Easy Dinner Recipes

Caramel Apple Pecan Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:24:00 +0000

I've always thought of pies as a little complicated but this easy recipe is a toss and bake so it doesn't get much easier. I got this from Southern Food here and I thought I'd bring it for Thanksgiving! I'll let you know how it goes.

Ingredients:

2 pastry shells, 9-inch
4 Granny Smith apples peeled and cored, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Pecans chopped
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 lb Caramels coarse chopped
2 tb Flour
1/4 cup Milk
Milk for top
Sugar for top
Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°. Fit 1 round of rolled pastry into a 9-inch pie pan.
In a large bowl, toss together apples, pecans, sugar, caramels, flour and milk. Spoon mixture into pie shell.

Top with the remaining rolled pastry. Fold the edge of the top pastry under the bottom pastry. Pinch together and flute the edge all around with a fork. Cut several slits in the top so the steam can escape during baking. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake until crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Pie is best served slightly warm.
8 Servings

Orange Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:06:00 +0000

This easy cookie recipe is basically a orange sugar cookie that makes the house smell amazing. I'm pretty sure the smell should be bottled and sold. My friend gave me this recipe a couple of years ago and I forgot about it until now. I'm so glad I found it for this season!

Take note that you will need to chill the dough at least 2 hours but I like to toss it in the fridge overnight because I lack the control to wait 2 hours. If I pop it in before bed I let it actually let it sit.

1 1/2 cups melter butter (3 sticks)
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate (mix the rest of the tub with water for juice in the morning while you bake!)
2 eggs
4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp orange zest (about 1 orange to make it easier on the measurement side)
4 cups flour
a little extra sugar to coat

Melt the butter in the microwave and mix in the sugar and orange juice concentrate.

Once the mixture has cooled a little, add the eggs, baking soda, salt and orange zest.

Add the flour one cup at a time and mix well.

Let chill for 2+ hours.

Preheat your oven to 350. Roll the dough with your hands into walnut size balls and roll in sugar. Don't flatten the balls as they will spread out fine when baking. Tip: they will roll when you transfer the sheet to the oven so squish them enough so you don't loose them on the transfer.

Bake about 10 minutes and let them cool on a rack. The sugar gives them a nice crispy bottom you'll love!

10 Minute Turtles

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:58:00 +0000

Easy holiday recipes made easier? How about a "cookie" that takes all of 10 minutes to make? It is Always a crowd pleaser, my kids love making them and the hardest part is unwrapping the Rolos!

You'll need small twisted pretzels, Rolo candies and pecan halves (although any nut will probably be fine - pecans are nice because of their size).

1. On a cookie sheet, spread flat the pretzels.
2. Place a Rolo on each pretzel.
3. Put in the oven at 350 for 3 minutes just to soften the Rolos - they won't look melted but they are gooey enough.
4. Remove from oven and immediately press a pecan half on top of the Rolo. Don't press too hard or the chocolate seeps through the pretzel too much - just enough to look beautiful.
5. Let cool and serve.

That's it! They make great little gifts and are truly addicting.

Easy Dinner Recipes: Blueberry Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 05:14:00 +0000

This is no easy dinner recipe but it is a make ahead easy breakfast recipe. I made the dough up to folding in the blueberries and then baked it in the morning. By the time I was done with my shower the whole house smelled like fresh muffins and my kids thought I was a rock star mom! I didn't have the lemon on hand so I skipped it and it was great with the fresh blueberries we got on sale. It made 20 medium size muffins for us but I also use paper so I don't have the tins to clean up.

Ingredients

3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/4 stick), softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 Tbsp flour (if using defrosted frozen berries)

Method

1 Adjust the oven rack to the middle-lower part of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2 Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

3 In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each one. Beat in the grated lemon peel.

4 Beat in one half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Beat in one third of the yogurt. Beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat in a second third of the yogurt. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining yogurt. Again be careful to beat until just incorporated. Do not over beat. Fold in the berries. If you are using frozen berries, defrost them first, drain the excess liquid, and then coat them in a light dusting of flour.

