New Recipes

I like to make a moroccan-ish style chicken with apricot couscous. It's really easy too. Take a fryer chicken in pieces, salt and pepper and garlic the pieces and brown in about 3 T olive oil... then saute with some onion. I dump in a can (or 2 depending on how much I'm making) of diced tomatoes. Add in some paprika, brown sugar, cumin, kosher salt, pepper, cinnamon and honey and let that simmer for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, I make a box of couscous. Once that is done, I add in chopped dried apricots, slivered almonds, chopped green onions, fresh mint and fresh parsley. It's pretty darn tasty.

The chicken and couscous is based off of this recipe on foodnetwork.com
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_99...

Hi M.,

I LOVE using the www.allrecipes.com website. There are recipes posted by people from all over the place, but best of all the recipes are rated from 1 to 5 stars by people who try them out. Also, nutrition info is included.

Those who rate the recipes can leave comments about why they rated the recipe a certain way; oftentimes they give hints about how to improve the taste of the dish or how to make it healthier, and/or whether or not their family liked the recipe. (when I see comments like, "Even my picky eater husband/child liked this" I know the recipe is probably pretty good) I like reading through the comments before trying out a recipe because there have been many times when I've had people tell me, "Try this recipe it's awesome", only to go home and try it out and... yuck.

Anyway, whenever I feel like making something new I look for a 4-or 5-star recipe on the website. I'm not an expert cook or anything but I have found several yummy recipes on there that seem to make my family think I am. Thanks to the website I now have several new recipes that have become staples in my home. :) Good luck!!

I know what you mean about picky eaters. The only difference is that it is my dear husband that is the picky one. I like to go online to foodnetwork.com and get different recipes off of that one. You can look up one thing and get several different recipes. I have yet to go wrong with the ones that I have choosen. Good luck!

M.

Hi M. - I love nothing more than being a SAHM, but I really lack in the cooking department! I use a couple of mealplanning programs that really help me out - you can check them out on out on my website - http://www.chitchatformommies.com. I use Dine w/o Whine, Kid Approved Meals and Healthy Menu Mailer.
Specifically on my site you can go to http://www.chitchatformommies.com/reciperoom.html, and http://www.chitchatformommies.com/familyfinances.html or watch the video at http://www.chitchatformommies.com/family.html.

Let me know if you like these menu planning services - I love them and they have really helped me!!

Here are the most super-simple things I can think of, plus "second steps" if you have more time to add more steps!

1. Baked Chicken.
Ingredients: Chicken thighs and legs, salt, pepper, garlic powder and some kind of seasoning salt (the kind that has paprika and various herbs.)
- Put chicken in a lightly-greased baking dish
- Sprinkle both sides well with seasonings
- Bake at 400 for approximately an hour. (Time will vary according to your oven and the amount of chicken you make.)

1a. Second step: Bake smoked sausage, cut in chunks, with chicken. When chicken is done, lower the oven to 325. Brush everything with apricot jam or cinnamon-apple jelly. Bake for 5 - 10 minutes more.

2. Cut-up raw veggies. Cut up the ones that everyone likes plain or with salt: Red, orange or yellow peppers, cucumber, celery, carrots, sugar-snap pea pods, jicama.

2a. Honey-mustard dip for raw veggies that need dip, like broccoli. Mix mayo and Dijon mustart 4 to 1 (four times the amount of mayo) and then add honey to taste.

3. Baked pork chops. Pork chops on the stove are tastier, but they require you to stand there. To bake them, get BONE-IN chops (VERY important for the flavor,) sprinkle them HEAVILY with salt and add some pepper, too. Bake in a lightly-greased dish at 400 for 30 - 40 minutes, depending on thickness. (I've tried seasoning them with other things, but plain salt and pepper is best if they are good quality and bone-in.)

