Random Thursday - Easy Recipe Edition

I am in love with the topic today.  I can be sooooooooooooo lazy with cooking and I can't be bothered with weird ingredients or too many steps, especially on busy nights after school.

I like to eat a lot of chicken and I like anything with Mexican flavors, so I pretty much always keep cheddar cheese, black beans, taco seasonin packets, etc. on hand.  Here is a little list of some of my go to dinners with links from the interwebs.

Ranch Cheddar Chicken - this one is easy and yummy and is one of those rare meals that everyone in the family will eat.  I have used Fiesta Ranch mix before instead of regular ranch and that was yummy too.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta - this is SO YUMMY.  Don't be intimidated by the longest list of ingredients.  It is not hard to make.

This is my go to pasta salad for barbecues or picnics.  We also have it as a main dish quite a bit.  I always leave the olives out BECAUSE OLIVES ARE DISGUSTING!

This isn't a main dish but I posted here about ridiculously easy pumpkin muffins.  I made them last Thanksgiving and people were so impressed and they are really almost embarassingly easy.  

These two recipes are from a cookbook and are also easy go tos.

Fiesta Quesadillas

1 (11 oz) corn with red and green peppers, drained

1 (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles

1 cup fat-free refried beans

8 (8 to 10 inch) fat-free tortillas

1 cup (4 oz) shredded colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend

1. Mix up corn, chiles and refried beans. Spread 1/4 of the mixture on a tortilla. Top with another tortillas

2. So the book tells you to put these on the grill, but I don't have one. It also suggests the broiler. I usually just put it in a frying pan with a little Pam on low heat for about 3-5 mins. I turn it over with a pancake turner and do the other side for about 3 minutes, making sure all the cheese is melted.

3. Cut into wedges and eat. I had mine with tomato soup. I'm a big soup person.

Makes 4 quesadillas (450 calories each).

Nacho Bean Soup

1 (14.5 oz) can ready-to-serve vegetable broth 1 cup of milk 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1 (15.5 oz) can pinto beans, drained, rinsed 2 cups (8 oz) shredded taco flavored cheese blend 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (I didn't have any, so I just used dried) 1 cup broken tortilla or corn chips

1. In large saucepan, combine broth, milk and flour; blend well. Cooke and stire over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.

2. Stir in beans, chiles, cheese and cilantro. Cook 5 mins or until thoroughly heated and cheese melted, stirring constantly. Sprinkle individual servings with tortilla chips.

Makes 3 (1.5 cup) servings.

While it doesn't exactly fall into the "healthy" category (590 calories!) it definitely was easy and delicious. 

Linking up with Lin and the other girls.  Can't wait to some new recipes.