How to always have something for dinner

Its still raining, Madds is taking a quick nap and I have dinner marinating in the refrigerator. I want to share a list I found in a magazine a few years ago, along with a few of my favorite recipes that are always a hit in my house. This is going to be long but well worth it!!

So with these 12 go to ingredients and basic herbs and spices in the cabinets you can have 15 different meals.
If you have:
1. olive oil
2. rice
3. parmesan cheese
4. butter
5. onions
6. canned whole tomatoes(or diced)
7. spaghetti
8. chicken
9. cream
10. ground beef
11. carrots
12. chicken broth

You can make:
*Chicken Risotto (1,2,3,4,5,8,12)
*Spaghetti Marinara (1,3,5,6,7)
*Chicken Alfredo (1,3,4,7,8,9)
*Grilled Chicken with Rice (1,2,8)
*Baked Chicken (4,8)
*Black-Pepper Pasta (1,3,7,9)
*Arroz Con Pollo (2,4,5,6,8,12)
*Chili (5,6,10)
*Pasta with Meat Ragout (1,3,6,7,10,11)
*Chicken and Rice Soup (2,5,8,11,12)
*Chicken Stir-Fry (1,2,5,8,11,12)
*Beef Stir-Fry (1,2,5,10,11,12)
*Minestrone Soup (1,5,6,7,11,12)
*Italian Chicken Stew (1,5,6,8,11,12)
Mexican Chicken (1,5,6,8)
Its just that simple, remember we are busy in this day in age and need simple dinners to throw together. keep the ingredients aboved stocked well in your pantry and freezer and you will never be wondering what to make for dinner.
*Tip* I always buy my meat in bulk, and anytime I see meat on sale or managers special I snatch it up. I seperate it into freezer bags with enough for one meal and pull it out as I need it. This does take me about 15 minutes to get everything seperated, but I always have meat available and only buy it once a month(unless there is a sale).

Okay now on too some of my personal favorite meals that we have for dinner. The crockpot is my best friend and I love to use it as much as possible because my kitchen is small and gets hot with the stove on too long.

Roast chicken in the crock pot or oven
-One whole chicken(fresh or thawed)
-Salt
-Pepper
-Garlic
-Poultry Seasoning
-Chicken Seasoning
-Paprika
-2 medium onions(for crockpot recipe only)
1.season chicken with all ingredients inside and out(make sure to be very generous on the inside)
2. if cooking in oven place in roasting pan, dutch oven, roaster rack, whatever you prefer to cook your whole chicken in MAKE SURE IT IS BREAST SIDE UP and BAKE AT 425 DEGREES FOR 1 AND 1/2 HOURS OR UNTIL JUICES RUN CLEAR WHEN POKED
3. If cooking in crock pot cut 2 onions in half to sit chicken on to keep off bottom of pot make sure you can put the lid on without the chicken touching the top and SET ON LOW FOR 8 HOURS, when done take out chicken and let sit for 5-10 minutes before carving.

Baked Ziti
-Ground Beef(1lb)
-1 Medium yellow onion - chopped
-2 cans Diced tomatoes(italian style or basil, garlic, oregano style)
-2 cans tomatoe sauce
-2 cups shredded mozarella(hold 1/2 cup to side for topping)
-5 cups ziti noodles (cooked)

1. Cook beef and onion together until beef is brown; drain well
2. Place beef/onion mixture and all other ingredients(except reserved mozarella) in casserole dish or 13x9 baking dish
3.Top with remaining mozzarella
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
*TIP* I also use this sauce recipe for my spaghetti, so make extra and freeze some for a quick dinner one night!

I will post more recipes later! Madds has woke up and wants her mommy!
Stay calm and mom on!
-Casey G.