Pansy and Peony

This recipe says it only serves 6 but... I quadruple this recipe very easily all the time. I use ground turkey also instead of chopped. If you have enough help it only takes moments to prepare even though there are a lot of ingredients. I also like the fact that I can use my own frozen broth or fresh salsa. I have also made this in a vegetarian version. Instead of turkey, I used soy crumbles and organic vegan broth. My picky eater loved it in the vegetarian form.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=printerFriendly&recipe_id=223760

Enjoy!!

Mary Jean, thank you!

In case her link doesn't show up, here's another link to her recipe:

Turkey Enchiladas

Our 7 kids prefer this dinner over all others. We make homemade pretzels (I know these are supposed to be easy recipes but I've found that my kids can do this on their own with the 10 year old supervising). We serve the pretzels with cheese cubes, apple slices, veggies and dip and sliced smoked sausage that we brown under the broiler for a few minutes. This also makes a wonderful Lenten meal if you eliminate the sausage.

Pretzel Recipe
4 packages yeast
5 3/4 c. warm water
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. salt
most of a 5lb bag of flour

Mix this up in the usual bread fashion until you have a nice bread dough that isn’t too sticky to work with and let rise for 45min to an hour.

Let all the kids make pretzel shapes, braids, alphabet letters, weird alien creatures and anything else they can dream up. Sometimes we roll out the dough and cut circles. They can be split open like pita bread for sandwiches that everyone manufactures with the other side dishes. We like various spreads for the pretzels–peanut butter, mustard, butter or cream cheese. Plain ones are yummy on their own.

Here's the weird part. Get a jar of 100% crystal lye from the hardware store. I know this is not a typical baking ingredient but the internet consensus is that any other method of making pretzels just doesn’t taste as good. Put 2 T. of it in 3 or 4 quarts of water in a stainless steel pan and bring to a boil. Dip each of the pretzels in the boiling water from 15 seconds to half a minute. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray (don't use shortening because you've got the chemistry to make soap going on there and that detracts from the flavor of the pretzels a bit). Place dipped pretzels on cookie sheet and sprinkle with coarse kosher salt. Bake at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes till they're a deep golden brown.

These pretzels are one of those breads that shouldn't be stored in an airtight bag because they have a higher moisture content that tends to condense and make them soggy. Plus they look really neat sitting on the kitchen table in a basket lined with a red checked napkin:-) Leftovers make great "bagel" chips if you slice and toast them with a little garlic salt (my crew usually scarfs them down before I get to that).

Also, for smaller families you can freeze half of the recipe and have a really quick dinner down the road on one of those melt down days. Form the pretzels and place them on a lightly floured cookie sheet. Set that in the freezer until they're frozen. Then put the frozen pretzels in a ziplock bag until you're ready for them. Go straight from the freezer to the boiling water and into the oven.

These are definitely tasty. Our neighborhood used to demand them for Halloween treats.

Enchiladas
(Chicken or Beef)

Cook ground beef and add some dried onions, garlic, or what you like. Pour off fat.
Or Shred 3- half chicken breasts (I like grilling a bunch when they are on sale and then freezing for easy meals)

Shredded Mexican Cheese

Large Tortellas (Burrito size is what I use)

Enchilada sauce- mild

Depending on the size pan changes the amounts.

Basically, a 9X12 pan uses:
1 1/2 lbs of ground beef or 3- cooked half chicken breasts.
4c. of shredded cheese.
1 large can (19 oz.) of Enchilada sauce.

Make it lasagna style.
1)Sauce at the bottom.
2)A layer of tortellas (I cut mine in 1/2 and put the straight edge against the edge of the pan) and fill in with 1/4 pieces)
3) Meat
4) Cheese
5) Sauce
6) Tortella
7) Meat
8) Cheese
9) Sauce
10) Tortella
11) Sauce
12) Cheese

Bake 350 for 20-30 mins.

Here's my recipe for my kids favorite Pasta Fasioli.
1/4c Olive Oil
1 onion chopped
2cloves garlic chopped
basil to taste
oregano to taste
pepper to taste
a sprinkle of salt
1 can tomatoe sauce
1 can water
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 Can New Peas, or equivalent amount of frozen peas

Cook onions and garlic in Oil till translucent, add can of tomatoe sauce, let cook for a few minutes, add a can of water , simmer a few more minutes. Cook elbow macaroni and drain, add sauce and drained peas, and enjoy with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
This recipe serves at least 8.
When my kids were young, they used to request this recipe very often. It's cheap, quick and delicious!

I posted 3 on my site that were in my paper today. Not for 8 (sorry, I cook for only 3-5), but these would be easy-peasy to scale up. Not too much "goo" (is that the technical term?), though one does call for a tube of crescent rolls and one a Ranch dressing seasoning packet. Not bad. These three are all going in my to try file.

This is a Chinese recipe that seems to make everyone happy. I've seen this served for lunch in people's homes with a side of some sort of green vegetable. Use 1-2 eggs per person, and 3 eggs:2 tomatoes. The tomatoes will need to be skinned, dropped into boiling water for a minute and peeled, and then chopped.
Heat peanut oil in a wok (you can use a fry pan, too, but in China I use a wok) over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the beaten eggs and cook kind of like you are making scrambled eggs, but stir constantly so the eggs don't burn. When the eggs are done, dump them out of the pan. Heat some more peanut oil in the pan. Add your tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of sugar for every 2 tomatoes. Cook these for only a few minutes; you don't want the tomatoes to get mushy. When they are just about done, toss the eggs back into the pan, mix everything together, and serve. At that end step you can throw in some chopped scallions too to make it pretty.
We could eat this for lunch everyday.

