of drained pineapple tidbits. Serve immedidately on cooked brown rice.
This Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole is true comfort.
Mix, 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (I usually boil them in chicken broth, cool and cut up or tear into pieces) with one can of cream of chicken soup and one cup of sour cream. Put in a greased 9"x13" glass casserole dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with a mixture of 1 stick melted butter, 1 tube crumbled ritz crackers and 2/3 tablespoons of poppy seeds.
This is a recipe that is always worth a double batch. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes until nice and bubbly. Serve with rice and veges.
Brown pork chops in a little oil over medium high heat.
Turn heat to medium, add one can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, OR one can of Creamed Corn…which ever you think your family would prefer. Stir a little to get the good browned stuff off the bottom of the pan, putting some of the soup on top of your chops, and then cover and cook on low for 30 mins. (You can make REAL rice while you wait) I serve with corn or brocolli. Hands down favorite with all the kids.
OK. My creds: oldest of 11 children, mother of 6, grandmother of 4.
1. anything that starts with onions sauteed in olive oil
2. anything that has pasta as a base
3. an actual recipe of sorts adapted from a Grange cookbook:
in a large microwave proof casserole (I use Corningware), melt a couple TBSP butter. Add one cup herb stuffing or any other bread type stuff (crumbs, crackers,leftover brioche).Stir together. Add one pound bag frozen veggies (original called for broccoli; almost anything will do;mixed combinatons are good). Add minced onion (or frozen)if your guys like it. Nuke for 5 min. Add one can creamed corn, 2 slightly beaten eggs, seasonings, leftover protein (chicken, filet mignon, pork) or tuna fish. stir it all togetherand sprinkle with breadcrumbs and/or grated cheese.Microwave for 20 minutes or regular oven for about 45 min.
cut up chicken and cook in olive oil. (or used left over chicken). Throw in some cooked elbow macaroni or pasta of choice. And more oil and season with seasoned salt. sprinkle with parsely (from a jar) to maked it look gourmet. It’s actually quite delicious. Serve with a veggie or add one to the mix if you please. That’s it!
the "recipe" below can also be changed to ground beef instead of chicken
.
i cook the following in a hot/ mediumish oven – veg hot pot
chop leeks, parsnip, swede ,carrotts and or onions or whatever you have handy ,layer in a casserole dish big enough to feed the family, top with sliced potato or swede. add enough stock or as we are veggie/vegan we use 1 tsp marmite stirred into veg stock to come just under the layer of potatoes. cook until potato is browning, serve with bread , can be mashed up for babies!
If your kids will eat calzones, here’s a quick cheat version.
Thaw out a bag (or two or three) of ready-made pizza dough. Roll each ball of dough out into a largish 12" circle shape on floured surface. (Don’t obsess over the circle shape.) Transfer to an oiled baking sheet. In a large bowl combine a bag (or 2 or more) of pre-grated mozzarella cheese, and if desired, a couple big handfuls of feta, or riccotta, and/or thawed, drained, chopped broccoli, if it’s an "acceptable" food in your house). Mix it all up, adding some garlic powder and salt & pepper, and place a good-sized cup or more of filling on one half of the rolled-out dough, avoiding the edges. Fold over the other edge (you want a half-moon shape here), crimp edges with a fork to seal, (wet edges with a little water to help them stick) place on oiled baking sheet, adjusting shape and centering it on pan – the dough is pretty forgiving. Slit the top 4 or 5 times to let steam out and bake at 475 for 15-20 minutes or til golden. Let cool a bit. Cut into manageable slabs. Dump a jar of marinara or other spaghetti-type sauce into a pot, let heat gently and use to dip your calzone slice in.
You’ll almost think it was take-out…
Here’s one more.
Pork Chop Casserole (adjust amounts as needed)
8 1/2"-thick pork chops
1 (or so)cup chopped onion
2 c chopped apples (wash but don’t bother peeling)
1/4 c raisins
2 c seasoned herb stuffing mix
1 tsp salt
Quickly brown chops in non-stick skillet sprayed with Pam. Remove and set aside. Add onion, stit til tender crisp. Stir in remaining ingredients. Arrange 4 pork chops in shallow 2-quart baking dish. Top with half of stuffing mix. Cover with remaining chops, top with remaining stuffing. Add 2 TBSP water. Cover, bake 350 for 45-50 minutes. Remove cover during last 10 minutes. Makes 8 servings.
For a quick go-with, my kids also would eat (as in take a bite of) heated canned yams with a little maple syrup drizzled on them. Add a jar of applesauce and some raw carrots and there’s dinner.
My husband loves this recipe & it’s really easy:
Brown 1 lb. of gr. beef or turkey. Add a can of cream soup (I prefer celery, but mushroom also works) & 4-6 oz of sour cream. Bring to a boil, then let simmer about 10 min. Mix with a bag of cooked egg noodles & serve!
I usually add a chopped clove or two of garlic to the meat when browning. Also, low-fat cream soup & sour cream works just as well as the regular ones.
My wife likes the book Saving Dinner for simple, quick meal ideas.
Hoppin’ John – You can upsize this one easily, but I started out this way when young and the money was – uh, lowER?
