One of the easiest recipes I've made

Italian Beef Dippers
Pillsbury Kids Cookbook Copyright 2005

1 can (18.5 ounces) ready-to-serve French onion soup
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
3/4 pound thinly sliced Italian- or garlic-seasoned cooked roast beef I used one labeled 'French Dip seasoned'
6 crusty French rolls (each 3 to 4 inches long)
6 slices ( 3/4 ounce each) provolone cheese

Pour the soup into a saucepan. Measure out the Italian seasoning. Toss it in the saucepan. Mix the soup and the seasoning.

Heat the soup over medium heat until it is hot. Stir every once in a while. Add the slices of beef to the soup. Continue to heat for 4 to 6 minutes, until soup and beef are heated all the way through. Stir every once in a while so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan

Use a serrated knife to cut the French rolls in half sideways on the cutting board. Use a slotted spoon to remove the slices of beef from the soup. Put the beef on the bottom halves of the rolls. If you like onions, put a few onions from the soup on the beef.

Cut each slice of cheese into two pieces. Put two pieces of cheese on top of the beef on each sandwich. Cover the beef and cheese with the top halves of the rolls.

Scoop out 1/3 cup soup and put it in one of the custard cups. Put the same amount of soup in each of the other custard cups. (If there's any soup left over, divide it into the cups.) Serve the sandwiches with the warm soup for dipping.

Makes 6 servings.

Approximate values per serving: 280 calories, 10 g fat, 47 mg cholesterol, 20 g protein, 28 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 1,410 mg sodium, 32 percent calories from fat.
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I have several children's cookbooks but I tend to pass over them when looking for recipes. They're actually a good source of quick and easy recipes so I don't know why I've been ignoring them.

This recipe wasn't particularly inexpensive (I bought $6 worth of meat plus soup, buns and cheese) or healthy (due to the sodium) but it was ridiculously fast and easy. You can't make a hot sandwich much faster than this. It was tasty too - bread, meat, cheese, and a salty delicious broth to dip it all in? All good. All-in-all I'd say that in a pinch, paired with a salad, this is probably a tinsy bit healthier and a little bit less expensive than eating out.

This particular kid's cookbook is a bit heavy on the processed foods. That does make for supereasy recipes but not the least expensive or healthiest. I think if you're depending on a child or young teen to cook dinner, it's not a bad place to start. I've got some better ones that I hope to be cooking from soon.

Question of the Day: At what age did you start cooking? I honestly don't remember exactly but I was young when I started cooking dinner. My older sisters used to pass the chore along to me (well, at least one of them did). I enjoyed it. I'm sure I baked and tried a few other things before I worked up to making dinner. I used to put a lot of thought into cooking. I only had a few PBS cooking shows and a meager selection of cookbooks to inspire me. Who knows what would have happened if I grew up with the Food Network.