Chicken tater tot casserole

10 oz - 1 lb cooked (or canned) chicken
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 can (10 3/4 oz) low sodium cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup ketchup
Small bag frozen peas and carrots
2 cup grated Colby jack cheese
2 lb package frozen tater tots

1. Cook the onions in the oil until translucent.
2. Mix the soup and ketchup in a small bowl.
3. Layer the ingredients in a greased 9 x 13 oven-proof dish, in this order: chicken, onion, soup-ketchup mixture, peas and carrots, cheese.
4. Arrange the tater tots across the top. (This is an excellent project for pre-schoolers!)
5. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 1 hour.

This can be assembled a day ahead and baked later.

Fifteen minute tilapia

12 oz tilapia
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
Pam

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray a baking sheet with Pam.
   
2. Mix mayonnaise, honey, mustard and lemon juice, and transfer to a dinner plate.
3. Mix breadcrumbs and salt in another plate.
4. One piece at a time, first coat the fish in sauce, then press into the breadcrumbs until it's completely coated.
5. Place the fish on the prepared sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

This is a great last minute dinner solution. You can bring some stock to a boil and throw in some couscous while the fish cooks, and pull out a bag of pre-washed salad for a complete meal in 15 minutes flat. My picky eater can't get enough of this fish.

Baked meatballs

1 lb ground meat*
1 apple, cored and diced
1 small calabaza squash, diced
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 lightly beaten egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp dried sage
1 chicken stock cube, crumbled

1. Spray a baking sheet with Pam.
   
2. Whisk stock cube into egg. (Otherwise, you may end up with salty clumps of stock.)
3. Mix all the ingredients together.
4. Shape into small balls, about a tbsp each, and place on tray
   
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the temperature at the center of the biggest meatball is 160 degrees.
   

*I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, run through the food processor.

Slow Cooker Chicken Spinach Curry

1/2 cup red lentils
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 1/2 cups chicken stock, boiling
8 chicken thighs, skinned
8 0z frozen spinach
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
salt
black pepper

1. Rinse and drain lentils.
2. Put lentils, curry powder, coriander, cumin seeds and stock in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours.
3. Place chicken in the slow cooker and push down into sauce. Recover and cook for 3 hours on high.
4. Add spinach and cilantro to slow cooker and push into sauce. Cook for another 30 minutes, until spinach wilts.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I serve this with basmati rice, cabbage bhaji, and sweet pickles.

Double Orange Roughy

4 pieces orange roughy or other mild-flavoured fish
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Heat oil over medium heat.
2. Cook fish, turning once, until opaque all the way through, about 3 minutes per side.
3. Mix the orange juice, soy sauce and brown sugar.
4. Pour the sauce over the fish and cook for another 2 minutes.

I serve this over couscous. Simple, healthy and delicious.

Chicken Marsala

1 lb chicken breast tenders
1 cup marsala wine (1 1/2 cups if you want a lot of sauce)
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup flour
generous pinch salt
generous pinch pepper
3 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Heat the oil on medium heat.
   
2. Mix the flour, salt and pepper.
3. Cover the chicken pieces with the seasoned flour.
4. Brown the chicken in the oil, turning once.
5. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and set aside.
6. Pour marsala wine into the pan and reduce by half.
7. Add milk and stir in.
8. Once the sauce is bubbling, return the chicken to the pan and cook until the sauce is thick. Make sure to coat the chicken well.
   

I've got a sick baby, and wanted to make something nutritious and relatively quick that would appeal to two-year-olds and adults alike. Since my husband was still at the grocery store 20 minutes before lunch had to be on the table, I made do with what I had on hand. I would have liked to add mushrooms to the pan before adding the marsala. I'll do that next time I try this recipe and report the results.

I paired this chicken with creamed corn and flavoured rice with peas. Perhaps this isn't a traditional partnering with chicken marsala, but it's a balanced meal, and my kids ate it!