Common Cuisine |

For this dish, you can substitute any vegetables you have that you want to use up. You can use any cream soup you have on hand instead of the broccoli; or you can use broccoli cheese soup for a cheesier flavor.

• 2 T olive oil
• 1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
• 2 cups frozen cut up broccoli
• ¾ cup sliced carrots, either 2 regular or a handful of baby carrots
• 1 cup milk
• 1 can condensed cream of broccoli soup
• 1 ¼ cups uncooked quick-cooking rice

In large skillet over medium-high heat, cook chicken in oil until no longer pink. Remove from skillet.

Add vegetables and cook until they turn bright colors and just begin to get soft (still crunchy).

Stir in soup and milk. Return chicken to skillet and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Add rice. Cover; remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes while you set the table, then fluff just before serving.

Serves 4 as a main dish.

The secret to having fabulous pot pie is to use tasty cooked chicken. Dawn likes to season and roast a whole chicken for this recipe, or pan-fry two or three chicken breasts with garlic, lemon pepper, and poultry seasoning until golden.

• 1 cup each, chopped: onion, celery, carrots
• ½ cup peas
• 1/3 cup butter
• ½ cup flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 1½ tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 4 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 prepared pie crust

Saute onion, celery and carrots in butter for 10 minutes. Add flour to mixture, stirring well; cook one minute, stirring constantly.

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine broth and milk; gradually stir into vegetable mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Stir in poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Add chicken and peas, stirring well.

Pour chicken mixture into greased shallow 2 qt casserole. Top with pastry, and slit with a few air vents. Bake for 40 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Serves 6.

• 9-10 lasagna noodles
• 1 lb ground beef or sausage
• 1 onion, chopped (optional)
• 1 small can sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 16 oz ricotta cheese
• 8 oz shredded mozzarella
• 1 egg
• 2 T parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Fill a large pot or pan with water and heat to below boiling. Turn off burner. Allow noodles to soak in this water while you prepare the beef mixture.

Brown ground beef in skillet. If desired, start onions first then add ground beef after 5 minutes. Drain. Add mushrooms, if desired. Pour spaghetti sauce over all and stir. Turn off burner.

Meanwhile, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella and egg in a medium bowl.

Layer the three elements in a 6″ x 10″ glass baking dish. Begin with ¼ cup of beef mixture in the bottom. Then layer 1/3 of the noodles, 1/3 remaining beef mixture, and 1/3 cheese mixture. Repeat process two more times. When finished, top with parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the cheese and noodles are bubbling all the way to the center of the dish. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Makes 6 servings.

There is no shame in using Ramen noodles to jump-start your evening meal. Nutrition is another matter, but you be the judge of whether nutrition or survival is your highest value at the moment. 1 lb chicken or beef, cut into small pieces 2 Tbsp oil 1/4 cup diced onions (or 1/2 small) 2 cups cut up vegetables, such as red or green pepper, mushrooms, carrots, and/or broccoli 2 packets Ramen Soup (chicken or beef flavor, or oriental, or whatever you want) 2 cups water In large saucepan or wok, stir fry chicken or beef with onions until meat is cooked and onions are translucent. Remove from dish. Put cut-up vegetables in pan and stir-fry for a few minutes until slightly limp. Return meat to pan. Break up noodle packets and add to pan. Combine seasoning packets with water and pour over all. Simmer 5-10 minutes until noodles are soft. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 1 cup salsa
• ½ C milk
• 6-8 fresh tortillas, cut into 1″ pieces, or ½ pkg tortilla chips
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400. In skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef until browned, stirring to crumble meat. Pour off fat.

Add soup, salsa, milk, tortillas and half the cheese. Spoon into 2 qt shallow baking dish. Cover.

Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Serves 4.

I was amazed to find that this ordinary dish from my childhood went over so big with my own kids. And it is so easy!

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cans french style green beans, drained
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 package frozen tater tots

Preheat oven to 350. Brown ground beef and onion together in skillet. Drain off fat. Place mixture in a layer in bottom of 13″ x 9″ baking dish.

Layer green beans on top of beef mixture. Stir together soups and layer on top of green beans. Arrange tater tots in layer on top of all.

Bake 30-45 minutes.

Serve 4-6 with salad and a loaf of crusty bread.

Here I have turned classic enchiladas into a layered dish, thereby relaxing the need for an exact count of how many enchiladas each person might want. This is one of those dishes I never make just a single recipe of. Either I make two and freeze one, or I double or triple the recipe for a crowd.

• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce
• 8 tortillas
• 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
• ½ tomato, chopped
• 8 black olives, sliced (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.

In medium bowl, combine sour cream, cheese, and green onions. Pour enchilada sauce into a shallow dish. Cut tortillas into quarters.

Dip one-third of wedges into enchilada sauce, and layer in bottom of 2 qt casserole dish. Layer one-third of chicken on top of tortillas. Layer one-third of sour cream-cheese mixture on top of chicken.

Repeat layers two more times. Pour remainder of enchilada sauce on top. Top with chopped tomatoes and olives. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly in middle.

Serves 4-6.