Weeknight Meal Ideas?

My family has either been too broke or too cheap (find more important things to spend our money on...ordering out is expensive)to order out much. Literally we may only order out twice a year or so. We eat at Costco food court twice a month when we shop and that's it.

Otherwise it's me making dinner or maybe once a week we will eat a frozen pizza from Aldi.

Here are some easy recipes and I have a ton I save on my computer so I can attach them in emails for my family and friends or print them up for a recipe book to give at wedding showers.

Basil Chicken Hash
(From the Food Network under Healthy Recipes)

2 whole (4 split) chicken breasts
Dried basil
Olive Oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons butter, divided
2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and large diced
2 red onions, choppped
2 bell peppers, large diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 to 4 green onions, green and white parts
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Sour Cream, Cheddar cheese, sliced lemons…for serving

Preheat the oven to 350.

Place the chicken breast on a baking sheet. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper. Bake the chicken for 35 minutes or until cooked through. When done, cool and then cut into large diced pieces and set aside.

Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large saute pan. Add the potatoes and onions, 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Saute for 10 minutes, until evenly browned and cooked through.

In a separate saute pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the peppers, garlic, thyme, paprika, tomato paste, 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the edges of the peppers are seared.

Add the chicken and the pepper mixture to the potatoes and heat through. Add the onions and parsley, toss together and place on a serving platter.

Chili Con Carne
(The New Junior Cookbook from Better Homes and Gardens)

1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 15 ½ ounce can kidney beans
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce (I use two little cans)
1 tsp chili powder
¾ tsp salt
Corn chips (optional)
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Jalapenos (optional)
Sour crème (optional)

Brown the beef with the onion and green pepper. Drain the fat from the pan. Add all the ingredients except the corn chips and mix well. Heat on high heat until it comes to a boil. The simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally so it won’t stick to the pan.

Serve in bowls with corn chips, cheese, jalapenos and so forth if you wish.

Makes 4 to 5 servings.

I usually add a 1 (15 ½ oz) can of diced tomatoes as well for body and more nutrition.

And if you don’t keep fresh bell peppers in the fridge because they go bad before you can use them, then cut up a few and keep them in the freezer for you to take from when you need them.

FOIL-PACKET TACO CHICKEN

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 tsp taco seasoning
½ lb red potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced (they mean thin!) about 2 cups
½ cup salsa
¾ cup Mexican style cheese
¼ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 400. Sprinkle chicken with seasoning mix. Place ½ cup of the potatoes on center of each of 4 large sheets of heavy duty foil; top evenly with chicken, salsa, and cheese. (Ovie and I both think it would be better to sprinkle potatoes with all the above and the chicken too before placing on top of the potatoes.)

Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and both ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place in 15x10x1 inch baking pan. (I used a big sheet on bottom and a big sheet on top and I just double folded the two together to form the packet. And then placed them on a cookie sheet.)

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through at 165 degrees. Remove packets from oven. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening. Serve with sour cream.

Makes 4 servings…1 packet each.

How-to: To prevent potatoes from sticking to foil, spray foil with cooking spray before use or use nonstick foil.

This is a Kraft recipe so they say to use Taco Bell products. I used McCormicks taco seasoning because I have the giant Costco bottle. And I used Ovie’s salsa on his and Aldi mild salsa on mine and the girls. We didn’t serve with sour cream. I didn’t have any but sounds tastey. I also just used some shredded Monterrey Jack and Colby mix that I had in the fridge. I don’t think it matters if you used cheddar or whatever.

Garlic Chicken Bites

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized strips
¼ cup garlic olive oil *
½ tsp black pepper
½ cup bread crumbs
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Marianade chicken strips in garlic olive oil and pepper for 30 minutes or more. Drain off excess marinade. Preheat oven to 475 F.

Mix bread crumbs with cayenne. Dip both sides of chicken strips in mixture**. Arrange strips in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes; turn and bake 5 more minutes. Serve warm and dip in honey mustard sauce.

* I made my own garlic oil with olive oil and a few
cloves minced garlic.
**I just shook strips in a bag with bread crumb
mixture.

Kraft Kitchen’s Grilled Bruschetta Chicken
(One of my favorite recipes)

¼ cup Kraft Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing, divided
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb)
1 tomato, finely chopped (I used a plum tomato)
½ cup low moisture mozzarella cheese (I shredded mine from a block and I don’t believe it was low moisture….it melted nicely)
¼ cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil leaves

Place a large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of the grill. Preheat grill to medium heat. Pour 2 Tbsp dressing over chicken in resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with dressing. Refrigerate 10 minutes to marinate. Remove chicken from marinade; discard bag and marinade.

Grill chicken on uncovered side of grill 6 minutes. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, cheese, basil and remaining 2 tbls dressing.

