I’ve decided to share two recent family dinners, put together easily. The first one is a tiny bit more work than the second but they were both extremely satisfying. Give them a try.

Photos and recipes below the cut:

• Ingredients:
• Either chicken breast or chicken tenders
• Fresh or frozen green beans – we used Trader Joe’s frozen
• Frozen peas
• Shredded carrots
• Fresh or canned pineapple chunks, cut smaller – we used Trader Joe’s fresh chunks
• Rice – we used white.

Cook the chicken in the oven, we used no extra spices, but you can add what you like. While that’s cooking, saute the vegetables and pineapple in oil or butter, your choice. Pour into a metal bowl. Put the cut and cooked chicken in a wok with a little less than half a jar of sauce. Mix thoroughly. Add the vegetable mixture, add more sauce, incorporate it all together, and serve over rice.

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• Ingredients:
• 1 potato per person
• Butter
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Sour Cream
• Ground Beef
• Large can of diced tomatoes, not drained
• Can of kidney beans, drained

Poke holes in each potato and bake for 1 hour at 400°. In a large saucepan, cook the ground beef. Add any spices you like. We used four style peppercorns, ground, garlic powder, chili powder, pinch of cinnamon. Drain the oil. Add can of tomatoes with liquid and can of kidney beans without liquid. Mix and cook for about ten minutes to warm everything up. I also add about a tablespoon of arrowroot to thicken the liquid. You may or may not add a 1/4 cup of cheese and save the rest for on top.

To put the potato together, I cut it in half, add butter, spoon chili and then cover with cheddar cheese. Finish with a dollop of sour cream.

We completed our meal with a salad and some of the family had a warm tortilla on the side.