Here's one I recently (re)posted that garners great reviews every time I serve it. The ingredient list looks long but it only takes about 10 minutes to throw together. Sorta-Greekish Couscous salad 2 boxes Near East garlic-flavor couscous, prepared per box directions and set aside to cool (stir occasionally with a fork to keep from clumping) 1 European cucumber, peeled if the skin is thick/tough and diced 3 Roma/plum tomatoes, seeded and diced (peel if you like) 2 small red, yellow or orange bell peppers, diced (try to mix colors for a prettier dish) 1 large carrot, coarsely grated handful of thawed frozen petite peas big handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley 2-3 large cloves garlic, minced (confession time: I buy it in the jar) a dozen or so chives (or 2-3 green onions), minced 1 6-oz container feta cheese, crumbled; if you buy the stuff in brine, drain it before crumbling and pat dry after crumbling, but I am lazy and just buy the pre-crumbled kind Newman's Own Greek Vinaigrette salt and pepper to taste (once I tossed in about half a pound of cooked, peeled, deveined-if-necessary small shrimp - designated in the fish market as 51/60 or 61/70 - and it was delicious) (a friend of mine adds finely chopped pitted Greek black olives, but I think olives are one of the most revolting foods on the planet so I don't!) Mix couscous, veggies, and cheese being careful not to mush the couscous. Slosh on some of the vinaigrette until everything's nicely coated and it tastes yummy - we tend to use around 1/3 of a (small) bottle. Salt and pepper to taste. Holds in the fridge about 4 days, although the feta flavor can get a little rugged eventually. (If this stands for more than 48 hours you will need to add more vinaigrette as the couscous will absorb it and the salad will be a tad dry.) Best served cool rather than chilled, but don't leave it out of the fridge for more than an hour. At home I serve this as a main dish and it feeds about 6 people, for a party it serves 12 or so as a side depending on how much other stuff there is. Chicken Tortellini Soup 2 32-oz. containers good-tasting chicken broth* 1 16-oz. bag frozen cheese tortellini (regular or tricolor) 1/4 cup any hard Italian grating cheese like Parmesan, Pecorino or Asiago, grated (NOT the stuff in the can!) Bring broth to a boil. Dump in tortellini and cook per timing on the package until done. Ladle into bowls or mugs and top with Parmesan. Although it's wonderful in the colder months, of course, it's light enough to be good on the chilly, rainy summer days when you don't want something really heavy but you need to warm up some. You can stop there if you're really tired, or you can add any or all of the following: 1 cup chopped cooked chicken 1 cup frozen petite peas a few shredded basil leaves 1/2 a roasted red pepper, finely chopped (many supermarkets now have roasted peppers in the deli area, either in the deli case or in an "olive bar" setup) *Commercial broth has gotten a LOT better in recent years. Less salty and has actual flavor. Try a bunch and see which ones you like. I hate "celebrity products" but I have to admit the broths sold under the Wolfgang Puck and Rachael Ray names are pretty good. If you're vegetarian, Pacific's "No-Chicken" broth is pretty decent, and obviously you'd leave out the chicken. DH's Mother's "Drunk Chicken" (b@st@rdized crockpot version of Coq au Vin) Remove any big chunks of fat from about a dozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs and chuck them into the crockpot along with: 1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon (we cheat and use the Oscar Mayer precooked crumbles in the yellow bag from the salad dressing aisle) - that's 6-8 slices if you cook it yourself but make sure to drain it VERY well 1/2 bag or 1 box frozen peeled pearl onions 1 small bag baby carrots (I think they're 12 oz. bags?) 1 good handful garlic cloves - I buy containers of already-peeled ones in the produce department 2 celery stalks, sliced a few bay leaves 1 tsp black peppercorns 2 tsp salt 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme (fresh is really best here if you can swing it) 2 10-oz packages of brown mushrooms (aka crimini or "baby bella"), rinsed and trimmed if they need it. Get the smallest ones you can, halve or quarter large ones. Dump in 1/2 bottle of red wine (nothing fancy!), or 2 of the small bottles that come in the 4-packs, along with 1/2 can (about 3/4 cup) chicken broth. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours until chicken is done but not falling apart. Exact time will vary depending on your crockpot. If you wish, remove the chicken and stick the liquid in the fridge so the fat will solidify. Scrape off the fat, return the chicken to the sauce and rewarm. Serve with rice, little boiled potatoes (my preference), crusty bread or egg noodles. Shrimp and White Bean Salad - this started out as a fairly typical "Tuscan-style" tuna and white bean salad, but I'm not a huge fan of tuna and we get amazing shrimp from Maine. Grilled fresh tuna, chunked up after cooking, is the best way IMO to do the tuna version though. Again, looks daunting but it goes together fast. 2 cans cannellini beans (aka white kidney beans), drained and rinsed 1 cup quartered grape tomatoes 1 cup chopped roasted bell peppers (see note above - if you make them, yellow peppers are particularly pretty here) 1/2 cup chopped celery 1/2 cup thawed frozen peas 2 green onions, thinly sliced 1 shallot, minced (can substitute 1/4 cup minced sweet onion but the shallot is so much better) 1 tsp. minced garlic 1/4 cup finely shredded basil or baby spinach (stack several leaves, roll them up tight like a cigar, slice across the roll to make fine shreds - the fancy types call this "chiffonade") 12 oz. small cooked shrimp, tails removed vinaigrette dressing, homemade or bottled (we love Newman's Own dressings) Combine ingredients, adding dressing to taste, and marinate 3-12 hours before serving. I like this with a garlicky focaccia bread. It looks very fancy in butter-lettuce cups or whole leaves from a romaine heart which make a "canoe" shape. Frittata is a really "loose" dish in that you can toss many different things into it, and serve it hot, room temperature or chilled, as an appetizer, a main dish or a late-night snack. Alton Brown of "Good Eats" calls it "refrigerator velcro" because it's a great way to use up little dribs and drabs of leftovers. It's quichelike but much easier to make and less fattening because there's no crust. Preheat oven to 350F. Heat a 10-12" nonstick skillet with curved sides over medium heat with 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil of your choice. Saute 2 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed, and 1 small onion, diced, until the onion is translucent. While this is cooking, assemble your other ingredients: 1 cup cooked meat or poultry, chopped, or 1/4 cup crumbled, crisp-cooked bacon 2-3 cups cooked veggies, whatever you have around that looks good, chopped to about 1/2" pieces if necessary - potatoes, asparagus, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms whatever Toss them in the pan to warm while you make the custard. You should have a nice even layer on the bottom of the pan but not packed tight. Whisk together until completely combined: 8 eggs or the equivalent (I like to use 3 whole eggs and the egg whites from the other 9 in the dozen to cut back on the cholesterol and fat but a little yolk is necessary for flavor. If you use something like Egg Beaters, unless you're on a severely restricted diet add one whole egg for better taste) 1/4 cup milk several turns of the pepper grinder 1 tsp salt 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese Pour over the meat-veggie mixture in the pan, stirring around a bit to get the egg stuff onto the bottom of the pan and everything evenly distributed. If you would like more cheese, feel free to top with any kind of cheese you like, about 1/2 cup. If your frying pan's handle is not ovenproof, wrap it in aluminum foil. Cook on the stovetop over medium heat until the underside is just starting to brown, then pop it in the oven for 10-15 minutes until set and starting to brown. A knife inserted about 1 inch from the center will come out damp but not slimy or drippy. Remove from the oven and slide the frittata out of the pan onto a plate. Even if serving hot it should stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Obviously if you are a vegetarian ditch the meat and add more veggies. This makes a great supper with a piece of good country bread, salad or simple soup. This does not reheat well because it turns rubbery and watery, but try tucking a chunk of cold frittata into a pita or tortilla with some dijon mustard or salsa (depending on what you put in the frittata). Yum! I love Welsh rabbit, but not the gloppy, runny kind. I prefer the version from Arthur Schwartz' "What To Cook When You Think There's Nothing In The House To Eat" (an all-around great book IMO) that is light and puffy and sticks to the toast well enough that you can even pick it up to eat with your fingers. This is for 2 servings but it is very expandable. Not for everyday fare but oh so good. Preheat broiler. Slice a good country-style bread (not that normal American baled-fog sandwich crap) about 3/4" thick. I have also used French bread sliced on the bias to make long oval slices, which