Turn chicken over; place, cooked-side up, on foil on grill. Top evenly with tomato mixture. Close lid. Grill an additional 8 minutes. Or until chicken is cooked through (170 F)

Makes 4 servings.

I marinated mine in a bowl over night, but not necessary. Then I cooked my chicken in a pan with olive oil about 4 to 5 minutes on each side on medium high heat. I topped chicken with mixture when I turned it. (The grill was out of gas.) Was very good cooked in a pan.

Lasagna Soup
(From the Family Fun Magazine)

2 tsp olive oil
1 ½ pounds Italian sausage (bulk or with casings removed)
2 onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp oregano
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
8 ounce fusilli pasta
½ cup finely chopped fresh basil (I had to use 6 tsp dried)
8 ounces ricotta (I used cottage cheese..we don’t care for ricotta)
½ cup grated Parmesan
¼ teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and sauté, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is no longer pink, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain any excess fat from the pot. Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and sauté until the paste turns a rusty brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the broth, and the bay leaves and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

2. Add the pasta, then increase the heat to medium-high and boil the soup until the pasta is tender to the bite, following the time recommendations on the pasta package. Discard the bay leaves, then stir in the basil. If desired, season with salt and black pepper to taste.

3. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, the Parmesan, the ¼ teaspoon of salt, and the pinch of pepper. To serve, place about 1 ½ tablespoons of the ricotta mixture in each bowl, sprinkle with some of the mozzarella, and ladle the soup on top. Makes about 13 cups. (This made us enough for 6 to 7 soup bowls)

I got all of my ingredients except the Parmesan, red pepper flakes and bay leaves from Aldi. I bet it would be outstanding with fresh basil, but I didn’t have any and it was still really good with the dried.

I also substituted small penne from Aldi for the fusilli or rotini pasta. I think it held up well and didn’t get mushy after the soup sat for awhile because it is a thicker, heartier pasta.

This was really good. If you can’t do the spicy like jalapeno hot, then I would either cut down on the red pepper flakes or omit them. And I don’t believe you need to salt or pepper the soup at all.

Mexican Meatloaf
(Tastes a lot like tamales)

2 pounds ground beef
2 cups crushed corn chips
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup salsa
2 eggs(beaten)
4 tablespoons taco seasoning

1. Combine all ingredients in large bowl; mix well

2. Shape meat mixture into loaf and place in slow cooker. Cover;cook on
LOW 8 to 10 hours.

Tip for a glaze

Mix together 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon dry mustard

Spread over meatloaf. Cover; cook on HIGH 15 minutes.

I omitted the glaze and I cut the recipe in half. That gave me just enough for four good size servings.

I served it with sweet corn and refried beans. Shredded some pepper jack cheese over everything.

Pan-Roasted Chicken and Gravy
(From eatingwell.com)

1 large clove of garlic, minced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper (I used black)
1 ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (I used ¼ dried)
1 3 ½ - pound chicken, giblets removed (I used four leg quarters)
1 teaspoon peanut or canola oil
2 teaspoons butter, softened, divided
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.) Mash garlic and salt into a paste in a small bowl, using the back of a spoon. Stir in pepper and thyme.
3.) With a sharp knife, remove any excess fat from chicken. Dry the inside with a paper towel. With your fingers, loosen the skin over the breast and thighs to make pockets, being careful not to tear the skin. Rub the garlic mixture over the breast and thigh meat.
4.) Heat oil and 1 teaspoon butter in a 12 inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning often, until nicely browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.
5.) Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the chicken until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165 degrees, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board; tent with foil to keep it warm.
6.) Meanwhile, mash the remaining 1 teaspoon butter and flour in a small bowl until a paste forms. Place the pan (caution the handle is hot) over medium-high heat. Add broth and bring to a simmer, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Gradually whisk in the butter-flour paste a few bits at a time, until the gravy thickens, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes, allowing any fat to rise to the top. Skim off the fat with a spoon. Carve the chicken and serve with the gravy. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

(When I made the gravy I just sprinkled the flour in the juice that was in the pan and whisked with a wire whisk until I made a nice rue…then I added the broth and continued to whisk until it thickened over the medium-high heat. No need for the extra butter or making the paste in my opinion.)

Nutrition Information:
Per serving: 223 calories; 10g fat (3g sat, 3g mono); 95 mg cholesterol; 1g carbs; 31g protein; 0g fiber; 216 mg sodium; 253 mg potassium. 0 carb servings
Exchanges: 4 lean meat

TACO SOUP

1 LB BROWNED, DRAINED HAMBURGER
1 CHOPPED MEDIUM ONION
1 CAN CORN
2 CANS BEANS OF YOUR CHOICE (I USE KIDNEY BEANS AND PINTOS)
1 CAN DICED TOMATOES
1 PACKET OF DRY ORIGINAL RANCH DRESSING
1 PACKET OF DRY TACO SEASONING
1 BAG SHREDDED CHEESE
1 BAG TACO CHIPS

1. BROWN HAMBURGER WITH CHOPPED ONION AND DRAIN.
2. PUT ALL INGREDIANTS EXCEPT CHIPS AND CHEESE IN CROCKPOT OR STEWPOT. DO NOT DRAIN ANY OF THE CANNED INGREDIANTS.
3. HEAT THROUGH
4. SERVE WITH CHIPS AND CHEESE.

