Fuss-Free Main Dishes:

We’ll expand this section in the future, but for now, here are a few of our family's favorite one-dish meals, for days when we need to get dinner on the table—on the double:

King Ranch Chicken

2-3 broiled chicken breasts, sliced thin
1 yellow onion, diced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can yellow hominy
2 dozen soft corn tortillas
1-2 cups grated colby jack cheese

Combine chicken, onion, and canned goods in a large mixing bowl. Tear half the tortillas into small pieces, place in the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Spread half the chicken mixture over this, then top with half the grated cheese. Repeat with another layer of tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Bake in a 350° oven for 25-30 minutes or until cheese bubbles.

Hint: Use any leftovers as a starting point for making tortilla soup (see recipe).

Seven Layer Dip

1 large can refried beans
3-4 ripe avocados (or 1 pkg prepared guacomole)
1 cup sour cream
grated cheddar cheese
1-2 large tomatoes, diced small
4-5 green onions, cut to pieces
1 sm. can sliced ripe olives (optional)

Layer ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish. My guys prefer that I use refried black beans instead of pinto. If they are leftover cooked beans from the frig, I will warm them in the microwave for about 3 minutes before adding any other layers. Serve with totilla chips and/or warm tortillas (we like corn). This is quick and easy, but leftovers don't look very pretty, so I try to make only what we'll eat in one sitting. Anything left gets stirred into a pot of taco soup next day.


Easy Cheese Enchiladas:

cooking spray
corn tortillas
grated cheese (we usually use Colby-jack)
diced onions
1-2 cans of chili

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Stack tortillas in a tortilla warmer after lightly spraying the top of each tortilla with cooking spray. Microwave for 3 minutes. In a 9x13 pan, sprinkle a little cheese and onions on two tortillas at a time, then quickly roll them up to form enchiladas. Be careful, those tortillas are steaming hot! When you’ve rolled as many as your family can eat (we usually make 2 pans full – about 3 dozen), top with chili, sprinkle a little cheese and onion over that, and bake at 350-degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese begins to bubble. Serve with tortilla chips and a salad.


>> MORE RECIPES