Are you in a meal rut?
Do you make the same meals over and over?
Do you need family- friendly ideas?
Here are six easy recipes that even people with busy schedules can make.
Creamy Pesto Chicken
Recipe found on the Pinning Mamma’s Website
I like this recipe because it seems sophisticated, but it really tastes good and is easy to make.
Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast (3-4)
8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese softened (we use the low fat version)
Jar of pesto (⅓ cup)
1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Garnish
Cherry tomatoes
6 leaves fresh basil
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375
Mix softened cream cheese and pesto together
Lay chicken breast flat in a large baking dish. Spread pesto mixture evenly over the chicken breast and sprinkle the mozzarella over the top.
Bake for 35-40 minutes of until chicken is 165 degrees inside
Garnish with cherry tomatoes and fresh basil.
Serve over hot rice, spinach, pasta, or mashed potatoes
Crawfish Etouffee: Recipe by Stephanie Chavez
This recipe is easy enough for my 3rd grader to follow the directions and make it on her own. Making the rice will be the most time consuming of the tasks. We eat this a lot during Lent.
Ingredients
Crawfish tails (We use the ones in the frozen section.)
One can of cream of mushroom soup (we use the low fat one)
One can of cream of celery soup
Bag of frozen seasoning blend (red bell peppers, green bell peppers, and celery). (I use Pictsweet but the major grocery stores carry their own brand version.)
Butter
Rice
Tony’s Seasoning
Instructions:
Sautee butter and frozen seasoning blend on the stove
Add two cans of soup and stir
Wash the crawfish tails and then add
Add Tony’s Seasoning to taste
Serve over rice and with garlic bread
Beef Stroganoff:
Recipe by Marsha Wilson
The hardest part of this recipe is spelling the word "Stroganoff." I make it on the stove and then let it sit in my crockpot to keep warm. I like to add peas and mushroom to mine.
Ingredients:
2 ½ lb sirloin cut into 1” cubes
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (we use low-fat)
¾ pint sour cream (regular, not light or no fat)
Butter
Egg noodles
Instructions:
Brown meat in butter, pepper, and a pinch of garlic salt. Remove meat into a sprayed casserole dish leaving all the drippings in the pan. Put soup in pan, scraping up drippings, and mixing well. Stir in sour cream. Pour over meat in casserole dish and stir.
Cover and bake at 275 for 3 hours. Stir occasionally.
Serve over egg noodles
Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole
Recipe by Anna Noack
Even your pickiest eaters will love this dish. This one is easy to prepare. I like to double the recipe and freeze one for later when we have a lot going on and need an easy meal to pop in the oven.
Ingredients
5 cups chicken breasts- cooked (and shredded)-I cook mine in the instant pot so it can easily be shredded. (Trick: placed instant pot chicken in a mixer to shred)
1 cup sour cream
2 (10.75 ounce cans) condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups crushed Ritz crackers -about 1 and ½ rolls of crackers
1/2 cup butter melted
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish.
Stir together the condensed soup and sour cream. Pour over the chicken.
In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce. Sprinkle the poppy seeds on top.
Bake for 20-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly.
We add a vegetable on the side to eat with this dish and garlic bread.
Jessica's Enchiladas
Recipe by Jessica Ligon
We could easily put this recipe on our weekly rotation. I like to serve it with Mexican rice and black beans as sides.
Ingredients:
1 cup green chiles (prefer 5050 Southwestern)
2 cans green enchilada sauce (Hatch Green chili with roasted garlic is Jessica’s favorite)
1 Rotisserie Chicken (or you can do chicken breast in an instant pot and shred)
1 bag Mexican blend cheese
6-8 tortillas (Jessica uses whole wheat)
Instructions:
Pull meat off chicken and cut into bite size pieces. Set assign roughly ⅓ chicken and put in freezer bag to use add another time. Add remaining chicken, 1 can of enchilada sauce and 1 cup green chilis to a bowl and stir together. Spoon mixture into tortillas and place seam side down in a 9x13 pan. When pan is filled (approx. 6-8 tortillas) top with remaining enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Lasagna Soup
Recipe by Skinny Taste
My son loves lasagna and every time I make this, he asks why I didn't just make regular lasagna. I tell him that this is easier to make and still tastes amazing. Of course he eats every bite.
Ingredients:
14 oz sweet Italian chicken sausage, casing removed
1/2 onion, chopped
2 crushed cloves garlic
4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, divided
3 cups low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth*
2 1/2 cups water
2 cups quick marinara sauce
2 bay leaves
fresh cracked black pepper
6 oz broken lasagna noodles, whole wheat or gluten free*
For topping:
6 tbsp part skim shredded mozzarella cheese*
1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese
3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (we don’t use this)
1/4 cup fresh basil chiffonade
Instructions (stove top)
Heat a large soup pot or large pot. Spray with oil and add the sausage; cook until browned, breaking it up as it cooks with a wooden spoon about 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the chopped onion and crushed garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the parsley, broth, water, marinara sauce, bay leaves and fresh black pepper and bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes.
In a medium bowl combine the ricotta, parmesan, and 2 tbsp parsley and mix.
Add the broken pasta and cook uncovered according to package directions.
Divide between 6 bowls and top each with 2 tbsp ricotta cheese mixture, mozzarella, fresh cracked pepper and fresh basil on top.
My question for you is this: What is your easy go to recipe that is a crowd pleaser?