Easiest "American"Meals Possible Please

Here's one that's not too healthy (sorry about that), but is super easy and is also super tasty. Heat about 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk or half and half. Cut Velveeta (yeah, you heard me, Velveeta) into chunks and melt into the milk so it's nice and creamy. Mix in cooked pasta like rotini or macaroni. Voila, the best mac and cheese you'll ever eat, I'm actually not kidding here. My kids BEG me for this, I've had grown-ups beg me for this, but I haven't made it in ages. Last time, I threw in green peas and chicken and served cut up bell peppers, carrots, and apples on the side. I really try to balance out a meal, thus all those veggies (which, luckily, my kids do love). Happy cooking!

This is my easy fall back recipe when I'm short on time or options and everyone loves it: Chili Mac: Make 2 boxes of mac and cheese, add 2 cans of chili, heat and serve! I serve with salad and sometimes canned biscuits. Most of the time just the chili mac! Good luck!

Shepards pie: brown 1 lb ground beef. Stir in 1 can tomato soup and 1 can veggies ( I do 1/2 corn 1/2 green beans),put in deep pie pan and top with mashed potatoes (instant are good). Top with shredded cheddar and bake at 350• for 25-30 min. Farmers casserole: 3 cup shredded hashbrowns in greased 2qt pan, top with diced ham, shredded cheddar and chopped green onion (if u like). Mix together 4 eggs and 1 1/2 cups milk (salt and pepper to taste). Pour over hashbrown/ham/cheese/onion and bake at 350• 45 min (although my oven takes about 15 min more)...

Tater tot tacos - Bake tater tots according to package directions. Brown meat (or turkey) and add taco seasoning or salsa. Spoon on top of tater tots and top with cheese. (I add a whole bunch of veggies at the meat step - you can decide which you like, but you can add just about anything).

Pizza fries - bake french fries according to package directions. Top with tomato sauce and mozz. cheese, bake again until cheese is melted. It's extra yummy (and healthier) if you use sweet potato fries.

Baked french toast - scramble about 6 eggs and add about 1.5 cups of milk. Spray a 9X11 pan with nonstick spray. Place cinnamon-raisin bread in the pan (preferably thick sliced) and top with egg mixture. Refrigerate overnight, let sit at room temp for an hour before baking at 350 for about 45 minutes. I serve with sliced sauteed apples, but you could do a raw fruit salad.

You can make any sandwich seem fancier by putting it in a flour tortilla, folding it up like a burrito, and grilling it.

Happy dining!

My mom made these when we were kids. My kids love them too! Super easy!

Porcupine Meatballs

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound lean ground beef
2/3 cup long-grain rice, uncooked
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 large can (15 ounces) tomato sauce (or tomato soup)
1 cup water

Mix ground beef with rice, 1/2 cup of water, chopped onion, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Shape porcupine ground beef mixture by tablespoon into 1 1/2-inch balls.
Place the porcupine meatballs in an ungreased 2-quart shallow baking dish. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the porcupine meatballs. Cover and bake at 350° F. oven for about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer.
Porcupine meatballs serve 4 to 6.

You can also use the same ground beef/rice mixture to make stuffed bell peppers. With that you have meat, rice AND a vegetable. You can also roll the mixture in cabbage leaves, secure with toothpicks, pour the sauce over and bake. We like a little grated parmesan sprinkled on all the above.
Fortunately, I don't have any picky eaters so everyone likes these things.

Get two boxes of fettucine noodle mix. (The kind that has everything in the box except for adding milk and some butter). Prepare according to package directions.
Add a can or two,. depending on size, of chunk style chicken, some chopped black olives and put in a casserole or baking dish. Top with seasoned bread crumbs and some shredded cheese. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted.

I can't wait to see all the ideas you get.
I don't hate cooking, I just hate coming up with different things all the time.

Best wishes!

Not the healthiest as far as sodium levels, but this is super easy and really tasty. A college (and Friday night) favorite.

Chicken and rice:

3/4 stick of margarine
1 small box instant rice
2 cans of French Onion soup
1 larger cans of canned chunk chicken

Melt margarine in a large nonstick skillet, turn heat up to medium high, add rice and stir to coat rice in margarine (about 3 minutes)

Add soup and chicken, stir to combine, cover with lid, reduce heat to low, cook for 10 -15 minutes with occasional stir. Serve.

UPDATED:
We also make Porcupine Meatballs and use a different recipe (maybe easier?) Makes about 20 decent sized meatballs. Depending on what else is being served, an adult can eat between 3-6 of them. We use them for appetizers and potluck meals. They freeze up really well!!!

1 pound hamburger (or 1 1/2 pounds if sausage is omitted)
1/4 - 1/2 pound of ground sausage (we use italian)
1 box of CHICKEN Rice A Roni
1 egg

Mix hamburger, sausage, egg, and rice from Rice A Roni box and make into 1 inch meatballs.

