Cheesy Burger, Rice and Broccoli Skillet

This was a recipe I got from the Pillsbury website.  It was alright.  Not sure I'd make it again without tweaking something though.

Cheesy Burger, Rice and Broccoli Skillet

1 lb lean ground beef
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (10 3/4 oz)
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4-5 drops hot sauce
1 cup uncooked regular long grain white rice
2 cups water
4 cups frozen broccoli florets
4 oz (1 cup) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Brown beef in skillet until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently.  Drain.

Add soup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce; mix well.  Stir in rice and water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, stirring once or twice.

Meanwhile cook broccoli to desired doneness as directed on package.  Drain and set aside.

Stir cooked broccoli into ground beef mixture; mix well.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover; cook an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

1 1/2 cups = 420 calories

String Pie

I used to make this a lot but haven't made it for quite a long time until tonight.  I remembered how good it was!

String Pie

12 oz spaghetti
4 Tb butter
salt and pepper
2 eggs, beaten
2 lbs ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper (I use red)
2 Tb oil (I omit this)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
2 tsp sugar
garlic, oregano
2 cups cottage cheese
8 oz mozzarella
2/3 cup parmesan

Cook and drain spaghetti.  Place in bottom of 9x13 dish.  Combine butter, parmesan, salt, pepper, and egg.  Spread over noodles.  Spread on cottage cheese.  Cook ground beef, onion, green pepper in oil.  Stir in spaghetti sauce, sugar, garlic, and oregano.  Layer over noodles and cottage cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Sprinkle with mozzarella.  Bake 10 minutes more until cheese is melted.

Quick Burritos

Just a quick easy burrito I made to put in the freezer.  Wrap them individually and then you can just pull them out and nuke them.

Spread some refried beans onto a tortilla shell.  Top with some cooked ground beef (I seasoned mine with chili powder and cumin), taco sauce, and shredded cheese.  Roll up and wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag.  Microwave when ready to eat.

Chili

Basic Chili:

2 lbs ground beef
1 to 2 onions, depending on how big they are
2 cans chili beans
1 can white bean (I usually use Great Northern)
1 can red bean (dark red, light red, whatever you like)
1 packet chili seasoning (I used Williams brand, nothing else!)
Large can (I think it was something like 47 oz) tomato juice
Secret ingredient my grandpa used:  sugar, a few tablespoons, or as much to your liking.  I'm learning that a little sugar on meat make a huge difference in taste.  When I did those Double Decker Tacos it called for brown sugar, which I thought was a little strange, but it was the best tasting taco meat I've ever had.

Cook beef until almost done, drain if needed.  Add onion and 3/4 of the chili seasoning and cook until slightly soft.  Meanwhile, in crockpot add beans, NOT DRAINED, rest of seasoning, sugar and tomato juice.  Once meat is done add to crockpot.  My crockpot gets really, really hot so I do 2 to 3 hours on high or 4 or 5 hours on low.

Shepherd's Pie

I'm better about posting so far this year but I'm worse about taking pictures!  I forget until after we've eaten but then my pretty picture is messed up so I skip it.

Shepherd's Pie

1 lb ground beef
2 cup hot mashed potatoes
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup beef gravy

375 degrees.  Brown meat in skillet.  Drain.

Mix potatoes, cream cheese, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar, and garlic until well blended.

Stir vegetables and gravy into meat.  Spoon in 9 inch baking dish.  Cover with potato mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.

6 servings

**I of course don't follow this exactly. We aren't fans of frozen vegetables so I used a can of green beans, a can of peas, a can of carrots, and some frozen lima beans (I was out of corn or we would have used that too.)

I think it would be better with homemade gravy but I have hardly ever made gravy so I wouldn't know where to begin.  Something I guess I should experiment with huh?

I also doubled the meat and veggie mixture and froze that.  When ready, thaw and add fresh mashed potatoes and cheese.

