in her cooking frustrations....I thought we could help her,and the folks like her,by posting our favorite-easy and yet DIVINE recipes for her here...at least give a few suggestions to get em going.

Starting with easier things and getting awesome results can be really motivating......

one thing my whole family loves is my chili.....dh was talking about it earlier,so I have practically tasted it all day.....

2 lbs ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
5 small cans tomato sauce
1 (8oz) jar salsa
1packet chili seasonings(like mccormicks)
2 (15oz)kidney beans,drained and rinsed


Over medium heat,cook beef and the onion,til meat is browned.Drain grease, if desired.
Add the ground black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, salsa, chili seasoning mix and kidney beans. Mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least an hour. :happy dance:

WE LOVE THIS STUFF!!!!!!!


we also LOVE (and our having again on labor day)...

1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound sausage
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 slices provolone cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream mixed with 2 stp italian seasonings
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook 8 minutes; drain. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

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I am good with my chili recipe but I never considered adding salsa instead of dices tomatoes. I'm going to try it next time.

Great idea! Thanks

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Oh you're too good to me, but both of those still involve CHOPPING!! Just kidding. I probably am more of the easy recipe sort of girl, but I really want to be ambitious like you Mommy2mercedes...or live next door to you!

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My favorite recipe is this one for corn chowder on Allrecipes.com... I get rave reviews every time I make it, and it's pretty darn easy. My tip is to add some thyme while it's simmering. Heavenly on a chilly night!!

Grandma's Corn Chowder - Allrecipes

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Trust God. Whatever risk there is in doing so, the risk of not trusting in him is far greater. - Spurgeon

here is a good one! we love it in this house, and you could have it as a meal all by itself!

Cowboy Beans

½ lb. bacon
1 lb. hamburger
½ c. diced onion
½ c. ketchup
½ c. brown sugar
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp vinegar
pork n beans, lima beans, kidney beans, butter beans (total of 60 oz.)


Cube bacon and fry. Remove from pan. Brown hamburger and onion. Drain. Combine all ingredients in 2 qt. casserole dish. Bake 45-60 minutes at 350*.

Pampered chef has a hand chopper that works great, you don't have to get anywhere near the blades . A super easy recipe is chicken N rice. It's on the back of the cambell's cream of mushroom soup. You brown your chicken breast mix your soup w/ 2 cups minute rice & 2 C water, put your chicken on top and bake for about 30 minutes at around 350. I am just doing this off the top of my head, so you might want to search Campbells site for exact directions.