In a deep nonstick skillet brown meatballs on medium-high heat.
Then add packet from Rice A Roni box to 2 cups of hot water (what it says on the box) and pour over meatballs in skillet. Heat liquid to almost boil, turn down heat, put lid on and simmer for about 35 - 40 minutes.

If you have any liquid left over, you can make a gravy with it using some flour and extra water. (Remove meatballs and add flour a little at a time, letting flour paste up and cook then gradually add more water.)

Crock pot is my answer. I'm at a point that most of the things I cook is in it.

Here's one of our favorites:
Slow Cooked Pork Chops
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 4 pork chops - approximately 3 pounds
• 1 package onion soup mix
• 1 cup chicken broth
Place pork chops in the slow cooker. In a separate bowl, combine soup mix & chicken broth, stir. Pour over chops. Cook on low heat for six to eight hours.

or Try this one:

Slow Cooker Sour Cream Salsa Chicken
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 package taco seasoning mix
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup light sour cream
Spray the crockpot with cooking spray. Add the chicken breasts. Sprinkle with Taco Seasoning. Top with salsa. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. When ready to serve, remove the chicken from the pot. Place about 2 Tablespoons cornstarch in a small amount of water. Stir well. Stir the cornstarch mixture into salsa sauce. Stir in 1/4 cup of sour cream. Serve in a Tortilla or over chips.

Chicken fettucini:
Canned white meat chicken
Bertolli Fettucini sauce - really good
Penne pasta

Cook pasta, follow directions on Bertolli jar, toss with other ingredients and serve with a bag salad and grocery bread.
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Casserole -
cream of broccoli soup
frozen green beans
cheddar cheese
cooked shredded turkey
cooked rice
frozen PicSweet seasoning blend

Toss everything together, bake in casserole dish sprayed with Pam @ 350 until bubbly
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Creole Pork chops
4 Pork Chops
can of diced tomatoes
PicSweet seasoning blend (yep - I love this stuff - no chopping for me)
Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Tony Sachery's instant roux
Place chops in a baking pan, mix everything else together and pour on top, bake @ 350 until chops are fork tender. Serve with buttered noodles and a veggie
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Also check out bettycrocker.com and allrecipes.com for recipes. At allrecipes you can type in the ingredients you want and it will pop up a ton of recipes to choose from. Campbells also has recipes on their site.

Oh, and I agree - canned tuna is just gross. LOL

My hub and son LOVE piggies in a blanket. I just take Pillsbury crescent rolls, put a hot dog and slice of amercian cheese in each roll, roll em up on a cookie sheet and cook at 350 for 15 min! Wonderful, easy, satisfying!

Get a George Forman grill! You can put chicken, chops, steaks, burgers fish, veggies on it. I LOVE mine! Its quick, easy and minimal clean up! I usually do that and then make some rice/potato on the stove.

This is the simplest recipe I know. Two ingredients.

Buy country style ribs at the meat counter.

[Ask one of the meat workers at the supermarket for help if necessary. Country style ribs are not truly ribs, but they are kind of rib shaped, and boneless. They are a pork product. You will need 2 - 3 ribs per person, less of course for small kids.]

Get two large cans of barbecue flavor baked beans.

If you own a crockpot, put the ribs in, and pour the beans over. If you don't own a crockpot, choose a pot or deep dish that can go into the oven with either a tight lid or heavy duty aluminum foil tightly covering the top.

Cook them in the crockpot for 6 to 8 hours on low. In the oven, bake them at 325 degrees for about 3 hours. No turning, stirring, seasoning, or anything else.

Country style ribs, cans of barbecue flavor beans, in a pot, cook. That's it. They are really delicious. Serve them with cornbread from a mix, or corn muffins from the store. They will kind of fall apart (they're not ribs you eat with your fingers, they're more fork and spoon kind of food) and are good served over the corn bread.

My dd likes this: brown one pound of ground beef. Put it into a casserole dish. Add one pound of either elbow macaroni or small shell macaroni, cooked and drained. Pour over one large plastic container of Campbell's tomato juice (not sauce, juice). The 48 ounce size. Stir and heat through in the oven until it's hot. You can brown the beef in the casserole dish, then remove it and put it into a small dish and cook the macaroni in the same casserole dish. Put the meat back in and mix the whole thing in the casserole dish.

Look at Krafts website. I think it's kraftfoods.com. They have tons of really simple recipes. Most only require a few ingredients and are cooked in one pot.

You should also look into a slow cooker. They are AMAZING and take little to no prep.

Put 4-6 porkchops (bone-in or boneless) in a greased baking pan. I always line mine with foil and then spray it with cooking spray. Mix up a box of Stove Top stuffing according to the directions. Top the porkchops with the stuffing. Add 1/4 cup water to the bottom of the pan. Bake at 400 for one hour. The stuffing does get pretty crunchy on top.

