Pasta and Sausage

Rigatoni with tomato sauce (I doctor up canned tomato puree/sauce with diced tomatoes, garlic, onion, oregano, basil, thyme, or italian seasoning).

Italian sausage. I prefer the sweet kind for pasta. Boil them for about 15 minutes, then you can cut them and fry them up on the stove.

Finish the bowl with a little cheese and you've got something tasty!

"Pizza"

This pizza will not replace your love of take-out, but its good to add into your recipe rotation to use up leftover sauce, cheese, etc.

Tomato Sauce (I usually doctor my own) and mozzarella cheese on top of a store bought crust. I like to add pepperoni or mushrooms on top, sometimes, but it is good just like this!

Lentil and Beef Chili

Another crock pot meal!

In my crock pot, I tossed in whatever tomatoey bases I had: Tomato Soup, Tomato Puree, crushed tomatoes, etc. I also added diced onion, chopped bell pepper, a few cut up fresh tomatoes, cumin, black pepper, red pepper flakes, chili powder, paprika. I browned some ground beef and threw that in. I also added a bag of lentils. I recommend soaking them a bit first - I hadn't and while they ended up edible, they were just a tad hard.

Serve as is, or with cheese, or with cheese and rice!

Kielbasa and Veggies with Pierogies

Cut and fry up some kielbasa. Throw in the veggies. I used onion, mushroom and bell peppers. If needed, add a fat: butter or oil to aid in cooking.

Served on the side of store bought pierogies.

Crock Pot Pulled Barbeque Chicken

This one was super easy. Put chicken in the crock pot. I used chicken thighs, because that's what I had, but chicken breast would work just as well. Cover up with some barbecue sauce. Let it go on low all day (8 hours ish). When you come home, take the chicken and pull it apart with your fork. If there are bones, the meat will melt right off. Discard the bones, and put the pulled chicken back into the crock pot, adding a bit more barbecue sauce. In another hour, serve as desired.

I put it on hero bread with a side of (storebought) cole slaw and some steamed edamame for lunch. Photo from my desk at work!

Egg, Ham, n Cheese Sandwich

Quick n easy breakfast. Scrambled eggs with Muenster Cheese and basil. I absolutely love basil in scrambled eggs. Oregano isn't bad, either.  I add a drop of milk to make them fluffy. Some heated ham slices on toasted potato bread. And my favorite chai tea with it.

Super tasty and filling!

Dumpling Soup

This is one I'm pretty proud of! And the picture looks good, too.

Make some broth. You can use the pre-fab kind, or I put chicken bouillon in water. I made 8 cups.

Throw in some veggies, whatever you like and have lying around. I had matchstick carrots, onion, celery, and mushrooms.

Throw in a little soy sauce to taste and you've got a base.

I threw some frozen dumplings into the boiling broth for about 5 minutes, then it was ready to serve! I think I put about 12 dumplings in; I'd add more next time (I only had 12 left). Or make less broth.

I froze the extra broth and veggies so I will unfreeze and add some more dumplings in the future!