5 Use a standard 12-muffin muffin pan. Coat each muffin cup lightly with olive oil or grapeseed oil using a pastry brush, or with a little butter. Or use one of those convenient vegetable oil sprays. Distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick (we use a thin bamboo skewer) to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin and serve slightly warm.

Easy Dinner Recipes: Warm Carmel Apple Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 02:23:00 +0000

Life doesn't ALWAYS have to be about easy dinner recipes. Sometimes it's about making a looks-like-homemade desert with little work. This one was emailed to me from Betty Crocker and I loved it! My in-laws loved it and after picking off the apples (we have the same problem with vegetables) my son loved it.

Warm Caramel Apple Cake

Serve this yummy apple upside-down cake warm from the oven.

Prep Time: 30 min

Total Time: 1 hour 25 min

Makes: 15 servings

Cake
1/2	cup butter or margarine
1/4	cup whipping cream
1	cup packed brown sugar
1/2	cup chopped pecans
2	large cooking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (about 2 1/3 cups)
1	box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix
1 1/4	cups water
1/3	cup vegetable oil
3	eggs
1/4	teaspoon apple pie spice
Topping
2/3	cup Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white frosting (from 12-oz container)
1/2	cup frozen (thawed) whipped topping
	Caramel topping, if desired

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. In 1-quart heavy saucepan, cook butter, whipping cream and brown sugar over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until butter is melted. Pour into 13x9-inch pan. Sprinkle with pecans; top with sliced apples.
2.	In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, eggs and apple pie spice with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Carefully spoon batter over apple mixture.
3.	Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Loosen sides of cake from pan. Place heatproof serving platter upside down on pan; carefully turn platter and pan over. Let pan remain over cake about 1 minute so caramel can drizzle over cake. Remove pan.
4.	In small bowl, mix frosting and whipped topping. Serve warm cake topped with frosting mixture and drizzled with caramel topping.

Substitutions:

You can use cinnamon for the apple pie spice for a slightly different flavor.

Success

Granny Smith and Braeburn are good apple choices to use in this recipe.

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Easy Dinner Recipes: Asian Shrimp in Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:36:00 +0000

I get seriously tired of eating meat all of the time, but are there easy dinner recipes that my kids will actually touch that involve something a little different? Enter into my kitchen SHRIMP. It cooks in minutes, the kids actually enjoy it and it makes me feel like we've gotten out of a rut. The longest part of this recipe is waiting for the water to boil. And yes, I do serve it over TopRamen noodles which the whole family devours for pennies. And of course you know I found it on Tastebook... if you haven't checked them out yet click on their logo below.

Asian Shrimp

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups water
3 cubes chicken bouillon
3 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup soy sauce
salt to taste
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
12 ounces trimmed snow peas
4 small ripe tomatoes, diced

DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan, heat 2 1/2 cups water to a boil over medium-high heat. Dissolve bouillon in boiling water. Add shrimp, green onion, soy sauce and salt. Boil for 3 minutes.
Dissolve cornstarch in cold water; stir into shrimp mixture. Cook until sauce is thick, then add tomatoes and snow peas. Serve hot.

Easy Dinner Recipes: Creamy Kielbasa Bake

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:44:00 +0000

Kielbasa sausage is one of those staple items we keep in the pantry because it makes an easy dinner recipe. We've been making a version of this creamy bake for years now, although our version consists of kielbasa, an onion, chopped potatoes and a sweet potato in the over for 350 for an hour. It is fun to change it up from time to time so I found this on TasteBook and we tried it tonight - my daughter and I cleaned the baking dish! Creamy, yummy, sausage-y goodness! For more recipe ideas be sure to check out Tastebook here.

