For my friends who’ve asked for recipes lately, these are some of my super easy things I love to make and my kids love to eat.

Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
½ cup dry breadcrumbs
¼ cup milk
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp pepper
1 small chopped onion
1 egg

Mix all ingredients and form
balls. Bake at 400 for about
15-20 minutes or until browned.
These freeze well, double or triple depending on how many hungry kids you have!

*Note* I serve these three ways, with BBQ sauce over rice, with sweet and sour sauce over rice and with spaghetti sauce over noodles.

Tina’s Taco Soup

1 pound ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 chopped onion
1-28 oz can V-8 juice
2 cans beans (any kind)
1 can corn
1 small can chopped olives
Small can diced green chilies
Tabasco sauce (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)

1. Brown ground beef, taco seasoning and onion – drain fat
2. Add everything else
3. Simmer for 20 minutes then serve
4. Top with sour cream, chips or cheese if desired
(I double this and freeze half)

Sesame Noodles (Rachel Ray)

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 T tahini
2 T sesame oil
2 pinches cayenne pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
1 inch gingeroot, grated (or 2 pinches ground ginger)
1 pound angel hair pasta (I use whole wheat)
3 green onions, sliced
1 large carrot grated or chopped

Combine soy sauce, tahini, sesame oil, cayenne, garlic and gingeroot in a bowl. Whisk till smooth. Drain cooked pasta, run under cold water to chill. Drain very well.

Toss noodles with dressing then add veggies and transfer to serving dish, garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and/or red pepper flakes.

*Note* I sometimes add shredded, roasted chicken breast if I have some leftover.

Kristin’s Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups flour (freshly ground if possible, or whole wheat pastry flour is 2nd best)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt

2/3 cup combined fat (butter and/or oil)
3/4 cup liquid sweetener (honey and/or maple syrup)
2 eggs
1-2 tsp vanilla
2 cups oats (or other flaked grain or a combination)
1 cup raisins (or chocolate chips!)
nuts optional

I just mix all the dry separately (including oats & raisins), then mix the liquid ingredients including fat, then mix them all together. Cook 8-12 minutes @ 350. This dough freezes well…if you can manage not to eat it all.

Berry Cobbler
(I make this all summer with whatever fresh berries we have)

4 cups fresh berries (can use frozen)
½-¾ cup sugar depending on sweetness of berries
3 T cornstarch (more if needed to thicken)
Mix above ingredients on stovetop for 15 minutes or till starting to thicken

For biscuit topping:
Mix 1 cup flour, 2 T sugar, 1 ½ t baking powder & ¼ t salt
Cut in ¼ cup butter
Combine ¼ cup milk and 1 egg – add to dry mixture

Place berry mix in 8×8 pan, drop spoonfuls of topping onto berries
Bake at 400º for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on top
.