Quick Dinner Ideas

I like the website: www.simplifydinner.com. You can plan a menu and get receipes, etc. It's great!

Go to http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/registration/contextualsignu... and sign up for free weekly emails and the Food and Family magazine. Of course they'll say to use their products, but it's a free magazine and you can always subsitute. I've found many, many favorite family meals through this magazine and website.

Congrats on your new marriage!

This is one of our Sunday favorites...it's called Easy Sunday Dinner. Just throw it in the crock pot in the morning before church and it's ready to go by dinner time.

1-2 lb stew meat
1/2 pkg onion soup mix (depending how oniony you like it you could add the whole package)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (condensed)
1 can mushrooms

Serve over noodles or rice or as a stew with some biscuits on the side. Tasty and easy.

Crockpot Taco Soup
* 1 (16 ounce) can pinto beans
* 1 (16 ounce) can white beans or kidney beans
* 1 (11 ounce) can niblet corn
* 1 (11 ounce) can Rotel tomatoes & chilies
* 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies
* 1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope taco seasoning mix
* 1 (1 ounce) envelope hidden valley ranch dressing mix
* 1 lb shredded chicken, ground beef or any meat

1. Cook meat and drain.
2. Shred if needed.
3. Add all ingredients to crock pot.
4. DO NOT DRAIN CANS.
5. Stir.
6. Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.
7. Keep on low until serving to keep hot.
8. Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped green onions, or tortilla chips.

Jilly's Taco Pasta Skillet Recipe #291609
A recipe taken from the weight watchers site!! Points are estimated to be 5 per cup serves 8 This recipe is an original recipe, developed by WW poster jillybean03. It is a lightened/easier skillet version of a taco lasagna recipe developed by the same poster and published by Southern Living Magazine.
by chris_tam
35 min | 15 min prep | SERVES 8
8 ounces lean ground beef
1 1/4 ounces taco seasoning
7.5
ounces corn
15 ounces black beans, drained
1 cup salsa
3 cups water
8 ounces mini penne
4 ounces fat free cream cheese
4 ounces low-fat monterey jack pepper cheese

1. brown meat, Drain.
2. Add taco seasoning, corn, beans, salsa, pasta and water. Simmer 15 minutes until pasta is cooked.
3. Add cheeses and stir till melted.

Ww Kielbasa-Bean Slow Cooker Soup Recipe #296150
This comes from the WW website. POINTS® Value: 3 Servings: 8 Preparation Time: 20 min Cooking Time: 375 min Level of Difficulty: Easy Toss the ingredients into a slow cooker in the morning, and you'll be eating this delicious, almost effortless homemade soup for dinner.
by Iam4ever29
6¾ hours | 20 min prep | SERVES 8
58 ounces fat-free chicken broth, four 14 . 5 oz cans
16 ounces low-fat smoked sausage
15 ounces canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained
15 ounces canned black beans, rinsed and drained
4 medium carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon thyme
14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes, undrained

1. Mix all ingredients, except tomatoes, in a 5 to 6-quart slow cooker (crockpot). Cover and cook on low-heat setting at least 6 hours or until vegetables are tender.
2. Stir in tomatoes; cover and cook on high-heat setting until heated through, about 15 minutes more. Yields about 1 heaping cup per serving.

Chicken Stroganoff recipe

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, divided
10 ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup sliced onions
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In medium skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil; add chicken. Cover over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Remove chicken from skillet; set aside.

In same skillet, heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil; add mushrooms and onion. Cook stirring frequently, until all liquids has evaporated and onions are golden brown.

In small bowl, with wire whisk, combine broth and flour, blending until flour is dissolved; strain and add to skillet. Stirring constantly, bring liquid to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Stir reserved chicken into broth mixture; simmer 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; stir in sour cream, red wine vinegar, mustard and pepper

Cordon Bleu

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

2 (3 oz) chicken cutlets
2 slices ham
2 slices swiss cheese
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp bread crumbs
1/2 can chicken broth
2 tsp flour
1 tbsp sour cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Top each cutlet with ham and then with cheese. Roll up and secure with toothpick. In a mixing bowl - combine 1 tablespoon mustard and honey. Spread mixture over rolls. Roll chicken bundles in the bread crumb mixture using all of the crumbs. Spray lightly with Butter Spray. Bake until chicken is cooked through;20-25 minutes. While the chicken is cooking - in a small saucepan, combine the broth and flour, stirring until it dissolves. Cook over medium heat. Stir often until sauce thickens, 3-4 minutes. Reduce sauce to low and stir in sour cream and remaining mustard. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes on low. DO NOT BOIL. Remove toothpicks. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Turkey and Cheese Chimichangas (Ww) Recipe #282124
We had these last night with recipe#246807 for a wonderful simple supper. If following the WW flex plan these are 5 points each. I used medium-hot salsa (Garcia's kitchen) for the turkey mixture and topped with hot salsa (Los Cuates). Recipe source: WW web site.
by ellie_
50 min | 20 min prep | SERVES 8

Pam cooking spray
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 (16 ounce) can fat-free refried beans
1 3/4 cups salsa (see note in description)
1 (4 ounce) can green chili peppers, drained and diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 scallions, sliced
1 cup reduced-fat monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 burrito-size flour tortillas
1 cup salsa (see note in description)
1/2 cup nonfat sour cream (I used light sour cream)

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.
2. Spray a skillet with Pam.
3. Spray 13x9-inch baking pan with Pam.
4. Over medium-high heat cook turkey for 5 minutes or until browned.
5. Drain and then add next 5 ingredients (beans - scallios). Cook until heated through (3-5 minutes) and then stir in cheese. Take off of heat.
6. Meanwhile wrap tortillas in foil and warm in oven for 10 minutes.
7. To assmble chimichnagas spoon 1/2 cup of turkey mixture onto each tortilla and fold up sides and roll up burrito style.
8. Place chimichangas, seam side down in prepared baking pan.
9. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until tortillas are crisp and brown.
10. Serve each topped with 2 tablespoons of salsa and 1 tablespoon of sour cream.