Brown 1 lb of ground sausage (we like the hot, since it is mixed in. Add to prepared family size bag of Success Rice style rice, and a can of black eyed peas undrained. Serve with Jiffy Corn Muffins, or:
My later, moist & sweet & good, not as inexpensive but just as easy cornbread – always made at least this much, because is just as good as a snack
2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 can cream style corn
4 eggs
16 oz sour cream
2/3 cup oil
Combine with fork just til mixed, put in two cake pans, and cook 400 for about 35 min.s
Chicago Italian Beef (for sandwiches)
Ingredients -
3 to 5 pound roast (usually use chuck or rump, but will work ok with any kind I’ve tried),
1 packet of Italian-style salad dressing mix(i like zesty),
1 16 oz jar pepperoncini (sold where the pickles are – like banana pickles sort of),
1 10.5 or so can of beef broth.
Place roast in bottom of crockpot, sprinkle with dressing mix, pour whole jar of pepperoncini (including liquid) over roast, then pour beef broth over. Add onion sliced if it suits you.
Cook at least 8 hours but can’t really be overcooked if you watch the liquid – I have started this the afternoon BEFORE we are going to eat when the next whole day will be very busy. When you are ready to eat, just pull the meat apart, will almost self-shred. Serve on French Rolls or similar – so, so, so good. Also works well for pot lucks.
As a child I was the world’s pickiest eater; my friend’s mom, Mrs. Wilhelm, made me try these, and I’ve loved them ever since:
Fry 1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage; drain and cool (or not if you’re rushed). Mix in 2 jars of Kraft Old English cheese spread and a half a stick of butter. Cut 2 bags Thomas’ English muffins into quarters; spread sausage mixture on them; put in a zip lock bag and freeze. For a quick dinner, pull some out of the freezer, put under a low broiler for about 10 minutes (a few inches, not directly, below), and serve with, maybe, scrambled eggs and a salad. Can also be cooked right away, without freezing; obviously in less time.
I generally triple the recipe for our family (2 adults, 6 young kids), and they never last long in the freezer. We also love these for breakfast (good and quick for overnight company), and you can also just spread the sausage mixture in a pie plate, pour some beaten eggs over it, bake it at 350 until firm, and you’ve got sausage quiche.
Pot Roast in Crock Pot.
Pour Salsa over and cook on low 8 hours.
serve over rice. Wah-la!
Pretty simple, huh?!?!
We made this all the time when dating and early in marriage. It’s pretty good but we got tired of it – I made it all the time when I was working and had no idea how to cook! Quick and simple though:
Tater Tot Hot Dish:
– then cover with foil. Bake at 425-450 until bubbly, about 30 min, then uncover for another 10 or 15. Basically the total time should be according to the package directions. (don’t have one to look at right now)
Brown 1 lb ground meat with a little salt, pepper and garlic powder. Drain and place in bottom of 13×9 pan. Pour in 1 bag of frozen cut green beans. Pour over 1-2 cans cream of chicken soup. Take a bag of frozen tater tots and apply to top- you can pour them over evenly or line up in one layer with flat sides up if you have time
What I make often – meatless one dish pasta:
Heat (1 T.) olive oil in a nonstick pan, add 1 chopped onion, cook 5 minutes, add 2 cloves pressed or minced garlic and cook 1 minute, add 1- 28oz can diced tomatoes (2 if a larger crowd) and some chicken broth(1/2 cup) if you have it, and bring to a boil. Add spaghettini (thin spaghetti) and let cook 10 minutes or so. Add some salt, pepper, handful of fresh chopped basil and grated parmesan, stir and serve.
(you can sub mini penne or any other quick cooking pasta as well. Add more chicken stock or water if it gets too thick. I sometimes add dried oregano before bringing to a boil.)
One thing I have learned in the last few years of cooking fairly complicated as well as faster meals: You can always speed up pasta by adding some liquid to the sauce and cooking the pasta with it. Same with rice or orzo in soups. Oh, and a stir fry with frozen veggies and a few fresh is really fast too.
Hi ladies, I’ve never posted before, but read your site Danielle everyday…I just love it! What a great thread! I am always looking for easy recipes. Here are a few I like….
Cola Roast
1 small frozen roast (beef, pork)in crockpot
Top with 1 packet onion soup mix, 1 can cola, salt and pepper. (Can add mushrooms or other veggies)
Cook on low for 6-8 hours…tender and yum! Add liquid from pot to jarred brown gravy and make potatoes.
Easy quiche
use Pillsbury crescent rolls to layer pan for crust.
In bowl, mix 3 eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of cheese and 1 cup of cooked meat or veggies. Pour into crust. Bake at 325-350 degrees for one hour.
Macaroni and CeCe’s (Chick peas)-from my mom
Simmer onions (or onion powder) in olive oil. Add can of chick peas with liquid. Add small can of Delmonte sauce and one can of water. Mash some of chick peas. Add salt and lots of parsley. Simmer for 30 minutes covered half way. Mix with cooked pasta (ditalini, elbows). My kids all love this!
Easy Alfredo sauce -from my sis (tastes better than jarred…probably…never tried jarred! …being Italian, it would be a sin!
Put 1/2 pint heavy cream in pot with 1/3 stick of butter. Heat. When butter is melted and it starts to boil, wisk in 6 oz. locatelli Romano grated cheese until melted. Add macaroni, fettucine or tortellini and pepper to taste. Can also add bacon, peas or whatever to it. Delicious and truly homemade!
I also like to check out Rachel Ray’s website for easy recipes.
Maria in VA
Chicken curry: even the two year old loves it…
Saute chicken tenders till cooked, dice,(or use cooked chicken) then saute a little chopped onion in the same pan. Add 1 can diced tomatoe, 1can coconut milk, a couple of tbs Patak’s mild curry paste. Serve over rice.