THERE ARE MANY VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE. USE CANNED TOMATOES WITH CHILIES, HOT TACO SEASONING, TOP WITH JALEPENOES, CHOPPED GREEN ONION, SOUR CRÈME, OR FRITOS TO NAME A FEW. THE POSSIBLITIES ARE ENDLESS, SO IT’S VERY EASY TO MAKE IT YOUR OWN.

Puerto Rican Kidney Beans
(to serve with white rice)

2 Tbls oil
1 packet Sazon seasoning*
2 Tbls spices (2 frozen cubes)**
3Tbls tomato sauce
2 tsp salt
1 can beans
1 can water

Saute the spices, sazon, and tomato sauce in the oil on medium heat for just a few minutes. Add salt, beans and one can of water. Heat to boiling; then lower to a simmer and cover. Cook for an additional 15 minutes to half an hour.

*You can find the Sazon in an orange box in just about any hispanic food section of most grocery stores these days. Around here you can find it in Woodman’s as well. I buy the version with the achiote and cilantro. You will see there are lots of different flavors and I don’t think it really matters a whole bunch because my MIL buys the version without the black pepper and it tastes the same to me.

** You can make the spices by putting one seeded green bell pepper, one peeled yellow onion, three cloves garlic, 2 Tbls cilantro (freeze bundle for later use), and pinch of oregano and basil in a food processor. Puree thoroughly and then put in a clean glass jar. Keep this in the back of your fridge to keep for several weeks. You can also try store bought Sofrito, but I think the fresh tastes better.

Maybe you will be able to use a few of these...I have tons. I get bored very easily and try at least one new recipe a week. I'm on a healthy living kick these days, so most of my recipes come from Eatingwell.com, realage.com, or the foodnetwork.com sites.

My husband and I cook a lot, and our son eats earlier in the night than we do. So a lot of times I'll save a portion of what we cook later to give to my son the next evening. We do lots of baked fish, dishes like baked eggplant, lasagna, baked sweet potatoes, etc.

Here are some things I make for my son also:

Pasta & meatballs in marinara sauce. I cook plain pasta, heat up some marinara sauce or make my own with fresh tomatoes, and add some bite-size or cut up meatballs. I buy them frozen and bake in the oven, or sometimes buy fresh from Paulina meat market and bake those.

Baked chicken - I buy frozen fully cooked/grilled strips of chicken and just heat up some veggie stock in a saute pan, throw a few pieces of the chicken in and heat until warm. The stock makes the chicken juicy again and adds more flavor too. Then I serve it with corn/peas/other veggie and some fruit.

Ham or turkey & grilled cheese. I'll either make a grilled cheese the regular way, and then put the ham or turkey right in the skillet to cook, or toast the bread first in the oven, and then put on the cheese and meat and melt/heat in the oven.

Egg & sausage casserole. Cook sausage, cut up, set aside. Scramble some eggs on the stovetop, once done, add cut pieces of any type of cheese to melt in. Once melted, fold in the sausage pieces.

Baked sweet potato fries. Slice sweet potatoes into wedges, or skinnier if preferred. Coat with olive oil, sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, and a pinch of salt and bake.

Also I love serving that juice called Vruit to my son if he's being picky about his veggies. I dilute it a little with water, but it's a full serving of veggies. You can get it at Whole Foods. :)

There is a website by the Dinner Diva at www.savingdinner.com I have tried several of the meals and my family enjoyed them. She also includes good meals for freezing for busy days.

We cook almost every night, although it's not fancy, so I probably have a lot of things I make. We also eat mostly vegetarian, so here are a couple of dishes that don't need meat, although you can add it.

Fried rice.
I have a rice cooker, so I start the rice (about 15 min.) while I prepare the veggies. Stir fry the vegetables (whatever you have onhand) with onion and garlic. if you want, also stirfry chicken or tofu. (or cube leftover meat.) Season as desired (ginger, soy sauce. We also use oyster sauce, but whatever you have.) Add the cooked rice when the veggies are done. Scramble a couple of eggs and then add them to the completed dish.

Pasta bake w/cream cheese.
Cook rotini or some sort of non-spaghetti noodles. We use whole-wheat for a little extra nutrition. In the last few minutes of boiling, add some frozen veggies. Italian blend or peas seem to work out best. Drain, return to pan.