This simple, nutritious and delicious recipe serves 6-8 depending on how much each person eats, but can be doubled or tripled easily. We always called it "family special" but we used our last name.
√ Brown and season 2 lbs. hamburger meat (we prefer extra lean)
√ Add some kind of taco seasoning (we like Pace)
√ Add a can of kernel corn
√ Add a cup of steamed white rice
√ Let it simmer for about 10 minutes
√ Serve over tortilla chips (homemade are better, but bagged chips are ok)
√ Sprinkle grated cheese (white cheeses are great if watching fat) on top while hot so it can melt
√ ENJOY!
+Cleanup is a breeze!

Dont know if you folks in USA call corned beef the same name we do but this recipie for Corned beef hash is always a winner and its very adaptable, Take a really big saucepan and peel and boil enough potatoes to give everyone a platefull, you can put chopped onions in as desired too. When cooked drain and save water to make gravy, add 1 or 2 tins of cubed corned beef or cooked soya mince if your veggie or vegan and mash up till its an even mix. either heap into an oven/grill proof dish and brown on the top under grill or in oven, until desired amount of crusty top apears or you can sprinkle with grated cheese first. Or you can encase mixture in a pastry crust either large Pie or individual pasty sized. In pastry its great as a picnic or party food as well as hot with gravy, serve with veg or salad to suit. Can be fed to any size of person with or without their own teeth as long as they are on solids! Freezes for emergancys and is easily spooned up by learner eaters! You can add mixed herbs or marmite to add flavour.

I hope hotdogs don't count as goo. If so substitute kielbasi or Italian sausage.

Fill a large glass baking dish (12x15 or whatever the next size up from 9x13 is)with 1 1/2 or 2 lbs thinly sliced hotdogs,and lots of diced potatoes. Also a large diced onion and a diced green pepper (optional). Season with salt, pepper, and your choice of Italian, Mexican, or any favorite combination of seasonings. Drizzle with oil.(maybe 1/4 cup oil altogether-I never measured) Cover tightly with foil and bake for approx. 1 hour at 425 degrees. Remove from oven, take off foil and cover with shredded cheese. This is the rare meal that all seven of my kids love. Cheap and easy.

One of our favorites is to make a huge batch of beef stew. Eat it for 1 or 2 nights and then use the leftovers to make potpies. I make up a ton of pie crust and the kids roll and fill personal size pie tins and then I scoop in the beef stew. They put a cover crust on and then we freeze. They are great for winter lunches or busy nights. Very yummy.

Hi, I just left this recipe on a previous post: What about tacos? Tacos are easy, fresh, and tempt kids because kids can make them up themselves and add only the things they like to them.

Tacos: feed as many as you like.

Meat: Ground Round our a beef roast (this can also be made from chicken.)

If you use a roast: use a slowcooker to cook the meat overnight on the lowest setting, making sure you have enough liquid so that it doesn't burn while you're sleeping. Place the roast in the cooker, add enough water to cover the roast,(checking it and adding more as it cooks down) add a can of diced tomatoes, salt pepper, and taco seasoning. One onion and a splash of lemon juice.

After the meat has cooked,overnight, it should be the most tender string beef.

Then to prepare the meal, purchase flour or corn tortillas, whichever you and your family prefer.

Slice tomatoes, shred lettuce, and grate cheese (again your preference). We usually use the Mexican blend shredded cheese from Costco.

For an added treat you can add guacamole to dress up the tacos (Guacamole is easy, avocadoes blended with your choice of salsa makes a good topping).

Kids and adults can make up their own tacos, and they are guaranteed to enjoy their dinner.

Thanks,
Lori@faithunltd.com

Aztec Chicken (crock pot)

Layer in crockpot:

1 package of chicken breasts, cooked and diced

2 cans of black beans

1 large can of corn or 1 bag of frozon corn

1.5 jars of salsa

Cook on High for 4-6 hours, add a block of cream cheese for the last 30 minutes. Serve with rice and tortilla chips. Yummy!

When my children were little, this was a favorite:
Leftover Supreme
1 lb pasta
bag of frozen peas or leftover broccoli or both
2 cups cooked cubed or shredded chicken

sauce
2 cups milk, warmed
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups (approx) shredded mozzerrella cheese

Cook pasta, drain
while pasta is cooking, make sauce by melting butter and then adding flour to make a roux.
Slowly add the two cups of milk, stirrinig to avoid clumps. Then add the cheese, stir until melted, add pasta, chicken and vegetables and there you have it.

I have never been able to put my finger on *why*, but this Taco Casserole completely sends me. I love it. And it freezes soooo well. (I double or triple when I'm freezing)

Brown in a large skillet or saute pan:
1 lb. ground beef
1 c. onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced (add near the end of cooking time)

Add:
1 can tomato soup
1 c. salsa
1 packet taco seasoning
6-8 oz. cooked elbow macaroni

Top with shredded cheddar and freeze in casserole dish(es). Defrost in refrigerator or microwave. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted (or microwave...equally tasty either way IMHO). Top with crushed tortilla chips before serving. Key ingredient! Don't skip ‘em!