In A Food Mood/Top Ten List All In One!

Today I am combining my "In A Food Mood" Monday post with "Top Ten Tuesday" post by posting a top ten list of my go-to easy recipes for when I must cook dinner but my heart's just not in it. These easy recipes get dinner on the table with a minimum of fuss. I thought some of you might appreciate these ideas:

1. Barbecue chicken, wild rice, corn: Lay chicken breasts in a greased 9X13 pan. Pour a bottle of barbecue sauce over top. Bake at 350 for one hour. Make the 5 minute wild rice and heat a can of corn. Dinner is served!

2. Spaghetti. Brown a pound of ground beef. Drain well. Add your favorite spaghetti sauce, some garlic salt, a bay leaf, and some Italian seasoning, and simmer all day. Serve over your family's favorite pasta. My family prefers angel hair and it cooks even faster! A friend of mine's daughter was over and said this sauce was the best she ever tasted. I just smiled and did not fess up that it starts with a jar of sauce. I think the trick is simmering it for as long as possible so the flavors meld.

3. Breakfast for dinner. Scramble some eggs, cook some bacon in the microwave, and buy some Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. If you're feeling really adventurous you can make grits or hashbrowns and cut up some fruit too. This meal is filling and actually one of the cheapest dinners you can make!

4. Rotisserie chicken, stove top stuffing, and peas. Easy, and better for you than fast food for about the same price. Find out what day your grocery store runs these chickens on special and plan this meal for that night.

5. Grilled chicken over salad. Marinate the chicken early in the day, then put your husband in charge of grilling. Get out a bag of salad and put out some toppings like bacon bits, shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds, etc. Have a selection of dressings on hand to make things interesting. If you want to round out the meal, heat up a loaf of french bread to go with it.

6. Taco salad. Brown 2 pounds of ground beef and drain well. Add a 30 ounce can of tomato sauce and two packets of taco seasoning. Simmer for awhile. Serve with tortilla chips, lettuce, cheese, taco sauce, etc. You'll probably have leftovers for lunch. We usually do.

7. Vegetable beef soup. Brown a pound of ground beef, drain well. Put in a dutch oven and add a large can of V8 Juice and a large can of Veg All veggies. Simmer for several hours and serve with cornbread or corn muffins.

8. Hamburgers. Have your husband grill the hamburgers (buy the premade hamburger patties and douse them with salt and pepper and worstershire sauce). Put out buns and fixings. Make a bag of frozen fries. Add some carrots with ranch dressing as a side. Dinner is done.

9. Chicken and rice. Lay chicken breasts in the crockpot and add a can of cream of chicken soup and about a half a can of water mixed together. Cook all day, then shred just before serving. Make Minute Rice and serve the shredded chicken in the sauce over the rice. Make your favorite veggie to serve as a side.

10. Get a pork tenderloin and pour barbecue sauce over top. Cook all day in the crockpot and shred just before serving. Serve on buns with chips and cut up melon. (I actually take this meal to people quite a bit. For a fun dessert you can bring a bottle of root beer and a container of vanilla ice cream so the family can make root beer floats!)

Note: I combined my regular Monday/Tuesday posts because tomorrow I am running a special post-- an interview with one of my writing heroes, Ann Voskamp. This is an exclusive interview so don't miss it!