Ingredients

16 oz of Kielbasa sausage
6 russet potatoes
1 family size can of cream of chicken
1 can hot water
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

Dice potatoes and put them in large baking dish. Slice kielbasa sausage into rounds and mix them into the potatoes. Pour cream of chicken into a large mixing bowl with hot water, salt, and pepper. Stir with a wisk until cream of chicken is dissolved. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and sausage. Place into oven at 425 degrees F and cook for about 45 minutes to one hour, or until potatoes are tender.

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Easy Dinner Recipes: Slow Cooker Ribs

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:50:00 +0000

I made these yesterday for my birthday and they were absolutely delicious, but they fell right off the bone before I could even get them out of the pot. That's not necessarily a bad thing of course. The kids didn't like the heat from the chili so I'll eliminate it next time but I thought the spice was just right. The only downfall was the browning in the oven prior to cooking. I don't think it made any difference at all and will be skipping that step next time. Of course I got this recipe from TasteBook and have it in my holiday cookbook for gifts already. Start your personal cookbook today and you'll be ready to rock this Christmas!

INGREDIENTS

4 pounds pork baby back ribs
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups ketchup
1 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 dash hot sauce

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Season ribs with salt and pepper. Place in a shallow baking pan. Brown
in oven 15 minutes. Turn over, and brown another 15 minutes; drain fat.
In a medium bowl, mix together the ketchup, chili sauce, brown sugar,
vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and salt and pepper.
Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat.
Cover, and cook on Low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.

Easy Dinner Recipes: Sweet Crock Pot Chuck Roast

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:25:00 +0000

Easy dinner recipes are made much easier using a crock pot, but sometimes the recipes involve browning and chopping and all sorts of other instructions that at 7am aren't fun. This one is a dump and go. I just serve it up with some rice and a salad and dinner's done! I found this on on TasteBook of course.

Sweet Crock Pot Chuck Roast

1 large beef chuck roast
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 bottle teriyaki sauce
Water

In crock pot add chuck roast, brown sugar and teriyaki sauce. Cover roast with water and cook all day on high heat setting.

Seriously - that's it.

For more great easy dinner recipes or to create your own easy cooking cookbook for your family, go to TasteBook here...

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Easy Dinner Recipes: Butter Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:34:00 +0000

Making easy dinner recipes very often does include some sort of chicken dish, sigh. I know it's boring but this chicken is so tasty that my family actually requests is - not something that usually happens in my household. We serve it with some rice pilaf (o.k. it's boxed Rice-a-Roni but did I not mention I'm a busy person?) and some veggies and call it a day. I found this at TasteBook and it's included in my personal cookbook that I share with family and friends.

INGREDIENTS

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup butter

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Season the chicken with salt, pepper and tarragon; drizzle with lemon juice. Set aside.
Place an oven proof skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat and melt the butter. Place the chicken in the dish, turning to coat both sides.
Cover the chicken with a sheet of parchment paper, and then cover with a lid.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

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Easy Dinner Recipes Custom Cookbook

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:54:00 +0000

I just found the best and easiest way to keep track of your easy dinner recipes. It's called TasteBook and you can insert recipes you find on the internet or upload recipes of your own. You can keep the files on line or order an actual hard copy for a binder. I am starting one now to give to my mother and sister-in-laws for Christmas as a "homemade" gift item. How simple and inexpensive and it can be added on over the years.

Start yours today by clicking here.

Easy Dinner Recipes: Garlic Home Fries

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:23:00 +0000

I found this recipe here and couldn't resist any easy dinner recipe entitled 'Famous'. It really was easy and the kids loved it!

Steve's Famous Garlic Home Fries

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 (8 ounce) russet potatoes, quartered and sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives

DIRECTIONS

Melt the butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes and spread out in an even layer. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Season with garlic, paprika, salt and pepper; stir to coat potatoes evenly.
Cover and cook for another 15 minutes, turning potatoes occasionally. Remove cover, and mix in chives. Increase heat to medium-high and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently, or until potatoes are tender.