Add a jar of Barilla sauce. If not moist enough, you can also add a small can of tomato sauce. Stir in some cheese of your choice (3-cheese Italian blend is nice, but I've used just about everything.) You don't need a ton of grated cheese. If you want meat, you can add it at this point - we sometimes will add vegetarian italian sausage substitute.

Pour mixture in a casserole dish or greased 9 x 12 pan. if your kids like a cheesy flavor (and so far, all the kids I've fed this dish to do), add a few teaspoonsful of low-fat (not non-fat) cream cheese or neufchatel cheese. Just plop in randomly. Only about 1/3 of a cream cheese brick for a whole casserole. Sprinkle mozzarella on top. Cover pan with aluminum foil. Heat in oven until warmed through (20 min at 350, about.)

I have fallen in love with Trader Joes. They have tons of quick and easy meal ideas in both the refrigerated case and freezer section. They have this delicious pre-grilled chicken that you can use for tacos, wraps, or even just chicken and rice, along with pre-made sirloin burgers that we throw on the foreman grill. I could probably go on and on. As a working mom, I'm proud to say, we typically only take out food only once during the weekend.

Hi E.,

I recommend doing something like Simply Homemade (www.simply-homemade.com), where you put 8, 10, or 12 meals (6-8 servings) together in a two hour time period. All of the meals can be frozen, and you can offer those on the weeknights you would typically order out. It's a little more expensive than shopping & cooking on your own, but I've found it's much cheaper than ordering out; and more healthy! They have great nutritional information available, as well!

Good luck! T.

I am all for finding simple recipes without a long list of ingredients. One thing I've used is on www.kraftfoods.com. They have a feature called shop once, eat all week. Monday-Thursday you cook and on Friday you have pizza. Another one that I love is below.

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Country Pork Ribs
Seasoned Salt
Pepper
Barbeque Sauce

I season the meat with seasoned salt and pepper and simply place it in the slow cooker before I leave for work in the morning. (Put a little water in the bottom as well) It ends up cooking for about 9 hours on low and when I get home I pour off the liquid, add barbeque sauce and serve it up on buns along with whatever vegetables we feel like having that day.

We have several easy favorites:

Italian Chicken
Marinade raw chicken breasts in Italian dressing overnight
Grill them up, serve them over colored rotini pasta with extra Italian dressing (from the bottle, throw out what they were soaking in) and parmesian cheese. Goes good with a side of corn.

Hamburger Mix-up
Brown 1 lb of ground beef with a small chopped onion. Add 1 can of condensed tomato soup (do not add water) and 1 can of canned mixed vegetables (drained) or 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook covered over low heat until vegetables are hot.

Chicken & Rice
Preheat the oven to 350. Put 2 cups of instant rice, 1 envelope of powdered onion soup, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 2 cups water, 1/2 cup milk in a 9x11 cake pan and mix. Place raw chicken breasts (or thighs) in the rice. Cook for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Hope that helps!

I love finding new recipeas that are fairly easy to make and quick. Some of my tricks are to scope the rachael ray website that way I know they are 30min. or less and almost always healthy. She always includes vegie's in her meals. I also pick the one night a week that is really busy and I toss something in the slow cooker in the morning so we can all eat and I'm not having to think about it. My favorite slow cooker cookbook is fix it and forget it lightly. hundreds of recipeas and they are so easy and inexpensive. I always keep some lettuce with dried cranberries around so if I can't think of a vegi I whip up a salad that has some fruit so everyone will eat it.

I 'make dinner' 6 nights a week using Dinner by Design. I go once a month, order their 12 meal plan and 'half-size' prepare it and take it home and put it in the freezer. On a nightly basis, all I have to do is pull it out and cook it. I do a salad and a vegetable for a side and fruit for dessert. At my DbyD, it costs me $240 or $10 per meal/$3.37 per entree. Cheaper than ordering out and definitely more healthy. www.dinnerbydesignkitchen.com for more information.

I love my crockpot. I try to sit down over the weekend and talk to my hubby about what foods he might like that week, including lunches, etc. and we make a huge list of things we'll need, then discuss what days are going to be extra busy for us, and we plan the crockpot meals for those nights.

