Nesting… and Some Quick Dinner Ideas

I love fall! It always makes me feel like cooking, organizing, and getting my house in order. Fortunately, our weekend plans cooperated with my desire to putter around the house. This was an unusually laid-back weekend for us, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Yesterday we took the kids to one of those bouncy places, called Monkey Joe’s, in nearby Winter Park. Afterwards, I made a stop at the Whole Foods Store, since we don’t have one in our town. While Kevin and the girls waited in the car, I attempted to cram a couple of months of shopping into a single, crazed, 20-minute trip. Today, after a moving 9/11 service at church, I spent the afternoon organizing my pantry and freezer and cleaning out my refrigerator before making dinner – a quick chicken pozole recipe from my America’s Test Kitchen 30-minute-dinners magazine, with a rotisserie chicken that I bought yesterday. So easy and delicious. I even heard Eva say “yum” when she was eating, which NEVER happens! Click on the link and try it yourself. : ) And since so many of you expressed interest in more ideas on healthy, easy cooking, I decided to offer a short list of combinations for quick, easy dinners. If I have these items in the house, then I can generally pull dinner together in record time:

Shredded Rotisserie Chicken + Chicken Stock + Frozen (or Fresh) Tortellini = Tortellini Al Brodo

Ground Beef + Taco Shells – Shredded Cheese = Tacos

Whole Grain Pasta + Good Jarred Sauce = Pasta with jarred sauce : )) (Fortunately, it’s a family favorite!)

Chicken Breasts + Plain Yogurt + Garam Masala spice mix = Chicken Masala (not really authentic, but it works for us. Actually, this works wiht any kind of spice or seasoning blend)

Grass-Fed Beef + Frozen Veggies + Tomatoe Sauce + Dried or Fresh Onions + Slow Cooker = “Egyptian” beef stew

Boboli Whole Wheat Pizza Crust + Pasta or Pizza Sauce + Shredded Cheese = Pizza

Sliced Steak or Chicken + Veggies + Soy Sauce + Brown Rice = Stir Fry

Chicken Sausage + Diced Sweet Potatoes + 1 Onion + 1 Apple = Sausage and Sweet Potato Bake

Jarred Organic Barbecue Sauce + Chicken Breasts + Slow Cooker + Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns = Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Tomorrow, my favorite ways to use leftovers!