For the potatoes,

Slice 3 big white potatoes and one medium onion about a quarter inch thick, use some of the back fat and heat in a cast iron skillet, add half the potatoes, then the whole onion (you can add salt and pepper here) then the rest of the onions. Cook until bottom layer has a nice crust. You’ll slowly flip sections until you have the crust side up. Add a little water (tbsp or so) and put a lid on them. Cook until tender.

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Bake potatos whenever – let cool
Cut in half and scrape out insides into mixer bowl
Add greek or plain yogurt or sour cream
milk
salt and pepper
garlic salt
any cheese you have lying around
and mix until creamy

Scoop mixture back into potatos and bake until lightly browned on top

http://biggyziggy.blogspot.com/2009/02/our-favorite-food.html

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http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Beef-and-Parmesan-Pasta/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Delicious-Ham-and-Potato-Soup/Detail.aspx

It’s homemade comfort food. I often make it without the ham (i.e. cheap too) or I sprinkle a bit of crispy bacon on top. Once I added mashed potato flakes which made the soup creamier. My kids begged me to make it again that way.

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Sephardic Fish

1 teaspoon cumin
¼ cup olive oil
2 15 oz cans stewed tomatoes (ok to use Italian seasoned or even diced)
2 Tablespoons drained capers (or not if you don’t like – you couldn technically puree these with the tomatoes so they are not seen)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons packed golden raisins (optional)
2 lbs tilapia, hake or halibut filets cut to portion size

Salt and pepper

In a very large skillet (12 inches at least), heat oil over medium heat. Add cumin and stir until fragrant, about a minute. Stir in tomatoes, capers, cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper, and simmer uncovered until thickened, about 10 minutes. Rinse and pat fish dry. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cover skillet and cook until fish is cooked through, about 7-10 minutes.

Teriyaki Chicken Skewers (everything is more fun on a stick for kids)
Just skewer the chicken – throw in the fridge with Teriyaki sauce to marinate (I like Yoshida’s original sauce). Once it’s done marinating either throw on the grill, oven, or in a frying pan. When the chicken is just about cooked all the way through brush the chicken with a bit more teriyaki sauce. Serve over rice and steamed broccoli – not super labor intensive and if you skewer the chicken during naptime it’s pretty no fuss at night.

Other favorites include tortellini lasagna – the great tastes of lasagna, but without the fuss. Just layer tomato sauce, cheese tortellini or ravioli, chopped up Italian Sausage, and mozzarella cheese a couple times in a crockpot. Let it meld together throughout the day. Serve with toast or garlic bread if you have it around.

I also really like hearty salads. It’s a good way to get your kids to add in some extra fruits and vegetables on their plate. Cook up some taco meat or some sweetened pork (try this recipe – http://favfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/09/cafe-rio-sweet-pork.html). All of the meat and typical taco toppings on a salad blend hot and cold and several textures to be interesting. An extra treat is a little melted cheese on a toasted tortilla at the bottom.

Another fun idea are Hawaiian haystacks or chicken pillows. Hawaiian haystacks are fun because you can choose your toppings. Chicken pillows are fun because they can largely be paired with anything and the smaller sizes make it easier for kids to dip in gravy or sauce.

Chicken Parmesan – I darken some chicken on the stove and then bread in Italian bread crumbs (egg wash straight into the crumbs) and then place in a pan lines with tin foil, pour tomato sauce on top of all of the pieces and then tent the pan with foil to keep the moisture in. Bake for an hour at 375(more if you have larger pieces or more pieces in the pan). With about 5-10 minutes to go I sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on top to melt over all of the pieces. This is great with pasta and a quick clean up because of the foil. I do this on quiet nights with just me home and I make a tin foil pocket and bake for less time – very moist chicken and infused with all of that great tomato flavor.

We’ve done quesadilla nights or baked potatoe nights at my house as well. We would bake all of the potatoes and have all of the toppings and options to go on the potatoe based on your liking on a lazy susan in the middle of the table. For quesadillas we would have a couple different types of meat, guacamole, cheese, tomatoes, pico de gallo, garlic, onions, peppers, and hot sauce. With a griddle it doesn’t take too long to get a personalized quesadilla. If you want to speed up the cooking time or the time in between each quesadilla – make up a couple cheese quesadillas and cut them down to kid size portions. Each kid can add in a few toppings that they want and either pop it in the oven for a minute to meld the ingredients together or just make sure the ingredients are at the proper temperature when you put them on the table.

Good Luck!

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