Skillet Macaroni

This is a great dish for a quick meal-it cooks all in one skillet. It's as convenient and easy as hamburger helper, only better tasting and better for you.

Ingredients:

1-2 tbs oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, chopped or mashed
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp beef bouillon granules (optional)
1-3/4 cups water
6 oz (about 1-1/2 cups) elbow macaroni, uncooked
1 cup shredded cheese
1 tsp dried basil

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add chopped onion and cook until soft. Add beef and cook until browned. Drain if desired. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in tomatoes, parsley, oregano, beef bouillon, water and macaroni. Cover and cook, stirring often, until macaroni begins to soften-about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until macaroni is cooked-about 7 more minutes.

Stir in shredded cheese and basil. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Glazed Pork Chops

Ingredients:

4 pork chops (or enough for one layer in a 9 x 13 baking dish)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tbs mustard
1/4 to 1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbs water

Place pork chops in a 13 x 9 baking dish. Mix remaining ingredients and spread over pork chops. Bake at 350° for 1 hour, basting several times in the last half of the hour.

Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbs baking powder
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups milk (more or less)
4 tbs oil
2 eggs, beaten

Mix flours, baking powder, sugar and salt. In another bowl mix the milk, oil and eggs (I actually don't put it in another bowl-why wash two bowls??). Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix well with a whisk until smooth. If you like thicker pancakes use less milk and if you like thin ones, use more.

I use a ladle that holds about 1/3 cup of batter. Ladle it onto a hot griddle or pan set on about medium-low or medium (on my stove it's #4 where #5 is right in the middle) and cook until there are bubbles on top and the edges look dry. Turn and cook the other side. This makes a lot so we have some leftovers for the next day's breakfast or for snacking.

Easy Chicken and Noodles

Ingredients:

1 large can (12 oz) chicken (or about 1.5 cups cooked chicken)
1 can cream of ______ soup (I usually use cream of chicken)
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk or broth
2 tbs minced dried onions
cooked egg noodles

Mix all ingredients except noodles in a saucepan and heat through. Serve over noodles.

Sloppy Joe Noodles

This is like Sloppy Joes with noodles instead of bread.

Ingredients:
1/2 box (about 6.5 oz) rotini pasta (or any shape will work)
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped (optional-I don't use this)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1-1/2 cups ketchup
2 tsp prepared mustard
1 tbs brown sugar
Shredded cheese for garnish (optional)

Cook pasta as directed on the box. While it's cooking, cook the ground beef with the onion (and peppers) until beef is browned and cooked and onions and peppers are cooked. Drain well. Add garlic powder, ketchup, mustard and brown sugar and mix well. Bring to a boil and lower heat-allow to simmer until heated through. When pasta is done, drain it and add it to the meat mixture. Stir well. Garnish with shredded cheese if desired.

Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
1 cups milk
1-1/4 cups crushed crackers or dried bread crumbs
1 onion chopped, or 4 tbs dried minced onions
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste (I don't even own pepper so I didn't add this)
ketchup

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all of the ingredients together, whatever way makes you comfortable (I use a big ziploc bag-I don't like touching raw meat). Form into a loaf-like shape in a 13 x 9 baking dish. Mine was probably about 2" tall but it actually got taller in the middle during baking. Squirt ketchup all over the top. Bake for one hour and twenty minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165° or so.

Tangy Pork Chops

Note-The original recipe calls for thickening the sauce at the end but I don't bother. If you want to just add some water mixed with cornstarch (probably about 1/2 cup water with a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch) at the end, turn the crock pot on high, and cook until it's thickened a little.

Ingredients:
4 pork chops
1 large onion, cut up
1 stalk celery, cut up (if you don't have this just leave it out-I almost never have celery on hand)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce (I use Angostura brand)
1 tbs lemon juice

Put the pork chops in the crock pot. Put the onions and celery on top of them. Mix the rest of the ingredients and pour over the top. Cook on high for an hour or so and then low for about 5 hours. Serve over rice.