Enchirito

I think these would be better with the sauce I use on my chicken enchiladas:  enchilada sauce, tomato soup, and cream of mushroom soup.  I put a batch in the freezer without sauce so when I make those in a couple weeks I'm going to try them with the enchilada sauce.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 pack taco seasoning
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can refried beans
1/4 cup shredded cheddar
12 burrito sized tortillas
extra grated cheese and extra sauce for top

Spicy Beef Directions:
Brown ground beef and diced onions in large skillet.  Drain off excess fat and add taco seasoning.  Stir in 3/4 can of enchilada sauce (around 1 cup) and set pan aside.

Cheesy Beans Directions:
Stir shredded cheese and beans together and warm in the microwave.

Enchirito Directions:
Nuke some tortillas for about a minute or so.  You want them to be soft and pliable.  Spread on some warm cheesy beans and some spicy meat.  Roll it over, fold over the ends, and roll over again.  Place in a baking dish.  Top with extra cheese and sauce.  Bake until warm and cheese is bubbly, about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Slow Cooker Tamale Pie

This was my first time making this recipe so I didn't make any to freeze but it would work great as a freezer meal if you leave off the cheese and cornbread until later.  It was very yummy and I will definitely make it again.

Slow Cooker Tamale Pie

1 lb ground beef
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained
1 can (11 oz) whole kernal corn, drained
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 pkg (8 1/2 oz) corn bread/muffin mix
2 eggs
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
sour cream and additional minced cilantro, optional

In large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.  Stir in cumin, salt, chili powder and pepper.  Transfer to a 4-qt slow cooker; stir in beans, tomatoes, corn, enchilada sauce, onions and cilantro.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until heated through.

In small bowl, combine muffin mix and eggs; spoon over meat mixture.  Cover and cook 1 hour longer or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand for 5 minutes.  Serve with sour cream and additional cilantro if desired.

8 Servings

Linked up to:
Meatless Mondays at My Sweet and Savory
Homemaker Monday at 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven
Tasty Traditions at Coupon Cookin'
Recipe Swap Thursday at Prairie Story
Tuesday Night Supper Club at Fudge Ripple
Tip Day Thursday at Around My Family Table
Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff

Nachos

I've been craving nachos and decided to make our own for dinner the other night.  Don't these just look divine?!  And they couldn't be more simple.

I took a small thing of velveets, 1/2 lb I think?  I heated it in the microwave until mostly melted then added some salsa to it.  That was our cheese sauce.  I know, I know...velveeta?  I've got to find a good homemade sauce to try.

I put some sauce over my chips and added some scallions, black beans, tomato, and jalepenos to mine.  The hubs only put ground beef and cheese sauce on his.  Boring!  They were so good and will be made again, probably on a Sunday while watching football.

Pasta Roll Ups

Pretty much like lasagna but I get tired of doing things the same way all the time.

It didn't call for meat but my husband requested it so I added it in.  I think it made it better.  I also left out the green onions and used cottage cheese instead of ricotta.

Pasta Roll Ups

1 egg, beaten

1 container - 15 oz - ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded Italian three cheese blend

4 green onions, chopped

1 Tb Italian seasoning

1 jar - 26 oz - spaghetti sauce, divided

16 lasagna noodles (I used 20)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

375 degrees.

Mix first 5 ingredients until well blended.

Spread 1/2 cup sauce on bottom of 9x13 dish.  (I used two 8x8 so I could freeze one.  I got 10 rolls in each one.)  Spread each noodle with 3 Tb cheese mixture; roll up.  Place, seam side down, in dish.  Top with remaining sauce and parmesan.  Cover.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until heated through, uncovering last 10 minutes.

If frozen--thaw overnight in fridge.  Bake, covered, 1 hour and 5 minutes, or until heated through, uncovering last 10 minutes.