In my crockpot I usually make:
"fake" rotisserie chicken-
take a whole, cleaned chicken (remove the insides or packet they put in the cavity) and wash it. Poke holes in a lemon, lime, orange, etc and shove in cavity. Put whatever fresh herbs you have into the cavity (we do rosemary, thyme, marjoram usually). Rub down the skin w/butter or oil and put into crockpot for about 10 hours on low. make sure you aren't opening the lid, that slows the cooking. it is done when you cut it and juices run clear. If you have leftovers, you can make chicken fajitas, sandwiches, soup, etc. You can also freeze the carcass for soup some other day.

pot-roast-
get a beef roast and cut into chunks. dump into crockpot with quartered potatoes (we leave skin on), cut up carrots, some whole mushrooms, celery sticks cut into thirds, and any other root veggies you want (turnips, etc)
Don't add water! Add dried herbs and spices- I add:
celery salt
white pepper
basil
oregano
garlic powder
minced onion

cook all day on low or about 4 hours on high. throw any leftovers in the blender and then BACK into the crockpot the next day w/beef broth, canned veggies like corn, beans, tomatoes, etc. for a great hearty stew. You can add some cooked rice or noodles at the end if you like. This freezes well too. before you start to carve the chicken, etc. you can throw some veggies in to steam or roast (my daughters like broccoli and cauliflower), make a quick salad, etc.

I like allrecipes.com for finding recipes ahead of time to use up what I have on hand.

Another thing you can do to save running to the grocery store is order groceries online. I have heard Peapod is great, but we use mostly organic things and have found
www.naturaldirect.com which is lots of local produce, meats, dairy, etc. I can send you an email referral if you like and we'll both get a referral bonus.

Hope this helps. Also, if you dont have a slowcooker/crockpot, try freecycle- usually you can find them there, or even in thrift stores. I like the ones where you can actually remove the liner to make cleaning easier.

-M.

Ironically Oprah today had this for a show today. you may want to check it out on her website. www.oprah.com she includes a week of meals including the grocery list.

I stay at home and still have a hard time with dinners. From Friday through Monday night I cook and make more than enough to have left overs. Then on Tues and Wed we have left overs in disguise or just reheated. If no left overs I always have a pizza in the freezer. Just this week I started my older kids cooking. They picked a recipe from their pillsbury kids cookbook and made dinner last night. They had so much fun next week they are cooking two nights. Then on thursday nights when I'm the chauffer I get McDonald's for the kids. I make a protein, a side veggie and a carb. I have the Body for Life cook book and as this is a sort of fitness eating plan I highly recommned it. Everything is very healthy and well-balanced and 95% of the meals take 30 minutes. I bought mine at barnes and noble.

I also want to recommend Simply Homemade. I have been doing it for the last 2 months and love it. It has simplified mealtime as well as opened up the variety of food we've eaten and it is cost effective as well. We split the meals so can get up to 20 meals each time - each meal serves 6 so half serves 3. My kids do not eat a full serving so it works out perfectly.

Someone mentioned Taste of Home - that's a great place to start and they will send you a no-obligation first issue. Also, they have their on-line web-site which is really cool and they e-mail me new and easy recipes, on a weekly basis.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/

We sit down to dinner, at least 5 times a week. Saturdays and Sundays are bigger meals. If we have chicken breast or an occasional steak, on either of those days, we make one "extra". This becomes our Steak Fajitas for Monday or Chicken pot pie (one of my favorite easy recipe!)
http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/showrecipe.aspx?rid=12462

Or the chicken breast can become: Chicken Caeser Salad, chicken stir fry w/ oriental vegetables and sauce (found in grocer's freezer - serve w/ rice) , chicken enchiladas (recipe on back of "Old El Paso" can). Can be made early and pop in oven but they assemble quickly too) or Tortilla Pie (following recipe - made in a spring form pan. I've used the Southern Living recipe but couldn't find it on-line. This looks close.)

http://food.yahoo.com/recipes/pillsbury-bakeoff/11479/spe...

An easy-to-make pot of chili cooked over the weekend can be divided up and frozen, can be made into: Chili cheese dogs, chili mac or just chili. Serve with a side salad, corn or other vegetables.

My kids are good vegetable and salad eaters and they love a good Caesar salad (romaine or crispy lettuce, tossed w/ caesar or ranch dressing, fresh parmesan or parmesan shaker cheese and croutons) We love fresh parmesan! Either make this as it's own meal, topped with the sliced-up Chicken breast strips or make it a " Soup (progresso or what's on hand), Salad and Bread night"

We even do chicken nugget wraps (Thanks, McDonalds!) and load the tortilla with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and a little dressing. Toast it just a little bit.

Make pasta - bow tie or other shapes: Saute 3 garlic cloves in a little olive oil, add some broccoli florets, sundried tomatoes whatever vegetable you want (spinach and zucchini is a great choice too.) Boil your pasta/drain well, place back into pan. Toss in garlic/vegetable medly and Mix all ingredients. Top with parmesan and serve. If you have a rotary cheese grater, that's great. Otherwise, this tool is one of those must-haves in the kitchen! You can get it the cheapest at Bed Bath and Beyond with a 20% off coupon. Quick and easy - great for small grating, zesting, etc...

cheesehttp://www.epinions.com/review/Microplane_8_5_Grater_Zest...

From Sam's club: Bagged broccoli florets, bagged fresh baby spinach, spring mix salad or romaine heads, bag of chicken nuggets - good to have. (We like Costco too.)

