It's a special edition of "Works For Me Wednesday"...the "What Do I Fix?" edition.  In honor of the occasion, I offer a few of my dinner approaches when the pickin's are slim and I don't have time or finances for a quick carryout meal.  This is my 300th post, by the way!  It was going to be video of our red slider turtle, Crush, trying to escape from his aquarium, but since I can't seem to upload video, my WFMW post gets the honor! 


I.  Crockpot Pinto Beans

    If need be, substitute other dried beans, as I did yesterday...an assortment of pintos, black beans, anasazi's.  Minimal ingredients, wonderful flavor, nice and warm.  Accompany with crackers, bread, homemade rolls, tortillas, cornbread, whatever you have available.

     **If you have a pressure cooker, do the beans this way...about an hour's time including the cooling off period, and they are so buttery and creamy in taste and texture!  Yum!

II.  Spicy German Chicken Soup

     This is a delicious soup, and though it includes many spices, the staples are minimal.  I use chicken breasts, which I cut into small pieces.  4 chicken breasts, a handful of carrots, flour, chicken bouillion, plus spices.  Simple, and it lasts 2 days for our household of 10.  Again, accompany with some crackers, rolls, bread, or whatever you have on hand.

III.  Breakfast For Dinner

     Scrambled eggs with toast and perhaps tater tots.  Breakfast Burritos.  Pancakes or Waffles.  Cereal, if you're desperate. 

IV.  Corndog Casserole

     I've seen assorted versions online.  My approach is to follow the cornbread recipe on the bag of cornmeal, and to cut up hot dogs, mix them into the batter, and bake.  The kids love it.

V.  Pot Pie

     Using canned stew, or leftover chicken soup (above), and bisquick, I place the stew/soup in the bottom of my baking dish, and top with mixed bisquick.  I usually mix it a little thin, and bake (about 400 degrees) until it browns on top.  You can also mix it thicker and drop biscuits into the stew or soup.

VI.  Top Ramen

     A Singaporean friend served Top Ramen mixed with interesting veggies and eggs poached in the liquid once upon a time.  I haven't quite got her technique down, but MOST of my kiddos actually like Top Ramen with poached eggs, now.  Fix the package as usual, and when the noodles have cooked, GENTLY break your eggs into the soup and allow them to cook.  This is a little tough to do WELL when you are putting nearly a dozen eggs into the mix, but the broken ones just thicken the soup a bit.  Yum!  Really!

     You can also do a little variation on Ramen, where you don't overcook the noodles, and do drain the liquid.  Get a pan hot with some cooking oil, and lightly fry those noodles with a little soy sauce.  A mild stir fry of sorts.  You could do whatever stray veggies you have sitting around, stir-frying them first and then adding those noodles.  But the noodles by themselves are tasty, too.  And it's a quick fix when you're in a pinch.

I'm sure I could offer many more ideas; certainly, a box of mac and cheese or spaghetti and canned sauce are viable options.  These are some of the more popular in my house, and they work for both the family and me!