4. Baked yams. So naturally sweet your kids will scoop them right out of their peels with a spoon. Choose the dark red ones (the ones with the orange-est flesh. Scratch them with your finger at the grocery store to check.) Wash yams and prick each twice (only twice!) with a fork. Bake on a baking sheet lined with aluminmum foil at 450 for at least an hour, more for those big ones. They should be really soft inside when you stab them. (The outsides may or may not get hard, but will soften after removing them from the oven.) Be sure to line your baking sheet, because they ooze and will be messy! Serve warm or cold.

5. Beans. Several hours on the stove top or 14 - 16 in a crockpot on low. Beans this recipe works for: pinto, anasazi, black, cannelli, navy, kidney. Soak beans overnight or boil for ten minutes. Put in pot with water to cover, 1 onion (or 1/2 big onion, one garlic clove, and salt pork or bacon slices or smoked ham hocks or smoked sausage. Bring to boil, lower heat and cover. If you're making them on the stovetop, keep checking to make sure you have enough water. Don't start adding salt until they are at least halfway done, so you'll know how much you'll really need. Don't lift the lid of the crockpot until you are pretty sure they are done or almost done.

5a. Red, black and white beans in the crockpot with boneless chicken thigh chunks and smoked sausage chunks. Prepare as above but use chicken broth instead of water and also add a bay leaf and cut-up carrot chunks. This took about 15 hours in the crockpot.

Hi M.,
My husband and I used to eat out all the time, too, before the kids arrived.

Whenever we are craving a special dish we used to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, we just look it up on the internet (we search most of the sites suggested by the other gals before me). We can almost always find at least 3 variations of a specialty dish we love. This has included dishes from our favorite Thai, Sushi, Middle Eastern, and Indian (the country) restaurants, and they always turn out great. There's also the usual American, Italian, Mexican, German, and Chinese dishes at most every-day restaurants.

Are you in Albuq? There's an amazing grocery store that has most of the "unusual" ingredients from foreign recipes, and the fresh veggies and fruits are m-u-c-h cheaper, for whatever dishes you are into.

Ugh, now I'm all hungry from all this yummy food-talk!
Happy dinner :)
T

I put boneless chicken in a gallon bag with a quart of butter milk and a bunch of cut up onion for 1 to 2 days in the frig. then when ready I put up to 2 rolls of ritz crackers, depending on how much chicken you are cooking . In a gallon bag crucsh with rolling pin add like 1/2 to 1 ,cup of parmesian cheese and add parsley flakes as you want , salt and pepper. Mix up. Take one piece at a time of chicken out of bag let the milk drip off , some milk will stay on chicken coated, then dip in crumb bag to completely cover. Spray your baking dish so chicken won't stick. I usually put extra crumbs ontop then melt butter and drizzle over chicken but don't soak not to dry not to wet. Bake at 350 for 45 to 60 min. My family loves this . Serve with rice or potato and veg .Hope you like it as much as we do !

M. -

I get a lot of easy recipes from Kraft. You can go to their website and they also have a magazine that is called Food and Family that has a lot of great ideas. Each recipe only has a few ingredients and they are really easy. Happy Cooking!

B.

One of my favorite recipes is Pesto Chicken. Its pretty simple too. You will need boneless chicken breasts, pesto (I usually get the pre-made Butoni brand from the refrigerated section of the grocery store), sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, and feta cheese. Pre-heat your oven to 375. Place the chicken in a baking dish and drizzle with a little olive oil, salt & pepper. Next, coat each breast with pesto, crumble feta cheese over the pesto and top each with a couple sun dried tomatoes. Place in the oven and bake for 40 - 45 minutes. I usually make spaghetti noodles or angel hair pasta to go with the chicken. Serve the chicken breasts on the pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
The nice thing about this meal is it only takes a few minutes to prepare - once its in the oven you have plenty of time to do other stuff while it bakes. This is a big hit with my kids & even my picky eater husband (he picks off the tomatoes).

