Spanish Rice

This is a great way to stretch a pound of burger. 4 generous servings plus leftovers

1 lb ground beef
1 cup rice
1 onion- chopped
2 cloves garlic- chopped
2-3 (14.5 oz)cans of tomatoes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp garlic salt
pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste

In a skillet brown the beef, onion, and garlic. I dump them all in together and cook the meat until browned and the onions are transparent. Drain any grease. Add rice and tomatoes. The canned tomatoes are whatever was on sale- if they are whole you need to break them up into small pieces. You will need 2 cups of liquid to make the rice cook up, so if the tomatoes look dry, add a can of tomato sauce ( for one of the cans of tomatoes) or water, which ever you have. If you add water, you will need to add more seasonings. I used water last night so I added 1/2 tsp of cumin, 1/4 tsp thyme and 1/2 tsp or so of garlic salt and a nice grind of pepper. I also added 3-4 shots of green Tabasco sauce. Cover and let simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed- about 20 mins.

Chicken Marango

1/3 chicken from chicken and noodles recipe-chopped( about 2 cups)
1 can tomato soup
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/2 large onion chopped
1 small package elbow macaroni
1 clove garlic chopped
butter/oil

Cook noodles according to package directions. While noodles are cooking brown chicken slightly, add onion and garlic and cook until onions are soft. Add soups with just enough water to make a nice sauce. At this point you can add mushroom, veggies, pearl onions, etc. (We like ours as is) I taste for seasoning at this point. Serve over noodles. We also like this over rice.
You can use left over turkey in this recipe.

Quick Chicken Fried Rice

This is one of our favorites! Don't have a wok? Neither do we, a big skillet works just fine.

1/3 chicken from chicken soup recipe, chopped
1/2 large onion chopped
1 cup rice
2 eggs
1 can chicken both (or bullion cube)
1 cup frozen peas
3 cloves garlic ( we love the stuff- but you can adjust to taste)
butter/oil
Soy Sauce

Measure broth and add water to make 2 cups, bring to boil and cook rice per package directions in broth. You can use water and a bullion cube or just plain water is fine too.
While the rice is cooking, brown chicken lightly in butter/oil, add onion and garlic and cook until onions are transparent. Push to side and add more butter if needed (just a little) and scramble eggs in the pan stirring continually to break up into small pieces, add peas and mix with other ingredients in pan. Add cooked rice and fry until all ingredients are combined well and rice slightly browned. Season as desired- we add a couple of good shakes of soy sauce.

Quick chicken cassarole

1/3 cooked chicken from chicken soup recipe, chopped ( you can also use left over turkey)
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 small bag macaroni
1/2 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 can cream of chicken with herbs
oil or butter

Cook noodles according to package directions. While noodles are cooking, brown chicken in skillet in butter/oil. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is transparent or a little brown. Do not brown garlic. Add soup and about 1/4 cup water to thin and broccoli. Cook until broccoli tender. You can adjust the water as needed and season to taste. Drain noodles, add to mixture, stir and serve! I sometimes let folks add the sauce themselves. If you have more time you can make this a little soupier, put cheese on top and bake until the cheese is bubbly.