Friday Lenten version: as above but saute a large diced potato till cooked instead of chicken and add a drained can garbanzo beans…..too good for lent!
This is a hearty breakfast or dinner and probably some of the best hash you’ll ever have.
In a large, deep, non-stick skillet, brown one large sweet yellow onion (chopped) in one stick of butter. When the onion is soft, add 2or 3 pint jars of canned venison(drained) and warm through. Then add about 6/8 med. red potatoes that have been peeled, boiled, cooled and diced. Heat/mix all ingredients together. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lots of powdered garlic . Serve with toast and eggs for breadfast or with your favorite vegetable for a hearty dinner. Great for camp!
One of my favorites, adapted from Coffee & Cale’s Four Ingredient Cookbook:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts–fresh or frozen
1 pound of baby carrots–fresh or frozen
2 cans stewed tomatoes, any recipe (Italian, Mexican, no salt, whatever)
1 bag frozen brussels sprouts
Put in crock pot on low for about 8 hours. The tomatoes infuse the sprouts so that they don’t taste nasty, too. If you use the frozens, this recipe can just wait in your freezer and cupboard until whenever.
potatoes o’brian
Take cooked cubed ham, stir into browned stirfried potatoes obrian mix (you can find this in veggie freezer section, hash brown potatoes with peppers and onions). May not need much salt, ham makes it salty. Serve with salad- kids love this!
Pot Luck Supper (my kids favourite,all 4 of them)
Cook 1-1/2lb of ground beef in a deep frying pan(I use my deep electric fry pan)and one diced onion,add 1 large can of stewed tomatoes (may use diced tomatoes) salt and pepper to taste and any other spices to choice. While this is cooking, prepare a pan of water, bring to a boil, add 1 cup of uncooked macaroni, cook and drain add to meat mixture. Top with one cup of diced cheddar cheese, cover and let cheese melt slightly. Serve on a toast or warm hamburger bun. Great!! Diane Goulet
CURRY IN A HURRY (this is from a magazine I have been making this for the past 35 years)quite good, easy and fast
1 ½ lbs beef, (steak cut in thin strips)
2 onions
1 clove garlic
4 tsp curry powder
1 C tomato juice
½ C water
¼ tsp each salt, sugar, cinnamon
Cook all together and serve over rice and green peas if desired.
Diane Goulet
In case you would like a quick dessert kids can make:
EASY CHEESECAKE
Takes only 5 ingredients;
8 oz (227mL) package cream cheese , softened
1/3 C ( 80mL) icing sugar
227 mL (8 oz) or half a big tub whipped topping
thawed(Cool Whip , Dream Whip or the likes)
1 prepared graham crust(or make your own
using: 1C graham wafer crumbs, ¼ C sugar,
¼ C melted butter or margarine, bake in microwave 1 minute)
TOPPING:
1 ½ C (375 mL) cherry pie filling (may use fresh fruit if desired)
Method: Beat cream cheese, sugar with electric beater, add cool whip.
Mix well and pour into crust.
Refrigerate a couple of hours. Spread fruit evenly on top. Makes 8 servings.
Cook’s Tip: to soften cream cheese, microwave on high 30 sec.
Bon appétit, Diane Goulet
Cut up chicken stips in bite size pieces. Chop up onions and garlic and throw in. Brown in a little bit of oil. Add salsa (the mexican kind – use your favorite), lower heat, and simmer for 10-15 minutes until flavors blend. Serve w/rice. Done.
Oh, yes, the quick dinner! I love it. It means that we can do more stuff with our kids and less stuff with our kids hanging onto our pants (or skirts), whining, while we try to MAKE THEM A GOOD DINNER, DARN IT!!
This is one of my favorite quick dinner recipes – you can add rice, too, if you have it around. So simple, healthy, meatless (good for abstinence days), and delicious.
South of the Border Wraps
Makes 4 servings
1 8 oz can kidney beans (I also use black beans sometimes)
8 oz frozen corn, defrosted
¼ cup chopped bell pepper
½ cup chunky-style salsa
1 T chopped cilantro or parsley
4 tortillas (8-10 inches in diameter)
grated cheese (if desired)
Drain kidney beans, rinse, and put in bowl. Add corn, bell pepper, salsa, and cilantro. Stir. Microwave on high 2 minutes. Put in wraps, wrap up, enjoy!
Here’s a "throw in the oven and forget it for 2 hours" recipe:
1 boneless pork roast, enough for your family’s dinner (2 pounds for 6 servings gives some leftovers too!)
1 pound baby carrots
Potatoes, cut in 1-inch pieces (no need to peel)
Sweet potatoes/yams, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces
3 tbl EACH olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
Toss potatoes and carrots in the oil and vinegar mixture. Place in the bottom of a big deep Dutch oven. Top with the roast. Salt and pepper the whole thing. Cover and cook at 300 for 2 hours or until the meat thermometer says it’s done.
"Super Easy Chicken/Pork/Beef BBQ"
Enough meat of your choice to feed your size family. Mix a can or two of chicken or beef broth with a 1/2 to 1 cup of barbeque sauce and blend together. Add the meat and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. When you are ready, take the meat out & let it cool off a little while, then shred it with a fork. Throw it on some buns & those who want more BBQ sauce add it on. Choose whatever sides your family likes: cole slaw, fries, salad, applesauce, etc. Thanks for all the other ideas ladies!
Ooops! I forgot to add that my recipe should be cooked in a crockpot – duh!