looks pretty. Toast it lightly - it should only color a very little. Mix well: 1 1/2 cups good sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (Cabot in the bag!) 2 splashes Worcestershire sauce 1 egg yolk (necessary for texture, no substitutions) 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 2 tbsp. milk or beer a few drops of Tabasco Divide the mixture between the bread slices. Grind on plenty of fresh pepper. Put the bread on a foil-lined cookie sheet and broil carefully until the cheese mixture is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately as it can get leathery when it's cold. Since I can't drink beer or wine (a sharpish white is best) I LOVE this with apple or pear cider. Green salad with a vinegary dressing or perfectly-ripe fresh tomatoes with salt and pepper make a refreshing accompaniment but I prefer a mixture of marinated cooked veggies since raw veg does not agree with me, and a dessert of not-too-sweet baked (okay, microwaved) apples with walnuts and honey. For the last few weeks DH and I have been spending an hour or so on a weekend afternoon prepping ingredients for meals that we can throw together in a matter of minutes during the week. I've been pretty busy lately and the weather is doing me no favors so we were finding we were eating too many frozen pizzas and too much takeaway. Many veggies can hold 5 days in scrupulously clean, airtight containers in the coldest part of the fridge (usually bottom shelf in the back). I purchased a whole bunch of small 1, 2, and 4 cup containers and we prep our ingedients right into those. For instance I have a potato and veggie salad set up in the fridge awaiting its dressing, the aforementioned shrimp salad just waiting for shrimp and dressing. A couple of days ago we had fish and veggies baked in foil and it literally took 5 minutes to assemble because all the veggies were already chopped up and ready to go. We watch the grocery store circulars for loss-leader meat sales, particularly for things that grill well. We buy a lot, fire up the grill, and grill it all so that we have it on hand for throw-together meals - for example today we grilled 4 pounds of boneless, well-trimmed pork loin chops seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic. It will find its way into several different meals over the next few days. We do the same thing with certain vegetables - for instance when asparagus gets to $1/lb. about 5 lbs. of it hits the grill, waiting to be marinated for a salad or chopped into a frittata. I don't really like leftovers very much but this is better for me because it is just a handy ingredient that can be used in so many ways instead of just eating the same dish again.

Like bumblebeez, I was doing a lot of cooking for the family by the time I was 12, but I'd spent my whole life cooking with Grandma, so I was familiar with foods, preparation and techniques. If this 12 year old has spent no time in the kitchen, she'll be starting from scratch, but is plenty old enough to be very competent in the kitchen. Poor kid, I do hope she likes to cook, or learns to like it and feels that it's a help. OK, so meals. I agree with the meatloaf, that's a good start and the same mixture can be used for meatballs, which can be baked in the oven. A crockpot is a really good idea too, so things can be prepared ahead and can cook all day while the kids are at school and Dad is at work. Pulled pork in the crockpot is easy, and I've used that recipe that calls for root beer, a kid might like to try that. Add BBQ sauce or not, depending on the family's tastes. Other good crockpot recipes are Ginger's french dip sandwiches and Amanda uses hers for pork roast and makes an enchilada type casserole with layers of beans and tortillas with cheese and sauce. I also use those ziplock microwave bags for vegetables sometimes, they are good for asparagus with a little sesame oil and Mother always uses them for broccoli, fast and simple. A roast chicken is pretty basic and there's a "no peek stew" recipe hanging around here somewhere. My girls liked to make "coke chicken", a recipe from the Girl Scouts. Scrub and quarter red potatoes, add some baby carrots and layer chicken pieces on top. Mix half and half cola and catsup, pour over top, cover and bake for an hour and a half at 350. The coke and catsup makes a sweet BBQ type sauce that the kids just loved and they'd fight over the last potatoes in that sauce. There are some very simple macaroni and cheese recipes available and most kids like that, or spaghetti with a canned sauce and some of those meatballs. The dreaded tuna noodle casserole is another thing that many kids like and it's relatively simple. Teaching her to make soup from leftovers is a good idea, or any kind of leftover usage. She could bake a ham, then make scalloped potatoes with ham or a ham loaf, then use the bone in a pot of beans. The roast chicken could later become chicken pot pie or chicken noodle soup. Pizza goes without saying, and even Makayla makes "pizza" from English muffins, pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese. Poor baby, I feel so badly for her. You're a good uncle to take this on and she'll appreciate the help. You'll be creating a good memory for this child and she'll love you for it. Annie

