Teriyaki Chicken

3-4 Chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" strips
1 onion, chopped
2-3 (more or less, depending on your taste) cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs. (or so) Sesame seed oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
Cooked Rice

Heat oil in a large skillet and add onion and garlic, sauteing for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken and cook through. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine the soy sauce and brown sugar and heat until boiling. Add soy sauce mixture to chicken mixture and mix to coat chicken completely. Let simmer for a few minutes. Serve over rice with steamed veggies and soy sauce on the side.

Tacos

1 lb. Ground Beef
1 package taco seasoning
Flour or corn tortillas

Toppings:
lettuce
cheddar cheese
chopped tomatoes
salsa
black beans
sour cream

Brown beef; drain. Add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Scoop onto tortillas and add toppings as desired.

Tip: We like to fry our tortillas in hot oil until they are crispy - works with flour and corn!

Shepherd's Pie

1 lb. ground beef
2 cans vegetable soup
1 can green beans, drained
4 servings mashed potatoes (real or instant)
Cheddar cheese

Brown the beef; drain. Add the vegetable soup without the water and heat through. Pour into a casserole dish. Top with the green beans. Spread the mashed potatoes on top and top with cheese. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Pan-Cooked Pork Chops

Butter
Pork Chops
Salt and Pepper to taste

Melt a little bit of butter in the bottom of a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Pork Chops and brown each side, adding salt and pepper to taste. When they are brown, turn down the heat to medium-low, cover, and let the pork chops cook through, turning occasionally. Depending on the thickness of your pork chops, this should take about 10 minutes. Be careful not to cook too long, or the meat gets tough.

Sides: green beans, mashed potatoes & gravy, garlic mashed potatoes

Pretzel Jello Salad

2 cups crushed pretzels
3 Tbs + 1 cup sugar, divided
3/4 cup butter, melted
8 oz. cream cheese
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
1 container Cool Whip
2 small boxes raspberry Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
1 package frozen raspberries or 2 cups fresh raspberries

Mix the crushed pretzels with the 3 Tbs. sugar and the butter. Press into the bottom of a 9x13" pan and bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.

Mix the cream cheese with the 1 cup sugar. Add the drained crushed pineapple. Stir in the container of Cool Whip. Spread on the crust and let chill for about 1 hour or until set.

Mix the raspberry Jell-O with the boiling water until dissolved. Add the frozen or fresh raspberries. Let cool, then pour over the cream cheese later. Chill until set.

Note: You can also use strawberry Jello-O and frozen or fresh strawberries instead of the raspberry.

Swedish Meatballs

Buy a McCormick Swedish Meatball seasoning mix from the grocery store and follow the instructions on the back of the package. Our favorite is to serve it over rice with peas and blueberry muffins as sides. Easy as that!!

Chicken Parmesan

1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 chicken cutlets
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup thick tomato sauce
4 thin slices mozzeralla

Mix bread crumbs and parmesan cheese on a plate. In a shallow bowl, whisk egg with one teaspoon cold water. Coat each cutlet in egg mixture and then in bread crumbs. In a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Brown chicken until golden brown, about 2 minutes a side. Pour tomato sauce over chicken in skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer covered, occasionally spooning sauce over chicken, about 10 minutes. Arrange mozzerella over chicken; cooked covered, until cheese melts. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

Makes 2 servings.

Note: I love to serve this with fetticini alfredo (I just cook spaghetti noodles and mix them with bottled alfredo sauce). So good!! Also, you can use spaghetti sauce in place of the tomato sauce, if desired.