Recipe #2
Tacos
brown chop meat, add taco mix. (We prefer Ortega) Serve with crispy or soft taco shells, cheese, refried beans and whatever else the kids like to put on top.
Easy meal in less than 15 minutes.
I haven’t seen one thing about beans and franks. Add some celery and carrot sticks, apple sauce and a couple of cookies for desert and you’ve got it. Just cut hotdogs up in chunks in pork and beans, add whatever you like ( catsup etc.) and heat.
Also, if you stick a whole chicken in the crockpot and cook it on low while you are sleeping, you will have the cooked chicken for whatever recipe you need the chicken , such as quesadias?, chicken bbq, chicken salad or chopped chicken on top of a regular salad, chicken tacos etc.
cooked pasta….(any kind)
In pot add to Pasta:
whatever you have in your fridge ie: cooked chicken, broccoli, peppers, ham, peas, (use up leftovers).
(best to keep it one meat and one vegetable)
Stir in a bit of butter, milk, parmesian cheese.
When warm….SERVE
I think I got this one from FlyLady:
Put one beef roast in the crockpot and add 2 sliced cloves of garlic and the juice from one large jar of dill pickles (or if you like *spicy* use peperoncini peppers intead). Cook 6-8 hours and serve with pita bread.
I usually also serve raw cut-up veggies with dip made from half yogurt, half miracle whip and some curry powder.
Well, there is always grilled cheese and tomato soup if you are in real hurry and have a really BIG grill pan. You know that Bean family, there are soooo many of them!
These recipes are popping into my head right and left!
Cook a pound of pasta, add a large can of tuna, some olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic powder and voila, dinner in a hurry!
2 large jars of chicken gravy (sounds scary – but pretty good & not too fattening)
2 cups of shredded cooked chicken
1 Package broccoli florets
combine in pot – cook til warm
Serve over whatever’s handy puffed pastry, biscuits, or bread
sprinkle with cheddar cheese
2 can (16 oz) black beans
1 can tomatoes – chopped, or pureed or Italian style -whatever
1 can chopped green chilies (or not)
1 package (10 oz) of frozen corn
2 Tbs bbq sauce
3/4 t cumin (sometimes I leave it out for kids)
a litle brown sugar
- Open cans, drain the beans and combine with other ingredients in a pot. Warm about ten minutes. Serve with rice.
.I said " (We prefer Ortega) " Goodness no! We dont’ like that at all. Old El Paso is the only one my kids will eat. Ortega is slimy.
For large families, cook your grilled cheeses on a cookie sheet under the broiler!
On that note – some days I would announce "Backwards Day" to my kids – usually when we had leftovers.. We would have leftover dinner for breakfast, and for dinner we had breakfast. Made eating the leftovers fun!
Easy breakfast for dinner – cook your pound of bacon on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Either under broiler (that’s where the "on the same note" came from), or I now prefer putting it in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes or so…. Eggs w/grated cheese sprinkled in near the end. Sausage gravy (ground sausage browned, drain most of drippings, add flour, then milk) with biscuits. French toast with needs-to-be-used bread. And my favorite – corned beef hash made from ready made hash browns (you know the ones!) – start them, add cut up onion, and stir in a tin of corned beef (the kind w/the key).
This can be expanded to feed more people. Brown hamburger. Drain. Add one bottle of salsa, one can of kidney beans. Mix. Put in casserole dish, top with batter of cornbread (I use Jiffy). Bake in a 350 F. oven until cornbread is baked. Delicious and fast.
Quesadillas
Put tortilla in warm skillet or on griddle. Add cheese and if desired black beans or chicken or green pepper, whatever you like or have on hand. Add another tortilla on top. Cook until slightly browned and crispy. Flip and cook until other side is done.
Cut with pizza cutter and serve with sour cream if desired. Easy to customize to what your family likes and super quick.
One of our favorite quick dinners is this. I keep cans of chicken broth handy. quick cook some carrots (those baby carrots) cut up some potatoes and cook until slightly fork tender. I try to use as little water as possible. I add a bouillion for the little water plus the chicken broth. Then cook some noodles We then add some romano cheese to the top of the soup. This is one of our favorites.
Bread chicken cutlets-put in frying pan with oil, brown on both sides-put in pan with cream of chicken soup and let cook at 325 for 2 hours and the best part is to let cook for the rest of the day at 275. It is delicious!!
Even my daughters who are vegies will eat this soup because there is no chicken added.
OK, this recipe is easy and DELICIOUS and I got it from my friend Mary, who is a homeschooling mom of 5.It’s called "CHICKEN ERCKERT" after her family.
Line up skinless boneless chicken breasts on a baking sheet
pour italian dressing over each breast
crumble ritz crackers over each breast
put in oven on 350 for one hour
serve with veggies of your choice, or bagged salad.
this recipe is AWESOME and my family loves it!
Whoa, I haven’t read all the recipes yet, so sorry if this is a repeat! We like to do breakfast for dinner sometimes (especially since I rarely make a real, home-cooked breakfast in the mornings). It could be waffles or pancakes and bacon, but my favortie is a frittata. Brown some shredded potatoes (frozen hash browns or Simply Potatoes in the refrigerator section of the grocery store)in a frying pan along with onions and peppers. I use some oil- enough so that the potatoes don’t stick too much. Beat some eggs (I use 8 eggs with one bag of Simply Potatoes) and pour into the pan over the potato mixture. Cook until egg sets. You may need to stick the pan under the broiler to make sure the egg gets cooked. Then, loosen the sides and bottom with a spatula and flip the fritatta out onto a platter and cut into wedges. For dinner, I serve this with a salad and maybe some muffins.
