Share Your Favorite Recipe!

kraftfoods.com is wonderful for quick and easy recipes. We do the one bag, 5 nights all the time. Some of their recipes are kind of weird, but most are really really good.

I have a stew recipe a friend shared that takes a little time to put together but my entire family and the 10 year old I am raising now just loves!
Stew meat (I usually used chuck roast because it is cheaper and I can trim off the fat more easily)
1 packet of onion soup mix
1 can stewed or diced tomatoe
2 cups of V8 (you can use tomatoe juice)
4 sliced carrots
4 cubed potatoes
1 diced onion
2 stalks of chopped celery
1 can of corn
1 can of peas
1 can of green beans
2 cups of water
1 can of Dr. Pepper (or similiar product)
Brown the meat, add the other ingredients, bring to a boil, remove from heat and put in oven at 250 for 7 hours or 300 for 5 hours.
The soda will carmelize on the meat and make it sweeter. The meat is always very tender.

My family loves Chicken and dumplings and it is fairly quick to make until you come to the dumplings, sigh.
I skin the chicken and have been known to use just legs and thighs because they are cheaper.
I put the chicken in the pot with enough water to make sure the chicken is covered, bring to a boil, add carrots, onions and celery, cook for about 45 minutes until carrots are tender then use Bisquick to make the dumplings. I generally take the chicken and vegetables out and put in a covered dish. Drop the mixture into the pot after making sure I have no more than 4 cups of liquid left in the pot and cook according to the instructions on the Bisquick box uncovered then covered. I add a little Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet to the liquid once I have removed the dumplings with a little milk and cornstarch to thicken the remaining liquid to use as a gravy if they like gravy for the dumplings.

Another favorite is Corned Beef and Cabbage.
I buy the corned beef, trim off as much fat as possible, put in the pot per instructions on the package, add a few bay leaves, peppercorns, and about 15 whole cloves, bring to a boil then turn down to simmer. About 1 hour before being done I add carrots, potatoes cut into large pieces, an onion or two (whole if small or medium sized) about 20 minutes before being done I add a cabbage cut into 8 pieces.
P. R

Hi S.! Our family has adopted the "smoosh" meal concept - we make easy ziploc meals of all types (meat, seasoning, canned item or 2) and stock up our freezer for 2 weeks at a time. The average cost for a family can be about $5-$6/meal for the entire family (ave size family) plus we control what we put into the meals and they are slow cooker ready or grill or bake. Once they are in the freezer, I don't have to think about what's for dinner plus we don't have the same old, same old all the time. Instead of going to the grocery store, coming home and putting things away, I allow 30 minutes after I get home and make the meals at that point so I'm putting meals away instead of items. A few of my favorites are:

Enchilada Chicken
Chicken Enchilada Soup mix
Picante sauce
Chicken breast or pork
Prepare in crock pot or bake - serve over rice or shred and make quesadillas/wraps.

Asian Pork
Garlic Lemon seasoning
Honey
soy sauce
chicken broth
Pork or Chicken
great on rice or on a salad

I think it ok to list my website for more information if someone wants to check it out - www.ezmeals4u.com. It can really save a lot of money - hopefully these can benefit others.

Thanks for the recipe ... I'll have to try this! :) My favorite (family friendly and light recipe) isn't really mine ... I got it from www.cookinglight.com.

QUICK CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup prechopped onion
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 (10-ounce) box frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken and vegetables; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly.
While chicken mixture cooks, combine water, flour, and broth. Gradually stir broth mixture into chicken mixture. Stir in salt, pepper, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in tortilla strips, and cook 2 minutes or until tortilla strips soften. Remove from heat; stir in parsley. Discard bay leaf. Serve immediately.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 366(23% from fat); FAT 9.3g (sat 3.1g,mono 3.9g,poly 1.4g); PROTEIN 29.8g; CHOLESTEROL 67mg; CALCIUM 104mg; SODIUM 652mg; FIBER 5.3g; IRON 3.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.3g

Summer Meat Loaf(no heating of your oven)

Make your meatloaf mixture.
Make a large patty and put in a large nonstick skillet.
Score the top in wedges.
Put in a bag of frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, beans OR just frozen green beans).
Mix together 1 1/2 cups boiling water and 1 pkg. onion soup mix.
Pour over vegetables.
Cover.
Place on top of the stove and cook on Simmer for 1- 1 1/2 hour.
Serve with mashed potatoes or rice or biscuits.
Enjoy.

