Please Send Me Your Favorite Dinner Recipe!

I love this, easy and pretty cheap, and my picky eaters love it. Add a side salad and you are good to go:

http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2011/01/smoky-corn-and...

Taco Soup, my kids love it.
Brown some ground beef or turkey with an onion
Add a drained can of corn & black bean, an undrained can of diced tomatoes.
Add 4 cups of chicken or beef broth and an envelope of taco seasoning.

Eat with some crunched up tortilla chips.

These are bookmarked on my shortlist, for recipes I prepare often!

http://naturallyella.com/2010/02/24/black-bean-and-guac-b...
http://thecrockstar.blogspot.com/2009/01/absolute-best-cr...
http://under400.tumblr.com/post/3334930421/egg-and-spinac...
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/08/spaghetti-with-sauteed...
http://blogchef.net/mexican-casserole-recipe/

I get the pork sirloin roasts at costco...put one in a crockpot with a handful (maybe 1/3-1/2 cup?) of brown sugar and 1 1/2 - 2 cups salsa. Keep it in the crockpot for 5-6 hours on high...till it's shredding and falling apart...Then we put it in tortillas with chopped tomatoes, avocados (if we're feeling like a splurge), cheese and ranch dressing that I put in the blender with several cloves of garlic and a few good handfulls of cilantro (depending on how much you're making). Or you could just use regular ranch...when I get on a garlic kick...the kids usually end up taking regular ranch over my extreme garlic/cilantro/ranch. That's one of our family favorites...and we use it for company a lot because it's so easy and I've never met anybody that doesn't like it. It also allows for pickier kids to pick what they want in it. If I'm feeling ambitious I'll also make spanish rice to go in as well...or I'll reheat a can of black beans if I want to stretch it more.
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I also canned a ton of roasted tomato sauce this last year when I had the chance to buy a bunch of roma tomatoes for super cheap.

http://www.asweetpeachef.com/sauces/roasted-tomato-sauce/

It has onions, garlic, all kinds of good stuff :) When I have a crazy night I'll just boil up some noodles and break out a jar of the roasted tomato sauce. If you don't can...I also put a bunch in the freezer and it seems to have held up fine - granted it doesn't stay in there more than a few months :). It's one of the easiest tomato sauces I've ever made...You can spend a little time on an evening (most of the time is while the tomatoes are in the oven)...and make enough sauce for a lot of meals. Spaghetti seems pretty kid friendly :)
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My kids other favorite (I don't know how kid-friendly this is...but my kids LOVE it...). Is to open up a big can of Bush's baked beans and eat it with some cornbread. I think they feel really cowboy-ish or something...maybe that's why they love it so much. If I'm tight on time, I'll do muffins instead and they're out really fast. If I ask them to help me plan a menu for the week...without fail...this 'meal' is on it...

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My other easy favorite (sorry...I love food...can you tell?)
Toss a few chicken breasts (4-5) in the crockpot with a regular sized block of cream cheese and a packet of zesty italian seasoning...I usually put the chicken breasts in straight from the freezer...still frozen (in fact...if you don't put them in frozen, you may want to add a cup or so of chicken broth) Leave it in there until it's falling apart. I serve it over rice (brown basmati is yummy if you're shooting for brown rice)...or you can serve it with noodles...and then I steam up some vegies...either from frozen or fresh...depending on what I have on hand...you can even steam the vegis in the microwave if you don't want to deal with the stove.

Hope those help some...let me know if you want more...I love easy and kid-friendly :)

1st - stock your kitchen.

Meat - buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts in bulk when they go on sale $179 a lb. chicken legs and thighs, sleeves of lean hamburger patties. ground meat. Bags of frozen tilapia, salmon and shrimp.

freezer - a ton of bags of frozen veggies. one or two cheat meals - like a frozen stouffers lasagna for those days you cant cook.

pantry - with brown rice, beans, and whole wheat pasta. Canned tomatoes, spaghetti and alfredo sauce. potatoes, garlic, ginger, and onions.

spice cabinet - spice blends. Italain, Cajun, lemon pepper, jerk, bbq.

condiments - soy, bbq, terryaki, and bbq sauce.

You now have a very versatile kitchen that you could make 1,000 differant cheap meals to feed an army.

These are all our family favorites. I NEVER give them out, especially the Enchilada one. My enchiladas are always a huge hit. When I make the sauce, I have to be really careful cause my husband and I will sit there and eat it out of the pan and one time I didn't have enough left to fill the shells. The sauce can also be used as a chip dip. They are wonderful and so is the meatloaf. Don't let the thought of turkey meatloaf fool you. It is heaven.

Olive Garden-style Fettucini Alfredo

8 ounces Cream cheese -- cut in bits
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese -- grated
1/2 cup Butter or margarine
1/2 cup Milk
8 ounces Fettuccine; cooked -- drain
In large saucepan combine cream cheese, Parmesan, butter and milk, stirring constantly until smooth.

Toss pasta lightly with sauce, coating well. Leftovers freeze.

