Help..ideas for easy dinners..me & 2 kids

Invest in a Croc pot.

"fried" chicken tenders

1 pkt chicken tenders
1 sleeve ritz or saltines
seasoning (pepper, tony's, etc) to taste
milk/egg wash

have 1 kid put crackers in ziplock bag then pound the hell out of it (they will love this)

put chicken in milk/egg wash

put chicken in ziploc

have other kid shake the bag.

place tenders on a cookie sheet, bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

Sooo good, and kids love them.

Similar to advice I gave in another thread, but:

On a weekend, make a big pan of lasagna, casserole, whatever, and freeze wheat you don't eat from it. That'll give you a few extra meals in the freezer that take next to no prep time. Same idea goes for things like red beans and rice, spaghetti sauce, chili, and gumbo stock (cook it down so its extra thick - you can freeze it in a smaller container and add water when you thaw it). Its like having a freezer full of leftovers. Take the needed portions out in the morning and they should be thawed by dinnertime.

quote:

---

On a weekend, make a

---

You mean actually plan ahead? :gasp:

Seriously, I do need to do a better job on this too. I just got to the point where I am getting to the grocery store once every weekend..I've been a disaster since this whole thing started.

I would also love some easy cajun recipes. Being up in TN the food is so very bland here and I would love to get the kids used to eating stuff with more flavor.

I'll put some recipes that I make with the kids I work with. They dont take too long, and your kids can help you.


Turkey Tacos
1/2 # lean ground turkey
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup onion
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
1/2 cup red fat cheese, shredded
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
4 six inche Whole Grain tortillas

brown turkey, add water and seasonings, garlic. Cook for 10 minutes

*you could also use taco seasoning mix, but the kids will like to help measure out stuff

make taco with tortilla, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes


Ricotta Gnocci with Spinach and Roasted Tomatoes

4 plum tomatoes
2 tbsp veg oil
1 cup ricotta
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tsp nutmeg
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups fresh spinach
1 tsp salt
1 lemon

cut tomatoes in coin slices, toss with 1 tbsp veg oil, roast on a pan at 350 for 15 min, or until soft

combine ricotta, eggs, flour and nutmeg. Mix until dough forms. you may need to add more flour. Have kids make "snakes" out of dough and use a fork or knife to cut "snakes" into smaller pieces (size of tip of your thumb)

put raw gnocci into boiling water. they're done when they float. drain.

add 1 tbsp veg oil and saute cooked gnocci and garlic.

put fresh spinach in bowl. add cooked tomatoes and gnocci. Spinach will wilt with heat.


you could also put leftover chicken/beef/whatever with this too.

quote:

---

TexasTiger05

---

Thanks again. THose look do-able (I'm making a list from this thread as it goes..)

What about enchiladas? Any good recipes? I made some a couple weeks ago and they sucked so hard I threw the whole pan away. They aren't the healthiest I guess..but something different.

PS You are in Houston? If I could make those seafood enchiladas that place on Westheimer (across from that greek church/school) does, I'd be set.

quote:

---

THose look do-able

---

the gnocci can look like a lot, but it really isnt.

quote:

---

What about enchiladas? Any good recipes

---

I dont have any.

Kids Health has a lot of great recipes for parents that are kid friendly. I use that site a lot for work

quote:

---

You are in Houston?

---

Si

quote:

---

If I could make those seafood enchiladas that place on Westheimer (across from that greek church/school) does, I'd be set.

---

Trying to place where you're talking about. Westheimer is so long, so it could be a bunch of places.

quote:

---

Cafe adobe maybe?

---

Ah, okay. Good place. FWIW it's across frm St Ann's Catholic Church in Montrose.

quote:

---

FWIW it's across frm St Ann's Catholic Church in Montrose.

---

Thats the one. I can see the church in my head but its been 10 years since I lived there..alot of my mispent days after graduating LSU at Lola's, Emo's and Power Tools.

These are some great suggestions. Better advice than cookbook websites..I get overwhelmed and taht stupid "cooking with kids for dummies" book I bought was asbolutely ridiculous. THe first recipe called for about 15 ingredients I don't even own. WTH? Somehow I guess they missed the word "easy" in there.

quote:

---

Try baking them instead of frying.

---

I don't actually fry anything. I don't keep oil (except a little wesson in the pantry) and like you said, frying is waaaaay too messy and time-consuming clean-up wise for me.

I've found I can make my kids just as fat feeding them pasta and cheese all the time as I could with deep frying apparently.