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Easy Dinner Recipes: Key Lime Angel Food Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:51:00 +0000

Ok so it's not an easy dinner recipe but yum and easy still apply... I baked this one last weekend for a friend's birthday and everyone went nuts over it. The lightness of the angel food cake mixed with a little tart - well it just works.

1	box Betty Crocker® white angel food cake mix
1 1/4	cups cold water
1	can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/3	cup Key lime or regular lime juice
1	teaspoon grated lime peel
1	container (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1	cup flaked coconut
	Sliced kiwifruit and strawberries, if desired

1.	Make cake mix as directed on package, using cold water. Cool cake completely. Cut cake horizontally into 3 layers. Place bottom layer, cut side up, on serving plate.
2.	In large bowl, beat milk, lime juice and lime peel with wire whisk until smooth and thickened. Fold in whipped topping.
3.	Spread 1 cup lime mixture evenly over top of first layer of cake. Place second layer of cake carefully on bottom layer; spread evenly with 1 cup lime mixture. Top with remaining layer of cake.
4.	Frost top and side of cake with remaining lime mixture. Sprinkle with coconut. Garnish cake with kiwifruit and strawberries.

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Easy Dinner Recipes: Roasted Chicken and Veggies

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:25:00 +0000

This recipe is from Redbook and is as easy as they promise. If you don't like parsnips, substitute with small red potatoes!

Easiest Roast Chicken Dinner

From Redbook
This recipe has been tested by Redbook

Comfort food at its best, this easy oven-roasted dinner only requires one pan. Cut-up chicken and fresh vegetables are roasted together with sage and white wine to create this heaven-scented meal.

INGREDIENTS

conv. chart

U.S.

Metric

1 cup(s)	dry white wine
6 medium	carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
6 medium	parsnips, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
1 1/2 pound(s)	(10 to 12) small new potatoes, cut in half
4 pound(s)	chicken pieces (4 legs, 4 thighs, 2 breast halves)
1/4 cup(s)	butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoon(s)	chopped fresh sage, divided
1 teaspoon(s)	salt
1/4 teaspoon(s)	pepper
1 tablespoon(s)	all-purpose flour
1/2 cup(s)	low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoon(s)	chopped parsley, divided

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 475 degrees F. Pour wine into large roasting pan. Add carrots, parsnips, and potatoes. Place chicken pieces on top of vegetables. Drizzle melted butter over chicken and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sage, salt, and pepper. Roast 35 to 45 minutes, basting occasionally, until chicken is cooked through.
Place chicken on serving platter and cover to keep warm. Pour pan juices into measuring cup. Roast vegetables 10 to 15 minutes longer, until browned and tender.
For gravy, spoon chicken fat off drippings, placing 1 tablespoon of fat in small saucepan; discard remaining fat. Add flour to saucepan and cook 1 minute over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add drippings from pan and broth to saucepan, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the remaining sage and 1 tablespoons parsley.
To serve: Arrange vegetables on platter with chicken. Sprinkle with remaining herbs. Serve with gravy.

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Easy Dinner Recipes: Cooking with an Iron

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 19:23:00 +0000

I found these videos and love them. My kids and I can watch them together and learn how to cook without making the process complicated.

This particular one we had so much fun with... ironing our food! Finally I have a use for that iron I never use. Who knew?

Here's the link to Iron Stuffed Tortilla, but it will take you to the iFoods site and I highly recommend you check out their brownie recipe while you're there.

Easy Dinner Recipes: Corned Beef with Potatoes and Cabbage

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:04:00 +0000

This is an easy dinner recipe for an wonderful Irish meal using a slow cooker rather than the traditional boiling method, making it simpler to drop and go, especially since St. Patrick’s Day is on a Monday this year.

2 ½ Pounds medium new potatoes cut in half (about 8)
2 Cups baby carrots
1 Cup Frozen small whole onions thawed
1 Corned beef brisket about 3-31/2 pounds
½ Cup water
1 Seasoning packet from beef package
1 head of cabbage

Mix veggies (except for the cabbage) in the bottom of the slow cooker.

