5 Easy Home Cooked Meals

Five easy home cooked meals sound like the gold at the end of the rainbow for busy parents who want to prepare nutritious family meals but just do not have the time or energy to put on a gourmet spread every night. These simple, kid-friendly recipes give you the satisfaction of cooking for your family, even at the end of a long day at work. Easy home cooked meals that your kids will like cuts back on the dinnertime battles and lets you focus on strong family relationships and finding out what's going on with your kids when you are not around.

One-Pot Cornbread Chili

Ingredients:

• 3+ Canned Chili, any flavor or style
• Cornbread mix
• Eggs
• Water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour chili into pot. Adjust number of cans you use depending on how many people you are feeding.
3. Pour cornbread mix into bowl. Add eggs and water. Stir well. Spread over chili and place lid on the pot.
4. Bake until chili is heated through and cornbread is golden brown.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 tbsp. dry mustard
• 3 cups milk
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 12 ozs. sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• Fresh black pepper
• 3 tbsp.  butter, melted
• 1 cup bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Fill pot with salted water. Bring to boil and pour in pasta. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Drain. Pour pasta into baking dish.
3. Create a roux by stirring equal amounts of butter and flour over medium heat. Add dry mustard and continue stirring constantly. Whisk in milk, onion, and paprika and simmer for ten minutes. Stir in cheese until mixture is smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour cheese sauce over pasta and mix thoroughly. Combine melted butter and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over top of pasta and cheese.
5. Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove tin foil and broil for a few minutes to toast breadcrumb topping to golden brown.

Pasta Buffet

Ingredients:

• Pasta of choice
• Ready-made pasta sauces: tomato, alfredo, garlic, etc.
• Grated Italian cheeses: parmesan, mozzarella, romano, asiago, fontina
• Sun-dried tomatoes
• Marinated artichoke hearts
• Olives
• Pesto
• Butter
• Garlic
• Diced tomatoes
• Chicken, shrimp, crab
• Any other of your favorite pasta toppings

1. Heat pot of salted water to boiling. Pour in pasta according to the number of people you are feeding. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain.
2. Portion out a helping of pasta on each person's plate. Set out all the toppings and let each person create their own pasta masterpiece. Only rule--you've heard it from your mom so say it with me--take all you want but eat all you take! Or in this case, eat what you make.

Easy Tortilla Soup

            Ingredients:

• 2 cans chicken broth
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 banana pepper, seeded and diced
• 15 1/2 ozs. hominy, drained
• 15 ozs. black beans, rinsed and drained
• 15 ozs. garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can mild chilies
• 30 ozs. Diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 25 ozs. canned white chicken, drained
• 4 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 3 tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil chicken broth in a stockpot. Add rest of the ingredients and stir.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for about 20 minutes
3. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheese.

Honey Dijon Stir Fry

            Ingredients:

• 4 ozs. uncooked spaghetti
• 1 lb. chicken or veal, chopped
• 1 tbsp. corn oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced in thin wedges
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1/4 cup honey dijon barbecue sauce

1. Heat pot of salted water to boiling. Pour in pasta according to the number of people you are feeding. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain.
2. Heat 2 tsp oil in wok. Stir-fry meat until the outer surface is cooked.
3. Add another teaspoon of oil and sauté onions with the meat for two minutes. Add zucchini and stir-fry for three minutes or until crisp tender.
4. Pour barbecue sauce over meat and vegetable mixture. Stir to combine and heat through.