Ziti and meatballs - buy a package of frozen meatballs and heat, a jar of your favorite sauce (or just use a can of crushed tomatoes and add your own seasoning), pour over meatballs. Cook ziti per package instructions

Hamburger and french fries - Ground meat, season to your liking, or just add a package of onion soup mix, form into patties, (you can buy the already made patties and season yourself). Use 1/4 to 1/3 lb per burger. Fry, grill or broil. Package of frozen french fries, heat in the oven per package directions.

Meatloaf - 1-1/2 to 2 lbs ground beef (you can also add ground pork), 1 egg, worchester sauce about a 2 tablespoons, handfull of breadcrumbs, about 3/4 cup milk, seasonings. Mix in alarge bowl and form into a loaf. Bake on 350 for about 45 minutes.

Tacos - 1 lb ground beef, brown and add a taco seasoning packet. I like to add a chopped onion and cook with the ground beef. If you like black beans you can add a can. Rinse the black beans first. Cut up lettuce, shreadded cheese, cut up black olives, cut up tomatoes. Serve on taco shells or flour tortillias.

Pork Roast - Boneless pork loin - 2lbs (you don't need to buy the expensive tenderloin). Cover with seasoning - whatever you like, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper. I use a glass baking dish. Add a little water to the bottom of the dish. Bake at 350 for about an hour - don't overcook or it will be dry.

Stir fry - use whatever type of meat you prefer - I like using boneless chicken breast and cut into small chucks or strips. Add some vegetable oil to a heavy duty skillet and brown on high heat (you can use olive oil, but it doesn't work well with the high heat). Remove meat once it's browned. It doesn't need to be fully cooked. Add a little more oil, and cook whatever chopped veggies you like until tender - (onions, carrots, brocolli). Frozen veggies also work well. Add the meat back to the pan and reduce heat to low. You can also add a can or water chestnuts, bean sprouts, or bamboo shoots. Mix and add about a 1/2 cup of water and a few splashes of soy sauce. Heat for about 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

Side dishes -
Baked potaotes - scrub the outside well and bake in the oven about 45 minutes.

Flavored rice (Lipton sides) - follow instructions on the box (I never add the butter or margarine) - use a glass cassorole dish in the microwave to cut down on dishes

Frozen veggies - fresh is much better, but frozen is so easy. Put desired amount into a bowl that can go into a microwave. Add a tablespoon or two of water, microwave on high about 4 minutes. When done add some butter and seasoning if you wish.

Tator Tot Casserole

Brown ground beef. Add onions and whatever spices desired (I usually add salt, pepper, marjoram, & thyme). Spray casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Put the browned meat in the casserole dish. Put tator tots on top. Mix mushroom soup and one soup can of milk. Pour this mixture over the tator tots. Sprinkle with shredded cheese (whatever kind you like). Cover and cook for a couple hours at 350F. You can use cream of cheddar soup or other cream soups instead of mushroom if you prefer. You can also add green beans or other vegetables if your family likes them. Put them between the meat and the tator tots. I have some fussy eaters too so our veggies end up being side dishes.

Crock pot recipes can be quite easy as well. You can google some or pick up a cook book. I sometimes just make it up as I go along. If your family likes really plain food then something as simple as a roast in the crockpot with a little water will do. You can put potatoes and other vegetables in the bottom of the crockpot and then the roast...if they'll eat the veggies. Then you have an all in one meal.

If you like a little spice then put the roast in the crock pot alone. Add water and about1/4 cup vinegar, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, a few spices (I tend to favor salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder in whatever amounts you like), and a Tablespoon or so of sugar. You can also add any of the cream soups to this if you like a creamier roast. Cook the roast in the crockpot all day on low. When you use the cream soups in the crockpot it works better to use water instead of milk. It is also recommended to brown the roast in oil in a fry pan before putting it in the crockpot so that you heat the meat quicker and have less chance of bacteria forming. Another option is to put really hot water over your roast (this also helps heat it up quickly and may take less time than browning.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Ingredients
1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin (I always use a Pork Butt roast, much cheaper)
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer
1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce
8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

Directions
1.Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. (But I've used a 4 lb piece of meat and it still was done in 7 hours) Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns.

Add some cole slaw from the deli counter and maybe some dill pickles and you have a meal!

Here's something easy: BBQ pork chops. Brown the pork chops on each side (2 minutes). Pour your favorite BBQ sauce on them and simmer for 5 additional minutes or until the pork is done. The thinner the chop, the less time it takes to cook. If your chops are really thick, simmer for 10 minutes.

Get premade mac n cheese or mashed pototoes (country crock makes both) that you can heat up in the microwave. Also, pop a steamer bag of your favorite veg in the microwave and voila! Dinner is served.