This post is linked to:

Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free

What's Cooking Wednesday at Turning Back the Clock

A Southern Fairytale

Tasty Tuesdays at A Beautiful Mess

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace

Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Tuesday at the Table at All the Small Stuff

Double Decker Tacos

I don't eat tacos often.  I enjoy crunchy shells the most but they made too much of a mess and break all apart so I never eat those unless I make a taco salad.  And I'm just not a fan of soft shelled tacos.  But this combination was wonderful!  I think the reason I liked these is that the meat had a great flavor.  I added more veggies to the meat, zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, and red onion, just to get some veggies in for the hubby and because I like them.   I would definitely recommend this if you like tacos.  I ate two of them and really wanted to go back for more!

Double Decker Tacos

8 hard taco shells
8 corn tortillas (we used flour tortillas cut to size)
2 cups refried beans, warmed
1 lb ground beef
1 onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tb all purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1 tsp chili powder
dash black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp brown sugar
tapatio or other hot sauce, to taste
shredded lettuce
shredded cheddar cheese
diced tomatoes

Cook beef with onion and garlic.  Drain well and return to pan.  Toss meat with tablespoon of flour.  Stir in water, seasonings, brown sugar, and hot sauce.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and breaking any large chunks of beef into smaller bits.

Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat.  Lightly spray or drizzle with a little oil and cook corn tortillas until lightly browned on both sides (1-2 minutes per side)

Evenly spread about 1/4 cup of warmed beans over a cooked corn tortilla.  Place a hard taco shell inside and wrap tortilla so the beans are a layer between the hard shell and soft tortilla.

Fill with meat mixture, lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes.

This post is linked to:
What's Cooking Wednesday at Turning the Clock Back
Tasty Traditions at Coupon Cookin'
Recipe Swap Thursday at Prairie Story
Tip Day Thursday at Around My Family Table

Meatball Subs

I had some meatballs in the freezer so I baked them in the oven, then threw them in a pot with some spaghetti sauce.  We served them with slices mozzarella cheese (because I was out of parmesan).

I usually just throw some different seasonings in my meatballs but when I use them for spaghetti, or something Italian, I usually use garlic powder, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil.  If it's a little soft I may add a little bit of bread crumbs, or an egg if it's too dry.

Taco Pasta Shells

Another great freezable meal.

Taco Pasta Shells

2 lb ground beef
2 envelopes taco seasoning
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
24 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
1/4 cup butter/margarine, melted

1 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or Montery Jack
1 1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
1 cup sour cream
3 green onions, chopped

Cook beef; drain.  Add taco seasoning and cream cheese; cover and simmer 5-10 minutes until melted.  Transfer to a bowl, chill 1 hour.  Cook pasta; drain.  Gently toss with butter.

Fill each shell with about 3 Tb meat mixture.  Place 12 shells in a greased 9 inch square dish.  Cover and freeze up to 3 months.

To prepare, spoon salsa into greased 9 inch dish.  Top with stuffed shells and taco sauce.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and chips.  Bake 15 minutes longer or until heated through.  Serve with sour cream and onions.

To Use Frozen:

Thaw in fridge for 24 hours.  Remove from dish.  Add salsa to dish, top with shells and taco sauce.  Cover and bake as directed above, except for 40 minutes. 

2 shells per serving

Sloppy Jo

This is the recipe I grew up on.  It's from my mom and I have no idea where she got it because my grandma used the canned sauce.  But it's very good if you like that ketchup and mustard mixed together kind of flavor.

Combine in jar and shake:

1 cup ketchup

1 Tb sugar

1/2 cup water

3 Tb mustard

3 Tb vinegar (I use white)

3 tsp worcestershire sauce

Cook 1 lb beef, breaking apart.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Once meat is cooked, add sauce and cook slowly until thickened.

This freezes great.  I always double this and freeze for a meal later.

Hungry Jack Casserole

This is one of our family's go-to meals that is tasty and easy to prepare.  It also freezes well and I almost always double it to stash away for a later meal.




