What's for dinner?

I made something very like your turkey chili last night and dumped it on tortilla chip scoops.

Instant nachos. I make the glop, set out fresh veggies, grated cheese, refried beans, and sour cream and let the girls assemble their own.

Their all around favorite is tuna glop which can be a simple or as fancy as you like. I throw together tuna, creamed soup (your choice), a little margarine, pepper and sometimes a little tarragon, and hard cooked eggs.

I don't like peas mixed in so I leave them on the side and let folks add them or not.

Serve over anything.

You may have noticed I use the word glop for any combo I throw together and serve over something.

And of course there's that old standby - breakfast for dinner.

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Burritos are our standard. In practice it isn't as complicated as it looks, but it does use a lot of dishes. The good thing is that almost everything is caned, frozen, or dry and we always have tortillas and shredded cheese in the fridge or freezer.

I start by putting rice up in a small rice maker (I love those things!) We usually use the packages of Spanish rice but you can also use white or brown rice or quinoa.

Then I saute onion and garlic, add black beans, and finish off with some sherry.

Dump a can of salsa into a bowl
Dump some shredded cheese into another bowl.
Dump rice into a bowl
Dump beans into a bowl
Heat up tortilla in the microwave or oven (if in oven then use damp towels)

Put a tortilla on each plate and have everyone make their own burrito.

Other Additions/changes:
* If we have frozen corn we cook it in the oven or saute it with S&P and paprika.
* If we have a sweet potato we shred it or dice it and put it in with the beans.
* If we have spinach we cook it separately or add it to the beans.
* If we have yogurt or sour cream we will put that on the table in another bowl.
* Of course you could also add any leftover meat you have in the house.

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The easiest thing to make is a BLT pizza that I got from a Kids Love cookbook. It's so simple and my son likes it too.

BLT PIZZA
1 refrigerated pizza crust
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
12 precooked bacon strips, crumbled
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 medium tomatoes, chopped or sliced
shredded lettuce

Place frozen crust on a cookie sheet and cook halfway, approximately 8 minutes. Take crust out of the oven and top with mayo, basil, garlic powder, bacon, and cheeses. Put back in the oven for approximately 8 more minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and melted. Top with lettuce and tomatoes.

Another easy one that's even a bigger crowd pleaser in my house are chicken enchiladas. I got this recipe from my best friend and it's the easiest thing to make! It's my husband's favorite.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 package of precooked frozen or refrigerated chicken breast strips or chunks (not breaded)
1 package small flour tortillas

Mix soup, sour cream, milk and salt together in a bowl. Mix cheese, onions and chicken (thawed, if frozen) in a separate bowl. Warm tortillas in microwave. Put half of the soup mixture on the bottom of the baking dish. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and roll up. Place tortillas in baking dish. Pour remainder of soup mixture over tortillas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

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I usually make a meatloaf every other week that is super easy. One egg, up to 2 pounds of raw ground beef, a large handful of loosely crushed soda crackers, a package of dry onion soup mix. Mix together. Separate into three loaves and place in a 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. I toss in several baking potatoes at the same time and cook them all together.

I also make spaghetti sauce. I brown some ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper. Then I add a can of diced tomatoes, a can of sliced mushrooms and a big jar of prego spaghetti sauce.

I make a few quarts of chili at a time and freeze whatever we don't eat in two days. 2 cans of dark red kidney beans. 1 pound of browned ground beef sauted with one diced onion and one diced green pepper. 3 cans of diced tomatoes (sweet onion variety). 3 cans of tomato sauce. Slow cooker for about six hours. Absolutely delicious. I serve it over a handful of cooked macaroni noodles and throw a bit of crumbled cheddar cheese on top.

Another favorite that looks awful but tastes yummy. Chicken and stuffing casserole. Prepare a package of stuffing according to directions and set aside. Lay down skinless, boneless chicken breasts in a deep 9x13 baking dish, greased of course. Top with cooked stuffing. In a bowl, combine a can and a half of cream of mushroom soup with a large splash of milk and stir. Then pour mixture over stuffing. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 350. The stuffing adds a lot of flavor while the mushroom soup blends it all in. My toddler son can't get enough of this stuff.

There you go. Enjoy. :) I'm not a great cook, but I like cooking for my family... I just get a little clumsy with exotic ingredients.

Cheryl at http://redpens-diapers.blogspot.com

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Pasta Pesto!!! We make this once a week and eat the leftovers once or twice. We are obssessed with it.

5 oz. of fresh basil
5 oz of parmesan cheese (I get a block and chop it up)
3-4 oz. of pine nuts (whatever you like)
18-20 cloves of fresh garlic (We LOVE our garlic here)
Olive Oil-I'm actually not sure how much Olive oil I use, but I just add a little at a time to get the consistency that I want when it's in the food processor.

Blend all of that in a food processor. Salt to taste.
Boil pasta (we use shells because we love how the pesto get trapped in the shells)
Mix pesto and noodles together and all done.

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I have been making Pulled Chicken BBQ Sandwiches about every 2 weeks, they are a big hit with my hubby and 2 yr old, and I love the non-existent prep.
You need 1 Sm Onion, 2 lbs Boneless Chicken, and a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce. Dice the onion and toss it in your crockpot, score the raw chicken breasts with a knife and place them in the crockpot too. Cover with the BBQ sauce, set the crockpot on low for about 8 hrs, the chicken should be so tender you can shred it with a fork. I serve in on kaiser rolls w/ potato salad.

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Tomato and Bow tie salad
very easy

one package of bow tie pasta cook as directed
can of diced tomatoes
can of corn
can of peas
chopped onions as desired
desired seasonings

mix all together put in fridge before use
goes well with chicken, b.b.q or by its self

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