Quick dinners for working moms

Hamburger and rice skillet

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger (1 lb chub of sausage is also a good substitute)
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1 (8 ounce) can cream of chicken soup (optional substitute include broccoli or mushroom)
 1/4 cup soy sauce
 1/4 cup sour cream
 1 cup frozen peas
 2 cups water
 2 cups Minute Rice (Other kinds of rice could be used just adjust cooking time accordingly)

Directions:
Cook hamburger. Add Onion. (you can saute separately in a bit of soy sauce). Add soup, soy sauce, sour cream, and water. Bring to just a boil, then reduce heat to low and add peas and rice. Cover and cook 10 to 15 Minutes. Optional: sprinkle grated cheese over the top just before serving.

Cranberry chicken

Ingredients:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bottle French dressing
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 packet onion soup mix
1 box rice pilaf or cous cous

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix French dressing, cranberry sauce and onion soup mix in mixing bowl; marinate the chicken in advance if you can (if not, not a problem). Put chicken in baking dish and cover with mixture, making sure to cover all sides of meat. Bake chicken for 50-60 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. While chicken is baking, prepare rice or cous cous as directed on box. Steam your favorite green veggie to complete the meal.

Note: Because of the bake time, this may be a challenging meal to get on the table at a decent time during the week, depending on when you can put it in the oven. It's a great recipe to make on a Sunday and have for leftovers the next day.

Italian sausage spaghetti

Ingredients:
1 large Italian sweet sausage
1 large Italian hot and spicy sausage
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
3/4 large (28 oz) can of whole tomatoes
Olive oil
1 lb (16 oz) spaghetti pasta
Salt
Grated Parmesan cheese

The Sauce:
Take the Italian sausage meat out of the sausage casings. Break up into pieces and mix the sweet and spicy sausage meats together. Brown the sausage meat in a large skillet on medium high or high heat with a little olive oil. In a separate skillet sauté the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent. Purée the tomatoes in a blender, add to the skillet with the sausage meat. Add the cooked onions and garlic.

The Pasta:
Fill an 8-quart or larger stock pot at least half full with water and bring to a boil. Add a tablespoon of salt. Slowly add the pasta, stirring to prevent clumping. Allow the water to come to a boil again. Cook, uncovered, with a fairly vigorous boil, for as long as the directions on the pasta package say, usually about 10-12 minutes. When pasta is al dente (cooked but still a little firm), remove the pot from the heat. Add a cup or two of cold water to the pasta to stop the cooking. Drain the water from the pasta through a colander. Place the pasta in a serving bowl. Serve immediately. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese. Serves 4-6.