Everyday dinners easy enough to cook every day

The recipes are in alphabetical order.

Aztec Chicken

• 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 sweet green pepper, sliced thin
• 1/2 sweet red pepper, sliced thin
• 1 medium onion, sliced thin
• 2 Tablespoons cumin
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 4 1-ounce slices Provolone or Swiss cheese
• 4 10-inch flour tortillas

Cover each chicken breast in plastic wrap (to avoid splashing) and pound until about 1/4-inch thick. In a frying pan, in olive oil, saute the peppers and onion over medium heat for 10 minutes. Dust the peppers and onions with the cumin and chili powder. Place the vegetable mixture evenly on top of the flattened chicken breasts. Top each with one slice of cheese. Roll up the chicken breasts. Place the rolled chicken breast in the center of the tortilla and roll it up, tucking in both ends, burrito-style. Wrap each in tinfoil. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Serves 4.

I found this recipe in The Blue Plate Diner Cookbook. I didn't have 10-inch tortillas on hand, so I used 6-inch, which worked well. The foil held the cheese, peppers and chicken inside. The foil was easy to unwrap and the chicken looked like a delicious soft taco instead of a burrito. I imagine it tasted just as good, too.

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Barbecued Lemon Chicken

• 1 broiler-fryer chicken, halved or cut-up
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (I use lemon concentrate)
• 1/2 Tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon sweet basil
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Place chicken in a shallow glass pan. Combine all other ingredients in a jar. Shake well to blend. Pour over chicken; cover tightly and marinate 6 to 8 hours or overnight, turning chicken occasionally.

Remove to room temperature about 1 hour before ready to grill. Place chicken on grill skin side up, brush with marinade often. Cook 20 to 25 minutes. Turn chicken and repeat brushing until chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes longer. (If your fire is very hot, the chicken will cook faster of course, but runs the risk of not being as moist.)

If you broil the chicken inside instead of grilling it, place the chicken 8 inches from the broiler heat.

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Chicken Alfred

This chicken dish is easy and delicious. I commonly serve it to company because it looks elegant and requires no last-minute fussing in the kitchen. It tastes best when the chicken has marinated in the 'fridge the night before cooking.

• 1 chicken, cut-up
• 1/4 pound butter (1 stick)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 heaping Tablespoon minced parsley
• 1/2 cup good, dry sherry (taste it, if you wouldn't drink it, don't put it on the chicken)
• Salt and pepper
• chopped parsley garnish

Brown the chicken in the butter, getting it partially cooked. Place in a wide, oven-proof casserole dish.

Simmer the vegetables, spices, and sherry (You can substitute white wine or vermouth if you wish) for 10 minutes. (Don't boil it.) Then pour the mixture over the chicken. You can bake it covered immediately at 325 degrees for 1 hour, or you can let it sit several hours or overnight in the 'fridge. If you've had it refrigerated, either let it warm to room temperature before putting it in the oven, or increase the cooking time 15 minutes.

Serve with rice and generously spoon the chicken juices over the rice and meat.

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Goat Shepherd's Pie

(Can substitute ground beef for goat)

• 1 pound of ground goat meat
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• About a 1/2 cup of beef broth (dissolved bouillon)
• 2 cups of stuffing, prepared according to package directions, or as you normally make to accompany a turkey

Make the stuffing and set aside. Brown the goat meat in a skillet. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, salt and pepper, parsley, (and any other seasoning you enjoy). When the veggies are mostly cooked, add enough beef broth so that the mixture is wet, but not soupy.

Place the meat mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish. Top it with the stuffing and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

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Pork Chops and Green Beans

Where this one came from I have no idea, maybe your mother.

• 4 - 8 pork chops, bone in or out - doesn't really matter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 14.5 ounce cans of French style green beans, drained. (Do they have to be French? Of course not, but I like them.)
• 1 can (10.75 ounces) cream of celery soup. Cream of mushroom soup tastes good too.
• 1/4 soup can of milk (Do the math and that comes out to be 2.6875 ounces. Did my mom ever measure out the milk? Not on your life.)
• A couple of dashes of thyme. (Which translates into approximately a teaspoon +.)
• A couple of dashes of soy sauce. (Call it nearly a Tablespoon.)

You can leave the chops whole or cut the meat into bite-size pieces if you're taking them to a pot-luck or an eat-on-your-lap dinner. Salt and pepper the chops and brown them in skillet on medium heat.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray or wipe it with olive oil. Dump in the drained green beans.

After browning, remove the chops and turn the skillet heat down to low. Pour in the can of soup and the quarter can of milk. Then add the dashes of thyme and soy sauce. Stir until well blended and saucy.

Pour sauce over beans and mix. If you cut the pork in pieces, stir them into the bean mixture. If the chops are whole, lay them on top of the bean mixture.

Cover the casserole dish. Put it into a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Then uncover the dish, and cook for 15 minutes more.

This would be easy to put in a crock-pot for schlepping around.

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Sauerkraut Pork Chops

This recipe comes from the cookbook, Foods That Made Wisconsin Famous, by Richard J. Baumann.

• 1/4 pound bacon (hickory smoked recommended)
• 6 loin pork chops about 1 inch thick
• 2 pounds sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
• 1 jar (15 ounces) chunky applesauce (regular is OK, but chunky is preferred)
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 cup dry white wine (or champagne)
• Dash pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Dice bacon and saute until crisp; drain on absorbent paper. Saute pork chops separately until golden brown on both sides. Mix diced bacon, sauerkraut, applesauce, brown sugar, dry mustard, wine, and pepper. Place 1/2 of the sauerkraut mixture in bottom of shallow 9x12 -inch casserole. Place pork chops on top of mixture and cover chops with remaining sauerkraut mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

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Spaghetti and Italian Sausage Pie

This recipe comes from Donna Weihofen R.D.'s book Mom's Updated Quick Meals Recipe Box. She writes, "Use a jar of spaghetti sauce and create a dish of your own. This recipe works well, and part of the secret is the eggs, which hold the sauce and spaghetti noodles together. It is a good make-ahead meal."

• 1 Tablespoon dry bread crumbs
• 4 ounces spaghetti, broken in half
• 1/2 pound low-fat bulk Italian sausage
• 2 cups spaghetti sauce
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup shredded fresh Parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch pie pan. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. In a large saucepan, cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside. In a small skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until brown and thoroughly cooked. Drain and discard any fat. Crumble meat. In a large bowl, combine meat, reserved cooked spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, eggs, and 1/2 cup of cheese. Stir to mix. Spoon into bread crumb-coated pan. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until middle is set and top is brown. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before cutting. Serves 4.