alisande - I live in Kansas and can regularly find tuna for 69-cents a can, even 59-cents on sale, $1.12 for solid white albacore. Yes, there are more expensive brands, but they don't fit my $10/week meat budget. I generally add a meat alternative to get more servings of protein - a high-priced protein mixed with a low-cost protein still equals a protein. You can't "stretch" meat with carbohydrates (noodles/rice) because you get more servings of carbs and less servings of meat; and most people already get too many carbs during the day. We also eat on the lower half of the glycemic index of foods, and watch carb intake. rgreen48 - "easy to eat meatless and eat horrendously" so true - I call them "Twinkie Vegetarians", and another type are "Pasta Vegetarians" who eat little more than frozen meatless pasta meals. These were monikers given by a class I took from a lovely Seventh Day Adventist vegetarian, formerly vegan. She's also the lady who taught to eat gnats when you are out on a bike ride for the B12. My vegetarian experience was eating a Macrobiotic diet. Snidely - I mix tuna and white cannellini beans, or tuna and lentils, as a plant-based protein extender, and chicken with cannellini beans. Cannellini beans also work as a substitute for chicken in some recipes (similar texture to make a meatless recipe). I make lentil/rice mixture as a plant-based substitute for ground beef. We also enjoy lentil tacos. There are all kinds of vegetarian "mock" recipes. I make "mock tuna salad" with chickpeas or chana dal (immature chickpeas which are lower on the glycemic index of foods than chickpeas). Even though it is-what-it-is, chickpea salad ;-), but not a bad plant-based substitute. Before going gluten-free, I made "wheat meat" (aka seitan or gluten) and could make "mock" sausage, cutlets, ground "meat", "meat" balls, Sloppy non-meat Joes...... I always mixed ground wheat meat with all sources of ground meat (sausage or ground beef) as an extender. Living in wheat country, it was inexpensive to convert freshly-milled whole wheat flour into "wheat meat", and I would also use vital wheat gluten - purchased in #10 cans from Honeyville Grain. I have a recipe for "Chicken" Fried Steak that is a meatless recipe made with old-fashioned oats - a recipe from The Prudent Homemaker's blog. Another cheap eat.... Make cheese curds with hot water, powdered milk and white vinegar. Season the curds and make into patties called "Cheeseburger Patties". The recipe for Cheeseburger Patties can be altered with clam base or tuna juice, white bean flour (I mill my own) and some cracker or bread crumbs to make "Mock Fish Fillets". The recipe can also be altered by adding corn flake crumbs, white bean flour, and chicken bouillon and seasonings to make "Mock Breaded Chicken Tenders" I've made a hobby of collecting and trying "mock" recipes and lots of vegetarian/vegan/raw foods recipes. These are also some things I've learned to make with home food storage (which includes large amounts of grains/seeds/beans), and a lot of information and recipes inspired by the LDS Church and many of their published followers, like sisters Rita Bingham and LeArta Moulton, and many others. It's not for everyone, I realize, but it's another reason I try at least 3 new recipe each week, and keep to a $125/month food budget for 2 adults. It also proves you can eat very well without having to spend enormous amounts of money. -Grainlady

I completely agree with DawnInCal about how so many people value quantity over quality. I am going to Sacramento for a few days to attend a convention. I am horrified at all the attendees from outside the area who are asking where places like In and Out, McDonald's etc. are located. For a real seafood (OMG) experience they want to go to Joe's Crab Shack. Ay-yi-yi!!! OK I guess if you are a tourist it's OK once. I suppose next they will want to do lunch at Denny's. :-( I eat all kinds of food and I am not nutty about healthy versus stick to your ribs classic diner fare but the last thing I want to do when traveling is visit chain restaurants. There is a reason I am staying at an off site hotel. LOL