Here are some of the super-easy meals that keep things going in our house.

1) Make a giant batch of meatballs, roasting them in the oven. Freeze them in three or four meal-sized batches, with sauce (jar or homemade -- whatever floats your boat). Now you're ready for homemade meatballs with pasta, or meatballs that the kids can dunk in ketchup. (That's what my kids do, in complete disrespect of their Italian heritage LOL)

2) Tacos: This plan gives my kids the ability to decide what to put in their shell. I offer crispy and soft shells, lettuce, mild salsa, cheese, yogurt/sour cream, chopped or cherry tomatoes, and whatever else I'm trying to get rid of from the vegetable bin, and Fantastic Foods meat-free taco mix or meat. (The taco mix is actually faster).

3) Greek chicken wraps: same concept as tacos -- kids decide what to include. My kids love feta, so we offer feta, cucumber, steamed or sautéed chicken chunks or strips, yogurt, olives. (Now, really, it's not like my kids will eat *anything* but they like feta and olives.)

4) London broil: marinate it in a bag in the morning with something like Italian dressing. Grill or broil at night (grilling leaves no dishes). Serve with frozen vegetables. Couscous is a very fast side dish. When the meat is done, slice it into thin slices. Don't slice it the long way on the steak. Don't slice it the short way. Slice it the other way -- diagonally.

5) Crock pot lemon chicken is easy. Buy a chicken. Rip off the skin with your bare hands as best you can (don't worry if some skin is left). Take out the bag of mystery stuff from inside the chicken. Cut a lemon into four pieces and put it in the chicken where the mystery stuff was. Put the chicken in a slightly oiled crock pot. (If the pot's big enough, I put in two). Drizzle with a little olive oil. Shake on poultry seasoning until the chicken is well dusted. Salt and pepper. Turn on crock pot on low for 8 hours.

6) Ham steaks with pineapple. Put ham steak(s) in baking pan. (These keep a very long time in the fridge or freezer, and thaw quickly. Miracle food!) Pour in can of pineapple chunks with juice. Heat until hot. If the kids like them, serve with mashed or sliced sweet potatoes junked up with some sugar or maple syrup.

7) If your kids like tuna, combine canned tuna, canned green beans, and Italian dressing to taste (bottle or homemade) and olives if they like them. Serve with bread. One dish meal from the pantry. We call this Nicoise (niece WOZZ) but it's really not LOL.

8) Buy a pack of pork tenderloins. Put some maple syrup (1/3 cup) and 1/4 tsp dry powdered sage in a bowl. Rub that mess on tenderloin and grill the tenderloin or broil. You can do the same thing with Dijon mustard (or any kind of mustard) alone. Slice into medallions, dahling. (A fancy word that means slice into coins). (You can combine all that in a zip lock in the morning or the night before and put it into the fridge, then grill/broil the next day).

9) "Dan DelSobral's Mother's Chicken": for when you have more time available before dinner. One stick butter and one jar Dijon mustard melted together in small saucepan. Meanwhile, cut potato wedges (like steak fries) and put on bottom of roasting pan. Put some sort of rack over those to hold chicken parts with bones...or without...your choice of parts. Pour saucepan contents over top of chicken. Put stuff in oven at 375 until the chicken is done and potatoes are soft.

10) Sandwiches: BLTs or ham and cheese that you melted in the oven. Serve with canned soup, or use other prepared soup -- like knorrs or that bear brand...what's that called?...and add more veggies if you're feeling industrious.

Patti- these are great and I just love how you describe them!!

Patti -

Actually when I saw your "title" for this - my first thought was hummm...super easy meals - that's called:

MCDONALDS, TACO BELL, WENDY'S!

I am definately going to hav eto try a bunch of these out!

(originally posted to Yahoo by Deanna S. April 2002)

This is a really great recipe that my kids love I created in a hurry one night. Easy to prepare in less than 10 minutes and disappear quickly from the kids plates! I serve this with a side of Mexican rice and some cornbread. I tend to make a few of them “thinner” for the kids when preparing so they can handle them easier than the fuller ones for the adults.



Quick Burritos

1 lb of ground beef
3 tbsp onion chopped fine
¼ cup picante sauce
1 (16 oz) can refried beans
¾ cup shredded cheese
10 flour tortillas

Brown ground beef and drain well. Add refried beans and picante sauce into pan and mix well until combined. Simmer on low to medium for 15 minutes until heated through. Take off heat and cool slightly before adding shredded cheese and chopped onion. Mix well. Spray 13 x 9 baking thoroughly with non stick cooking spray. Spoon mixture into each flour tortilla and fold 2 sides making a roll and place seam side down into baking dish. Bake at 375 for approximately 20-25 minutes for them to warm through and the burritos to brown and become a bit crispy on the edges. You can sprinkle with additional grated cheese and picante sauce if desire before removing from oven. Serve with picante sauce, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, chopped onion, or guacamole if you like.

(Originally posted to Yahoo by Joanne in April 2002)

my favorite pie crust I make with oil, it's easy and healthier:

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil (I use olive oil, extra light no strong flavor)
6 tablespoons cold milk

Mix flour and salt. In measuring cup put in oil and milk. Add all at once to flour and mix with a fork. Form into two balls, flatten with hands, put between two sheets of wax paper and roll with rolling pin into circles.

Souper easy quiche

4 eggs
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup cooked broccoli
1/2 cup cooked chicken

Put pie crust into quiche pan (or pie tin) and set aside.

In mixer add 4 eggs beat until foamy. Add soup and milk and mix well.
In pie crust sprinkle in cheese, chicken, brocccoli, pour soup mixture over top.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until center is set.

Really easy and kids love it.

After I sent the recipe I thought I should have said I bake two quiches. Yes with 8 people 2 teenagers and hungry preschoolers, it takes two here. This is also a great recipe for little begining eaters.

joanne

I just read this one...I haven't tried it yet, but maybe someone else has? I'm looking foward to giving it a try with some bowls of veggies and cheese so the kids can choose what they want. (Fixings bars always go over big in our house)

refrigerator biscuits
sauce (e.g. tomato, pizza, barbecue)
meat (optional -- e.g. ground beef, hot dogs, pepperoni)
cheese (e.g. mozzarella, cheddar)
seasonings (e.g. oregano, garlic powder)

Preheat the oven to the temperature on the biscuit package.
Press the biscuit (the cheap-o ones) into the bottom of a greased muffin cup.
Bake for about 4-5 minutes to make sure the biscuit will be done before the cheese burns.
Remove from oven and press center of biscuit down with a spoon.
Spoon in sauce
Top with your choice of meats and cheeses and bake for an additional 5-6 minutes until cheese is melted.

Here's a new one I learned from Better Homes and Gardens. It seems very adaptable. What I love about it is the biscuits...Maya never complains as long as there are biscuits on the menu. LOL

Open a can of refrigerator biscuits and cut each in half with scissors (I used a knife).
Alternate biscuit, breaded chicken tender, and 3/4 inch slice of summer squash (zucchini or yellow) on skewer. Don't put them too close to each other or the biscuit won't cook well.

If you want, drizzle each skewer with mixture of honey and butter. Save some sauce for the table.

Bake at 400 until the biscuits are done.

I can see using this with whatever I have on hand.

Here's one from the archives:

SKILLET SUPPER

1-2 lbs ground beef
1-2 packages frozen spinach, thawed
2-3 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 egg per person or enough to hold it together
salt and pepper to taste
a little nutmeg

Brown meat and drain. Add the remaining ingredients and heat through. Easy. My kids love it. You could add cooked rice if you'd like.