Here is something the boys might enjoy.
Bigfoot Pancakes
1)Make a horizontal oval with your pancake batter.
2)Then pour a vertical oval touching the bottom right of the first oval.
3)Pour 5 toes (little separate but touching) at the top of the first pancake.
Practice makes perfect!
They should stick together.
Turn all together.
Finish and serve.

No-Peek Chicken Pot (Crockpot Recipe)
Ingredients
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup
1 (1 ounce) package Dry onion soup mix
2 cups Water
2 cups (6 ounces) uncooked instant rice
16 ounces Skinned and boned uncooked chicken breast, cut into 36
pieces
1 (4 ounce) can Sliced mushrooms, drained
1/8 teaspoon Black pepper

Preparation
Spray a slow cooker container with butter-flavored cooking spray.

In prepared container combine chicken soup, dry onion soup mix,
water, and uncooked rice. Stir in chicken, mushrooms and black pepper.

Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. Gently stir just before serving.

Recipe source: all-simple-recipes yahoo group, submitted by Dorie
PEG’S NOTE: I think 5 hours on low would be long enough to cook…I did it for 6 hours and it was fine, but any longer than that and the rice would become too gummy and the chicken a little too dry.

CREAM CHEESE CHICKEN

one family size can & one small can cream of mushroom soup
2 16 oz. packages of cream cheese(very soft/almost melted)
chicken breast(take the number of people in your family that will be eating and multiply x's 2)we have 3 in our family so i use 6 breast.

preheat oven to 300*, grease 13x9x2 pan place chicken in it then set aside..
in large bowl beat with electric mixer the cream cheese & soup until there are no white clumps & everything is blended smooth,salt & pepper to taste, pour over chicken. cover with tinfoil and place in oven for 1 1/2 hours.
you can make noodles, biscuits, or rice to go with it. the chicken makes it own sauce and there will be quite a bit.

Here's my absolute favorite Crock Pot recipe, from Fix it a Forget It cookbook.

Yum-e-setti

1.5 lbs ground beef (I use ground turkey), browned/drained
10 3/4-oz can tomato soup
8 oz. pkg wide noodles, cooked
10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chopped celery
2 tsp salt
1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed

1. combine ground beef and tomato soup.
2. combine chicken soup, celery, and noodles
3. Layer beef mixture, chicken mixture, and vegetables. Sprinkle with salt. Layer cheese on top.
4. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours.

We love this, and it freezes really well.

Hi S.,

Here's a winner at our house:

Hamburger Rice-a-Roni

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
4 Tblsp. margarine
1 cup uncooked rice (not instant)
8 oz. uncooked spaghetti, broken into 1-inch peices
2 cans chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown beef and onion, drain. In a large skillet melt butter and then saute rice and spaghetti until browned. Add chicken broth, beef and season to taste. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Hope you enjoy it - we sure do! My sister hooked me up with this AWESOME recipe site: www.allrecipes.com. You can enter search parameters to help narrow down what you're looking for. It's a great site. Another one that I really liked was, www.campbellskitchen.com.

two of our favorites are chicken enchiladas and spanish rice and loaded pasta.
chicken enchiladas
1 pkg skinnless boneless chicken breasts--i cook on stove in chunks then shred with forkfs after doen. to the shredded chicken i add onion and enchilada sauce 1/2 can. spoon into soft taco shells and roll up. place in glass dish side by side. cover with remaining enchilada sauce and shredded cheese. cover with foil and bake or 30 minutes at 350. remove foil after 30 minutes and bake 10 minutes longer to brown cheese. i then use taco toppings of my choice and serve with spanish rice with diced tomatoes added. i also sometimes use wheat, sundried tomato, or spinach soft taco shells.
here is what i do to the pasta.
2-3 cups of whole grain pasta(i sometimes use wheat or spinach noodles)
pepperoni cut into quarters
meatballs
mushrooms
peppers
onion
ham cubes
2 jars spaghetti sauce
cook pasta and meatballs according to pkg directions. add everything else is and cook in oven for 30-60 minutes at 350 covered. after removal from oven ad some mozerella cheese to each serving. i serve with garlic bread and salad.

Hey S.! Great idea. My recipe is much like yours. Same concept anyway. It's super tastey.

***CHICKEN CASSEROLE**

Chicken breast (enough to fill bottom of 9x13 pan...4-5 pcs)
1/2 cup white cooking wine
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp chopped parsley flakes
2 cans cream of chicken soup (the standard single-serve kind)
1/2 cup melted butter
bread crumbs (stove top stuffing works good)
Swiss cheese
White rice or egg noodles

Preheat oven to 350
Grease 9x13 pan. Lay out chicken in pan

Mix: Wine, soup, pepper, parsley, and garlic.

