I think my favorite “easy” recipe is grilled cheese and tomato soup. In my house, we prefer the Campbell’s Select Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup.

I know that sounds kind of boring, but we spice it up a bit with different cheeses because we keep a variety in the house to begin with. For example, instead of American cheese, go with some swiss and cheddar…you could even use your shredded cheese you keep around from taco night!

I just made macaroni salad with chicken. Henry LOVES it! And easy to make and have around.

We also have a simple pasta that we make with peas or broccoli and salmon or chicken…

Also, our online grocery delivery service offers a Heat-n-Eat selection. A little more money, but totally worth it for the convenience alone. For instance, we often order the chicken with green beans and brown rice. It’s perfectly portioned for a kid. And it’s 3 minutes in the microwave. The only downfall is that because it’s fresh, you can’t freeze it. We try to use them within 3 days of receiving the delivery.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf

Thist quickly became my favorite website. I haven’t used it in awhile, but need to go back to it! You can also sign up for a quarterly magazine of recipes. Many are very quick and easy.

Here is one of my favorites, and it is even easy to make ahead, then stick in the oven later:

Mac ‘N Cheese Pie

Prep Time: 5 min Total Time: 35 min
Makes: 6 servings

1 pkg. (14 oz.) KRAFT Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner

2 cups small broccoli florets

4 eggs

1 pkg. (6 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Smoked Ham or Honey Ham, chopped 1/2 cup

KRAFT Shredded Cheddar & Monterey Jack Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Spray pie plate with cooking spray. Cook Pasta in boiling water until tender, adding broccoli during last 2 min. of cooking time; drain.

MEANWHILE, beat eggs in bowl. Stir in Cheese Sauce and ham until well blended. Pour egg mixture over pasta; stir to combine.

SPOON into prepared pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 30 min. or until set and golden brown.

Kraft Kitchens TipsServing Suggestion: Serve with a mixed green salad and fat-free milk as part of a simple weeknight dinner.Make AheadBake this pie ahead of time and warm pieces in the microwave as needed for quick weeknight meals.

I know you already used the slow cooker (I call it a crock pot) next week, but maybe this will help you next week?
Easy Chicken Burritos:
Put some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crock pot. (However many you want; we like to make a lot so we have leftovers all week)
Pour a jar of salsa over the chicken (more chicken = bigger jar).
Cook all day on low or 3ish hours on high, until chicken is done.
Shred chicken with fork (if it’s not falling apart easily, it’s not done cooking yet).
Scoop into tortillas, along with cheese, lettuce, tomato, black beans, rice, or whatever your favorite burrito fillings are.
Send Audrey $100 to thank her for introducing you to this amazingly delicious and easy recipe.
(That last step is optional, but recommended.)

depends on what you consider easy. we cook most every night of the week or eat leftovers. we both love to cook. rarely make the same recipe twice. I know, you totally want to come live with me now, right? A few monthly magazines we get: Light & Tasty, Taste of Home and Simple & Delicious - all very good recipes, all with “simple” and quick sections as well.

The local italian pizzaria is on speed dial too. We’re not perfect!

So you already know my favorite easy meal, which is Safeway brand frozen pizzas. They are always on sale (at least here) 3/$9 and they are delicious.

My other easy favorites are baked ziti (although I use different types of pasta, I sort of love the spirals and farfalle even better than ziti) and grilled sandwiches. For the sandwiches, I just make a regular turkey or ham sandwich, lightly butter the outside of the bread, and throw it on the foreman grill for a few minutes, until the cheese melts and the bread is toasty. DELICIOUS. I have no real recipe for the baked ziti because recipes are for the weak (aka, those that can actually follow them). Just brown some ground beef, mix it with pasta sauce, layer with cooked pasta and cheese, stick it in the oven at any temp you want and bake until the cheese is all nice and melty.

Chili Dog Casserole: AKA Chili Dog-Chiladas

Wrap hot dog wieners in flour tortilla and line them up in a casserole dish like you would enchiladas. Cover with chili and shredded cheddar. Onions even if you want. Bake for about 20 mins on 350. Just enough to melt the cheese and warm everything through.

It’s totally a kid friendly meal as most adults would want something a big more sophisticated.

Then of course you can always buy those skillet meals all thrown in a bag together where all you have to do is heat them.

Grocery store baked chicken.

The second day, it’s chicken quesadillas with the leftovers.

Another quick&easy that I somewhat healthify is store brand hamburger helper. I use ground turkey instead of ground beef, and I add in a cup or two of frozen chopped spinach for the last 3 or 4 minutes. (Sometimes I use other veggies, but the chopped spinach mixes in well and tastes good with most of the varieties.)

Trader Joe’s frozen entrees. Their pizzas are great.

Here are links to other ridiculously quick things:
http://castsugar.blogspot.com/2007/08/pigs-in-blanket.html
http://castsugar.blogspot.com/2007/08/antipasto-squares.html
http://castsugar.blogspot.com/2007/08/classic-pizza-by-pillsbury.html

Use your slow cooker for pieces of meals, like enchiladas
http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotgroundbeef/r/bl59c11.htm

or meat loaf
http://quickandeasydinnerrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/10/best-meatloaf.html

I tend to be a big fan of pork chops and chicken breasts. I throw them in ziplock bags the night before with some type of marinade or sauce and then throw them into the oven and microwave some frozen veggies.

http://www.bhg.com/recipes/recipedetail.jsp?recipeId=R067327

I do baked chicken sandwiches sometimes. I marinate chicken breasts in honey mustard salad dressing, then bake or grill until cooked through and serve on a bun. Or, you could chop it up and do it over salad.

http://www.bhg.com/recipes/recipedetail.jsp?recipeId=R067331

http://www.bhg.com/recipes/recipedetail.jsp?recipeId=R067330

I love this quick recipe from my childhood:
1/2 lb of ground beef
1 bag of egg noodles (more or less depending on your noodle preference
1 small onion
1 can of v8 + maybe 1/2
1 small container of sour cream

Brown the onion then add the beef and brown. Drain the fat. Add egg noodles and v8 to cover. Simmer until the noodles are cooked, about 20 minutes. Then add the sour cream and serve.

Carrissa’s post made me think of another:

Trader Joe’s has a great pasta medley in their frozen food section. It has bow tie pasta, carrots, spinach, and some great flavor. Throw it in a skillet with some olive oil and cook for 8 min or so. DONE! For some added flavor, add some shrimp or chicken, and some of Trader Joe’s Red Curry sauce (not spicy at all). I love it and so does Trinity and takes all of 10 minutes to cook!

A favorite of mine:

Rotisserie chicken… take the meat off the bones and cut into bite sized pieces. Boil penne pasta, toss with pesto sauce. Throw in chicken, a handful of pine nuts, and some canned artichoke hearts and you’ve got a meal. You might throw a loaf of bread on the table, too… and a green salad if you’re going for the whole “complete meal” thing.

Oh! And don’t forget the Parmesan cheese.

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