Kelly I only used 1 lb meat. I noticed that too, what you could do is make more meatballs and freeze those!

Lauren that looks so good!

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Gosh, there are recipe threads all around, I can't keep track. I made a big change on one of my old favorites that turned out great, so I thought I'd post it.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole My mother's basic recipe, tweaked over the years by me; it's not super-fast, but it's SUPER worth it, and I think it would freeze fine:
-boil about 5 medium chicken breasts until cooked through (you can take them straight from the freezer)
-Remove bag of frozen broccoli to thaw (florets, cuts, chopped, any)
-Meanwhile in LARGE bowl, combine:
--1 large can cream of chicken soup
--about 1/3 cup of mayo
--juice from 1/2 lemon, or a tablespoon of bottled lemon juice
--pepper and garlic powder (maybe 1-2 tsp each?)
(whisk)
-stir in MOST of a bag of shredded cheddar cheese (leave about two handfuls for topping
-stir in broccoli (frozen or thawed, no matter)
-after chicken is cooked, cooled and shredded (don't cut with knife, shred by hand - I've even used my magic bullet lightly before), stir in chicken
-Turn mixture into casserole dish
-cover with rest of shredded cheese
--melt a/b 3 tablespoons of butter; add in plain breadcrumbs until mixture is 'loose', but still moist.
-top casserole with buttered crumbs

Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minues to an hour, depending on how cold the mixture is when you start to bake it. Without fail, you WILL smell the casserole when it is finished -- the scent comes across suddenly (casserole will be bubbling). With this one, it's better to over-cook than under-cook. It's hard to overcook, but if you undercook it, the flavors don't mix together the same. I promise, when you really start to smell it, that's your signal. Plan to let it sit for a little while when you take it out, cause it gets REALLY hot and doesn't cool quickly (let sit 10-15 minutes).

**The magic addition I made a few nights ago: several handfuls of frozen chopped spinach, added just before the broccoli. It was a really nice addition, and if you need to sneak in veggies, only a savy veggie eater will be able to detect it, b/c it disappears into the sauce and broccoli, but adds a little richness and more veggies. It was REALLY nice.

This is a family favorite -- it's been one of my favorites since childhood. They BEG me to make it. With some nice bread, this will feed about 6-7 people.

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steph-that looks like a good one. I think that will be dinner for tomorrow. thanks for posting that one.

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Sometimes I miss all this kind of regular food! I love Mexican food, but there are only so many variations of chile, onion and tomato that you can do!

I did make something that Juan absolutely LOVES last night that is super easy as a side dish.

Roasted Red Pepper Penne:

Mix cooked penne, a small can of nibblets, one or two roma tomatoes diced, chile powder, and garlic salt in a saucepan with a container of prepared roasted red pepper soup. I get my soup in the deli at Kroger, but I suppose any brand would do. I then stir in a couple splashes of hot sauce, and add a little cheese on top. He can't get enough of it.

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Em, will he eat pork chops -- Italian rather than Mexican, but it still has onion and tomato...you could adapt it too, maybe?

I take the chops (I like the boneless kind), rub them with lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, italian seasoning, and pat them in italian bread crumbs and fry in olive oil (or veggie oil if you don't have olive oil) until brown and cooked through.

Boil pasta (I like to use egg noodles, rotini or rainbow rotini).

Saute onion until they start to turn, add garlic and saute garlic (fresh if you have it, a bunch of powder if you don't), then dump in a can of italian flavor diced tomato. Sometimes a small can of tomato sauce (then you usually need salt too). I add pepper, more garlic powder, and sometimes a pinch of sugar if the tomato is really acidic that time.

When pasta is cooked, drain and return to its pot. Add butter, pepper, salt, garlic powder, and grated parmesan, folding continuously so the cheese doesn't melt and stick, but not so hard that you break the pasta.

When the onions are cooked through, add the chops back into the tomato mixture and heat the whole thing, turning chops a few times so the reheat and soak up some of the flavor.

Serve pasta onto plates, top with tomato mixture and a chop or two on top. You can add another sprinkle of parmesan, and some parsley for flourish.

Another family favorite. DH almost cried the first time I made it, cause his mother used to make pork chops almost identical to my way. Awwwww...

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Steph, I'm gonna make either the chicken or pork chop dish this weekend. They both sound SO good!!!

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I'll look through my recipe box in the next few days. I've got more good stuff...and I need some new stuff for us too.

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Great!!! I just went out yesterday and bought a new cast iron pot to make new recipes!

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I want a great big cast iron frying pan so I can make my fried chicken. Which I'll have to put down here too! Good stuff...

I made my own pork chops last night, even thought I didn't have all the ingredients, I faked it. I was out of italian seasoning, so I used a little oregano and basil leaves instead, and I fried in veggie oil cause I didn't have olive oil. I also used plain breadcrumbs instead of italian; again, I was out. They were pretty good still; I am working on improving my pork chop cooking skills -- I tend to get them just SLIGHTLY overdone, b/c it's pork, and we all had it drilled in our heads in home ec that pork could kill you if it wasn't cook thoroughly. DH says that trich...whatever thing it had is almost erradicated completely, so perhaps I'll get a little braver and not fry that extra five minutes next time...lol!

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CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

My SOUTHERN chicken and dumplings recipe (again, adapted from a recipe of my mother's). It takes about 3 hours, so it’s a ‘weekend’ dish, but also keeps fantastically over several nights. None of it is too time-sensitive, it's hard to screw up, so even though it takes a while, you are never stressed.

