Yummy Sloppy Joes

My family loves this recipe and now they won't even try other sloppy joes because they are so used to my recipe. Give it a try.

1 pound hamburger( browned)
1 can chicken gumbo soup( Campbells)
catsup
mustard

This recipe is very easy. You just brown the hamburger and then add one can of chicken gumbo. After that you add mustard and catsup to desired taste. It all depends on how much you want. We probably use approximately 4 tbsp of each mustard and catsup.

Warm sloppy joes up and serve on buns.

Sweet and Tangy Meatballs

Hello all! You'll have to forgive my absence....I've been busy getting ready for baby! She arrived a little early (8 days), much to the delight of her parents and is as cute as ever. The story is on my personal blog, if you are interested.

So...on to the recipe. I love these. They are the perfect thing for dinner or appetizers, for the family or a big party. With Christmas and New Years coming up, it seemed like the perfect time to post this. Did I mention they are totally FAST and EASY????

Baked Sweet and Tangy Meatballs

Meatballs:

1 lb lean ground beef or turkey

2 eggs

1/2 C breadcrumbs

1 clove garlic (more if desired!), chopped

1/4 onion, chopped

1 tsp Italian seasoning (optional...I usually don't add this when using with this sauce...)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all meatball ingredients and form into balls. (I use my cookie scoop - it's like a small ice cream scoop, but you can make them bigger if you prefer...). Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Sweet and Tangy Sauce:

1 C ketchup

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 C water

1/3 C brown sugar

1/4 C Worchestershire sauce

1/4 C white vinegar

Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce. You can then do one of two things: throw the cooked meatballs and sauce into a crock pot. This is how I prefer to do it. The flavors can simmer together for a bit and you can prep ahead of time this way. This is also perfect if you are serving for a party, as you can just keep it plugged in and hot. If you are in a rush however you can just heat the sauce on the stove and serve immediately with the meatballs.

I like to eat this with rice, so if you are doing that make sure you plan ahead and put your rice on to cook probably first, since the meatballs don't take long to make or cook. Also if you don't have breadcrumbs on hand you can 1)Make your own or 2) Substitute. Both are easy fixes. You can make your own by toasting bread and just crushing it up. This is a great way to use stale bread or the end of the bread that no one wants to eat. If you have a good blender that is good for making breadcrumbs. You can also substitute with OATMEAL or crushed crackers, cereal, etc. I actually like to use oatmeal with ground beef in a lot of recipes. Use the quick cooking or rolled oats (not instant). I like it because it doesn't affect the flavor or texture (that I can taste anyway), it extends and bulks up the meat (usually the most expensive part of your meal) for next to nothing and it adds whole grains to you dish.

With that I'll with you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Hope your celebrations are full of joy and good memories!

Kristy

Nacho Bake

I loathe Mac N Cheese and Hot Dogs...however this is a meal that I resort to often for daycare because: 1 - it's EASY, no oven, one pan... 2 - it's QUICK... 3 - It's CHEAP.... So yesterday I announced we were going to have this for lunch and I got at least three groans of "yuck!". I don't normally get that response, but I had to agree with them on it! So I turned over the box and found this recipe. It was still fairly easy, quick and cheap. The kids and I both loved it. I actually had Shells and Cheese on hand, instead of Mac N Cheese, but I'm sure either would work great.

Nacho Bake

1 pkg Shells and Cheese

1 lb ground beef

1 pkg Taco Seasoning Mix

3/4 C water

3/4 C sour cream

3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 C salsa

1/2 C coursely crushed tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the shells and cheese according to basic directions. While Pasta is cooking, brown meat and drain. Add taco seasoning mix and water to the meat. Simmer 5 minutes.

Stir sour cream into the prepared shells. Spoon half of the shells mixture into medium size casserole dish. Top with a layer of meat, half of the cheese, another layer of shells and another layer of meat. Cover.

Bake 15 minutes. Top with salsa, remaining cheese and crushed tortilla chips. Bake uncovered an additional 5 minutes.

Meat Pies

When I was living at home my mom would make these meat pies and my whole family loved them. I still make them for my family and my kids are always asking for me to make them.


Bisquick
1 pound hamburger( thawed out)
garlic salt
pepper
milk
1-2 eggs
1 can chili or homemade chili if desire

I mix up a double recipe of the biscuits that are on the side panel of the bisquick panel. It is basically bisquick and milk until it is biscuit consistency. I roll it out with a rolling pin on a floured surface.
Mix in a bowl 1 pound thawed out hamburger, one or two eggs, garlic salt, pepper and some milk so it is mixed together and can be spooned onto the rolled out biscuit dough. I use a fork and cover the biscuit dough that I have rolled out. Roll up jelly roll style and cut into about 1/2 in thick or desired thickness. Grease cookie sheet and put each individual meat pie onto the cookie sheet with it lying down.
Bake at about 375 degrees( might need to be higher depending on oven) about 15-20 min until they are brown. Heat up chili and serve over meat pies or my kids also enjoy catsup on them.