Servings: 6 to 8

MINI CHIMICHANGAS~
1 lb. ground beef
1 med. onion-chopped
3 cups (12 oz.) shredded cheese
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream... See More
1 can (4 oz.) green chiles, rinsed & drained
1 pkg. egg roll wrappers (14 count) -we used 18
1 egg white-lightly beaten
garlic powder, chili powder, dehydrated onion, onion powder, salt, & pepper
or taco seasoning packet
Oil for frying
Salsa or additional sour cream

cook beef & onion, drain. add seasonings. cool slightly.
mix cheese, sour cream, & chilis.
add seasoned meat mixture.
mix well.
heat 1/2 inch to 1 inch of oil on medium heat.... See More... See More
beat 1 egg white.
put 1/4-1/3 cup cup of filling in center of each wrap.
fold as directions tell you to, using egg white as a sealant.
fry each chimichanga for about 3 or 4 minutes on each side, will be golden brown.
we put sour cream, lettuce, & tomato on top of ours...made for a more
balanced meal & Wowee! Very Tasty!

Tex Mex
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 6.9-ounce package chicken-flavored rice and vermicelli mix
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
1 cup chopped seeded tomatoes (2 medium)
3 tablespoons canned diced green chile peppers, drained
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
Directions
1. In a medium saucepan cook onion in hot oil over medium heat until tender. Stir in rice and vermicelli mix
(including seasoning package); cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in broth and water. Bring to boiling; reduce
heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes (liquid will not be fully absorbed).

2. Transfer the rice mixture to a large bowl. Stir in chicken, tomatoes, chile peppers, basil, chili powder,
cumin, and black pepper. Transfer to a 2-quart casserole.

3. Bake, covered, in a 425 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Let stand for 5 minutes before
serving. Makes 6 servings.

Make Ahead Directions: Prepare as above through step 1. Cover and chill for up to 24 hours. Bake, covered,
in a 425 degree F oven about 40 minutes or until heated through. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. Let stand for 5
minutes before serving.

Enchiladas-

1 large can mild green chile enchilada sauce

1 can mild green chiles

1 can fat free refried beans

12 burrito size tortillas (or 18-20 handmade tortillas)

1/2 medium size white onion-diced

2 cloves garlic-diced

1 lb cooked meat-ground beef, ground turkey, slow cooked roast, or other tender pre-cooked meat

1 lb diced cheddar or cheddar mozarella mix-grated

6 oz. fat free cream cheese

Optional-
shredded lettuce,diced tomato, salsa,& sour cream as topping

Cook meat, add onion, garlic, & green chiles. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes on medium heat.
Add refried beans, half of the enchilada sauce (save the other half) & cream cheese. Stir until well mixed.
The mixture will be thick. Remove from heat & let sit for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to cool slightly.

Microwave tortillas one at a time for about 15 seconds each.
Put 1/4 cup mixture in the middle of tortilla in a vertical rectangle.
Fold right & left side towards center.
Roll bottom up.

Place enchiladas in a greased baking pan, being sure they touch slightly.
Mix leftover filling with other half of enchilada sauce. Pour over pan of enchiladas.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes. Until pan is bubbly & cheese is barely starting to brown.

Top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, or sour cream.

Turkey Meatloaf-for this, I also mix together in a bowl and spread on top of the meatloaf before putting in the oven uncovered:1/4 cup ketchup, a dime size amount of mustard, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.

2 tablespoons butter (or margarine)
1 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
3/4 cup catsup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:
Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 1 1/4 hr
1 Melt butter in a skillet.
2 Cook onion and garlic in melted butter for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3 Place mixture in a large bowl to cool for 5 minutes.
4 Combine turkey, bread crumbs, egg, 1/4 cup of the catsup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper with onion mixture.
5 Press meatloaf into an 8x4-inch loaf pan.
6 Spread remaining catsup on top.
7 Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-55 minutes.
8 (Internal temperature should reach 165 degrees.) Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving

Calories-318
5 servings

My first go-to meal is always tacos, of some sort! Sometimes I do fajitas (cut up chicken strips and buy frozen pepper strips), sometimes tacos, or taco salad or taco casserole, but it's all easy, fast and delicious! My kids will either eat the taco meat by itself or in a flour tortilla or in quesadilla form.

The second is what we call Greek Chicken. I think it's only called that b/c it has oregano in it, but every Greek I know calls it Greek chicken, which I think is funny! Anyway, buy bone-in parts, put them in a pan and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, and oregano. Put some pats of butter (which can be omitted for a healtheir option but it does make the skin nice and crispy and delcious!), put in a pan and cook on 350 for about an hour. You may want to put a tiny bit of water (or wine or even juice) in the bottom of the pan to keep it moist while cooking. As a side dish we usually do potatoes, a veg and a salad. My kids eat this up. Sometimes they eat the drumstick sometimes we take it off the bone, but it's just chicken so it's usually approved! Plus, bone-in chicken is usually cheaper!