Lay swiss cheese on top of chicken, then spread the soup mixture on top of that. Sprinkle with bread crumbs on top of soup mixture. I use the whole bag. If it comes with a seasoning packet, leave that out.

Drizzle butter over bread crumbs.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

Serve over white rice or egg noodles.

Hope you enjoy! (Serves 4-6)

This recipe sounds GREAT~! I'm definately going to try it. What a good idea.

We love salsa chicken at our house--my husband requests it often! It can be adapted to as many people as you have for dinner. Put chicken breasts in a greased 9x13 pan, pour salsa to cover the chicken (as spicy or mild as you like), cover salsa with shredded cheddar cheese, and then crush tortilla chips over the cheese. Put pan in 350 oven for about 40-45 minutes, until juice runs clear from chicken, and it's done! We usually have long grain/wild rice as a side, and a salad. Super easy and it tastes great!

My husband is a very picky eater, so finding adaptable, easy, normal food is a must in my house. I've subscribed to Taste of Home since about 1997, and they have tons of great recipes that come from real people. You might check out their website to see what they have available for recipes. The parent company also publishes several other magazines (Light and Tasty, Quick Cooking, etc.).

I tend to cook more with my imagination than a recipe. One of the better concoctions I've put together is baked chicken with a cracker crust. I crush up saltine crackers, mix in some Ranch dressing powder, pepper, maybe some Parmesan cheese, garlic (whole, crushed, powder - whatever), Italian seasoning if I feel like it. . . Then I rinse chicken breasts, dip in milk or egg or something to moisten the chicken, then roll it in the cracker mixture. Bake at 350 or 400 until the chicken is done (30-45 mins??). I usually cut up potato wedges or chunks, boil until just beginning to soften, and then coat with Ranch powder, crushed garlic, a dash of cayenne, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Bake until cooked through and browned (at least on the bottoms) or fry in a frying pan with some oil. I serve it with Ranch dressing. I think that is probably my husband's favorite meal. It tastes bad for you, but is actully really healthy (if you don't fry the potatoes and go easy on the Ranch dressing for dipping).

Here is our favorite: Hashbrown Casserole
1 bag chopped hashbrowns thawed out
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of sour cream
1 stick of butter melted
1 pound velveeta cheese, cubed
1 to 2 cups of chopped or cubed ham
Preheat oven to 400 Mix melted butter with hasbrowns in a big bowl. Then sour cream, chicken soup, ham, and cheese. Put in a 9x13 pan and bake for 1 hour. Its very yummy and my kids love it. You can even add onions if you want. I have found that is easier to mix 1 ingredient at a time. Good luck and I hope you like it.

Lasagna in the crockpot. My mother in law made this and I love it because you can cook it all day!

Use whatever you normally would...sauce, cheese, meat, etc. Layer the uncooked noodles in crockpot breaking them to fit. You can mix the ground beef with your sauce. Add sauce and then layer cheese. I use mozzeralla and a carton of ricotta cheese with some Italian seasoning added. Repeat until crockpot is 2/3 full. Cook on LOW 4 to 6 hours or until noodles are done. Add some garlic bread and voila!

lol, I would have shared almost the same recipe! We use red wine instead of the sherry and put it in the crock pot all day instead of baking it. It's one of our favorite staple recipes!

BTW it's also great with white wine and chicken instead of the beef ;)

A very easy recipe that my mom learned (and adapted for my meat-eating dad) when she was taking a vegetarian cooking class - haystacks. Just prepare whatever toppings and fillings your family puts on Mexican - salsa, cheese, lettuce, refried beans, chicken, ground beef, etc.. For each plate, crush tortilla chips until the plate is covered with them. Scoop on the fillings and let your family pile on the toppings that they want.

Which reminds me, I haven't had it in a while...I must change this :).

I LOVE Moosewood's Black Bean Chilaquile. The recipe is here: http://www.recipesource.com/fgv/beans-grains/02/rec0269.html

It's definitely healthy! It's basically black beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa, tortilla chips, and lime juice (plus other things- those are the main things).
I don't add the cheese, since I try to make most of my meals strict vegetarian.
It's so good and so filling. To make it a little healthier I use 1 cup of brown rice on the bottom instead of tortillas. The tortilla's on the top are necessary though!