I hope you enjoy!!

Hamburger Steaks

Really simple tonight, but I was getting tired of looking at my stuffed pepper recipe on my other blog ;)  So the other night we had hamburgers, but no fixins for them.  So I made "hamburger steaks".  I cooked up the hamburgers and made brown gravy.  I actually didn't have any brown gravy mix, so just used Au Jus with cornstarch to thicken it up.  I served it over rice, but it would have been great over mashed potatoes.  There's really a lot of options, even when it seems like very few if you can get "think outside the [normal] menu".  I think we all need a few recipes like this that are literally five minute meals.  I need more than most lately! (If you don't know, I'm pregnant and cooking...not so much my favorite thing right now!!!)  If you have any...please post them!

Stuffed Green Peppers

Made this the other day...it was YUMMY! It does take at least an hour to make, but half of that time it's in the oven. It's very easy and mild flavored. Kelley and I loved it!

Stuffed Green Peppers

6 green bell peppers (we used 4 large instead with the same amount of filling)

salt to taste

1 pound ground beef

1/3 C chopped onion

salt and pepper to taste

1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 C uncooked rice (probably have to use white or it will take longer to cook)

1/2 C water (I had to use almost 3 times this much to keep it from burning the pan!)

1 C shredded Cheddar cheese

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup (I used just a single can of tomato sauce instead)

1. In a large skillet, saute beef and onions for 5 mintes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.

2. While the beef/rice mixture is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes and drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers. (I didn't use water with the tomato sauce, just poured it right from the can on top of the peppers).

4. Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

I have also in the past used this basic recipe to make a CASSEROLE. I did this when I either had just pieces of peppers left over from fajitas or something or didn't have enough green peppers. Instead of stuffing the green peppers I cut them into chunks and mix everything together, topping with cheese. I have also added other colors of peppers for variety and flavor as well as potatoes (cut into chunks) if it simply needed bulking up.

Chili and Rice

Ok - So nothing fancy here girls.  Want a simple meal with your protein, grain and veggies in one shot?  Chili and Rice.  I learned this trick in Hawaii. I just use canned chili and mix it with some rice.  Sprinkle some cheese on top if you would like.  Maybe you all know about this, but I had no idea it would be good until I went to BYU-H.  If you really want more veggies than the beans in the chili just add some carrot sticks, salad or something simple on the side.  Try it...see if you like it.  This is also a good dish to use brown rice in.  Even if you don't like the taste/texture it's basically taken over by the chili.  Let me know what you think...

Low Country Beef and Rice

Tried this the other day on the daycare kids. They didn't believe they would like it...but they did! It's really yummy. It is a little different, but has enough familiar elements...you'll love it!

Low Country Beef and Rice (from Saving Dinner by LeAnne Ely)

3/4 pound extra-lean ground beef

1 stalk celery, chopped fine

1 large onion, chopped

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp Cajon or Creole seasoning

1 cup oats

3 cups brown rice, cooked (even if you don't normally like brown rice, use it in this...better for you and you won't be able to tell a difference if you use white rice)

3 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 1/2 cups)

2 11 1/2 ounce cans V-8 juice

In a skillet, over medium-high heat, cook beef, celery, onion, bell pepper, and Cajon seasoning in a skillet about 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is brown and vegetables are tender. With paper towels, blot any excess grease. Stir in oats well. Then add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to medium low. Keep uncovered and simmer about 5 minutes.

Note: I didn't have a skillet big enough that would hold all of this. I just followed the instructions, except transferred everything to a bowl and added the rice very last.

Taco Bean Burgers

I thought I'd share my husbands favorite meal because it is ridiculously easy and he loves it so much. I'm not a fan of sloppy joes, but this alternative is one that everyone in our family likes:

1 lb ground beef, browned
1 can baked beans
1 pkg taco seasoning

Mix together and warm. Serve on hamburger buns.

I usually serve this with potato salad, french fries, or another more labor intensive side dish because the main is so effortless. Of course, in a pinch, I just chop up and steam some veggies.