Rinse corned beef and place on top of the veggies, followed by the seasoning packet and water.

Divide the head of cabbage into 6 sections and place on the top of the beef.

Cover and cook on low for about 8 to 9 hours until the beef and veggies are tender and you are good to go.

Luck of the Irish to you!

Easy Dinner Recipes: Peanut Beef Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 03:16:00 +0000

This easy dinner recipe makes a full meal without tons of ingredients which is always a favorite combination for me.

Ingredients

1 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak cut into this strips
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
2 14-oz. cans reduced sodium beef broth
1/3 cup bottled peanut sauce (check the Asian section of your store)
1-1/2 cups or about 3 oz. medium egg noodles
2 cups broccoli florets

Directions

1. In Dutch oven, brown the beef strips in hot oil over medium-high heat. Add beef broth and peanut sauce; bring to boiling.

2. Stir in noodles and reduce the heat. Simmer uncovered, 4 minutes, stirring occasionally to separate noodles. Add broccoli; return to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer again uncovered, for 3 to 4 minutes more or just until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Serve it up in bowls and garnish with green onions if wanted. My kids like to skip this little extra.

Easy Dinner Recipes: So Simple Chicken Thighs

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:18:00 +0000

All right,anyone knows that I am not a great cook which is why I need easy dinner recipes. So the other night I had 6 chicken thighs and had no idea what to do with them. My friend gave me the recipe on the phone and it sounded like something even I couldn't mess up. So I tried it, served up some rice and a salad and my family all loved it. I tossed the leftover rice in the sauce from the bottom of the pan and it made the best next day lunch ever.

So Simple Chicken Thighs

6 chicken thighs
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place chicken pieces in a single layer in a baking dish. I used a clay pie pan so the chicken fit fairly snug and covered it with foil.

In a medium bowl, combine the ketchup, water, brown sugar and dry soup mix. Pour the saucs over the chicken, making sure that all of the pieces are covered.

Bake covered for about 1 hour.

Easy Dinner Recipes: Leftover Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:41:00 +0000

Imagine cooking all week long and then trying to come up with more easy dinner recipes on a Friday night. I usually don't have it in me to cook so we end up spending money and going out to eat or having what we call a 'scramble'. A scramble is when we all grab leftovers or anything we can find and fend for ourselves. That was until my girlfriend Rachel told me about her 'leftover soup'.

She uses the bits of meat and veggies that are left over from the week and throws them in the crock pot and Voila! Does it get much easier? She says that even left over brown gravy is good.

If you will be using a slow cooker, put all of your ingredients into it, then add water until it is 2/3 full. Cook on low for 5-6 hours and season about 30 minutes before serving.

You can cook it on the stove top as well for about an hour, but I like to dump it all in the crock pot and call it a day. It makes making dinner easy and saves a ton of money as well. Thanks Rachel!

Easy Dinner Recipes: Sneaking Beans into Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:09:00 +0000

I received this easy dinner recipe from Better Homes and Gardens and thought it was brilliant. Instead of using a heavy, calorie laden white sauce, the trick is to use the white beans instead, adding protein and fiber and my kids didn't even notice!

White Beans, Pasta and Chicken

8 ounces dried cavatappi, fusilli, rotini, ditaloni, or other short pasta tubes
1 15- to 19-ounce can cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
12 ounces cooked chicken, shredded
1/4 cup snipped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley sprigs (optional - I usually skip it)
Olive oil (optional - but I recommend at least a little for moisture)

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, cook pasta according to package directions; drain well and set aside.

2. In a blender or food processor, combine 3/4 cup of the beans and the chicken broth. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Place bean puree in pan used for cooking the pasta; bring to boiling. Return pasta to pan.

3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook garlic in 1 tablespoon hot olive oil for 1 minute. Add tomatoes; cook for 1 minute. Add the remaining beans, shredded chicken, snipped parsley, pepper and salt. Heat through.

