What are some of the ways you make dinner easier?
I know that in this stage of pregnancy, nothing sounds good to me, which makes making dinner that much more difficult!
I'm in a freezer dinner group with 5 friends. Once a month, we each make 6 of the same meal, then get together to exchange. So we cook once, and get 6 meals out of it!
We met yesterday and got some really good stuff - island pork for the crock pot, lasagna rolls, florentine pasta, Skyline chili, Greek chicken, and honey sesame chicken.
It's so nice to be able to grab something from the freezer and toss it in the crock pot or oven and not have any real work to do!
I have several crock pot meals that I really like and are pretty easy.
Spagetti, Sloppy Joe, even homemade is super easy, wraps, Let me see if I can post some links to recipes I like.
Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches
Source: Sweet Treats and More
Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 to 1 cup of your favorite Caesar dressing (I like Cardini's and Brianna's Asiago Caesar)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (if you don't have fresh use around 2 teaspoons of dried parsley)
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
12 slider buns or 4-6 regular sized hamburger buns
Instructions:
1. Place chicken in a 3-4 quart slow cooker with 1-2 cups of water, cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.
2. Remove chicken from cooker using a slotted spoon and drain the water from the slow cooker. Place chicken on a cutting board and pull chicken into shreds, discarding any fat.
3. Place chicken back in the cooker and pour dressing, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and pepper over the top. I really make sure that I discard any fat pieces so by the time I was done I only used about 1/2 cup of dressing but you make need more if you have more chicken. Stir until mixed evenly. Cover and cook on high heat for 30 minutes or until mixture is hot.
4. Spoon 1/4 cup mixture onto each slider bun if you are making sliders or more for regular sized buns. Top with extra shredded Parmesan cheese and lettuce to serve.
Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) jar of your favorite salsa
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
Instructions:
Take 4 frozen, yes, frozen (or thawed), boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot. Add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained. Keep in crock pot on low for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked. Once it is cooked, take it out and shred it. Return shredded chicken to the crockpot.
Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour. It may look at little strange at this point. Don't worry. Stir in the cream cheese.
Serve over rice or in warm flour tortillas.
My husband doesnt like edamame, so we substituted lima beans.
Tortellini with Edamame and Smoked Sausage
My kids love edamame straight from the shell, and they especially like them for dinner paired with two of their other favorites: smoked sausage and tortellini.
Hands-On Time: 30 minutes
Ready In: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 pound frozen cheese tortellini
1 cup shelled edamame*
1 cup diced red pepper
1 pound smoked sausage
1/2 cup Italian dressing
- Set 6 quarts of salted water to boil in a large pot.
- Meanwhile, chop red pepper and slice the smoked sausage into 1/4 inch-thick rounds.
- Stir-fry red pepper and sausage together until heated through -- about 5 minutes.
- Add tortellini to boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add edamame to water and boil for another 2 minutes. Drain tortellini and edamame well.
- Toss everything together with the Italian dressing and heat through one final time.
The Lady's Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe Courtesy of Paula Deen
Based on 38 ReviewsServings: 8 to 10 servings
Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Moderate
Ingredients Add to grocery list
4 bay leaves
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon Paula Deen Lemon Pepper Seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 2 1/2 to 3-pound fryer (chicken), cut up
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3 1/2 quart water
kosher salt and pepper to taste
For Step 2:
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery, with leafy green tops
2 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
3/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
1/3 cup cooking sherry
1 cup sliced mushrooms
Fresh parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
Paula Deen Seasoned Salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
crusty french bread, for serving
Directions
For the stock: add all ingredients to a soup pot. Cook until chicken is tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove and discard bay leaves and onion. You should have approximately 3 quarts of stock. When chicken is cool enough to touch, pick bones clean, discarding bones, skin, and cartilage. Set chicken aside.
For the soup: bring stock back to a boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package. When noodles are done, add chicken, mushrooms, parsley, sherry and rosemary. Add Parmesan and cream, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding seasoning salt and pepper. Enjoy along with a nice hot crusty loaf of French bread.
I think I remember you posting this recipe before. It sound AMAZING!
Quoting new_mom808:
Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches
Source: Sweet Treats and More
Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 to 1 cup of your favorite Caesar dressing (I like Cardini's and Brianna's Asiago Caesar)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (if you don't have fresh use around 2 teaspoons of dried parsley)
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
12 slider buns or 4-6 regular sized hamburger buns
Instructions:
1. Place chicken in a 3-4 quart slow cooker with 1-2 cups of water, cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.
2. Remove chicken from cooker using a slotted spoon and drain the water from the slow cooker. Place chicken on a cutting board and pull chicken into shreds, discarding any fat.
3. Place chicken back in the cooker and pour dressing, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and pepper over the top. I really make sure that I discard any fat pieces so by the time I was done I only used about 1/2 cup of dressing but you make need more if you have more chicken. Stir until mixed evenly. Cover and cook on high heat for 30 minutes or until mixture is hot.
4. Spoon 1/4 cup mixture onto each slider bun if you are making sliders or more for regular sized buns. Top with extra shredded Parmesan cheese and lettuce to serve.
That sounds delicious and easy!
Quoting new_mom808:
Fiesta ChickenSource: RecipeZaar
Ingredients:4 chicken breasts, frozen or thawed1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) jar of your favorite salsa
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
Instructions:
Take 4 frozen, yes, frozen (or thawed), boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot. Add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained. Keep in crock pot on low for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked. Once it is cooked, take it out and shred it. Return shredded chicken to the crockpot.
Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour. It may look at little strange at this point. Don't worry. Stir in the cream cheese.
Serve over rice or in warm flour tortillas.
Yikes!!! deer tick!!
Yellow soft drinks or dark?
- PrincessZ20
on Sep. 25, 2012 at 6:02 PM