My new favorite cook book is the Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld..... it helps get extra veggies into your kids.... they desperately need those veggies! Check it out. :) Just start w/ simple recipes & go from there! You can do it! I don't like to cook very much but I do it cause I know it is more healthy for my family. :)

With several kids at different ages, I would suggest things that they assemble themselves. Let them pick what toppings they want on their pizza. We have used pizza crust in the tubes and cut it in fourths, those big biscuits flattened out, or English muffins, etc. We have had some interesting toppings. Then there are baked potatoes, nachos, quesadillas, taco salad, pita pockets, etc. that you can offer all different kinds of toppings or ingredients. On the grill, we make foil pouches, sprayed with PAM and loaded with all different kinds of choices of veggies to go with the diced or string potatoes. Add butter or margarine, close up tight, and mark the initials on the top. Grill for 30 - 40 minutes. Now I'm hungry...

M.
I highly recommend Rachel Rays 30 minute meals. They are easy and quick. very nutritious and tasty.

Hi! I also raised 3 kids, had an in-home day care. Have always loved to cook. Here are a few tips: Learn what spices taste best with various meats or veggies. I used to spend Sat afternoon cooking pots of sauce or soup and casserole dishes which I could freeze. During the week, when I came home from work tired and hungry, it was so much easier to pull something from the freezer.

Recipes: I have collected dozens of cook books but the best one I ever found was the Better Homes & Gardens 196_ (something) version. It was reprinted a few years ago so you should be able to find it. Stick to basics: Open several cans of chicked broth and add some fresh green beans and carrots. When nearly cooked, add some potatoes (new or redskins are great). Cut some sausage into the pot and serve with garlic bread or biscuits. This basic recipe can be varied by using beef broth, different meats and veggies. A little parsley, onion, celery, black pepper does wonders for any combination.
Try Campbell soup recipes. A can of cream soup can be used as the basic ingredient for many combinations of dishes. Rice, noodles, chicken, veggies, etc.
One of my girls favorite recipes was an assortment of cheese, cold cuts, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and rolls.
Don't be afraid to use mixes or to experiment. Good luck!

Hi M., I can take or leave cooking too. I am what i refer to as a quick and easy cook for the most part. Here are 3 easy surefire recipes that my children loved when they were little as still enjoy today as adults.

1 jar or can of Spaghetti Sauce (any flavor you like)
2 Cups of uncooked pasta (macaronni)
1 LB Hamburger
1 Large Can of Baked Beans
Grated Mozzerella Cheese

Cook the macaroni according to pkg. directions. When done drain it. While the macaroni is cooking brown your hamburger in a large skillet. When it is cooked, drain the grease from it. Put the macaroni noodles, the spaghettie sauce, the beans in with the hamburger. Mix it all up and heat up the mixture. When you serve it sprinkle the cheese on it like you would spaghetti. We call this dish Ghoulash and serve it with bread.

The second one is great because you can do so much with it. It is a casserole dish.

1 Lb of meat (I use hamburger but you could use ground turkey or anyother kind of meat)

2 Cups of any kind of veggie or I like to use soup. I will use 1 can of Cream of Mushroom and 1 can of either Cheddar Soup or Cream of Celery.( No water in the soup just the soup straight from the can) Again you can play around with it.

2 Cups of uncooked pasta ( usually use macaroni or rottinni. But you can use any of the pasta out there).

For the topping you can use bread crumgs, cracker crumbs. grated cheese (your choice), corn flakes etc.

You cook your meat and drain it. Cook your pasta and drain it. Put the other ingredients all together in the skillet with the meat and mix it up. Then put the mixture in a casserole dish and put the topping on it. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min.You can have alot of fun expermenting with this recipe and find out what combination you like best.

Quick and Easy BBQ chicken

Take 1 cut up chicken ( the whole chicke or just parts of the chicken). Put in a baking dish. Pour 1 Can of Cola (Regular or diet) over the chicken. Pore 1 Bottle of BBQ sause over the
chicken. Put in a 350 oven for 60 min. Baste every 20 min. You will have a very tasty and tender chicken. The cola acts as a meat tenderizer. Bon Appetite! Let me know if you try any of the recipes and if you like them. Good luck, M.