Amazing Buffalo Chicken recipe

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce
1/2 cup (1 stick) "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter"
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

For the sauce: In a small saucepan over low heat, mix together everything but the chicken. Let this mixture simmer, stirring occasionally, while you prepare chicken.

For the chicken: Bring large saucepan to boil. Cut chicken into strips and boil until cooked through. When cooked, put chicken in a serving bowl or dish. Pour sauce over chicken and let sit for a few minutes.

Variation: Cut chicken into strips. Lightly coat chicken with sauce. Bake in preheated 375 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through. Remove to platter and coat with remaining sauce.

To tell the truth...my husband finds most of our recipes online. A lot of them are Weight Watchers, but most of them are really quick. I have also found that, by preparing several meals on Saturday, we spend less time in the kitchen worrying about what's for dinner and more time with each other. Find what works for you. We try to have the meals planned for the week to make grocery shopping easier and cheaper. If you'd like anymore recipes, I have oodles.

I 2nd what the first response said, I love the Kraft food and family magazine, it is free and you get I think 4 a year(seasonal) you can sign up on their website, kraftfoods.com for free!I have learned to cook about 50 new meals, and not all with chicken! And the ingrediants(sp?) are simple. Have fun!

Congrats on your marriage! I don't know if you and hubby like it, but try getting a couple Asian cookbooks. There are a lot of dishes there that are out of the norm, and the ingredients (while wierd individually) combine really well and can be super yummy. It can be a trick to find exact matches to the ingredients, and you will need to find a substitution list for cooking with alcohol, but the recipes are usually pretty fast and easy.

Tacos are always really easy to make and won't take a lot of your time. I would also get a book on crock pot recipes and start doing that. I work full time and have a toddler and one on the way so I try to use the crock pot regularly. You put it on first thing in the morning and it is done by the time you get home. I also think the breakfast for dinner is always good. I make pancakes or waffles once in awhile. Sloppy joes are also easy and you can put fries or tater tots with it. We also like to make our own pizza's. I sometimes buy the pizza crust that you just have to put your toppings on and cook for about 10 minutes to get warm and melt the cheese. I have also made calzones with Rhodes dough. You roll the dough out and put you toppings on one side and fold over. Then press shut. I think you cook for 15 or 20 minutes. Eat with pizza or dipping sauce. They are always fun to make. Well I hope you get some good advice. Good Luck.

C.,

hey! I am a birth mommy too! Might I suggest a website called HUNGRY-GIRL.COM. She has a cheap o cook book out for 10$ at Costco. They are quick easy and healthy so that you keep your girlish figures. (including his girlish figures) Some of the recipes are with tofu bla bla bla...but I just substitute lean meats for that and they are yummy. Play with seasonings! That will make the boring stuff taste a little yummier when you rely on the same old same old. Emiril's seasonings are a little pricey but last a while and are WELL worth it. Good luck!

Try crock pot cooking. This allows a complete meal to cook while you are away for the day. It is a very easy way to cook roasts, soups etc. I also grill during the summer. Vegetables can be steamed on the grill while the meat is cooking. For further recipes I recommend a magazine called "Taste of Home" They have meals that can be prepared in under 30 minutes. Rachel Ray also has a cookbook out called 30 minute meals.

Hi C.,
Congratulations on your marriage!

I love cooking in the crock pot, especially this time of year. If you don't have a crock pot cookbook you should pick one up. It is fast and doesn't heat up the kitchen. Also, www.allrecipes.com is a great resource for recipes as well. You can change the number of servings before printing it out and it will automatically re-calculate the ingredients for you.
Good luck!

hi C.. oh the dilemma of time vs. gourmet food. i love to cook so it was hard when we were first married too. you can never beat breakfast for dinner-- pancakes or eggs, etc. sometimes we'll do grilled cheese and tomato soup when we are tired, in a hurry, etc. not the most nutritious things, but it helps during the really busy days. I make a chicken tortilla soup that is INSANELY easy and takes less than 30 minutes. (i can email you the recipe). but the newest thing we have been doing is making pita pizza. buy some pitas (we love the ones at costco). put some hunts canned diced tomatoes (the ones that are seasoned with basil, garlic and oregano) in the blender and puree. use this as the sauce. then put some cheese on top (i buy it pre-shredded when its on sale then freeze it until i need it). you can do other toppings too, cook in a preheated oven @ 400 degrees for 4 minutes. (cover your pan with aluminum foil and spray down or lather with olive oil or butter or the pita will stick). this helps when you need a pizza fix but you're trying to save money. have fun! (also, on saturday mornings on KBYU there are 4 cooking shows that are great --america's test kitchen, everyday baking, everyday food and zonya's health bites-- and i love those and they are quick and have GREAT recipes!)