Thursday, June 16, 2011

Quick and easy meals

Whether you're a working mom or a teacher on your summer break, you probably have a list of go-to recipes that you make over and over again because they are quick, easy, and reliable. Mine include spagehetti, marinated chicken breast with whatever marinade or dressing looked good that week, ravioli, sloppy joes (it's hard not to picture the lunch from your elementary school cafeteria, but I promise it's good!), and pasta with shrimp and vodka sauce to name a few. Just think though, if we all shared our own quick-and-easy recipes, we could mix-up the mundane and add a little flare to our own kitchen creations.  So here are some quick-and-easies I made this week that you can throw into your own rotations if you like. I would love to hear your go-to's too!

Pierogies

Inexpensive and always delicious- found in the frozen food aisle of any grocery store

Sautée onions with garlic, EVOO(extra virgin olive oil), and a little Smart Balance butter. After slightly browned, add Pierogies with some extra olive oil on top.

 Make an easy salad with spinach leaves, strawberries, and blueberries.

Add fresh parm to the salad, sprinkle cinnamon-sugar on the pierogies (just a little! but trust me, so good!), and scoop a dollop of sour cream for dipping the pierogies.

We ate it with a side of cantaloupe- they are SO sweet right now!

Other times, I made them with a side of veggies- they are so quick and easy!



Chicken-Salsa-Mozzarella 
(I made that name up- can you tell?!) Andrea actually gave me this idea- love sharing easy faves!
Place thawed chicken breasts or tenderloins in a baking dish.

Pour one jar of salsa on top- I chose this one from Kroger because it was on sale and looked yummy. 

Bake for 20 minutes on 350F. 

Remove and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Bake for another 20 minutes at 350F. 

Voila :)

Serve with whatever side you like- I already had the spinach, so this time we had blueberry and feta salad.

What easy recipes do you love to make?! If you have a link to share or an easy go-to you can type up, I'd love to hear it!

2 comments:

  1. I just started following your blog. I came over from Lauren's blog. I love the salsa chicken idea!! I'm going to try it. Here's one for you. Straight from the Kraft website.

    Zesty Italian Crock Pot Chicken
    what you need
    4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
    1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
    1 can cream of chicken soup
    1 square margarine
    1 packet zesty Italian seasoning
    Pasta noodles of choice or rice
    make it
    Place all ingredients into crock-pot (except pasta).

    Cook on low 3-4 hours. After about an hour open crock-pot and stir everything together.

    When complete, shred or cut chicken into chunks. Serve over steamed rice or pasta of your choice. (Bowtie or angel hair is really good.)
    Notes
    After you cut or shred chicken you may want to let it sit in the sauce for 10 minutes or so to let it soak.

    Crock-pots vary so therefore your cooking time may vary also. Cook until chicken is cooked all the way through and tender.

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  2. Teresa, you are awesome! Thanks for sharing! I will definitely try this out!

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