Start with a large soup pot and one whole cut-up chicken (not de-boned; you should be able to get them pre-cut. These are real cheap, about $3-5 dollars at the grocery store). Fill the pot with water and bring chicken to a rolling boil (uncovered). Turn down as needed if it starts to boil over.

Boil the chicken until done, skimming off fat as it ‘pools' at the surface, using a ladle or large spoon. After 20 or so minutes at a strong boil, check the inside of the largest piece to make sure it’s done. I usually put in a little salt and pepper at this point.

While chicken is cooking, peel and chop a bag of carrots, a package of celery (take off the tops and bottoms), and a medium to large onion into ‘bite-size’ pieces.

Remove chicken from pot, put in colander or bowl to cool. Add veggies to boiling stock (careful not to spash yourself - water is HOT). If you have a large slotted spoon or strainer, run it through the water in the pot a few times, gently, to make sure there is no pieces hiding or spare bone or chicken skin.

Add (estimates -- I do this all this by hand) a half tablespoon each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and general ‘season-all’ type stuff, to start with. I actually like to use my STEAK seasoning mixture best.

Place lid on and cook veggies for a while (you’ll have to turn down heat to probably medium so it doesn’t boil over).

Let cook. De-bone chicken when it is cool enough to touch. Tear it into bite size pieces – BY HAND, do not tear large pieces off and cut with knife. Discard bones and skin. Add chicken back into pot. Taste broth for seasonings. Add more as needed. Once veggies are tender, prepare dumplings. If the soup has turned out slightly saltier than you like, don't panic -- the dumplings break up some and thicken the broth and will play down the saltiness a bit.

Dumplings: bisquick and milk and a bowl and two large place-spoons. I think the mix is about 2c bisquick to 1c milk, but I always end up adding a little extra milk. The recipe is on the box. The consistency should be dough like but softer, one basic lump, easy to stir but not lumpy, dry, or soupy at all. I usually add an extra 1/8 to ¼ cup of milk, a few dribbles at a time until I like the outcome. Now, VERY IMPORTANT: let the bowl of raw dumpling mix sit for about ten minutes. This is when they will rise and get fluffy.

Remove lid, turn heat down a little, and start dropping biscuits, use the two spoons to scrape and actually 'drop' the dough into the soup. Big is fine, so is overlapping. When you’ve used all the dough (it floats on top), lid goes back on. NOW BE VIGILANT: In 1-2 minutes, peek under the lid to make sure your soup is at a gentle boil, not a strong boil, or your dumplings will break up too much. This may take a time or two to get the hang of, but you can’t mess it up at this point. Then replace the lid and don't take it off again; they need to bake with the lid on about ten minutes. Break one open and if it looks dry like a pancake in the center, they are done.

Soup ready. With this recipe (I use a big pot) I can easily feed ten people with leftovers to spare. Goes great with a big soft french bread loaf.

One additional thing: THIS IS BABY FRIENDLY (older babies, obviously), with a few adjustments. When we were starting Brennon on real table foods (after the jar-food stage), he was probably about 9 months, I took a ladle of the soup into a mug, no dumplings, and rinsed out the spices and broth, and chopped the veggies up wth the spoon more, leaving nice soft chicken, carrots, celery and flavor. That baby ate more than he had ever eaten at one time in his 9 months of life that night. He loved it.

Also, since you've skimmed off the fat and if you go easy on the dumplings, there's not much in here for calories. Nice and filling. My family literally fights over it and invites their friends over without asking when I make it.

I know it seems long, but it's hard to screw up. Really hard to screw up. The only thing that will make a big difference is if you boil the dumplings too hard and they break up a lot. Just make sure it's on a gentle boil so they are baking.

REALLY good the day after also, but not a freezer recipe since it's got milk in it (dumplings break up and thicken the soup).

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I got this recipe out of Parenting Magazine. Made it last night for dinner...super easy to make & it turned out really good.

Taco Skillet Pie

1lb lean ground beef
1 can(19oz) black beans with liquid
1 can(14.5oz) petite cut zesty jalapeno tomatoes *I used Del Monte diced zesty flavor with green chilies*
1 pkg mild taco seasoning
1 pouch cornbread mix (6.5oz) * I used one of the Jiffy boxes*
2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 Tbs veg oil
1/2 cup mexican blend cheese

*I also added about a half a can of corn..just cause it looked like it needed something else, LOL*
Heat oven to 425. In a large ovenproof skillet cook beef until browned, drain fat if nec. Stir in black beans, tomatoes & taco season-bring to a boil over high heat & cook for 1min.

Prepare cornbread using eggs, milk and oil amounts shown in the ingrediants list. Spoon cornbread mix onto hot taco mixture and bake for 15min or until cornbread is golden brown(only took about 10min). Sprinkle top with cheese and bake a few more minutes til melted.

Dh loved it. Next time gonna try it with tortilla chips vs. cornbread.

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I made one of those recipes last night off the back of a stovetop stuffing mix box. I used ground beef and cooked carrots and green beans and boy was it good. I cant seem to find the recipe online but I can scan the cutout I have .
Stove Top Stuffing Mix

Ok I added the attachment!! Dh loved this in his lunch for work too!!

Attached Images

recipe036.jpg (36.9 KB, 9 views)

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I made this tonight - DH and Hannah couldn't get enough, and they got tons of veggies. I liked it too, but I think it would be better w/ more gravy. I just ate a few bites, then ate a Healthy Choice meal so I wouldn't use all my points,
RecipeDetail

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kelly-this is Briana's favorite meal!! I was so surprised when it came up. BTW it freezes well too.

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Kelly - That looks pretty good and easy.

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