Cheesy Enchiladas

This is a pretty fattening dish so I use low fat for the cheese and sour cream and fat free milk. I also use 100% whole wheat tortillas.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (you can also use cooked chicken-I use a 12 oz can)
2 tbs minced dried onion (if you like fresh better, chop it and cook it with the beef)
1 tbs flour
1/2 tsp salt
dash pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 can diced tomatoes, not drained (I put the other half in the freezer for the next time)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6 eight-inch flour tortillas

2 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
1.5 cups milk
4 oz Velveeta
4 oz sour cream

Heat oven to 350°. Brown beef (with onions if you use fresh) and drain well. Add flour and stir in well. Add the spices and tomatoes w/ juice. Heat through.

On each tortilla, put some cheese and filling (note-you want to put about the same amount of cheese and beef filling in each tortilla. What I do is kind of eyeball-divide the meat into 6 portions. Same with the cheese. It doesn't have to be perfect, just close). Roll each filled tortilla up and place in an 11 x 7 baking dish, seam down. (Line the pan with foil if you want. I do because I don't like having to soak it and then scrub it for days).

Now make the sauce. Don't skip the sauce or else your tortillas will get all hard and chewy. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour until smooth and bubbly. Whisk in the milk. Stir and heat until thickened. Add the Velveeta and stir until melted. Add sour cream and stir well. Pour sauce evenly over the filled tortillas. It will seem like too much sauce but it's not. Pour it all on!

Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes.

SOS

This is from allrecipes.com. I LOVE this stuff but my son does not so I don't make it as often as I'd like to.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup flour
2 cups milk (add another 1/4 cup if you need to, depending on how thick you like it)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp beef bouillon granules
pinch pepper
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Brown ground beef and drain. Add flour and stir well. Cook over medium heat until flour is all absorbed. Add remaining ingredients. Stir and bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Serve over biscuits.

Easy Baked Pasta

Ingredients:

2 cups (dry) rotini or other interesting shape pasta
1 lb ground beef or pork sausage
1 chopped onion
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can (about 14 oz I think) diced tomato
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350°. Boil pasta as directed on package. While pasta is boiling, brown meat (and drain it), then add onion and garlic and cook until they're done (or do what I do and use 2 tbs dried minced onion and 1/2 to 1 tsp garlic powder). Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and spices. When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the meat mixture. Mix well. Add 1/2 of the cheese and mix. Put in a 2 qt baking dish (I line mine with foil because I hate soaking it for days to get all that stuck on food to come off). Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, remove foil, and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

Chuck Wagon Chili Mac

This recipe is directly from the Kraft website (is that legal? I hope so). I changed it just a little. I used the deluxe mac & cheese (with the squeezy cheese) instead of the regular. Partly because all of our regular mac & cheese are cartoon characters and just didn't seem dinner-like. The mac & cheese was the 2% variety. I also didn't put the cheese and sour cream on at the end and I left out the kidney beans because I didn't have any. My kids liked it a lot-even my picky one. And it is incredibly easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (7-1/4 oz.) KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, drained
1/3 cup BREAKSTONE'S Reduced Fat or KNUDSEN Light Sour Cream
1/3 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese

PREPARE Dinner as directed on package, using Light Preparation directions.
MEANWHILE, brown meat with chili powder and cumin in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. tomatoes with their liquid and the beans; simmer 3 min., stirring occasionally.
STIR in prepared dinner; cook 3 to 5 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Top with sour cream and cheese.

Easy Baked Pork Chops

6 pork chops
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 recipe onion soup mix
2 cans cream of whatever soup (I used one chicken and one mushroom)
one soup can full of milk

Heat oven to 375° F. Brown pork chops in olive oil and transfer to a baking dish. It's ok if they overlap. Sprinkle with onion soup mix. Pour the soups over the top and then pour the milk over that. You don't need to mix it-somehow it mixes up in the oven. Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve with something that goes with gravy, like rice, mashed potatoes, or plain noodles because this recipe makes plenty of gravy.

Chicken Garlic Pasta

Ingredients:
6-8 oz rotini pasta (I use ronzoni healthy harvest-it's a whole wheat blend)
1.5 tablespoons butter (I actually use smart balance buttery spready-it's better for you than butter)
1-2 cloves garlic
1.5 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chicken broth (I use water and chicken bouillon granules)
1 can chicken (about 12 oz) or use 1 to 1.5 cups cooked chicken or turkey
1.5 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta as directed. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a 10" skillet. Add garlic and cook for about 1 min (medium heat). Stir in flour and cook for about 1 more minute. Add broth and milk all at once. Using a whisk, stir until smooth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook for another minute or so. Add chicken and heat through. Add parsley, salt, pepper (I add about 1/2 tsp salt. No pepper) and parmesan cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Add hot drained pasta and stir.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Note: I only make half of this recipe, but still use 8 tortillas. The 4-5 servings in the original full size recipe must be really huge servings. I don't use the chiles, but for half of a recipe I would probably still use the whole can of them.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, cut up and softened
3 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
2 (8-oz) packages Montery Jack cheese, shredded (I actually use cheddar)
2 cups whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add onion, and saute 5 minutes. Add green chiles; saute 1 minute. Stir in cream cheese and chicken; cook, stirring constantly, until cream cheese melts.

Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas, and place, seam side down, in a lightly greased 13-x-9 baking dish. Sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese, and drizzle with whipping cream.

Bake for 45 minutes.

4-5 servings.

Easy Chicken a la King

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1-1/4 cup chicken broth (I use bouillon cubes)
1-1/3 cups milk
1/4 cup (or a small can-drained) mushrooms
2 tablespoons minced dried onion (or the equivalent amount of fresh-cook with butter)
1-1/2 cups cooked cubed chicken or turkey
1-1/2 to 2 cups frozen peas
small thing of chopped pimientos (not sure of the size-I don't use them)
cooked rice or toast

Melt butter in a saucepan (I use a 10" one with straight up-and-down sides). If using fresh onion, saute it now. Stir in flour. Stir and cook till bubbly. Stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat slightly and cook 3 minutes-stir constantly. Add mushrooms, onion (if using dried), chicken and peas. Cook till heated through. Add pimientos. Serve over rice or toast.

note: I’ve started making this in a lower fat version: Use only 2 tbs of butter. Mix the flour with the milk and some of the broth (I use a shaker cup from Tupperware) before adding to the melted butter in the pan. Add the remaining broth and stir, then proceed as in the original recipe, bringing the mixture to a boil, reducing the heat, and then cooking for 3 minutes.

Brown Sugar Pork Chops

Ingredients:
6 pork chops
6 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons margarine
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the chops in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Place 1 tablespoon of brown sugar on top of every chop. Place 1 tablespoon of margarine on top of the brown sugar. Sprinkle chops with soy sauce. Cover pan with foil and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until browned.

Cola Pork Chops

cola park chops:
Ingredients
1 cup ketchup
1 cup cola (not diet, but caffeine free is okay)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
8 pork chops
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix together the ketchup, cola and brown sugar. Place pork chops in a baking pan and pour cola mixture over, coating well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about one hour depending on the thickness of the pork chop.

Bacon and Egg Bake

Ingredients:

5 Hard Boiled Eggs, chopped
8 ounces Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 - 10-3/4 ounce can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
2 Tablespoons Minced Dried Onion (or use 1/2 of a fresh onion, diced and sauteed)
1/4 Cup Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
6 slices Bacon, fried and crumbled
Biscuits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, cheese, soup, onion, milk and seasonings. Mix well. Place in a greased 8" baking dish. Sprinkle crumbled bacon over top. Bake for 20 minutes; serve over biscuits.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

1-3/4 Cup Water
2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
1/4 Cup Minced Dried Onion (or use 1 whole onion, diced and sauteed)
1 Cup Flour, divided
1 Teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
2 Cups Frozen Mixed Vegetables
1-1/2 Cups Cooked Diced Chicken
3/4 Cup Quick Oats
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
2 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine
1/2 Cup plus 2 Tablespoons Milk
1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium saucepan, combine water, bouillon cubes, onion, 1/4 cup of the flour, and poultry seasoning. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2-3 minutes. Add vegetables and chicken and stir well. Place in greased 2 quart baking dish. In a small bowl, combine remaining 3/4 cup flour, oats and baking powder. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add milk and syrup and mix with a fork until just blended. Spoon over chicken mixture. Bake for 35 minutes.

Chili Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Beef, browned and drained
2 Tablespoons Minced Dried Onion (or use 1/2 of a fresh onion, diced and sauteed)
2 Cloves Garlic
3 Cups Tomato Juice
1 - 16 ounce can Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
6 ounces Spaghetti, broken up, or Elbow Macaroni (uncooked)
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 - 3 Teaspoons Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well and place in a greased 2-1/2 quart baking dish. Bake, covered, for 65-70 minutes. Let stand covered 10 minutes.