Last night my mom had mercy on me and cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone because I had a pounding headache. When I realized that she had bought some Granny Smith apples, not even knowing about my crafty little plan to whip this recipe up, I figured it was a sign, so I defrosted the giant pack of pork chops I had in the back of the freezer and went to work.

Pork Chops with Cinnamon Apples and Parsleyed Egg Noodles
~Half Hour~
~4 Servings~

• 4 Boneless Pork Loin Chops
• 1 tsp Poultry Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper
• 1 tBsp Extra Light Olive Oil
• 4 Medium Granny Smith Apples
• 1 tsp Packed Brown Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 tBsp Promise Fat Free Margarine, divided into two equal portions
• 4 cups Cooked Egg Noodles
• 2 tBsp Dried Parsley

1. Combine salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning and sprinkle over chops. (Bring water to a boil for egg noodles and prepare according to the package while completing the following steps if you haven't already cooked them.)
2. Heat oil over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet. Add pork and cook for three to five minutes, or until cooked through. Remove chops from skillet when done and cover to keep warm. (We place ours in the toaster oven under the "Warm" setting to keep them heated.) Drain juices from skillet.
3. Melt 1 tBsp margarine in skillet, keeping heat at medium. Add the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon and cook for five minutes or until apples are tender, stirring often. While cooking, take prepared egg noodles and toss with remaining margarine and parsley.
4. Serve apple mixture over chops, noodles on the side.>

I totally forgot to take anything out for dinner, so tonight's meal is the perfect example of what you can throw together last minute if you just keep a few key pieces in the freezer. I keep the Perfect Portions chicken breasts in the freezer because they thaw under cool running water in less then a half hour, and they cook ridiculously fast in a skillet, and the Green Giant Steamers are quick, easy, require no clean-up, and they are low cal and low fat. I don't really consider this a recipe, by any means, but since I am being realistic about what a real family eats, I am laying it all out there. Plus, it LOOKS like I worked a lot harder than I actually did! *chuckle*

Seasoned Chicken with Roasted Red Potatoes and Green Beans in a Rosemary Butter Sauce
~10 minutes~
~5 servings~

•2.5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
•2 12oz pkgs Green Giant Steamers: Roasted Red Potatoes, Green Beans & Rosemary Butter Sauce
•1 tBsp extra light Olive Oil
•Seasonings You Prefer

1.Cook Green Giant Steamers in microwave according to package directions. While they are cooking, saute chicken in olive oil in a large skillet until cooked through, adding whatever spices you like.

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 5
~Amount Per Serving~
Calories: 209.8
Total Fat: 2.5 g
Cholesterol: 68.4 mg
Sodium: 406.7 mg
Total Carbs: 16 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.0 g
Protein: 29.2 g

Spanish Chicken and Rice
~35 minutes~
~8 servings~

•4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
•1 16oz pkg of Vigo Saffron Yellow Rice
•1 tBsp extra light Olive Oil
•4 cups water

1.Saute chicken in olive oil in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid until cooked through, adding whatever spices you like; Set aside.
2.Pour water into skillet and bring to a boil.
3.Add rice and stir for one minute while boiling. Turn down heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Do NOT lift the lid.

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 8
~Amount Per Serving~
Calories: 336.2
Total Fat: 3.2 g
Cholesterol: 68.4 mg
Sodium: 814.6 mg
Total Carbs: 43.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.0 g
Protein: 32.3 g

I used the directions on the rice package as a jumping point and kept it simple and fast. Everyone in the family approved, even fussy 5yo! Definitely a keeper, and seriously, you can't get much simpler than this! Serve with a salad and you have a well balanced meal in minutes!

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
• 1 6oz box of Stove Top stuffing, any flavor you like
• 1 can of yellow sweet corn, drained
• 4 tBsp Promise fat free margarine, melted
• 2 cups water

1. Place chicken in bottom of crockpot.
2. Layer corn and stuffing over chicken.
3. Mix melted margarine with water and pour over the top layer of stuffing, being sure to saturate every area.
4. Cover and cook on high 2 to 2.5 hours or until chicken is tender and stuffing is no longer runny.

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 4
~Amount Per Serving~
Calories: 417.5
Total Fat: 3.6 g
Cholesterol: 70.1 mg
Sodium: 925.5 mg
Total Carbs: 40.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.1 g
Protein: 33.9 g

This was a, "Oh my gosh it's almost three and I have nothing planned for dinner!" superhero, come to save the day! Or dinner, at least, heh! It called for things I had in my pantry already, wouldn't take too long, and because I used a crockpot liner, my cleanup was pretty much nil. Which always improves the mood, no? Everyone loved it, even my pickiest eater, little 5yo Faith, ate her whole plate clean. But that may have been to get the Popsicle the kids were promised. This one was modded from the pinnacle of cookbooks for busy and broke folks, Fix-it And Forget-it 5-ingredient Favorites, page 46, the first recipe. It's crammed full of recipes, but there are no pictures, which makes me feel even worse that I didn't get one of my creation; Sorry!

• 3 tablespoons margarine or butter, divided
• 1 pound angus boneless shoulder steak (any steak will do), cut into strips or cubed
• 1 (6.2oz) box of Rice-A-Roni, Fried Rice
• 1 (10oz) package of frozen broccoli florets

1. In large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon margarine. Add steak; saute 3 minutes or until just browned. Remove from skillet; set aside.
2. In same skillet over medium heat, saute rice-vermicelli mix with remaining 2 tablespoons margarine until vermicelli is golden brown. Slowly stir in 2 1/2 cups water and Special Seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 10 minutes.
3. Stir in steak and broccoli, return to a simmer. Cover; simmer 5 to 10 minutes or until rice is tender.

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 4
~Amount Per Serving~
Calories: 359.0
Total Fat: 9.7 g
Cholesterol: 56.7 mg
Sodium: 872.4 mg
Total Carbs: 28.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.6 g
Protein: 28.7 g

I modified another simple recipe out of a tried and true cookbook for tonight. I doubled it again for my large family, but since we are ridiculously broke right now, I stretched it by using only one pound of beef, while I doubled the rest. I cubed the meat so it felt a little heartier. The little ones weren't crazy about the broccoli-I suppose they are at that "veggies are yucky" stage. *sigh* But one of the older kids had a plate twice as big as his Dad's, and still went back for seconds! You can find the original recipe on page 30 in The One-Dish Bible: More Than 150 Fabulous One-Dish Recipes.