Two Easy Cook Recipes That Yield 4.5 meals.

I have a toddler boy, but I love cooking and good food. Enter the world of being creative in meal planning (especially when you buy meat according to whether it is on sale). I've been playing around with a few recipes and flavors for a while (credit to my husband and son for hanging in there), and I finally found a few perfect ones. 

Today, I want to share with you 2 dinners that (drum-roll please) make 4.5 meals (for a family of 2-4. 4 if they are little). They are wonderfully good, mostly healthy, sneak in veggies, EASY to put together and cook quick. 

Our first recipe (pair of recipes) is BBQ Pulled Chicken, and BBQ pulled  chicken salad.

Ingredients/ Preparation for Pulled Chicken:

• About 3 1-lb chicken breasts
• Hickory BBQ Sauce (only about 1 cup)
• Squirt of Chipotle Mustard Spread (Found near the mayo and sandwich spreads)
• Pepper, Salt, Garlic
• Maple syrup ( I use Grade B Organic Maple Syrup found at Whole Foods).

Toss everything into a Crockot and cook on High 4-5 hours, or on low 6-8 hours. Shred Chicken with two forks in a "pulling" motion. Stir, turn down to low, and let sit about 15 minutes. Serve on toasted buns with a light spread of mayo.

Side Dishes/preparation:

• Frozen Corn: (1 1/2 times more than you need for your meal)Cooked, with butter, pepper, creole seasoning, salt)
• Tater Tots (more than you need for your meal.)

Save leftover corn and Tater Tots in the fridge for other recipe.

Leftovers Recipe

1. Dice 1/4 to 1/2 cup of red onion
2. Toss in leftover chicken and corn
3. Add desired amount of mayo, and pepper, mix with fork
4. Serve on desired bread and enjoy.

Our Second pair of recipes is Spinach and Tomato Tortellini and Spinach and Tomato Chicken Bake.

Spinach Tomato Tortellini Ingredients/prep:

• 1 Package of Cheese Tortellini (I use Butoni)
• 1 Jar of Alfredo Sauce 
• 1 can of italian diced tomatoes
• 1/2 package of frozen spinach-thawed (you can re-freeze leftovers)
• salt, pepper Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder- to taste
• 1/2 cup of mozzeralla and a spinkle of parmesean cheeses (fresh parm works too)

Cook Tortellini According to package direction.

Start Sauce with Alfredo and Seasonings first (giving the sauce a chance to liven up). Drain liquid from tomatoes and add one spoonful at a time, stirring after each spoon. Stir in Spinach. Add cheese and stir. Continue stirring over low heat until cheese has melted into sauce. Pour 1/2- 3/4 cup over tortellini and serve with garlic bread (and wine). Save the last 1/2 pot of sauce. 

Spinach and Tomato Baked Chicken Ingredients/ prep:

• 2-3 Chicken Breasts
• Tomato Spinach Alfredo Sauce
• Garlic Powder, pepper, salt.

Pre-heat Oven to 350 Degrees. Rinse Chicken well. Trim off excess fat. Rub garlic powder, pepper, and salt into chicken. Let sit for at least 10 minutes in fridge. Place chicken in baking pan, pour sauce over. Cook covered 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until chicken is no longer pink in the very middle of the largest breast. 

So, what about the tater tots? Glad You asked!

Tater-cakes! (kind of like hash browns).

• Leftover Tater Tots 
• 1 Egg
• Garlic, pepper, salt
• Vegetable oil

1. Smash up cold tater tots until in pieces, add egg and seasoning. Mixture should be thick like a meatloaf mixture. 
2. Heat pan over medium. Add oil to hot pan. (Always add oil to a hot pan). 
3. Fry on each side until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with eggs and fruit.

So there you have it. 2 recipes, 4.5 meals. :) Enjoy your free time.