I added a bunch of these recipes to this month’s “month of meal ideas checklist”. These are meals I make often and just know how to make. I often share them via text with friends and I figured it was time to put them all in one place. Everyone can always use more easy weeknight recipes for families. These are 7 easy family recipes I make:

Easy Family Recipes

Simple Chicken Soup

Ingredients: 

• Whole chicken (remove anything inside)
• About 6 carrots, peeled & diced
• Bunch of celery, stalks diced, keep leaves
• Onion
• Salt & pepper 
• Pasta of choice

Directions: 

Place the chicken, the onion (cut in half) and the leaves from the celery stalks into a large pot. Fill with water. Add a little salt & pepper. Bring to a boil. Once boiling cook for 1 hour and 30 min. Remove the chicken and let cool. Drain the broth into a new pot. You’ve now made homemade chicken broth. Discard the onion & celery. Bring the pot of broth to a boil. Add the diced carrots and celery. Once the chicken is cool enough to pull apart, remove the chicken from the bone and add pieces to the soup. For the pasta: some people like to add the pasta right to the broth to cook. You can do that or cook the pasta in a separate pot and add to the individual bowls of soup once cooked. I find that makes the pasta not soak up so much of the broth.

Simple Mac and Cheese

Ingredients: 

• 1 box of elbow pasta, mini shells or any small pasta 
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 cups of shredded cheddar 
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour

Directions: Cook the pasta and drain. In a large skillet melt the butter and add the flour, cook for about 3 min. Add the milk and cook for another few minutes. Add the cheese and cook until melted and more of a “sauce” forms. Add in the pasta and stir. Eat! OR… Optional: Put it in a baking dish, sprinkle some cheese on top and bake at 375 for 20 min. 

Simple Beef Stew

Ingredients and directions in this video: Easy Beef Stew How To 

Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken

Ingredients: 

• Boneless chicken breasts or thighs (or a combo)
• 1 jar of salsa

Directions: Place the chicken and salsa in a slow cooker for 4 hours on high or 6-8 on low. Shred the chicken and use for quesadillas, tacos, over salad, etc

Easy Chili

Ingredients: 

• Ground turkey (about 1 lb)
• Jar of salsa 
• Can of kidney beans (drained & rinsed)
• Can of black beans (drained & rinsed)
• 1 cup frozen corn

Directions: Brown the turkey meat. Add the turkey meat and all of the ingredients to your slow cooker. Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6 hours. We serve with corn bread. 

Stuffed Peppers 

Ingredients: 

• 4 peppers
• 1 1/2lbs of ground turkey
• 1 onion—chopped
• 1 cup of  rice
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• grated cheese
• pepper
• shredded mozzarella 

Directions: Cut the top off the pepper and scoop out any seeds. Steam the peppers until soft (but not overcooked). Cook the rice. Brown the turkey and onion. Once the rice is done and the turkey is cooked mix them together in a pot. Add the can of sauce and some pepper. Add some grated cheese and let them simmer for about ten minutes. Scoop the mixture into the peppers. Sprinkle a little shredded mozzarella on top.Bake for about 25 minutes at 325 degrees.

Greek Night

Ingredients and directions in this video: