Looking for Simple 5 or Less Ingredient Meals

here is a great slow cooker idea you can have it cook all day and ready to go when you get home. I am a mom of 3 girls that works fulltime downtown Chicago.

BBQ PULLED CHICKEN

3-4 boneless chicken breast
1 medium onion chopped
12 oz. can coke
1/3 cup Worcestershire
1 ½ tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 ½ teaspoon of chicken bouillon granules
¾ teaspoon of dry mustard
¾ teaspoon of chili powder
1 clove of garlic minced
½ cup sweet & zesty of famous dave bbq sauce (or whatever you prefer)
put everything in the crock pot & cook 6hrs.
shred chicken in crock pot after 6hrs. add more sauce if needed
let cook for another 15-30 minutes
serve on buns

J.
www.noahsarkworkshop.com/jodigilbert18

I always get ideas from Kraft.com.
You can input ingredients and it will give you receipes that include how long it takes to prepare and cook. Also, people who have tried them put in their opinions.
It is great and I cook stuff from there all the time.

I like to make a taco bake for my family. I brown up hamburger (I brown a couple pounds at a time and then split it up into 1 lb portions and freeze) - then add a packet of Taco Bell taco seasoning to the hamburger. Then I take a can of refried beans, spread it in the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish and then put the seasoned hamburger over it, then I add salsa, 1/2 a bag of taco chips, smother it all in taco seasoned shreded cheese and then black olives on top(although my kids always pick those off). Bake at 350 until the cheese is melted (about 10 or 15 minutes) and it's ready to go. Very filling.

- and thanks for asking, I'm printing off everyone else's recipies!

Here is a recipe for chicken tacos, (not really a recipe just how to throw it together). If you work full time instead of keeping the crockpot on high for 4-6 hours keep it on low for 10-12 hours.

Cut up chicken into small pieces (I use frozen chicken, but you can buy the chicken already diced), cook in a lightly greased frying pan until cooked through. Use a taco seasoning packet and follow directions (adding mix and water and boil). Add about a 1/2 a cup of extra water so the meat doesn't dry out in the crockpot. Throw is all into a crockpot and heat on high 4-6 hours until meat falls apart.

The great thing about this recipe is it takes about 10 minutes prep the night before, then stick it in the crockpot bowl, refridgerate and in the morning put it in the heater and hit on! Nice and simple and it tastes like a restaurants chicken taco, just add tortillas, salsa, cheese and lettuce.

I'm also on the look-out for main dishes that are fun and don't include a lot of pasta, rice or bread. I really liked a couple mexican cuisine dishes I made recently. These may have more than 5 ingredients, but were super easy--I literally pulled ingredients out of the freezer, fridge or can!

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS:
--Buy a rotisserie chicken or cook around a 3/4 pound or so of chicken--shred or cube the meat into hearty bite-size chunks (your preference)
--1 can (11 oz) Mexicorn or Fiesta Corn, drained (e.g. corn with green & red pepper)
--1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso chopped green chilies, undrained
--2 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)
--1 can (10 oz) old El Paso enchilada sauce
--8 or more flour tortillas (usually 10-12 come in a pack)
--Totally optional garnishes/toppings--sour cream, lettuce, salsa, avocado (we did without and it was still great!)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 13x9 inch (3quart) glass baking dish with oil. Spread 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce over bottom of baking dish.

Mix chicken, corn, green chilies, half of the cheese (1 cup) and 1/4 cup enchilada sauce. Spoon about 1/2 cup of mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas & place seam side down in baking dish. Sppon remaining enchilada sauce over top of enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Spray sheet of foil with oil/cooking spray and cover baking dish (sprayed side down). Bake 35 minutes covered and another 5 minutes with foil removed. Really tasty--can garnish with sour cream, lettuce, salsa, avocado, etc. Yum! Never ordered enchiladas before, but this dish was yummy.

CHICKEN FAJITA CASSEROLE:
--1 can (16 oz) Old El Paso refried beans
--1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
--1 envelope (1.4 ox) fajita seasoning mix
--1 package (9 oz) frozen cooked Soutwest-seasoned chicken breat strips, thawed [I couldn't find so I used "seasoned, grilled chicken strips" instead]
--8 flour tortillas
--1 bag (1 lb) frozen stir-fry bell peppers & onions, thawed & drained (I had semi-thawed it in the fridge, was still fine) I think Bird's Eye makes this veggie combo.
--2 cups shredded Colby-Monterrey Jack Cheese (8 oz).

Heat over to 375. Spray 13x9 inch glass baking dish with oil/spray. Mix refried beans, tomato sauce and fajita seasoning mix. Once blended, stir in chicken.

Spread 1/2 cup of chicken/bean mixture over bottom of dish. Arrange 4 tortillas, overlapping if nec, in baking dish. Top with half of remaining chicken/bean mixture, half of stir-fry veggies and 1 cup cheese. Repeat layers with remaining tortillas, chicken/bean mixture, stir-fry veggies and cheese. Cover with foil. Bank 30 minutes, uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until hot & bubbly.

BTW/--I'm thrilled I found this combo of frozen veggies--e.g. chopped green & red pepper & onion. It's a common ingredient combination and a huge time saver for a number of recipes! I can also imagine easily making regular fajitas or stir-fries with this veggie combo.

Have fun & enjoy!
G.

I'm not much help when it comes to cooking, but my hubby likes ... www.allrecipes.com

The Gourmet Cupboard also has some easy meal items .... http://gourmetmixes.net/products.asp?sCat=12

Good Luck :)

~L. S~

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I make this two chicken dishes and they have no names...:) The first is...
Boil 3-4 chicken breasts, cut into cubes.
Then boil a pot of noodles any kind ( my kids love the pin wheels) cook like normal.. Cook 1 bag of the vegtable medly broc, carrots, & califlower. While all are still warm mix together add some salt,pepper,butter, garlic powder and make some biscuts and there is a fast easy meal in minutes.
The other...
1 Box of instant rice 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup 4 chicken breasts, 1 can of mixed veggies. Put rice in a baking dish.. mix together veggies,soup, 1 can of water. pour some over the rice and mix well. lay the chicken on top pour remaining liquid over the chicken cover and let cook for about 1 hour and 15 min.( or until chiken is done) take cover off and sprinkle cheese all over bake for about another 5 minutes serve and enjoy...garlic bread and salad go great.

Sign up for Kraft recipes- they are usually pretty easy.
Here is the site: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf

I am including some slow cooker recipes and recipes that you can make and freeze easily too.

One tip about slow cookers- for each time you open them you are adding time to cooking. Unless the recipe calls for you to open and stir- DON'T do it!! :)

My favorite crockpot (slow cooker) recipes are:

CHILI
3 cans beans (2 of kidney beans- drained, and one of white or black beans)
1 lb ground beef (I boil it rather than fry it so it is chunkier)
1 packet of McCormick Original Chili Seasoning
1 big can of diced tomatoes (you can use the flavored ones too- like garlic/onion, etc. Be sure NOT to drain the can!)
Dump all of this in a crockpot on low and leave it all day- the longer it cooks, the better!
This is yummy with cornbread, and you can serve it with tortilla chips, sour cream, grated cheeses. My daughter is 6 and she loves chili nights! Leftovers can be used for taco salads or to top baked potatoes or for nachos.... etc. It freezes well too!

ROAST
Pork or beef roast- brown it just a little with seasonings of your choice- I use Mrs Dash and poke some fresh garlic in little slits in the meat.
Add baby carrots and small potatoes and chunks of onion or the pearl onions (not the pickled kind though)
Dump in crockpot and set on high for about 6 hrs
Leftovers are good for starting a vegetable soup!

Good ones to make ahead and freeze:

Pasta Shells:
Mix ricotta cheese with some cottage cheese and dump in some grated mozzerella and parmesan until it is spreadable consistency.(You can also add cooked and drained spinach to the mix if you want.) Stuff into cooked pasta shells OR spread it along the length of cooked lasagna noodles and roll up. Pack them into some plastic freezer containers (Ziploc or Tupperware, etc) and dump a little spaghetti sauce on top. They are easily thawed and cooked in the microwave.

Rice Cups:
1 cup instant rice (white or brown, uncooked)
1 cup chicken broth
1-1/2 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, drained (you can use fresh if it is already steamed too)
2/3 cup grated cheese(s) of your choice
1/4 cup Ranch dressing
2 eggs, lightly beaten

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Prepare rice as directed on package, substituting chicken broth for the water. Place cooked rice in large bowl; cool slightly.
STIR in remaining ingredients until well blended. Spoon mixture evenly into 8 greased medium muffin cups.
BAKE 25 -35 min until lightly browned.
These are great finger food and taste like chinese fried rice!
My hubby loves them in his lunchbox cold too :)

Another one that is really quick:
Cut up a Rotisserie chicken and use it on a Boboli (or other pre-made) pizza crust or tortillas. You can make it a taco pizza with taco seasonings or pesto, traditional, etc. (You can use the chicken carcass with some carrots, celery, water, noodles, and seasonings to start a nice chicken soup too!)

Hope these help!
Amanda

I see that someone gave you the chicken stuffing bake. I make that all the time, now that I have become the casserole queen. My recipe is a little different in that I use a little sour cream and also throw in a bag of mixed vegetables. So, cut up the chicken breasts into pieces. Mix chicken with soup (cream of mushroom or cream of chicken), vegetables and sour cream). Top with the stuffing (which you have to cook before putting on top). Cook in a baking pan at 350 for 45 minutes. This is from the Campbells recipes that I see someone suggested.

try Campbell's soup labels. or the website. Their recipes are super, super easy and really quick too. http://www.campbellkitchen.com/recipesearch.aspx
B.

Simple black bean soup. At first I wasn't sure what it would taste like or whether my kids would eat it but they LOVE it! It is simple but should have at least an hour to cook to be the best.

3 cans black beans
1 can chopped green chilis (NOT jalepanos unless you like it hot!)
1-8oz. can chopped tomatoes
1 can corn
1 small onion
celery and carrot chopped, you decide how much you want, some people like alot, some people like a little. Probably 2 stalks and 1 large carrot would be sufficient.
salt and pepper to taste

chop all the veggies
open the cans and put all into a big pot WITH the juices, add veggies, let cook for an hour

I serve it with crushed tortilla chips at the bottom of each bowl, sour cream and cheese on the top. There is never anything left over. =) I am also quite sure that if you through this together in a crockpot in the morning it would be pefect by dinner time. I hope your family likes it as much as mine does!
H.

Dear A.,

I have a couple of ideas and depending on how old your children are one might even go super fast and my kids who are 2 & 4 love to help me with this one.

Tortia Pizza

Take tortia shells and put pizza sauce on it and I add pepporoni and cheese and then microwave about 30-60 seconds.

Toasted Sandwiches

I use either bread or sub buns and you can put what ever you want, but this is what we put...
I take bread put mayo on both slices then put turkey lunch meat and then put the other slice of bread on and then put in oven at 350 degrees when the one side is toasted and brown I flip the sandwhich over and toast the other side. I also make that with ham luch meat and cheese.

Hamburger Rice Cassarole

Take a pound of hamburger meat and brown.
2c. of instant rice
2c water.
2c of cream of mushroom soup
1c of peas

Mix all ingredients together in either the crock pot or baking dish. Cover and if in oven cook @ 350 for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. You do not need to stir.

I have more recipes if you need here is a list of a couple with 5 ingredients or less

Drunken porkchops
goulosh
chili

I have a whole cook book for crock pots or slow cookers. if you have one of these and need ideas for them. please e-mail me back. I hope that you get some ideas from everyone that e-mailed you.
B.

Chicken Stuffing Bake

Make a bag of stuffing(16 oz) per instructions. Place in 9x13 pan. Place 2-3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts on top of stuffing. Pour 2 10 oz cans of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes depending on your oven. My 3 kids love it.

I bought a GREAT cook book that sounds perfect for you. It is a Campbell's 4 Ingredients or Less. We bought it through a school fundraiser. I searched it, but only found it on e-bay,
http://cgi.ebay.com/CAMPBELLS-4-INGREDIENTS-OR-LESS-COOKB...
If it looks like something you would like, I know the schools will be doing this stuff soon. It also came with a crockpot receipe book and another one. Good Luck!

I LOVE my four ingredient cookbook too!! It's called The Four Ingredient Cookbooks...As Easy as 1 2 3 4 By Linda Coffee and Emily Cale. It's great! Has over 700 4 ingredient recipes!
Here's a link to it when I did a search.
http://www.fouringredientcookbook.com/3in1_cookbook.htm

Just a suggestion. Check your local area and towns. Recently I have been going to a place in Valparaiso called Making Dinner Fun and I have also tried one in Scherellville. It takes about an hour to two. You can make 6 to 12 meals and it will cost about $99.00 for six. You prepare the meals in advance and freeze them. The meals feed 4-6 people. So, we split them in half because we won't eat all that food. It is a great concept and dinner is made just by taking it out of the freezer. Check out the website at makingdinnerfun.com. and other ones in your area for more information. This is great especially if you are pressed for time. Hope this helps.

Hi A.,

Go to kraftfoods.com, you can sign up for free cooking mags 4 times a year. They give a lot of recipes, mostly for moms on the go who are pressed for time.

;-) H.

I have cut way back on cooking since starting online college. My latest find is the stirfry at Aldi's. It is actually as economical as less healthy meals ($4.00) and is quick, and you can add your own variations such as extra fresh frozen green beans, chicken or beef, and rice or peas. And you don't have to make up casseroles that look totally unappetizing later!! :o)

Hi A.,

I saw your post and I had to inform you of an awesome cutting edge company called Wildtree. I started out as a customer and became a rep because I love the food so much. Since I started using Wildtree's products, I have spent LESS time at the grocery store and less time preparing meals. All of Wildtree's products are ALL Natural and contain NO dyes,msg,additives,preservatives,and are peanut FREE and they taste delicious! Most of the meals use only 2-3 ingredients to prepare! If you'd like a sample I'd be happy to bring you a sample for you to taste. The infused flavored grapeseed oils are absolutely delicious!

Naturally yours,
C. Manikis, RN
Independent Wildtree Rep ID # 4064
http://www.cherylmanikis.mywildtree.com
____@____.com
###-###-####

I'm a single mom - my son and I leave at 7am every morning and dont get back home until 7pm - the last thing I feel like doing is cooking! I like to make cassroles up in advance (on weekends), freeze them, then take them out the night before I want to use them. My favorite works well as a main dish or as a side dish- though you may want to multiply the receipe by 1.5 or double it if you have hearty eaters and you want to use it as a main dish.

-1 LB MACARONI (Rotini, Penne, Mostacholi pasta works well too)
-2 regular sized cans Hunts diced tomatoes (I like to use the Garlic/Onion/Oregano Variety), DRAINED
- 1 to 1.5 lbs Mild Cheddar cheese (you can also use part cheedar and experiment with other cheeses- I like to use 3/4lb mild cheddar and 1/2lb Colby-Jack), SHREDDED
-Salt, Pepper

Boil noodles until almost done.
In a 9x 13 (or bigger) casserole dish, mix noodles, tomatoes, cheese evenly, and sprinkle salt & pepper liberally. Sprinkle a top layer of cheese if you desire.

Cover with foil, bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, remove foil and bake additional 10 minutes or until all cheese is melted.

Serve alone, or with salad & breadsticks or garlic bread.
Leftovers make a good side dish with chicken and pork.

I've also done something similar to the "making dinner fun" that someone else suggested. There's a local company called "Dinner By Design" dinnerbydesignkitchen.com with the exact same concept that she explained. They just opened one by me in Downers Grove but they have them throughout the Chicagoland area. You can even go onto their site & check out the different dishes they offer each month. And if you host a night with your friends, I think you get a certain percentage off. Good luck!!!

You can try to look on bettycrocker.com
She has great recipes. I know that there are plenty of recipes with little or a lot of ingredients. I'm sure if you search through you will find some good ones-I always do on that website!

Hello...

Pasta with shrimp (you can get it in the frozen section..I like to use the small shrimp that is used in salads)..add some mushrooms and some red peper. Toss with chese.

There are also some packets if you want to make sweet and sour chicken. You can add pineapple, brocolli and red pepper if you like, and put it over white rice.

You can make your own chili make. Brown some ground bee, add powdere chili seansoning, some chili style diced tomate and dark red kidney beans. It's actually pretty good.