4. Add the tomato mixture to hot pasta; toss to cost. Top with parsley sprigs and additional olive oil. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Easy Dinner Recipes: Chicken Burrito Bake

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:33:00 +0000

The other day I reviewed "The Dinner Doctor" so I thought I would place an easy dinner recipe from it that my family loves. It's quick, simple and makes burritos a little more interesting.

4 Cups shredded cooked chicken (usually taken from a left over rotisserie chicken)
1 Cup medium green tomatillo salsa, from the jar
2 Cups shredded cheese, Mexican blends are the best
8-10 8" flour tortillas
2 10oz containers refrigerated alfredo sauce
Shredded lettuce, avocado cubes, chopped tomatoes to top

Preheat the oven to 375.

Mix the chicken, salsa and 1/2 cup of the cheese.

Spoon 1/2 to 3/4 cup down the center of the tortilla and roll like a burrito. Lay seam side down in a 13x9" baking dish.

Mix the alfredo sauce and remaining cheese and pour on the top of the burritos.

Bake for 20-25 minuts and top with the lettuce, avocado and tomatoes!

How's that for an easy dinner recipe?

Easy Dinner Recipes: Breast Cancer Awareness Month

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 15:46:00 +0000

It's October and we're celebrating easy dinner recipes with important books dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness.

Our fist pick is from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, Limited Edition "Pink Plaid" : For Breast Cancer Awareness (Better Homes & Gardens)

This is essentially the same classic cookbook that's been around for years with a special Breast Cancer cover. It's one of those books that's an essential for every kitchen.

We'll post up more books with easy dinner recipes as the month goes on.

Easy Dinner Recipes: Dinner Doctor Review

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:20:00 +0000

When I am looking for easy dinner recipes, I have two choices: make what I always do or flip through "The Dinner Doctor". I am a long time fan of Anne Byrne's "The Cake Mix Doctor" books, turning cake mixes into one of a kind creations. I love to make cakes from scratch but, well you already know how busy I am. Her baking recipes help me merge my need to bake with my lack of time.

So when I first saw "The Dinner Doctor" I was excited. Anne's recipes are simple, quick and the ingredients are not complicated. Many of the ingredients are found in our pantry already or are easily attainable at the grocery store and involve very little prep time. We buy the rotisserie chickens all the time but this book gave us so many great ideas to make countless numbers of delicious meals that we've already gotten our money's worth.

This is not gourmet cooking. This is real food for real families that thinks outside of the usual dinners we give our kids. It is worth checking out.

To see more reviews on "The Dinner Doctor" click here: The Dinner Doctor

Anne Byrne's other titles include:
The Cake Mix Doctor
Cupcakes: From the Cake Mix Doctor
Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor
What Can I Bring? Cookbook (Cake Mix Doctor)

Easy Dinner Recipes: 5 Tips For Grilling Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:33:00 +0000

When it comes to easy dinner recipes in summer nothing is simpler than firing up the grill. That's right, I've taken over man's territory and I love it!

Usually my husband does the grilling like it's some male ritual with fire. Normally I'm just fine with him cooking on the grill because then I don't have to. But a few weeks ago he broke his arm and had to have surgery (a metal plate and 5 screws). In his recovery, I had to figure out how the lawn mower works. It took my kids and me 1/2 hour just to get it started. Then we were so excited that we gave each other high fives and let go of the handle and had to start it all over again. Needless to say I have since hired an interim gardener.

Having mastered the lawn mower and the art of delegation, I next decided that I was going to conquer the BBQ. We have a gas grill. I can figure this out, right?

This experiment has turned out better than the lawn mower. I still make the sides inside, but they usually are 20 minute quickies like rice and salad.

Here are my simple tips for barbecuing for the novice (please note, I know nothing about old fashioned grills, only gas).