We eat stir fry once a week. It is fast, inexpensive and easy.

I would recommend buying a rice steamer. They are between $15 and $30.00. Just dump rice and water in and push the button! Or you can cook rice in a pot on the stove or buy the microwave rice.

Buy a couple of bags of stir fry vegetables from the frozen section of the supermarket, unless you want to chop your own. Grab a couple of sauces from the Asian section and you are good to go. We like the House of Tsang brand and use their Bangkok Padang Peanut sauce and Korean Stir Fry sauce. We just let everyone season their own plate with the amounts of sauces they want. Stir-fry veggies in a bit of hot oil in a wok or large pot until they are crisp-tender and serve over rice. You can add cooked beef, shrimp, chicken, tofu etc if you wish.

Also the whole family loves pork chops, and we just cook them on the Foreman Grill. We slice up some garlic cloves and cut into the meat and insert them, season with salt and pepper. Those Idahoan brand mashed potato packets are only about $1 each and are good, and all you have to do is microwave them with some water. Serve pork chops with some of those and a salad.

I myself hate to cook also so loving all of these recipes people are posting thanks for your post:) This is one of the recipes we like to do.

Easy Enchilada's

brown hamburger then drain oil off hamburger add can (or more) of enchilada sauce depending on how much hamburger you fried to make it good and juicy. Then take a bag of corn chips and crush and put on the bottom of a casserole dish pour hamburger/enchilada mix over the crush corn chips then a layer of shredded cheese (whatever kind you like) depending on how cheesy you like it. Put in oven and bake at 375 until cheese is melted. We put sour cream on top of it. My family loves it, could probably ad onions and or a layer of fried means to it to if you'd like.

I'm with you--I HATE cooking--especially after an 8-hour workday, 1-hour commute, and trying to accomodate a picky husband and very clingy 2-year-old!
The most popular (easy) go-to meals in our family are:

1. Hot dogs (can upgrade to smoked sausage or bratwurst), mac n' cheese (add velveeta for thicker cheese), & baked beans (add brown sugar if you like them sweeter).

2. Meatloaf & mashed potatoes. meatloaf: 1-2lb ground beef, mix in 1 egg per pound, add some wet seasoning (bbq sauce, worchishire sauce, or just ketchup), add whatever spices you like (garlic, seasoned salt, pepper, etc), add enough dry mix (bread crumbs or crumbled crackers) to absorb most of the liquid. Form into a ball or loaf, pour lots of ketchup on top, and place in the oven ~350 for 30-45 min. My mashed potatoes almost always come from a box (add garlic and a little extra butter to get them tasting a little more homemade).

3. Hamburger steaks & mashed potatoes. Form groundbeef into hamburger patties, brown them to cook through (should be ~10min), drain the grease, add sliced onions & mushrooms, saute to soften. In a separate pan, mix up 2 packages of brown gravy (see the pkg for directions, just add water, heat, and stir to thicken). Add the gravy to the burgers, onions, and mushrooms. Serve with/over potatoes!

tater tot casserole.

As a child everyone would eat this. From dad to the baby. It's surprisingly tasty and well very American considering the ingredients. Oh and fast as can be.

So first you need a pound of ground beef, sliced American cheese or a brick of Velvetta (or if you want to get more fancy some sort of cheese that melts), Cream of mushroom soup (have two cans on hand), and a bag of tater tots.

Take your big 13 by 9 rectangular pan out.

First you have two options to make it less "wet" and greasy you can precook the hamburger. If not just put it straight in. I pre-cook it but not everyone does.

So layer hamburger, then layer the mushroom soup till the top is coated. Then layer the cheese and finally the tater tots. Put it in the oven and cook according to the cooking directions of the tater tots.

Like i said it takes minutes to make and it's actually really a good meal. Sure alot of people add, peas, carrots, corn... etc to it so it has a veggie and you can. You could add onion to the hamburger... whatever you want. That is just the basic all American recipe. Oh and some replace mashed potatoes for the tater tots and just cook at 350 till golden brown.

My mom always made this meal when we were growing up. I hate pork now so I never make it, but this is the one pork dish I remember LOVING.

Sear pork chops in a deep skillet or electric frying pan. Add potatoes, onions and carrots and two cans of beef consumme, cover and let simmer for 1 hour.

One of our family favorites:
Pepperoni pizza bread:
1 loaf of frozen bread dough, thawed.
butter
pepperoni
mozzerella cheese
dried parsley or pizza seasoning
pizza sauce for dipping.
Roll out the thawed, uncooked dough into a large rectangle. Spread a thin layer of butter over the dough, sprinkle with parsley or pizza seasoning, then cover with a layer of mozzerella. Add pepperoni, if desired, and then roll up the dough into a bread loaf shape. Pinch the ends of the dough together and fold the ends under. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I hope you get some recipes that you absolutely love!