Super Easy Taco Salad

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 can beans (any kind you like: kidney, pinto, etc...)
chopped veggies (whatever you like: lettuce, cilantro, tomato, onion, olives, avocado, etc...)
sour cream
salsa
tortilla chips (plain or Dorito's)

Direction:
Brown ground beef then add taco seasoning mix according to package directions. While that cooks drain your can of beans and heat it in the microwave if you want them warm. Chop up all your veggies and shred your cheese.

At this point you can do one of two things. You can mix everything together in a big bowl, or you can leave everything out for people to make there own salad on their plate with what they want. I just leave everything out and let people add whatever they want to theirs. Start with a layer of chips, then meat and beans, then whatever else you want on it.

Enjoy! This comes together so fast and so easily and is really yummy!

Julia's Revenge

My mom always called this Julia's revenge, in reference to Julia Child, because it only uses one pot and is so quick and easy.

Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger
1 medium onion, chopped
1 - 28 oz can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 can corn, drained (optional)
1-1/2 cups uncooked white rice
2 to 2-1/2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
shredded cheese, any kind

Directions:
Brown hamburger and onion in a large pot. Drain. Drain tomato liquid into a 4 cup measuring cup. Add tomatoes to the pot and break up if necessary, also add corn if using ( Ialways use corn because we like it that way. Add enough water to tomato juice to measure 3 cups, pour into pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice and some salt and pepper (maybe 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp salt to start, I don't know because I never measure it) and stir everything together. Reduce heat (low or med-low), cover and simmer 20-30* minutes until rice is done. Add more salt and pepper if necessary. Top with shredded cheese.

During cooking time, check occasionally to make sure rice isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan.

One Pot Meatball and Gnocchi Soup

I was really wanting soup and was browsing the net when I came across this recipe. It is so easy and very hearty. I made the meatballs with my melon baller and scooped them right into the soup. You don't need to use the red wine, you can just substitute more chicken broth. I also used Canadian bacon instead of turkey bacon because that is what I had on hand. This makes really good left overs. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 Tbs. olive oil
4 pieces turkey bacon, diced
4 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks (with leafy parts), chopped
1/2 onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, roasted
2 bay leaves
1 Tbs. fresh thyme, minced
1 Tbs. fresh rosemary, minced
1/4 C. red wine, preferably cabernet
1 lg. can diced tomatoes(with liquid)
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 C. gnocchi, store-bought or hand-made
4 C. chicken broth
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 C. fresh parsley, minced

meatball recipe
1 1/2 lb. ground turkey
1 egg
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp. red pepper flake
1 Tbs. fresh rosemary, minced
1 Tbs. fresh thyme, minced
1/4 C. grated parmesan cheese
1 lemon, juiced and zested

Directions

Combine ingredients for the meatball mixture and set aside. Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook until crisp, about 5-7 minutes. Remove bacon and drain on paper towel, set aside. Next add the carrots, celery, onion, roasted garlic, bay leaves, fresh thyme and rosemary and let cook another 5-7 minutes.

Deglaze pan with red wine and let cook for 1 minute before adding the canned tomatoes, garbanzo beans, broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and begin forming meatballs and dropping them into the soup. Also add the gnocchi and let simmer for 7-10 minutes, until both meatballs and gnocchi are floating to the top. Return bacon to the soup and garnish with fresh parsley just before serving.

Improvising, Skillet Pasta

OK, so much hubby has issues with spaghetti.  I like homemade spaghetti for many reasons, including that it's EASY and FAST.  Well tonight was one of those nights, it was after 5 and I had no dinner plans.  I have shied away from that above mentioned dish most of the time because I only get complaints when I make it.  But he agreed tonight that was fine.  I had to get out the door to book group.  As I started cooking however I decided to "improvise" (which always scares Joey...I swear I get no appreciation!).  Inspired by Rachael Ray and the "Dinner Diva" I threw this together:

Skillet Pasta (Anyone have a better name, let me know)

Get Pasta cooking.  I used Penne.

Saute Veggies and pressed garlic in some olive oil until tender. (I used one chopped onion and some left over green peppers.  You could also add mushrooms, shredded carrots, whatever you have on hand.  You could also skip this step if your in a real crunch!)

Add 1 lb ground beef, brown and drain off fat.

Add 1/2 - 1 C oats.  (this may sound weird, but you can't taste it, it adds whole grain and some bulk to the meat, extending the food for just a few pennies)

Mix these until incorporated.

Add 1 jar store bought spaghetti sauce and 1 C cottage cheese.  Mix well.  Top with Mozzarella Cheese and let melt.  Serve over pasta.

You can also mix the sauce and pasta together, top with cheese and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is melted, but this adds more time and more dishes...

The end result...Joey really liked it and Tyler had 3 helpings (he ate more than my husband!)