Welcome to Part 2 of my 4-Part Series entitled:  You’re Hungry Again? You Just Ate Yesterday: The never-ending challenges of feeding a family. (If you missed Part 1 of this series you can check it out HERE.)

In this post I will serve up 4 delicious recipes that are quick and easy to make, don’t require very many ingredients, and are kid (and mom!) friendly!

What’s for Dinner?

It’s the question that plagues mothers (or fathers) pretty much every day of their lives.  In my house, I do virtually all the cooking, so figuring out the answer to that question rests solely on my shoulders.

And truth be told, I actually like to cook.  Or at least I used to.  Before it was a daily obligation. Before I birthed three rambunctious, overly opinionated food critics that also depend on me for every other aspect of their care.  It used to be fun to try out a new recipe, and peacefully prepare it while enjoying a glass of wine.  Gone are those days.  

My current dinner prep routine involves me running around the kitchen, frantically rummaging through the cabinets/fridge/freezer trying to figure out what the hell to make, with a whiny toddler chasing after me and two older kids arguing in the background. On more days than I would like to admit, I will decide to just throw a frozen pizza into the oven, again. Occasionally, there is still wine. 😉

If this situation sounds all too familiar to you, then check out some of these recipes that will hopefully help you answer the daily question of “What’s for Dinner?”

One-Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta

This first recipe I actually found on the side of a box of Market Pantry pasta several years ago. It has been a go-to recipe of mine ever since.  It is by no means a culinary masterpiece, but it is seriously one of the easiest recipes I have ever made.  It uses minimal ingredients (most of which you might even have on-hand), you can cook it in about 30 minutes in 1 pot (minimal clean-up!), and your kids will love it (mine do!). Now, that is a win, win, win!

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tablespoons cooking oil (Olive oil is probably best, but I always just use canola oil)
• 2-3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 large jar of Alfredo pasta sauce
• 1 16 oz box rotini noodles (Penne would probably also work)
• 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese 
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. In a large pot (I use my trusty Rachael Ray pots that I have had for probably ten years – anyone else obsessed with Rachael Ray? – just me?), cook the chicken in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil until cooked through.
2. Then add the entire jar of alfredo sauce to the pot.
3. Fill up the alfredo sauce jar with water and add to the pot.
4. Add the noodles to the pot (please note: The original recipe only called for 2 cups of noodles, but I’m cheap and wanted to make the recipe stretch a little bit further – plus who want a half a box of noodles left hanging around in their pantry? – so I just add the whole box and add an extra cup of water or milk for the pasta to absorb)
5. Stir and bring to a boil over medium heat.
6. Reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes, or until noodles are tender (stirring occasionally).
7. Turn off heat, then sprinkle grated parmesan cheese liberally over the pot of pasta.
8. Then, sprinkle shredded mozzarella on top of that.
9. Put cover on pot and let the cheese melt.
10. Let cool slightly before serving.

Cheeseburger Pot Pie

This is a recent addition to my arsenal of go-to recipes.  If I’m being honest, some of the pickier eaters in my household (primarily my husband 😉 ) are still not completely sold on the recipe, but I sure liked it!  I may have to try making it without the tomatoes and pickles and see what they think.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef, browned
• 3 pickles, chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 can (15oz) can diced tomatoes, well drained
• 2 tablespoons spicy mustard
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 store-bought pie crust (or homemade if you’re more domestic than me!)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray a 9-inch glass pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. (Sidenote: One of my favorite garage sale finds EVER were these Anchor Hocking pie plates that I found for like a dollar each!  They are nice and deep, have decorative ridges (to show how fancy you are!), and have handles. What more could you ask for in a pie plate?)
3. Add a tablespoon of oil to a skillet.  Add chopped onion and cook until onions are translucent (I like to cook the onions first before I add the ground beef, just to make sure that they are not crunchy in my recipe – I don’t want my kids to be able to detect them!)
4. Then, add the ground beef to the skillet and cook until browned.  Then drain.
5. Turn off the heat, and mix together the browned ground beef, pickles, diced tomatoes, mustard and ketchup in the skillet.

6. Transfer the meat mixture into the pie plate.

7. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the meat mixture.

8. Lay the pie crust over the top and press along the edges of the pie plate to seal. Make a few slits in the top of the pie crust for the steam to escape.

9. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the crust begins to turn golden.

10. Let cool slightly before serving.

One-Pot Pizza Penne Pasta

This is really just an adaptation of the One-Pot Chicken Alfredo recipe from above, but with all the goodness of pizza cooked right in! The beauty of the recipe is that you can customize it however want, depending on what your family likes.  If your kids refuse to eat peppers, no problem!  Just leave them out.  Or, instead of the pepperoni, you could substitute Italian sausage, or even chicken!

Ingredients:

• 1 16 oz box Penne noodles (Rotini or Ziti would work great too)
• (2) 14 oz jars store-bought pizza sauce
• 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• About 30 slices of pepperoni, cut in half
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup pizza blend (or mozzarella) cheese

Directions:

1. In a large pot, saute the peppers and onion until tender.
2. Then add the two jars of pizza sauce to the pot.
3. Fill up both of the pizza sauce jars with water and add to the pot.
4. Add the whole box of penne noodles to the pot.  Stir, and bring to a boil over medium heat.
5. Reduce heat, add pepperoni to the pot, and continue simmering 15-20 minutes, or until noodles are tender (stirring occasionally).
6. Turn off heat, then sprinkle grated parmesan cheese liberally over the pot of pasta.
7. Then, sprinkle shredded pizza blend cheese on top of that.
8. Put cover on pot and let the cheese melt.
9. Let cool slightly before serving.

BBQ Chicken and Cornbread Skillet Bake

I’ve always wanted to experiment with cooking in a cast iron skillet, and when I stumbled across this recipe, I decided it was time to take the plunge and buy one (here’s one similar to what I have). The recipe is delicious.  However, now, I have entered into this whole new world cooking with a cast-iron skillet that I feel like I know nothing about.  How am I supposed to clean it? Care for it?  There is so much to learn! If you have secrets about caring for your cast-iron skillet, please share them in the comments!

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb, cut into bite sized pieces)
• 1-2 tablespoons cooking oil (Olive oil is probably best, but I always have canola oil, so I just use that)
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 6 carrot sticks, peeled and chopped
• 1 bottle BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray’s is my family’s favorite)
• Cornbread mix (like Jiffy or Krusteaz)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, saute the onion and carrot in the cooking oil until onions are translucent, over medium heat.  
3. Then, add chicken pieces and cook until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Reduce the heat, stir in the BBQ sauce, and let simmer for 5-7 minutes.
5. In a mixing bowl, prepare the cornbread mixture as directed on the package.
6. Pour the cornbread batter over the top of the chicken in the skillet and let cook for about 2 minutes, or until the cornbread batter begins to set along the edges of the skillet (do not stir).
7. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes until the cornbread has baked through and is golden on top.
8. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven (the handle will be very hot!).
9. Let cool slightly before serving.