1. Marinate during the day. In the morning I toss the meat or chicken into a storage size baggie and toss in some sauce. Italian dressing works really nicely as does teriyaki sauce for both chicken or steak. The baggies just gets tossed out and then there's no need to brush on extra sauce while cooking. When I forget to marinate I don't worry about it. My kids and I all like different dipping sauces that we put on our plates so it's like a custom meal.

2. Pre-heat the grill. I turn both sides on high for 5 minutes before I start grilling. This ensures that my cooking times will be even on the top and the bottom. I also use this time to clean off the grill from last night's dinner. It's very efficient.

3. Use different temperatures for each side. The side I'm cooking on tends to be lower than the side I'm not using. I do leave both on but the higher temperature of the non-cooking side tends to help cook my meat faster without the dangers of burning it over high flames.

4. Get out your timers. I don't stand by the grill enjoying a beer in the afternoon sun. I get back inside and work on the rest of the dinner fixings to consolidate my time. Therefore I tend to forget that there's something outside gilling (oops!) For a boneless anything, I go for 5 minutes a side on average (thin means 4 and thick means 6). At the end of the 10 minutes, I press on the meat to test its' solidity. If the chicken feels spongy, it's not done. Wait until it is firm. Same with steak, although fully firm means well and fully squishy means rare.

5. Don't cut it right away. Let your meat rest for 5 minutes once off of the grill so the juices can settle. Your meal will be tastier and moister if you can show a little patience!

Grilling really is about the easiest way to cook dinner. The best part of it is, there's no recipe required!

6 Tips for Making Easy Dinner Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Nelson) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 04:03:00 +0000

Do you have the skills to help you transition from drive through mentality to preparing full family dinners? Yes, I laughed at this concept too. The whole idea that I could have the time or energy to make dinner for my family every day is laughable. Then I started implementing these tips and our family life actually changed. I would like to share with you how to make easy dinner recipes work for you on a daily basis.

Tip #1: Get a calendar. This is an organizing tool that works for everyone I know and it's so simple you're going to just say, "Stacy, come on. Do you think we're simpletons?". Not at all. But when you're writing down all of your activities for the day, note what days are going to be crunches and which look not so bad. If Tuesday looks horrid, buy a rotisserie chicken, some great rolls, a bag of Caesar salad and you've got chicken sandwiches in a flash. You'll only go through half the chicken and when Wednesday hits, you have the makings of a great pasta. Your calendar can be your best friend so map out your week in advance and write on each day what dinner is going to be.

Tip #2: Post a shopping list inside your pantry door. This will help you remember the odd items that come up (saran wrap gets me all the time) plus as you're doing your meal planning at the beginning of the week you can easily populate the items you need to make those dinners.

Tip #3: Consolidate. One grocery trip per week period. Don't make life harder than it is. When in doubt, refer to Tip #2 and be diligent with that.

Tip #4: Get everyone else involved. I have two children so they get to pick one meal every two weeks. My daughter picks one week and then my son the next. I find a day that looks good and ask for their choice ahead of time. They get excited to for having dinner at home because it's their choice and I don't have to force anyone to eat anything.

Tip #5: Get tech-y. Subscribe to blogs or websites that have great recipes emailed right to you each week. I have been fortunate enough to subscribe to a program that helps me out tremendously. Not only does it have a huge library of recipes to pick from, but it helps me put the recipes onto a list and then even makes a grocery list for me. I don't know how I ever lived without it. There are quite a few of these sites out there, but the one I use can be found here.

Tip #6: Be flexible. We're not perfect and even the best laid plans sometimes fall apart. An occasional Pizza picked up in desperation is o.k.. We also have scramble nights when the plan has deteriorated and we get to just pick anything from the pantry we want - from a bowl of cereal to left over steak. We're all great with those evenings because we know that tomorrow we'll get back on the program.

I will be posting up some favorite easy dinner recipes here in the next couple of weeks so be sure to bookmark this page.

Happy Eating!
-Stacy

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