Toss a can of drained tuna into enough cream sauce. Season it with what you like: curry powder, etc, and serve on toast, rice, noodles–whatever you like. I like it with sauted onions and green peppers mixed in. Parmesan cheese on top is good too. Be creative! Yummy…
EZ Chicken Noodle Soup
8 cups chicken broth
2 cups favorite veggies (carrots, corn, peas, etc)
1 cup uncooked medium egg noodles
2 cups cubed cooked chicken OR turkey
MIX broth and veggies in saucepan. Heat to a boil.
STIR in noodles and chicken. Cook over medium heat 10 min. or until noodles are done.
Grilled Veggie Pasta! YUMMY!!!
Grill a bunch of fresh vegies-squash, peppers, zuchini, broccoli, onions, garlic-whatever- with some oil on a slab of aluminum foil till the brown a little bit.
serve over cooked penne pasta with parmesan on top.
YUM!
Hahahahahaha…come on Danielle, I can’t cook the way even your short recipe reads….you’re assuming I have chicken on hand and that I have time to cube it!
But I sure can relate to Cris (June Cleaver after a six pack) and her tossing a pound of bacon on the floor and standing back!
Here’s how this home schooling mom of nine has down-spiraled into preparing meals:
1. Ask 16 year old to make dinner.
2. Ask 15 year old to make dinner.
3. Boil noodles, add Ragu. Make sure they drink their milk for protein. Count the Ragu as their vegetable.
4. Ask 13 year old to make dinner.
5. Serve Dannon yogurt, microwave popcorn, milk, fruit.
6. Ask 12 year old to make dinner.
7. Wheaties, Cheerios, Rice Krispies…….
8. Tell the kids to go to the barn and eat some of the horses’ grain or hay – it’s loaded with fiber. (Naw, I don’t really do this one, but we do really have horses, whose care adds to the lack of time to cook for the humans!)
All of these require 5 minutes or less to make, and the ones prepared by the kids require no time of mine at all!
But seriously, although we do eat the above "menus" sometimes for dinner (except the grain and hay), the older kids help a lot with the cooking. They have a binder we’ve put together of recipes they like to make and they can check to see if we have the stuff on hand. Preferably before 5:30 pm.
And I do throw a roast or chicken in the crock pot at times, or make some actual meals, but those also mean I have to plan ahead and actually shop for the stuff. Well, my husband does the shopping, so I have to remember to tell him what to get if I’ve actually had time to look through the pantry and plan something…..well, you can see why we have cereal sometimes for dinner!
And although I love cooking, and regret that home schooling a large family means that I can’t cook too much these days, we still eat a pretty balanced diet and no one goes hungry. And I WILL peruse the comments more slowly to glean a few actual recipes we might use!
Crustless Spinach Quiche (good for Friday)
10 oz pk frozen spinach, microwaved enough to thaw it. (Five minutes or so, depending on your microwave–or you can do this in a skillet, if you really want to.)
dried minced onions (or not.) (About a tablespoon)
one and one half cups shredded cheese (colby-jack, cheddar, mozzerella, whatever. You can use a bit more if you like.)
5 eggs, beaten
salt&pepper to taste if desired
Heat oven to 350. Spray a pie plate with cooking spray. Layer spinach, dried onions, cheese, eggs, & seasonings in pie plate. Bake at 350 about 30 to 40 minutes or until eggs are set. Cool slightly, slice and serve. Recipe doubles easily and can be made in a 9×13" pan.
Super easy:
Dad’s Specialty
Slice a package or two of smoked sausage (we like skinless) and throw it in the crockpot before you leave for work in the morning. Empty a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce into the crockpot on top of the sausage. Fill the bottle 1/2 full with water and shake (to get all the sauce) dump water into crockpot. Cook on low all day long. Serve with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable.
Not quite as quick but delicious:
Halloween Casserole
Brown 1 lb ground beef add a package of brown gravy mix and 1/2 cup of water to beef. In round casserole dish, put a bag of frozen diced potatoes, toss with about 2 T olive oil. Make a well in potatoes, add beef and a can of mixed veggies. Sprinkle cheddar cheese and french fried onions on top. Bake until heated through and golden on top at 350 (about 30 minutes). Add some more cheese five minutes before taking it out!
Thanks for this post, Danielle. I’m very much looking forward to trying some of these recipes!
Beefy Rice Casserole
Cook one box of beef flavored rice mix according to the directions on the package. Meanwhile, brown half a pound of ground beef with half a cup of chopped green pepper and half a cup of chopped celery. Add the cooked rice to the ground beef mixture and heat through. Top with shredded cheddar cheese.
The original recipe stated to bake for 10-15 minutes but I found it wasn’t necessary and nice not to turn on the oven. I serve it with whatever vegetable I can find for a side dish. This serves 5 of us and is a great recipe when I only have a small amount of ground beef.
We have two "special" dinners a week meaning the nights when I actually make a recipe dinner. The rest of our nights are usually something very simple and quick…these suggestions are some of our favorites.
Quick Macaroni & Cheese:
Boil elbow macaroni,drain, add a bit of butter or margarine, salt, pepper, a gurgle or two of milk, a handful or so of shredded cheddar, some cubed up velveeta to taste. Stir together well and serve.
Quesadillas:
Flour tortillas, buttered and browned with cheese, frozen pre-chopped green peppers and onions, sandwiched in between. Served with salsa and/or sour cream.