Any crock pot recipe. The only problem I've found with crock pots is that you have to be organized! ;) I have to remember to have the stuff and put it on early in the morning! The easiest recipes are these three:
Pulled Pork...buy a pork butt, put it in the crock pot with one bottle of root beer, cook for 8 hours, shred with 2 forks, mix in sauce and done.
Pot Roast...easy enough...add some veggies, done in 8 hours.
Roast Chicken...same as pot roast, put in a whole chicken (make sure you take out the gizzards), some veggies, season it and done in 8 hours.

This is an old standby that I use quite often and it's so easy and I generally have everything on hand.

Pantry Spaghetti
Yield: 6-8 servings as first course; 4-6 as main course

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 plump garlic cloves, peeled & finely minced
4 T tomato paste
1 t sea salt
1 lb. dried spaghettini or capellini (I mostly use regular spaghetti, though)
Optional: 4 T chopped fresh Italian parsley
Optional: 8 fresh basil leaves, cut into narrow strips


Procedure:
1. Bring large pot of water to a boil for pasta.

2. Heat olive oil in large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until golden. Reduce heat and immediately add tomato paste to cool pan and prevent garlic from burning. Stir in salt. Cook mixture on low heat, breaking tomato paste into small bits with fork without creating a smooth puree. When tomato paste has become aromatic and darkened a shade, remove pan from heat.

Add a generous amount of salt to boiling water and drop in pasta. Cook at rolling boil, stirring often, until pasta is al dente. Drain spaghettini, add to skillet and toss to coat pasta. Garnish w/ parsley and basil, if you wish, and serve.

Voila!

I like the pizza thing, but instead of making a dough you can get refrigerated bisquit dough, place on baking sheet use a small glass (about 2" diameter at the top & about 1" on the bottom) use the bottom to make an indentation, put some pizza sauce on/in it, let the picky eater put the kind of cheese he/she wants on it, maybe some small pieces of fruit or veggies, ground, cooked meat, etc. put in the oven @ 400degress for about 8-10 mins., the kidz will have made it so will like it! Serve with smoothies to make a nutricious, delicious kid friendly dinner.

Bean and Cheese Burritos

3 cans different kinds of beans drained (whatever you like- pinto, black, chick peas, Great Northern)
1 can cheese OR nacho cheese soup (can use low-fat kind)
small can enchilada sauce
small can tomato sauce
tortillas (either corn or flour)
shredded cheese

Mix beans and cheese soup. Spoon 1/4 cup or more into each tortilla, roll up and put in baking pan. Mix enchilada sauce and tomato sauce about 1/2 and 1/2 and pour over tortillas in pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at about 350 for about 30 mins. Take off foil, sprinkle with cheese and bake just until cheese is melted.

All my kids and even my meat-eating ex liked these.

chicken and dumplings. Boild chicken. roll biscuit dough or flatten with hand and coat in flour. shred chicken ( some can be left out for picky eaters) add biscuit dough and cook about 15 minutes, stir pot so it does not stick.
Chicken parm ( or eggplant or veal). chicken brst, flour, eggwash and then bread crumbs, saute in pan both sides, finish in oven, top with sauce and mozzeralla cheese and boil pasta.
Asian- bottle of teryaki, steak or chicken. Bag og frozen stir fry mix- we have a kroger and they have their brand for .88
baked ziti- pasta, layered with ground beef, optional, sour cream or ricotta cheese, sauce and mozz cheese.
If you need more, just pm me!
most recipes can be done separatly with sauce so you can put out what your picky eater will eat. My daughter is odd, so when we have anything with pasta, we save hers plan, steak, samething.

Homemade pizza!

Google pizza dough recipes - as long as you have a mixer, and something to cook a pizza on (pizza stone is ideal), you can do this very inexpensively.
For the dough, you pretty much just need bread flour, water, and salt. The toppings and sauce you decide yourself. Our fave homemade pizza is spinach & portobello mushrooms w/mozzerella cheese & homemade tomato sauce. The kids like cheese, spinach, and pepperoni.
Making your own pizza actually makes pizza pretty healthy!

Home Madee Pizza!!!!!!!!!!!

Great way to use up leftovers! Plus I think there's a rule that if it has a crust under it, cheese over it and you call it "pizza" they HAVE to eat it!

I make home made crusts in advance on a day when I have time and stick them in the freezer, (think Boboli, but home made and frozen) but you buy premade or mixes or use English muffins, french bread, tortillas, etc depending on what you have on hand/what sounds good.

My favorite pizzas are "leftover" pizzas-- BBQ (shred leftover beef, pork or chicken, add BBQ sauce, onions or green peppers if you want, top with co-jack or mozzarella or mild cheddar. Taco (leftover refried beans, taco meat, peppers, onions and black olives if you want, topped with cheddar or co-jack or Mexican blend cheese. Top with lettuce and Doritos after you takie it out of the oven) And my absolute favorite-- Sloppy Joe Pizza (Leftover Sloppy Joe's, green peppers, onions, mushrooms and co-jack or cheddar on a home made whole wheat crust!)

And while it's not as cheap as it used to be (can you BELIEVE the price of eggs lately?????) Breakfast for dinner is fast, fun, kid friendly AND omelots, frittatas, egg scrambles are ALSO an excellent way to use up leftovers!