Hey, Mamas! Favorite "Family Friendly" Meals?

My family is a big fan of chicken-bacon wraps. I use either spinach or sun-dried tomato wraps, and put a thin layer of cream cheese around the edges to help hold the wrap together. I then layer lettuce or chard, onion, tomato, and peppers then a little ranch dressing. On top I put one slice of bacon and half a chicken breast then tightly roll it up. For the baby, you can omit the veggies until she is able to chew, but I found this is a great way to get the kids to eat their veggies.

Another favorite is something my family calles tuna gravy...(I know, it sounds wierd)...Sautee one small onion, two celery stalks, and 1 cup of peas in butter. Add one can of tuna, one can of cream of mushroom soup, salt and pepper to taste, and 3/4 cup milk. Heat until it boils, and serve with rice, or mix it into pasta for a cassorole.

Chicken Enchiladas
3 or 4 chicken breast cooked and shredded
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 can mild enchilada sauce
2 packages tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese

mix soup,sauce half of cheeese and chicken together roll into tortillas place in pan. Top with extra chicken mix and cheese bake at 350 for 30 mins or until bubbly

C.,
One of my family's favorite receipes is a chicken roll. I boil 4 medium chicken breasts then shred them. I then add 1 pkg cream cheese (do this when the shredded chicken is still warm - makes it easy to mix) add some pepper to taste. Then I take the Philsbury Cresent rolls in the can, unroll them and put a spoonful of the chicken mixture on the unrolled cresent and then roll up. 4 breasts usually make about 16 cresents (2 cans). Then I roll the "rolls" in corn flakes for a crispy covering. I cook the rolls according to the directions on the cresent roll can. You can freeze these as well --so do a double batch and freeze one for later.

A delicious/healthy meal that has become my husbands favorite is "lime chicken stir-fry pasta"

Break 4 oz of whole wheat spaghetti in half and cook until desired tenderness

While pasta is cooking make sauce; 3 TBS of soy sauce, 2 TBS of lime juice (fresh squeezed),1 TBS sugar, 1tsp fresh lime zest, 1/4 -1/2 tsp crushed red pepper ( this will make a mild spice, adjust for heat desire).

Heat 1tsp olive oil, Cook 12 oz boneless skinless chicken cut into strips 2-3 minutes until no longer pink in middle, take out of pan and set aside

Heat another 1 tsp of oil in same skillet you just cooked chicken in cook 1 sliced bell pepper, thinly sliced, 1 onion thinly sliced 3 oz of snow peas cooked until desired tenderness ( you can add/omit what ever vegetables you like in a stir fry). Once cooked add drained and cooked spaghett, chicken and 1 TBS of the sauce mixture toss until well blended Remove from heat.

Top with remaining soy sauce mixture and sprinkle with toasted almonds. (to toast almonds place on baking sheet in oven for 4-6 minutes at 375 degrees.

Eat with chop sticks and have a chinese dinner at home. :)

Oh and have all your ingredients preped and ready before you start to cook as everything cooks pretty fast. It takes about 10 minutes of prep time and 10 minutes of cooking time.

The Kraft Foods magazine has been a lifesaver to me. They have such a good variety every quarter and give all the nutritional value so you know how healthy they are. Plus they have really simple ingredients and don't take very long to make. I believe you can sign up online and they'll mail you the magazine every quarter. If you don't want to get it delivered you can look up the electronic version online at any time. I love it.

Hey Chrissy, I put all of my favorites in a book called Fantastic Freezer Recipes. Making freezer meals has saved me soooo much time, money ($200-$300 a month) and sanity with my three little kids that I decided to start teaching other moms how to do the same. You can find my book at freezerdinner.com for only $9.99. I also teach cooking classes at Thanksgiving Point and in North Salt Lake at Ace Hardware. I have a few yummy recipes on my website you can try out. I love Rachael Ray and foodnetwork too. Best of luck with your beautiful baby girl and your wonderful husband.

My mother makes this meal called Easy Sunday Dinner.

1-2 lbs stew meat or cubed beef (whichever is cheapest)
1/2 pkg onion soup mix (you could do the full pkg for a more intense flavor)
1 can mushrooms with liquid
1 can cream of mushroom soup
put all ingredients in crockpot on low all day
serve over rice

very tasty and very easy...and cheap

Here is a favorite of our family's
1 can of cream of chicken,or mushroom
1 pound pasta of your choice ( we like colred spirals)
1 pound of meat your choice(we like chicken breast)
1-2-pounds veggie of your choice(we like brocoli &cauli)
this is so easy and you can change it to your liking. It is quick and usually gets the whole family satisfied.you could even change the sauce to spaghetti sauce.i hope you like it!! Take care and god bless

Pita bread pizzas. i get the mini-ones and they love making their own. My son is dairy free so he has pumpkin butter and tiny apple slices on his. Big hit.

Hi! We like to make individual pizzas on pita bread--easy, fun, and the kids can help! We also like fish tacos--very healthy and yummy.
Also, I was listening to The Splendid Table on NPR yesterday and there was a woman on who has a book called The Improvisational Cook; it sounds like quick, yummy, easy recipes. Maybe check that out.
Good luck and have fun!
S.

Two of the best websites I have found with family favorites are Kraftsfood.com and Campbells. All offer very simple easy to find products with yummy things to prepare. All have been a success so far in my house. I will say it varies and I find a few things my kids really like and we eat it too often then it isn't so great later, hee hee. So I am trying to make things different and mix it up so they don't get bored to easily.
Right now since I am not wanting to turn on the oven, we have done a lot of quesidillas with a rotesserie chicken already cooked at the store, yummy cold pasta salads, tacos, scrambled eggs/ham/cheese roll ups, grilled cheese with ham added and salads. Even using the rotisserie chicken, then baking a potato in the microwave and veggies has been a good thing here lately. I try hard not to have to turn on the oven in the summer!! Grilling is a great option too.

Hi C.,

We've been hooked on making pizzas lately. It's been a really simple and fun way for my daughter to help make dinner. I've been going to the local pizza places in town and buying pizza dough by the ball (really inexpensive ~ $2 or $3/ball). You can store the extra balls in the freezer. You can make mini pizzas or multiple medium size ones. We'll use bottled pesto or pizza sauce for the base and then the kids have fun with the toppings. It's also been a fun way for our kid friendly meals to segway into somewhat "gourmet"!

Hi C.,
I always have to look up recipes when cooking things. I found some recipes on eversave.com and i just look up the item i want to make and see if theres anything that sounds fun to make. I am too a big fan of food network but i enjoy bobby flay more spices the better.

allrecipes.com is my favorite source!

Love kraftfoods.com. You can sign up to recieve their free magazine. They come quarterly, I think. The magazine is loaded with recipes and food tips.

Our MOPS group did a cookbook called "Mom's Answer to "What's for Dinner?"" and it has some fabulous easy yummy recipes in it from busy moms just like us! I know we have some extras, and they are hard bound books that you can add more to as well and they are $15. If you're interested let me know! It's by far my favorite!