The Dinner Rut

   It came to my attention in the last month that I was in a dinner rut. Go through this scenario with me. You give your husband a list of the things you could make for dinner that night and he responds with, "Eh, we have those things all the time. What else ya got?".  So you go and pull out your recipe book, flip through it, and suddenly realize that those recipes are really all you have in there. That's okay though, that's what your Dinner Pinterest board is for, right? So you go and look on Pinterest at all the recipes you have pinned. Then another realization hits you. The recipes you have pinned are either breakfasts, desserts, or dinners that really aren't all that realistic for you to make. Now, if you can relate to this story, you either are, or have been, in the dinner rut.

   So, once I realized this I decided that I needed to fix the problem. The first thing I decided to do was ask several family and friends for one or two recipes. Okay, okay, that wasn't the first thing i did. First, I called my mom and said "How in the world did this happen???", and once I got that panic out, then I asked for people to share some recipes. Next, I searched Pinterest for some new recipes. Only this time, no restaurant copy cat recipes and nothings with a million and one ingredients. So, after all that, I ended up with ten to twelve new recipes.

   So far, both my husband and I have really liked all the new ones, and I thought I'd share a few of our favorites.

  - Baked Cheese Tortellini ( I halved the recipe because there is only two of us, and we still ended up with some leftovers.)
      You need: 2 bags of frozen cheese tortellini, 1 jar of spaghetti sauce, 1 jar of Alfredo sauce,     minced garlic, and mozzarella cheese for the topping.
      Directions:  Boil the tortellini for five minutes then in pour into a greased or sprayed 9x13. Next, combine both jars of sauce and minced garlic and pour over tortellini, tossing lightly. Top it with mozzarella and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
  *We ate this with salad and garlic bread.

 - Mexican Trash (I know, i know, the name doesn't sound very appealing, but trust me, it's really good)
     You need:  1 bag of Doritos, crushed. 2 cups of shredded chicken. 2 cups of mexican cheese. 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can of Rotel, 1/2 cup of milk, and 1/2 cup of sour cream.
     Directions: Mix everything but the Doritos. In a greased 2 quart baking dish layer 1/2 bag of crushed Doritos, 1/2 chicken mixture. Repeat layering. Top with cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

 - Cheesy Sausage and Noodles
    You need: 1kielbasa, 1/4 cup diced onion, minced garlic, 2 cups chicken broth, 2 cups cheddar jack cheese, 1/2 cup milk, and 10 ounce can of diced tomatoes.
    Directions: Brown the meat, garlic, and onion in a pot. Then add all ingredients except for the cheese and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the cheese, then let sit for 15 minutes.

   Like I said, that's just a few of them. I haven't gotten through all of the new ones yet, but I am having fun adding to my recipe book.  So what's one of your favorite recipes?