The Working Mom's Cooking Guide: Rotate Your Favorites

Here are some of my family's favorites that I make on a regular basis. Notice how many of them have "Easy" in the title!

Easy Taco Bake

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 1 can (10-3/4 oz) Cambell's Condensed Tomato Soup
• 1 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup milk
• 6-8 tortillas cut into approx. 1-inch pieces (I use whole wheat)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (can use reduced fat or fat-free)

1. Brown meat and drain any fat. Put into 2-quart baking dish.
2. Add the soup, salsa, milk, tortillas and HALF the cheese. Mix well. COVER.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. (I'll often add extra salsa or other toppings at this point)

Easy Cheesy Turkey Burritos

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 packet burrito seasoning
• 1 can refried beans
• 1 can of corn (or, better yet, corn salsa)
• 1 10-count package of tortillas
• Shredded low-fat cheese (I like the Mexican blend)
• Salsa

1. Brown the turkey and add the seasoning according to directions.
2. On the stovetop, add the refried beans and corn. Blend and heat until warm.
3. Spoon the mixture into a tortilla with a bit of shredded cheese and wrap. Should make 10 big burritos (leftovers are great re-heated in the microwave at work for lunch the next day).
4. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Serve with salsa and enjoy!

Pizza Casserole

• 1 lb box of your favorite noodles (spiral works the best). I use organic whole wheat noodles.
• 2 jars of pizza sauce
• 1 package of pepperoni. I use turkey pepperoni. Healthier and no one will know the difference.
• 1 packs of mozzarella cheese (can be low fat)
• Any other pizza toppings you care to add (we usually do mushrooms and black olives)

1. Cook noodles according to package.
2. Layer 1/2 of the noodles in the bottom of the dish, cover with 1 jar of pizza sauce. Make sure to coat noodles thoroughly.
3. Add pepperoni (and other toppings) as desired.
4. Sprinkle on 1 pkg of cheese.
5. Repeat layering process for a 2nd layer.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Easy Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff

• 1 lb frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 can fat-free cream of mushroom soup
• 16 ounces fat free sour cream
• 1 envelope dry onion soup mix

1. Put frozen chicken in bottom of crockpot.
2. Mix soup, sour cream and onion soup mix. Pour over chicken.
3. Cook on low for seven or more hours.
4. Serve over rice or noodles.

Crockpot Beef and Potato Soup

• 4 cups water
• 1 16-oz bag frozen, Southern style hash browns
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound eye of round beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 4-ounce cans mushrooms stems and pieces, NOT drained
• 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1 16-ounce jar chunky salsa
• I also added 1-2 tbsp of cooking sherry

1. Spray crockpot with nonfat cooking spray.
2. Put everything into the crockpot and stir until well mixed.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours. Low in fat!

D's Easy Salsa Chicken (Crockpot)

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen
• 1 big jar of chunky salsa

1. Put frozen chicken breasts in crockpot and cover with salsa.
2. Cook on low all day (8 hours or so).
   
3. Serve with tortillas, cheese, sour cream if desired. (I will often shred them and mix them with low-fat cream cheese to make enchiladas.)

Don't let its simplicity fool you--it's delicious!