[LindseyE117]

I know we were talking about saving money in another post about couponing, and I know that some of us plan meals here. Let's all share some quick, cheap, and easy meal ideas in case anyone wants to plan their meals too!

I got this one out of my Taste of Home Cookbook- Cheap, quick, easy, and surprisenly tasty plus can be made with ingredients on hand!

Pork and Noodle Casserole

1.5 lbs of cooked cubed pork (can substitute rotisserie chicken for a quick change)
2 cups uncooked egg noodles or something similar (I used wacky mac for color)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans corn drained
salt to taste
pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
onion powder to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Cook noodles al dente according to package. Drain. Add pork, soup, and drained corn together in large pot or bowl. Season to liking with seasonings. If it seems dry, add a little bit of milk to mixture, but you want it creamy not soupy. Place mixture into 4 qt baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes covered, and then uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes so that top gets that nice just baked top.

I was surprised how good that was! Plus I always keep canned corn and cream of mushroom soup on hand. It made a large batch too so it will feed us for 2 days. Enjoy! Let's keep some good recipes coming too!

[EJsMommy]

Creamy chicken and rice for 2:
1 can condensed cream of mushroom or some type of creamy condensed soup
1 cup uncooked rice
2 chicken breast (with bone or without - your choice)
Salt and pepper for seasoning.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In a baking dish empty the contents of the soup
Mix in the same amount of water that fills the soup can use whisk to dissolve the soup in the water.
Pour in the rice and mix up
Rinse off the chicken breast and pat dry with paper towel
Put the chicken breast in the baking dish in the soup and rice mixture so it almost covers the chicken.
Put salt and pepper on top of this and stir a little
Cover with foil
Put in oven for about 35-40 min depending on the size of the chicken. If the chicken breast is larger then cook it for 40 min if smaller a little less.
To test that the meal is ready do a small cut in the thickest part of the chicken and the juice coming out should be clear.

You can serve veggies of choice to this dish.

[KeepingFaith]

Baked Mac n Cheese

1 box of elbows
3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans cream of onion sup mix
1 cup milk
*bacon bit if desired


Cook elbows fully
In a baking dished combine soup,milk, and 2cups cheese, mix well
Add cooked elbows, stir
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes

Top with remaining cheese
*you can also top with crushed Ritz crackers and melted butter made into a paste on the cheese
Broil for last 5 minutes until top is melted and slightly browned

I also usually have fresh Italian bread and butter with it

Enjoy!

[.:Shortcake:.]

I'll try to post some tonight once I get home!

[LindseyE117]

I love homemade mac and cheese! I'll have to try that one!

[pepper73]

What a great thread!!!

Spaghetti Pie

Ingredients:

Spaghetti (I usually use 1/2-3/4 of a box)
Big jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
16 oz Ricotta Cheese (or more if you really love it like I do)
1 raw egg
1 lb ground beef
Shredded Mozzarella (however much you want-I put a ton on)
Optional: Italian sausage, mushrooms, peppers, garlic, onions, or whatever else you want to add to the sauce

Preheat oven to 350
Cook pasta until it is done to your liking (it helps if you add some olive oil to the water), drain
Heat sauce up in separate pot
Cook the ground beef, drain
Add beef to sauce
Cook up any of the optional ingredients and add them to sauce
In a bowl, mix the ricotta and egg until it's nice and creamy/spreadable

Spray the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with Pam or equivalent. Put a layer of the cooked spaghetti down so that it totally covers the bottom and comes up a tiny bit on the sides. Spread the ricotta mixture over the spaghetti so it is thoroughly covered. Add the sauce to the top of the ricotta mixture so that is covered. Top with shredded mozzarella. Bake in the oven for about an hour. Let sit for a few minutes, cut and enjoy!

This is one of those dishes that is great fresh out of the oven but even better as a leftover! Also, all of the steps can be done at the same time so there really isn't much prep time at all.

[LindseyE117]

Yummy! I love spaghetti pie!

Here is a fav among my family. It can be home made or semi home made.

Quick Easy BBQ Pizza

1 tube refridgerated pizza crust (or home made)
1/2 bottle BBQ sauce (any flavor, I prefer hickory smoked)
1 lb chopped cooked chicken (dark is better, it doesn't dry out in the oven)
8 oz package of mexican cheese or mozzerella cheese (or shred your own blend)
pepperonies (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease pizza pan or pizza stone. Spread crust out evenly over pan. Take about a half a bottle of your sauce and spread desired amount over pizza crust. Sprinkle generous amount of cheese over crust. Lightly coat chicken with some BBQ sauce before adding to pizza (this helps so it does not dry out) . Add pepperonies if wanted. Bake for 20 minutes or untl done in oven. Enjoy!

**EDIT**
You can add red onions or additional toppings if you like. My family is just picky!

[j&jmom]

Great . . . it's almost time to go to bed, but now I'm starving!

[Erin84]

This is my favorite seafood dish, and it's SO EASY!!! About 5 minutes prep, 15-20 minutes cooking time.

Ingredients:
Salmon steaks
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Tomatoes
Parmesean cheese

Massage the salmon steaks with olive oil, then sprinkle a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder over them. Slice tomatoes and lie them in a single layer on top of the salmon steaks, covering the surface. Sprinkle a very generous layer of parm on top of the whole thing. Bake at 350, 10 minutes for every inch of thickness, but I usually end up baking it for about 18 and enjoy it that way. When you slice your fork into the salmon, it should flake. If it doesn't, just put it back in a little bit longer.

This goes great, I think, with mashed sweet potatoes and broccoli, although brown rice and broc is what DH usually fixes with it and it's great that way too. I'm just a sucker for sweet potatoes... I usually do half a whole wheat English muffin instead of rice and keep both veggies. Milk is delicious with it too, the whole thing just feels so healthy!

[pepper73]

Oh yum! I love salmon!! That sounds amazing!!

[LindseyE117]

I LOVE salmon..... I cannot stress that enough. Lol. No one in my household will eat fish but me though.

[joyguide]

Mmmm...delicious. I love salmon as well! I also really enjoy steelhead - it has a very mild salmon flavor and is a lot lower in fat than salmon, although I consider the fats in salmon a fat freebie, since they're good for ya.

[luvmykids623]

This is soooo easy and yummy!

Lumpy Pizza


1 can (16.3 ounces) refrigerated flaky biscuits
1 can (8 ounces) pizza sauce
2 cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
16 slices (1 1/2 inches in diameter) pepperoni

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Separate biscuit dough into 8 biscuits. Cut each biscuit into 8 pieces; place in medium bowl. Add pizza sauce and 1 cup of the cheese; toss to coat.

2. Spread mixture in ungreased 9*inch square (2*quart) glass baking dish. Top with pepperoni and remaining 1 cup cheese.

3. Bake 22 to 28 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

I usually cut the biscuits into 6 pieces, use 2 cans of biscuits, and use more pizza sauce.

[pepper73]

I made that salmon dish last night and it was FABULOUS!!!

[LindseyE117]

I might try that lumpy pizza tonight. My son is having a sleepover.