Kiddie dogs:
Can of crescent rolls, unrolled and wrapped around hotdogs (we don’t do the cheese slices but most people do) and baked in the oven at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Served with ketchup and/or mustard.
Beans And Rice:
Cook up a pot of brown rice seasoned with salt/pepper/tad of butter. Heat up a can (or two) of Ranch Style Beans and serve over the rice.
Breakfast Burritoes:
Flour tortillas filled with hot scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese and served with salsa.
Bacon and Egg Sandwiches:
Fry however many eggs you want with a slice of american cheese on top and in another pan fry some bacon also. I do one egg and one slice of bacon cut up per sandwich. Toast the bread, put miracle whip on the toast slices and make sandwiches with the eggs and bacon. These are so yummy and comforting!
Daddy’s Buffalo Chicken Wings:
Dh put a large baking sheet of frozen chicken wingettes in the oven and bakes them for 1 hour at 400. He pulls them out, salts and peppers them. He mixes in a bowl some melted butter and some Frank’s red hot sauce and dips the wings in this sauce but does not re-bake them. He pulls some of the chicken pieces aside for the kids who don’t like the hot sauce. He serves these with ranch dressing and blue cheese dressing. This is most always our Friday night dinner.
Pasta, Pasta, Pasta:
I will make a pot of pasta and add butter, milk, some kind of sauce if I have it handy, some kind of cheese and add available veggies.
All of these easy dinners are generally served with glasses of milk, raw, cut-up veggies and ranch dip. The kids will eat almost any vegetable imaginable if they can dip it and it’s crunchy.
Crock Barbeque Chicken: (even company loves this)
Chicken in the crock, slice an onion on top, dump a bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce on top. Cook all day.
One of our favorites is Shepherd’s Pie
Brown 1 lb of ground beef or turkey, drain. Add 1 can creamed corn, 2 cups frozen peas and carrots, and 3/4 cup of milk. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. While simmering make instant mashed potatoes (approx 4-5 cups potatoes). Place in greased casserole dish and cover with a layer of mashed potatoes. Dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown.
I brown my meat and simmer everthing in my dutch oven, so I don’t have to transfer it to a casserole dish, and it works well if you make extra mashed potatoes for another meal and save them for the topping.
Thaw a bag of frozen chicken breasts. Trim fat and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and Tony Chacheres seasoning. Place chicken in crock pot. Melt 1 stick of butter in a sauce pan add 8 Tbls. flour and stir till blended. Start adding water slowly until a gravy consistency. Pour over chicken. Add one sliced onion. Cook on high 5-6 hrs. Serve over rice. We like to have green beans on the side. Very delicious! Kids love it, all 9 of them.
Brown some ground beef, possibly with some diced onions. Add a large can of brown beans, some ketchup and a dab of mustard. Heat until warm. Eat with buttered bread on the side, slices of cheese, and pickles of course!
We loved this as kids. My brother had my mom give the "recipe" to his wife when he got married.
Easy Recipe 1. Fry onion, crushed garlic and diced bacon. Add one can of crushed tomatoes. Season with paprika, salt and pepper. Serve on spaghetti with grated cheese. Serve with a green salad and garlic bread.
Easy Recipe 2. Slowly bring a can of coconut milk to heat. Add 2 tablespoons of green curry paste and stir until dissolved. Add chicken breast pieces (cut into small portions). Simmer 5-10 minutes. Add green beans and simmer until they have cooked. Add a dash of fish sauce, sugar and lime juice. (Kaffir lime leaves add a beautiful flavour – you can find them at asian grocers. Remove before serving as you would a bay leaf). Serve on white rice.
Crock pots are God’s greatest gift to busy moms! Here are 2 of my family’s favorites:
Crock Pot BBQ Chicken: Put as much boneless, skinless chicken into a crockpot as you need to feed your group. Squirt in some BBQ sauce and add a squirt or two of catsup, add some water. If you want to be fancy, you can add a bag of baby carrots and some sliced onions. Cook on low all day, and in the evening, serve with cooked rice and a salad. The way I make it, the "sauce" ends up rather thin, not like sticky bbq. My picky family loves it. You can adjust the proportions on the sauce/water to suit your family’s taste.
Crock Pot Italian Beef
Put a 5 pound roast into your crock pot, add a big jar of pepperoncini AND the liquid from the jar. Add garlic powder and oregano to taste, and a cup of water. Cook all night on low. Shred up the beef with a fork in the morning, and if you’re having a party/get together, you’re ready to put it in buns by noon. (Alternately, put this together early in the morning, and you can serve it for dinner in the evening.) It’s especially good with shredded mozzarella on it.
Bon Appetit! Thanks, Danielle, for a great recipe exchange idea. LOVE your blog!
Brown 2 lbs. hamb. meat in large pan, season to taste, add some kind of taco or Pace sauce, add can of whole kernel corn (drained), add a cup of cooked white rice, simmer for about 5 min. Serve over corn chips. Top with grated cheese. Fast, easy, will go fast! Make more next time!
Pork and Spanish Rice: Cook 1 package Spanish rice according to directions (including the can of tomatoes). Meanwhile, cube up some boneless pork chops and saute them with a chopped onion in a little olive oil. Mix the cooked pork and onion with the cooked rice. Serve with salad and cornbread.
I"ve seen a lot of crock pot roast recipes but this one IS easy and healthy and Feingold-friendly (I got it from a friend who has a child on Feingold I).