Hungry Jack Casserole

1 lb ground beef
3/4 cup barbeque sauce
16 oz can baked beans
little diced onion
1 can dinner biscuits

Brown beef with onion in skillet.  Drain.  Add beans and bbq sauce.  Heat on medium until bubbly; stir occasionally.  Cut dinner biscuits in half.  Transfer to casserole dish.  Place rolls flat side down around edge.  Cook 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until rolls are brown.

**NOTE:  I do not cook this with the biscuits on top.  I find that they never done underneath and you are eating dough.  So I cook the biscuits seperately and then serve this over them when it's ready.

Feta Basil Burgers

I made these a little differently than the recipe said because I didn't have any sun dried tomatoes, but you could add them in.

I personally haven't tried these yet either.  I just made them today to stick in the freezer for the week when we get back from vacation so that we have some food ready to go.  I'll try to remember to post if they're good or not but they sure look and smell good!

I need some ideas for toppings for these burgers though so if you think of something please leave a comment!!  I don't think the traditional ketchup, mustard, onion, pickles would be good.

Feta Basil Burgers

1 lb ground beef
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup julienne sun dried tomatoes, oil packed, drained

In large bowl, mix together all the ingredients until well incorporated.  Make a large ball of the meat and divide into fourths.  Make 4 quarter pound hamburger balls and mold into patties.  Cook on hot grill for 3 minutes on each side or until hambrugers are cooked to desired doneness. 

FREEZING DIRECTIONS:

You can make up these hamburgers and freeze them using sheets of waxed paper to divide them and then place in freezer bags.  To serve:  Thaw.  Cook on hot grill for 3 minutes on each side or until hambrugers are cooked to desired doneness.

Pepperoni and Meatball Calzones

I made these before if you remember with Ham and Cheese and they turned out so good we decided to try something else.  So I did pepperoni pizza ones with spaghett sauce, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese.  Then I did meatball ones with spaghetti sauce, mozzarella, and meatballs.  We ended up with 8 of each so I froze 8 and we baked 8 for this night.  To see the recipe click here.

Lil' Cheddar Meatloaves

I thought I had already posted this but I didn't see it. I made these tonight but I don't have any pictures since I thought it was on here. However, I make these quite often so I'll get pictures next time! These are SO SO good!!

Lil' Cheddar Meatloaves

1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 c chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1 lb ground beef
2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp mustard

Beat egg and milk. Stir in cheese, oats, onion, and salt. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 8 loaves. Place in a 9 x 13 dish. Combine ketchup, sugar, and mustard. Spoon over loaves. Bake, uncovered, 350 degrees, for 45 minutes.

I usually double this and freeze a batch. I freeze without the ketchup sauce and add that before I cook them.

Meatball Sub Casserole

This came from the April/May 2010 issue of Taste of Home. It was pretty good, and of course freezer friendly. I would change two things: I would use less of the cream cheese mixture. I had a ton so I put it on heavily but you don't really need that much. And two, my husband requested more meatballs, and I agree that would be better.


Meatball Sub Casserole

1/3 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
3 Tb grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb ground beef
1 loaf (1 lb) Italian bread, cut into 1 inch slices (I only used about half a loaf and it was plenty)
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 jar spaghetti sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced

In bowl combine onions, crumbs, Parmesan. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 1 inch balls; place on greased rack in a shallow pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until no longer pink.

Meanwhile arrange bread in a single layer in an ungreased 9 x 13 baking dish. Combine cream cheese, mayo, Italian seasoning and pepper; spread over bread. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella.

Combine sauce, water, and garlic; add meatballs. Pour over cheese mixture; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees, for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Homemade Pasta Dough and Homemade Ravioli

My son asked for ravioli yesterday but I didn't have any made. That last batch I did ended up being so chewy because of how much wrapper was left on the edges and the kids had trouble chewing it, even though they liked it. So this time I opted not to use wonton or eggroll wrappers and tried out a homemade pasta dough recipe.