M.,
Favorites in our house include recipes from Cooking Light, such as chicken parmesean and baked pastas that would be easy to dish out for the kiddos prior to adding sauces. You should check it out and best of luck to you!

Hi M.,
I understand what you are going through also... I go to 2 great websites for recipes. www.goodhousekeeping.com and www.recipezaar.com

This is one of my hubby's fav's with cheesy triangles for the little ones.

Fabulous Fajitas

Get some of the Lawry's chicken fajita seasoning, 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (buy the tenders if time is a crunch), an onion and one red, orange or yellow bell pepper. I never use green ones.

Follow the directions on the package
EXCEPT:
Brown the onion and peppers in olive oil, with
garlic on medium high heat. When you need to add more liquid, add a splash of margarita mix. This will begin to caramelize the onion and peppers.

Add the chicken, cut into strips with salt and pepper. When you need more liquid, add tequila. Once the chicken has browned, mix the seasoning with 1/3 cup of tequila or margarita mix or a combination of the two (I usually make a double batch and us 1/3 cup of each with 2 packets) and add that to the pan. Turn the heat down and simmer for about
20 min, until the veggies are caramelized and the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

I have made this for parties and put the mixture into a crock pot, on low, to keep it warm. The flavors blend nicely.

Serve with soft shells, shredded cheese and whatever else you like (margaritas?)

i usually go on to some web sites to get my ideas. one of them is pillsbury.com. they have several quick meals and if you join thier email list they will send them to you regularly

Hi M.,

I like to google recipes when I want something new. It comes up with a wide variety and you can choose from they lot.

D.

I have a lot of receipes that we use a lot as well and when we get bored with those I go to the back of all the boxes bottles and cans. There is actually a receipe book that has tons of fun receipes in it from the back of boxes, bottles, and cans. I found a really good one of the back of an alfredo pasta sauce bottle about two months ago that my girls love. Try some of those.

I just got Jerry Seinfeld's wife book, which has great recipes and advice on how to sneak in veggies - very kid friendly (as well as adult) recipes - including great desserts I have yet to try.

Hi M.,
I make alot of home made food and can give you some quick easy recipes if you would like them. A very simple recipe my children love is homemade chicken pot pie from the bisquick book. Bisquick has alot of easy things to make that are really good. I have recipes for - veggie beef stew, chicken tortilla soup, homemade chicken nuggets, manicotti, chicken and dumplings, chicken enchiladas, pasta salad, and many more!

My kids always liked what we called "stuff". Pick a pasta, (cook it according to package directions), pick a meat (tuna didn't have to be pre-cooked, but for any raw meat, brown it and drain off the fat), pick a canned vegetable, pick a cream soup. The combinations are only limited by the tastes of your family members, and technically, spaghetti qualifies! Even now, when I go spend time with my adult children, they enjoy it when Mom goes into the kitchen to cook "Stuff"!

Do you have a crockpot? They are WONDERFUL!

I love to cook but my little guys is 13 months and still pretty picky and limited by his shortage of teeth. For awhile he was really only wanting to eat basic pastas-mac and cheese and spinach ravioli. My mother in law suggested something easy she used to do to add a little variety. She would boil about a half a bag of the tiny shell pasta, mix in one undiluted can of tomato soup, a bunch of butter, and a tiny bit of pepper. He loves it! It's probably not fabulously healthy, but it does give him a serving or so of vegetable and helps him get used to something kind of new. I'm sure the low sodium soup would work too if you're concerned about that.

M.,
Here is the website for Kraft: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf. They have great menu ideas as well as budget-saving tips and grocery lists; and you can sign up to receive their magazine for free, but all the information in the magazines are online as well if you don't want more in your mailbox. On the website, there is a tool to enter a few ingredients and they will search for recipes that include those items. That has helped me more than a few times create a new dinner with the same staple items we tend to buy.