One of MY all time favorites-Mexican Lasagna

Thanks to www.food.com (#17954 Mexican Lasagna) I was able to retrieve this gem of a recipe. It's been a few years since I made it and I had since misplaced my copy. I remember it going over well with all 4 of us, and that it was one of the few that also qualify as "light"(er than most) and healthy. As you can see from one of the photos, I can top it with all the veggies I want so it's a win-win for all.

Simple to follow and fun to assemble, it was great for Cade to prepare. Other than a few skillet sauce splatters (thankfully he had on a dark hoodie), it turned out terrific. He genuinely enjoyed layering the ingredients, browning the turkey, and going back for seconds! Got to throw in a math lesson or two as well, for example 7, 1/4 c servings in a can of sauce. Recipe asked for 1 1/2 cups. Will you have some left and how much? We need to work on our math skills....;)

Comfort food done easy! Chicken & Dumplings

Playing catch up for too many weeks of being the lone chef at the Madeira's! With Presidents' Day at hand, it was a perfect day for Seth to cook. He'd mentioned wanting to grill steaks but that requires advanced prep (if you want to make it really good!) with marinading, etc. and of course I didn't plan ahead. :( So I searched my favorite recipe site, www.food.com for recipes I thought he'd be willing to make on the fly. I came across recipe #50495 "Caroline's Quick Chicken and Dumplings". Ideal for a teenaged boy with simple, quick prep and few ingredients, none eliciting the standard "Ewww" response I'd get from 95% of the recipes I'D select! Even Pappy's delicious quesadilla recipe (soon to come) will require editing for my boys to eat them! Seems peppers & onions will only be consumed in the form of salsa (NOT chunky). So, Caroline's made the cut with not a single veggie.

Other than the fact that the biscuit pieces were a bit large and the chicken cut too small, it was a success. Seth saved the pot from boiling over as we were distracted by cutting biscuits. He's becoming quite adept at the different stove settings, at measuring, & following directions- which has never been one of Seth's strengths! ;)

We served it with a healthy spinach and strawberry salad to make up for what was lacking in the Chicken and Dumplings recipe.