2 cans Pilsbury breadsticks
1 cup broccoli, diced
1/2 cup red pepper, diced
1 cup shredded cheese
2 cups chicken, cooked, chopped
1/2 cup mayonaise or Miracle Whip
2 tsp dill weed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients together except for the breadsticks. This is the filling. Open the can of breadsticks and unroll on your pan or baking stone so it makes a big rectangle and the division lines run horizontally. Unroll the second can directly underneath the first one so all the division lines run horizontally. Put the filling vertically up the middle. Grab each matching side of the breadsticks, twist as you lift up and press together over top the filling. Do this with each one until the breadsticks are a tunnel for the filling (sorry-hard to describe without a picture). It makes a pretty braid. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

I love to cook and I am excited about trying all of these wonderful recipe ideas. Here's one of mine that is so simple and yummy. I don't measure so just go with what looks like a good amount - You can't go wrong or mess this up!

MEXICAN LASAGNA

Pre-heat the oven to 450*.

4-8 Tortillas (try using different types like whole grain, spinach, or sun-dried tomato)
1-2 packs of Pre-Cooked Chicken Strips (you can get fajita flavored ones)
1 can of Black Beans (rinsed & strained) or Refried Beans
1-2 Handfuls of Frozen Corn (or I suppose you could use canned corn as long as you strain it well)
1 jar of Salsa (whatever kind you like - try Muir Glen's Black Bean & Corn Salsa when you don't have a can of beans or frozen corn on hand)
1 package of Flavored Rice prepared according to directions on package(Lipton makes all different Southwest or Mexican kinds - I've tried them ALL)
1-2 cups of Shredded Cheese (try Sargento's 4 cheese Mexican blend)
Taco or Hot Sauce, Sour Cream, Salsa, & Guacamole to top (optional)

In a 9x13 dish, layer all ingredients like you would a lasagna and make the last layer tortillas then top with cheese. Since the rice is hot and the other ingredients just need warmed through it doesn't take very long to cook. Bake for 15-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes (if you can wait that long!) and cut like you would a lasagna and serve topped with your favorite toppings. Serve with a side salad or chips and salsa.

I have SO MANY recipes that are quick and easy and creative too. If any of you would like more, just send me a message.
ENJOY!

S.,

One of my favorite recipes is Company Chicken. It's easy to make and delicious!

COMPANY CHICKEN

Place Chicken Breast in a 9 x 13 pan

Place Provolone or Swiss Cheese on Top. I like to cover all of the chicken breast with the cheese.

Take Two Cans of Cream of Chicken Soup with 3/4 Cup Milk and Pour Over The Chicken Breast.

Take A Bag of Pepperidge Farm Stuffing Mix and Mix With Melted Margarine/Butter. Pour On Top Of The Chicken Breast

Cover With Aluminum Foil and Bake at 350 for about an hour/hour and a half depending on How Thick The Chicken Breast Are.

My oldest daughter loves this recipe!

Sue

I had signed up for free magazines from kraftfoods.com (i think) and they have all kinds of neat ideas... also I am sure getting online too... another good website for ideas is pillsbury.com , its not just sweets but has all kind of quick dinner ideas

Hi S.,
My family likes my Italian Chicken. I take boneless, skinless chicken breast ( tenders for small children Place them in a baking dish, then I take Italian salad dressing about 1/2 cup and mix with 1/2 cup of water. Then you pour it over the chicken. I like to put fresh onions and peppers sometines tomatoes I cook it in the oven @ 375` for about half an hour to 45 min. I serve Herb noodles usually lipton, and vegetables with dinner rolls. It is so delicious and everyone comments how good it is. I also like to mix italian dressing with honey and cook the chicken on the grill using the dressing like bbq sauce mmmm. Good luck and what a wonderful idea. Got any good recipes for ground chuck meatloaf and spagehtti get boring? Thanx.

Here's one my three year old and I make. She mixes the baste together while I cut the chicken in half. Feel free to modify. We tried fresh garlic once, but my children prefer the sweeter mustard/honey version.

1/4 cup honey.

About 1/4 cup or so of oil (as needed - just try not to let too much on your pan or it'll smoke).

3 tsp dry mustard.

1-2 tsp celery salt.

1 tsp thyme.
1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1 shake of each or part of the following:
dill weed, basil, parsley, oregano, etc.

Mix this up in a big ziploc bag (it's easiest to mix the herbs and all in a little bowl then toss in with your honey and oil). Cut your chicken breasts (bone in, skin on) in half so the rectangle makes two squares. We put the chicken in the bag in the morning, so I think at least an hour or two of basting is needed.

Preheat even to 450. Cook chicken on cookie sheet (with sides and foil under it) for appr. 30 minutes.

Hope you like it. We play with the ingredients each time and mix it up.

try crock pot recipes on cafe mom and sister site casserole moms really great ideas I love these sites