Last.... "Yogurt fruit bowl": Vanilla vogurt (or any kind - just is our favorite), mixed with one or ANY variety of cut-up strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, bananas, mangos, grapes, plums. We use fruit in season. Make at beginning of meal planning. Keep in fridge, serve as side. This is a great Sunday Breakfast side dish too.

Good luck.

Hi E.,
One of my favorites is stir fried rice. You can buy frozen brown rice & it cooks in 3 minutes in the micro (you can also use left over rice). Then cook the egg in a pan with some olive oil & remove the egg when it's done. If you want to add meat then put a little more oil in the pan & cook that until it is partly cooked through (if you use already cooked left over meat than you just need to heat it a little). I then add the rice & egg back into the pan & throw in some frozen veggies. You'll need to add some more oil & some soy sauce & season to taste (I like lemon pepper & ginger). Cover & let the veggies & meat cook for about 8 minutes. Boom, your done. You have veggies, grain & protein all in 1 dish. It's really fast & tasty, about 15 min total cooking & prep time.
Another great dish is tilapia (fish) over cous cous. Saute the fish in some olive oil with salt pepper & lemon juice. Cous cous cooks in 5 minutes & the fish cooks in about 8 minutes. Get some organic, pre cut lettuce & broccoli slaw & then you have a salad to go with it (no chopping needed). Total prep & cooking time about 10-15 min.
I'm also a big fan of quinoa (it's a grain loaded with protien). You can cook it with water or chicken broth. It can be used instead of rice to put meat over it or it can be a main dish. As a main dish I cook it with chicken broth. 1st put in water or stock in a pan over high heat, add some frozen veggies & bring to a boil. Then put in the quinoa & season to taste, cover & lower heat to simmer. It takes 12-15 min to cook. It's super healthy, fast & easy.
All of these meals are easy clean-up too. Only 1 or 2 pans to clean.

Hi E.,

You've gotten some great ideas!! I wanted to share that I am an Independent Distributor with Homemade Gourmet and one of the great things I do for people is show them how to prepare 4 meals in 4 minutes for their family!! You also get to sample some of the new products in our spring/summer catalog.
Plus - you'll have 4 meals in your freezer to prepare when you choose!
It's great fun and can save you lots of time and money! Have some friends join you and they can learn this too.

Let me know if I can help -
C. Bass
www.homemadegourmet.com/cherylbass

Crock pot dinners are great. Find a good crock pot cook book. I'm a mom of two boys and work part time. My 15 yr. old is in high school baseball and my 24 yr. old usede to work odd hours til he got a full time job this week. Crock pots are great. Just start in early morning and forget about it! V.

One of my favorites is Sloppy Janes...use ground turkey instead of beef wiht a can of chopped tomatoes (juice included), onion, diced red pepper, tablespoon of brown sugar and tablespoon of ketchup. I buy frozen whole wheat buns from Whole Foods and just make those 10 minutes before the mixture is ready.
Another good one is chicken pesto...Preheat oven to 350, chicken breasts, pour pesto sauce over chicken and layer provolone on top of the pesto sauce. Cook for 50 minutes.

We too love chili. We make a big pot with Chili Magic (beans & spices all in one can), ground beef and a can of diced tomatoes. Heat for 20 minutes. We have chili, chili mac, chili tacos or tostadas (just drainoff a little juice), taco salad, chili dogs. Very versatile.

As a time saver, I buy ground beef and ground turkey when it is on sale. Mix about 1 lb turkey to 2 lbs beef. I brown it in the microwave 2-3 lbs at a time. Drain and break up half way through (5 min). I let cool while the next batch is cooking. Then I crumble with my hands and put 1 lb in individual sandwich bags. I will put several sandwich bags in a big freezer bag and freeze. Very helpful for a quick spaghetti sauce or Hamburger Helper or anything calling for hamburger.

I also take leftover chicken and shred it. I heat it in a fry pan with one cube of Sofrito (as recommended below - I find it at some of the spanish fruit markets)and some chunky salsa from the jar. This makes great tacos or tostadas.

M.

Alot of people have given you a ton of great ideas. I have another suggestion, although admittedly I'm a bit biased. I'm a Pampered Chef consultant and love to cook. However, I took this job because my family dynamic had to change (my husband's hours were cut last year). So, now I find myself babysitting, cleaning my MIL's house, still trying to take care of my house and family, and working with Pampered Chef. So, in other words, I know what it's like to need quick, easy yet healthy (has always been important to me) meals. I have a couple recipes I really like, but I'd also recommend the 29 Minutes to Dinner cookbook from Pampered Chef (named I think to beat Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals:). There are a lot of great recipes that taste great, perhaps even like you're eating out while dining in (and saving money!) I'd love to send you a couple recipes from it. (I think I'd get in trouble just posting them up here for everyone to see!) If you'd be interested, just let me know. (Of course, I'd always love to do a cooking class for you and some friends too if you'd be interested.) Hope to hear from you!