Flour large beef roast and sear in pan with a bit of oil. Plop in crock pot. Pour one GOOD beer (I use Sam Adams Boston Lager) and 2 c. chicken stock over roast. Add one quartered onion, baby carrots, red potatoes and a dash of salt. Cook 6 hours on low (or 4-5 on high). Stand back and listen to the rave reviews!
Here’s something my mom made once and it was good and super easy. Put some chicken breasts in bottom of pan, top with mozzerella cheese, pour over diced tomatoes and bake.
I suppose you could cook up noodles and place all over that if you want or even add bread crumbs, depending on how much time you have and whether or not you have the ingredients.
A family favorite is Fiesta Dinner. We serve it as a buffet. Everyone layers the following onto their plates:
rice
ground beef
melted cheese (microwave the jar cheese to warm it)
olives
sour cream
salsa
If you want really easy crockpot stuff, you can use beef, pork, chicken, turkey, whatever you’ve got. Put a can of whole berry cranberry sauce over and cook.
You can also use teriyaki sauce over any meat and cook in crockpot along with a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies and serve over rice.
Italian dressing works well too. As does BBQ sauce and you can either add veggies right in or not.
This is a really good one that I got from a crockpot cookbook: place chicken in crockpot with a jar of salsa and cook (I think it said like 10 hrs?) and when done, shred chicken and add 1/2 c or so of sour cream. Place in tortilla shells with lettuce and whatever else you’d like.
Easy:
Have a baby and let everyone you or your husband or your Mother-In-Law know, know about it. Make sure your freezer(s) is/are empty. Watch the meals roll in.
We have experienced an abundance of generosity from friends and family following the birth of our 7th child. It’s going on 3 weeks since she was born, and we still have meals trickling in!
Seriously, though, the ideas others have posted are good ones. I especially like the Sam Adams crock pot roast! Yummy!
Recipe: we had this last night. I’m granma, mother of 8 and this is a favorite….
as many turkey drmsticks as necessary for your family..or chicken, brown in a little oil for more color..or not.
Boil in a couple of cups of water ’till done, don’t overcook. remove frombone and set aside. add sliced carrots,onion (any kind to taste). a tsp or two chicken base. salt and pepper. If your kids will eat peas add a few. cook till carrots are tender, add noodles and last return meat to pot and heat. It’s very good and very easy.
Should have some broth but not soupy.
Well, to add to the expensive meals that everyone seems to like:
Fry a few pork chops. Slice some potatoes and fry just long enough to become slightly crispy in the same pan. Return everything to the pan (I use an electric frying pan) and cover with a can of cream of mushroom soup mixed to half thickness. Cook until everything is done.
Cream of mushroom soup is great as a sauce base if you can eat it, I pour it over chicken and uncooked rice, add enough water and cook in the oven. I’ve only tried this with white rice, but you shouldn’t have to use white rice, there’s enough time to cook rice in the time it takes to cook the chicken. Throw in a few veggies with the rice. To make an every day meal out of that one, substitue peanuts for the chicken.
I also recommend the More With Less cookbook, it has a lot of quick meals as well as great suggestions for what to do with leftovers.
Two of our very favorites:
Make your own salad night!
Lots of cut up lettuce
tomatoes
shredded cheese (swiss, cheddar)
french-fried onions
croutons
olives
bacon pieces
hard-boiled eggs
chicken nuggets (cut up) or chicken chunks
peas
And whatever else you like on your salad
Your choice of dressing
Put it all in bowls on the table and everyone makes their own.
Serve it with dinner rolls. Done.
Mini Meat Loaves
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup bread crumbs (plain or seasoned)
1/2 cup french-fried onions (or more)
1 tsp. salt
3 lbs. ground meat
Mix first six ingredients together. Crumble meat on top; mix well. Shape into 12 – 14 mini meat loaves. Top each with ketchup, spaghetti sauce, or BBQ. Bake 35 – 45 minutes at 350. My kids LOVE the "mini" part. Great with mashed potatoes and peas.
BTW – adding wine is the Italian "secret" to great meat balls, so I just tried it with my meat loaf:-)
Taco Soup 30min.
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can white beans(navy works)
1-2 cans diced tomatoes (depending on how much you like tomatoes)
1 can corn (frozen works too)
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 pkg hidden valley ranch mix
1 lb hamburger meat
brown hamburger meat in pot, add other ingrediants and boil for 10-15 min. My friend does not drain the juices from the beans where as I find the juice gross and just add some water depending on how thick I want the soup. This is a favorite in our house and I have even made it in a hotel on the little stove top
Super easy and way too yummy.
If you have them chips and shredded cheddar cheese they are nice additions but not necessary. I like to freeze this soup in little portions, makes for a nice quick lunch for busy moms who don’t like PB& J
Feeds about 6 (2 adults and 4 little hungry folks)
We really like Chinese takeout, so a quick fix at home is this: Cut up chicken breast into 1 inch pieces. Cook over medium heat in 2 Tbsp oil for 6 minutes. Add a bag frozen veggies (broccoli, snap peas, or our favorite – the broccoli stir fry mix) and cook for 5 more minutes. Add 3-4 Tbsp soy sauce and cook for 5 minutes more. Serve over cooked rice.
Sweet & Sour Meatballs
In a skillet blend together one bottle of chili sauce and one can of cranberry sauce. Roll one pound of ground beef into balls and drop into boiling sauce. Cover and let meat cook through.
Migas
Heat some oil and cook broken up corn tortillas until crisp. Add 1 egg per tortilla and scramble. Serve with refired beans and crispy bacon and salsa.
