H.
Hi K.,
I completely understand your situation! For the crockpot, I recently stumbled into a great chicken recipe. I was just throwing stuff in as I went along so I'm guessing at measurements as I did then. The following yielded enough to feed my 2 year old, my husband and myself.
3 frozen skinless, boness, chicken breasts (just dropped them in)
On the stove(although I don't think it was necessary at all):
1 Tbl. butter
2 Tbl. lemon juice(in the bottle)
2 tsp. jarred chopped garlic
1 cup chick broth
1 tsp. oregano
salt and pepper
Brought the above to a boil and poured it over the chicken(already in crockpot). then I poured in a splash (maybe two) of white wine. This was the key!! I cooked it on high for three hours but next time I will do it on low for 6-8 as there was more than enough liquid remaining. I served it over rice with green beans but if you wanted you could really throw potatoes in the pot with the chicken. It was so good I am making it again this week!
The other advice I have is to go to epicurious.com. You can search by ingredient and then narrow your search by prep and cooking length. It has been a huge help to me. Check out:
Creole chicken and okra gumbo
Grilled tuna with herbed aioli
Both are soooo good! I know this is getting just a tad long winded but I also think a lot of people forget you can eat eggs for dinner. Throw in some veggies and cheese and you're done. Add rice topped with jarred marinara on the side and you've got a complete meal. I hope this helps. I just reviewed your question and realized you are more interested in ground beef but will send this anyhow. We only eat beef once a week or so but when we do, taco salad in the bowl shell that you bake in the oven for 10 min. is our fave. Happy cooking!