I cook about every other day, but I make extra large portions so that we have leftovers to eat the next day or to freeze for next week. Rachael Ray tv show and cookbooks helped me learn to cook quick, simple meals for my family. Her magazine sends me weekly meal guides: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/menus/weekly-menu-planner/?t...

I either steam frozen veggies for a side dish or put the veggies right in the meal (like a ground beef shepherd's pie or chicken pot pie).
Hope this helps.

My kids have recently discovered how fun it is to make homemade pizza. We use english muffins or trader joes has a crust for $1.20 that you roll out. It keeps the kids busy decorating it, while I'm making salad.

We're trying Jewel-Osco's Fav Four promotion... four meats for $19.99 and four fresh veggies/fruits for $9.99. So... this week it's pot roast with potatoes and carrots in the crockpot, pork chops and side of broccoli/cauliflower, bratwursts, and pub burgers and fries. We'll also do hamburger helper/tuna helper. Another quickie is rice, chicken cutlets, cream of broccoli soup. frozen broccoli mixed all together and topped with velveeta block cheese. Both my husband and I are teachers and he coaches year round (=not a lot of time at meal times). Even though we both love to cook, we realize that the big meals we like to cook are not practical at this point with a 2 1/2 year old and a 10 month old. Two other easy meals... pasta, pesto sauce (Knorr makes a good packet for it) and diced pre-cooked chicken and... frozen stir fry veggies, precooked chicken served over rice.

We do a lot of stif fry. It gets you all the veggies you need for the day, and you can mix up the sauces you cook them in. We do it over jasmine rice, which is easy enough for my kids to make in the rice cooker. Costco sells huge bags of frozen stif fry veggies really cheap. Trader Joe's has great sauces, but you can experiment with whatever you have on hand, too. Takes 10 minutes or so with the veggies, a little longer on the rice. And the best part- clean up is a breeze!
Left over rice is great for fried rice- another easy way to get some chicken or tofu in with a ton of veggies! All of my kids love fried rice (ages 9, 5 and 1).
Another quick one that the kids LOVE helping with is pizza. We just get flatbread from Stanley's, pour on a little marinara, they add as many veggies as they want (usually they heap the veggies on- it's awesome!) and top with cheese. Ten minutes later we take them out of the oven! Also easy on the clean up, if the shredded cheese stays on the pizza :D
Good luck!

I became a cooking diva when it was apparent that we had no money lol! I was a single mom and going out to eat was impossible, and you can't feed your kids spaghettios and hotdogs!
Boneless skinless chicken breasts and boneless pork chops are fantastic. You can make them in a foil pouch, bake them, broil them, grill them or throw them on the George foreman (fast!). You can pick up steamed vegetables in a bag already washed and steam them in the bag in the microwave (healthy!) Dinner can be done in less than 30 minutes! Add some wild rice, noodles, and a loaf of french bread, or make bread in the breadmaker (sooo good home made!). There is meat, veggie, starch---throw a fruit in there and you are pretty set for the food groups, if you serve milk---
It is easier now that rice and potatoes come already made and all you need to do is nuke em....they taste better than boxed potatoes at least!
One of my favorite unhealthy is tater tot casserole. You can make it much more healthy though---the original recipe calls for hamburger, you can use ground turkey...and replace the cream of whatever soup with a healthy choice or low sodium version, and the cheese with a low fat option. Here is the recipe.

ore ida tater tots (they have to be ore ida!
one pound of ground meat
one bag of frozen veggies your choice
two cans of cream of whatever soup (I change it depending on what I want that night)

Brown the meat---then mix it with one can of soup
in a casserole dish (or 9 x 11 cake pan) put the meat mixture on the bottom and spread evenly
Mix the frozen veggies with another can of soup
Then put that on a layer on top of the meat
cover with tater tots, in one layer....arrange tots so each tot has a spot, dont put tots on top of each other.
cover with shredded cheese
bake at 350 35-45 minutes til cheese melted and golden and veggies done.
Eat!

My kids LOVED tater tot casserole....don't ask me why, but I think they all do.

E.,

I use our crock pot/slow cooker a lot. We throw meat and veggies in there in the moring (meat Frozen sometimes) . Then dinner is ready when we get home.

Fish is also quick to make.

I try to prepare things the night before when my little one goes to sleep. Things that are tasty re-heated. Or Pre cook the italian sausage for spg.

We too order out because we get home so late and we are starving. Hope some of this helps.

