Friday, May 1, 2009

Fast Favorite Meals

This is one of my very favorite places to steal ideas. Anyway, they came up with an idea to have 30 go-to meals that are quick and easy and you have all of the ingredients so you can throw something together even on crazy days. They are having everybody share a few of their favorite recipes so we can try out new ones to add to our list. I have several recipes that I love, here are my top ones.

Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
4 Chicken Breasts
2 Egg Whites (or whole eggs if you prefer)
1 Garlic Clove
1 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1/4 Cup Grated Fresh Parmesan Cheese
1 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/8 Teaspoon Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Flour
4 oz. Angel Hair Pasta
1 Jar of your Favorite Spaghetti Sauce
1/4 Cup Mozzarella Cheese (shredded)

Preheat oven to 425. Trim Chicken. Beat egg whites until frothy, press in garlic. Mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and seasonings. Coat breasts with flour, dip in egg mixture, and then in crumbs. Place Chicken on baking sheet and bake 20-25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Cook pasta and heat up sauce. To serve, place pasta on plate, top with baked chicken top with sauce and cheese and enjoy!

Pork Chops and Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
4 Pork chops (bone in or out doesn't matter)
2 Cans Tomato Soup
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mashed Potatoes
1 Tablespoon Corn Starch

Season pork chops and brown both sides. Pour tomato soup over and cover. Simmer for 25-30 minutes or until pork is cooked through and juices run clear. Remove pork chops and keep warm. Mix corn starch with enough cold water to make a paste. Stir into tomato soup to thicken and make a gravy. Serve pork chops and mashed potatoes with tomato gravy. Enjoy!

(this is a recipe from my MIL and it is so good, try it even if it sounds weird!)

Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (or breasts if you prefer) cooked and chopped
2 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/2 Cup of Milk or Sour Cream
1 Can Corn
1 Can Peas
1 Box Stuffing prepared
Mashed Potatoes

Preheat oven to 400. Mix Together everything but the stuffing and potatoes. Put in a casserole dish and top with prepared stuffing. Cover with foil and bak for 40 minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

*variation: instead of mashed potatoes, mix in a bag(12 oz.) of cooked egg noodles and a cup of grated cheese before topping with stuffing. Also, add in whatever veggies your family likes, I like carrots and green beans too!

Chicken Curry
ingredients
3 cups hot cooked rice
2 bell peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon ground curry powder
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp. ground)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove
1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk
1 can (14 oz.) pineapple chunks in juice, drained
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
chopped peanuts or toasted coconut (optional)

Combine curry powder, cornstarch, ginger (if using ground) and salt. Add chicken, toss to evenly coat. Heat a large skillet with a little oil over high heat. Add chicken, garlic and ginger (if using fresh) Cook and stir 6-7 minutes until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from skillet and keep warm. Reduce heat to medium high, cook bell peppers 4-6 minutes (less if you like them crunchy) stir in coconut milk, pineapple, and chicken; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until sauce thickens. Mix in cilantro, serve over rice, and sprinkle with peanuts or coconut. Enjoy!

Cheesy Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
8-10 Flour Tortillas (buritto size)
2 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Pint Sour Cream
2 cups plus 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cooked and chopped
40z. can diced green chilies (optional)


Preheat oven to 350. Dilute soup with one can of water, add chilies. Heat to just before boiling, add sour cream, 2 cups cheese, and chicken. Pour a little sauce into the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture, roll, and arrange in the baking dish. Pour extra sauce over tortillas, cover with foil and bake 45 minutes. Remove from oven, top with 1/2 cup cheese, tent until melted. Enjoy!

Fast and Easy Lasagna
Ingredients
1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes with italian seasoning
1/2 cup water
1 lb. cooked ground beef (season to taste, I use fresh garlic, italian seasoning, and diced onion, fresh or dried)
1 oz. fresh grated parmesean
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 egg
1 carton 15 oz. ricotta or cottage cheese
1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (optional)
10 lasagna noodles uncooked
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Combine spaghetti sauce, undrained tomatoes, water and ground beef. Combine egg, cottage cheese, parmesean cheese, parsley and spinach. Spread 1 1/2 cups of sauce mixture on the bottom of a 9X13 pan. Arrange 5 uncooked noodles in a single layer over sauce by placing 4 lengthwise and 1 crosswise, breaking noodles to fit. Press noodles into sauce. Spread all of the cheese mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese. Top with 1 1/2 cups of the sauce and remaining 5 uncooked noodles. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Cover with foil. At this point lasagna can be refrigerated for several hours or overnight. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover and top with remaining mozzarella cheese, tent with foil and let stand 15 min. Enjoy!

8 comments:

Zoe said...

YEAH, I'm so glad you put a bunch or recipes on here, I'm going to have to try some of these out now!!! I'm so excited!

Kathryn-nannygoat said...

YUM, I can't wait to try them. I never know what to do with pork chops so I'm really excited to do that one. Thanks for sharing!

That Girl said...

I just had to comment on your family. Your girls are adorable!! Thanks for the recipes.

Nat said...

Oooh, now I'm hungry! And I'll have to check out that site-I'm all about easy meals! Thanks for the recipes!

Tami (Pixeltrash) said...

Yum! These all sound great. I'm doing the party too. I may have to try a few of these to see if they can join our TOP 30. :-)

Whitney said...

No one ever likes my enchiladas, I guess I should follow a recipe. thanksKristi!!

jo said...

these recipes all look great! i'll have to try them, thanks for sharing.

Aunt Senia said...

the recipies look yummy, I will have to try them when Bryce's family is here. thank you.......