I forgot to add that the taco soup recipe below is really quick and good, too. I use one pound ground beef, 2 cans ranch style beans, 2 cans hominy, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 pkg dry ranch seasoning and 1/2 pkg dry taco seasoning. If I need extra liquid I swish water around in the bean cans before adding it to the pot.
One of our favorite is really simple: saute a green pepper or two (diced) with a little oil or butter. When tender, add one jar spagetti sauce, 1lb Italian sausages (light ones do well, too) and cook on medium until the sausages are done through–about 20 minutes. Serve with rice, noodles, toast or garlic bread. MMMM… Serves 5 or 6 at our house.
Danielle, I really enjoyed your latest book. I’ve gone through it twice so far!
I was going to comment yesterday, but my house developed little people chaos syndrome. My 3 & 1/2 yr old and 2 year old twins started destroying the house and the 4 month old began his late afternoon cranky time, then I had to scurry off to throw some dinner together. Needless to say, with my 4, I do that often.
Last night it was the bacon, egg, and cheese on toast.
Tonight it will be: cook polish sausage in skillet, throw on can of sauerkraut and heat, "bake" potatoes in microwave, and heat up frozen veggies. Easy and can do while holding baby in one arm.
We also do pancakes, waffles.
Then there is: brown hamburger, throw in can of black beans, bag of frozen corn, fresh lime juice, fresh cilantro, cumin. Tomatoes or onions if you want. Heat and serve.
I also tried making "Breastfeeding Salsa" this year, with tomatoes, green pepper, fresh lime juice, fresh cilantro, salt, and black pepper. No hot peppers, garlic, or onions. It tasted good and my husband even liked it. And the baby didn’t seem to mind!
I enjoy your blog and I’m so glad to have some new ideas now for quick and easy dinners. We get tired of the same old stuff!
My kids won’t eat anything in sauce or gravy of any kind which makes it hard for me to use a lot of the suggestions. And they’re also not big casserole fans…the meat, potatoes and vegetable have to be easily identifiable. BUT they love the following recipe which I adapted from the show Everyday Italian on the Food Network.
Orecchiette (it’s a small ear shaped pasta) with Turkey Sausage and Broccoli
Bring large pot of water to boil, cook frozen broccoli for 5 minutes, remove. Add 1 lb. pasta. Meanwhile brown 1 lb. sweet Italian turkey sausage in a large skillet in 3 tbsp. olive oil. Add 3 minced garlic cloves (I use the jarred kind) and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (if desired). Add broccoli and pasta to skillet. Toss with grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
My mom had eleven children. One of the recipes she made and we all loved was called:
Fricassee (French canadian prefered dish)
Take any leftover meat, cut in chunch
Stir fry with onions or onion salt
Add potatos cut in slice or cube
Add vegetables if you so desire
A can of carrot or fresh carrots wil do ok or even turnip for extra flavor.
A little salt and pepper (since I don’t use salt I use lemon pepper flavor).
Add water to cover the whole thing,
Bring to a boil and let simmer until vegetables are tender.
It takes about 15 minutes to do the whole thing
It is cheap, fast and nutritrous.
I serve mine in a plate so I can mash it all together.
I even sometime put a little ketchup or mustard on top of the whole thing in my own plate.
You can serve wheat ot white buns cause some people like to dip them in the juice.
It’s delicious easy and nourishing specially for a big family
I live alone now but still make a big batch cause it is even better warmed up the next day for lunch
Hope you like "Fricassee"
Gigi
Can anyone stand any more recipes?
"Cheesy Tortillas" I make this on average once a week.
Whole wheat tortilla spread with fat-free refried beans, sprinkled with cheese and whatever else you like. Roll up, put on tray, bake in 300 degree oven until hot. (Not original, but very fast.)
"Meat Loaf" This is so fast I am surprised I didn’t see a million versions of it.
1 lb. ground beef
a handful or two of crushed saltines, corn flakes, or bread crumbs
1 egg
1/3 cup dried milk powder (optional, but it produces a very tender meat loaf)
1/4 cup ketchup
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. onion or garlic powder (I like it oniony, so reduce if needed)
1 tsp. or so thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup water
Put it all into a big bowl and mash it with your hands until mixed. Put into a loaf pan, squirt some more ketchup on top and spread around. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Very good.
Throw in as many baked potatoes as you need, plus extras for eggs.
"Eggs with Stuff" This one is the same as the others below.
Scramble eggs with leftover cut-up baked potato, onion, peppers, cheese.
"Melts"
pitas topped with leftover steamed vegetables
topped with cubed ham or whatever meat
topped with cheese
Bake in 300 oven until hot and melted
Easy peasy "White Chicken Chili" – low weight watchers points too!
1 large jar white beans (no need to drain)
1 jar salsa (we like mild)
1 can corn
1 can black beans (if you have them)
1 can chicken (or leftover chicken)
1 pkg white chicken chili spice mix
garlic to taste
1-2 cans chicken broth
Dump in crockpot on high. Ready in 30 minutes or less. We serve in bowls and top with cheese and/or sour cream. Yummy
I love all of these recipes and will absolutely have to print this out!
There were some similar recipes to this one – hopefully not the exact same – but here is the easy, yet delicious, recipe I fix when I’m in a hurry:
"Mom’s Soup" (my title for it, but "canned soup" might be a better title):
1 can Progresso Minestrone soup
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can Ranch style beans
1 lb. hamburger meat
Brown the hamburger meat. Add other ingredients and heat through. Serve with oyster crackers or cornbread. So, so easy!