I like to use Allrecipes.com to find new recipes for dinners. I am not organized enough to meal plan for the week before grocery shopping so i tend to just shop and buy what is on sale or what looks good at the time. So when I get home sometimes I find I have things that dont seem to have a place on the menu! So I search on allrecipes.com the food item I am looking to use and it gives me sooooo many great recipes. The best part is that lots of people have already tried them and write reviews on them. Sometimes sharing great alternatives to the recipes. Just yesterday I looked up sweet potatoes and ended up making my very first sweet potatoe pie! Crust and all! (It was more of a casserole since I dont yet own a pie pan, but delicious none the less!!)

Point being, you know the types of food you like and this site will help you find great recipes. It also has a "recipe box" option for you to save your favorites.

Hope this brings you lots of great meals!!

I LOVE my cooking magazines, which are forever giving me great ideas for new and interesting dinners. My favorite is the Taste of Home series. There is Simple & Delicious, which is all about quick meals for everyday preparation, and the new Healthy Cooking, which has been great so far! You can go to www.tasteofhome.com and sign up for a free issue.

Simple & Delicious has a regular feature called *Freezer pleasers*. On a free weekend, I'll often make 3 or 4 of these recipes, which provide 2 casseroles each. I label them with cooking instructions and freeze them.

I also organize my weekly meals on the back of my shopping list. I mark down what we're having each day, the issue & page # of the recipe, and then on the list side, I mark down any ingredients I need to buy. I keep my list of meals on my fridge.

I also try to do as much *prep* work for meals ahead of time. Chopping, mixing sauces, marinating, etc.

With some planning and advance prep, you'll find that cooking regularly isn't so hard!

Get a rotisserie chicken wherever you like- Sam's is only $4.99 and nothing in it.

Pull 1/2 chicken meat from bones. Place in a tortilla of your choice, add salsa (also available FRESH in produce sections) or tomato & onion raw, add green peppers if you like, and optional-small amount of canned refried beans or other beans and top with mexican/mix 2 color cheese mix. Roll to close and place in baking dish with 3-6 others as you need.
Add a little cheese on top. Place in 375 oven for 15-30 minutes to your desired look/crispness. Serve with any of refried beans, salsa, sour cream, salad, mexican rice (from the box ok. Impressive and really good. Takes 15-20 min prep and 20-30 in oven.
Use other 1/2 chicken to make pot pies. Remove from bones, add to cream of ____whatever soup you like (dilute just a little with milk until thick & creamy)or make a bechamel sauce if you are inclined. Add frozen carrots and peas diced, salt pepper, optional: spice, chopped celery,onion, garlic etc. Combine. Use pre made pie shells. At room temp or just not cold, roll out & into a pie pan or similar, or individual bowls is better if you cut the dough. Cut & paste like play dough- keep pressing together. Put dough on bottom & sides, fill with chicken mixture, cover and squeeze the edges together to seal. Fork holes in top of middle to let steam out. Into oven for 45 min-1 hr. Prep is 10 min, cooking 1 hr. (Put something under pie in oven- will overflow)
Both of these CAN be done on a weekend and kept in a COLD refrigerator for 5-6 days before cooking if you prefer.

COLD Alternate;
Cook tortelinni of your choice- fresh spinach & tomato are nice. Cook al-dente- (not soft). Cool. Add drained (hold the liquid aside) can of Aunt Nellies Beans of your choice.
Buy premade fresh pesto and dilute with some Bean juice, and pour over the beans & tortellini to moisten to your taste. Salt pepper and serve chilled or close to room temp.
Great side dish or with french/italian bread and green salad or a steak. 20 minutes prep- no cooking.

Good luck!
Every food manufacturer has recipes on their web sites. If you like something- look it up and they will suggest easy and hard recipes that are usually great.

You got some great comments. My one to add (which might not work for everyone) is that we have a pretty simple repertoire of dinners that we rotate. It makes it easy so you don't have that "what to do for dinner" feeling. For us EVERY Monday is spaghetti night. The rest of the week we are more flexible and have a handful of standbys, tilapia fillets, pizza, shake and bake pork chops, grilled teriyaki chicken, hamburgers, chicken pot pie (cambell soup recipe) pot roast (from Costco yummy), etc. We are not fans of too much prepared foods. We usually have rice or potato as the carb and always have fresh brocolli, asparagus, frozen peas as our veggie. I make a salad a couple nights a week too. I think it helps to just keep it simple and always have certain things on hand. It might help to write down 5-10 meals that you can pick from so you don't draw a blank. Good luck and thanks for asking the question. I got some great new ideas.

Hi E.!

I am a Pampered Chef Consultant and I help many families prepare meals on a budget. I have many recipes that are healthy and delicious for around $2 per serving. I would love to come to your home and prepare one for you and your friends and family. They will get to try all the awesome kitchen tools that prepares the meal in a flash.

Please let me know if you are interested. We have awesome Host specials going on right now.

S.
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