The filling I used was 1 lb. ground beef that I cooked and drained, then made finer in the food processor and mixed with some spaghetti sauce and shredded Italian cheese. This tasted really good.

The dough also turned out pretty good. It was soft and stretchy and seemed to work perfectly. I haven't cooked them yet, they're in the freezer right now. But tomorrow for lunch we'll see how they turn out!

Here's the recipe:

Filling:
1 lb. ground beef
not quite half a jar of spaghetti sauce, probably about 1 to 1 1/2 cups
1 1/2 cups (or however much you like) of shredded Italian cheese (you could use mozzarella or anything really, or none at all)

Dough:
4 cups regular flour
5 eggs
1/2 oz. olive oil (I looked up and read this was 2 Tb so that's what I used.)

Cook beef; drain. Let cool.

While it's cooling, make dough. Measure flour into large bowl. Make a small hole in the center and add eggs and oil; mix well with large spoon then by hand. Dough will be very firm. Knead dough on an unfloured smooth surface. If dough is too stiff, small amounts of water may be kneaded in. (I think it's important to follow these directions exactly. I did end up kneading in a couple tablespoons of water because my dough was really crumbly.)

Cover dough in bowl with damp cloth and work with small amounts at a time. (I don't have a ravioli machine or mold so I rolled the dough out using a rolling pin and a small cup to cut out circles with. You could also use a knife and cut out squares. Another note, I sprinkled a dash of flour, and I mean only a dash, hardly any really, just enough to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and counter. You don't really want any extra flour in your dough or it will start cracking and won't stick together.)

If rolling with a pin, roll a small amount to about one sixteenth of an inch. Or as thin as you can and then I just stretched them out a little more once I had them cut, before I put the filling in. Cut into square or circles, fill center with small amount of meat mixture. Add another piece of cut dough and seal sides with your fingers. I also crimped the edges with a fork to ensure they were sealed good.

Place ravioli on a floured cloth sprinkled with farina, semolina, or corn meal and let dry overnight. Or for long term storage, freeze them on cookie sheets for one hour, then slide into ziploc bags when frozen.

To cook, simply cook in slowly boiling chicken broth or salted water until one (they will float to the surface when done). Be sure not to overcook.

I was wondering about using wheat flour, or a mixture of all purpose and wheat but figured I'd just do regular flour for now and see how they turn out. If they're good, I may try that next time.

This ended up making 32 ravioli for me that I'm freezing so I can pull them out and cook them for my kids for lunches. I think I'm going to sprinkle them with bread crumbs and maybe parmesan cheese when they come out of the cooking water to make them more like breaded ravioli, since that's what my kids like.

Easy Enchiladas

When I had my second child my friend brought me this for dinner one night. We fell in love with it! If I would have found this recipe on my own I might not have tried it because the sauce ingredients seem like an odd combination to me, but it's very yummy, I promise. And I know, the picture doesn't make it look too appetizing but trust me, it is! I've done a few things differently so I'll mark those in a different color so you can see both the original and my variation.

EASY ENCHILADAS

1 lb groud beef or turkey (I use shredded chicken)
1/2 diced onion (I omit this, at least in the hubby's and kids')
2-3 cups shredded cheese (I use mexican blend) (Cheddar works fine too but mexican is best)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
1 can enchilada sauce (I usually use a larger can of this)
corn tortillas (or flour since the hubby doesn't like corn ones)

I sometimes double the sauce depending on how much chicken I make.

Brown beef & onion. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Drain. Stir in 2 cups cheese.

Mix soups & enchilada sauce in a large bowl. Soften tortillas by heating for 10-15 seconds per side on hot skillet. (You probably should do this for corn tortillas but I don't for flour tortillas.) (I do this one at a time while filling them). Spread 1 cup of soup mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Fill tortillas with one heaping tablespoon of meat mixture and roll up. Place in pan seam side down. Roll as many tortillas as needed to fill pan and use up meat mixture.

Cover with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake covered at 350 for 30-40 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.

This freezes beautifully too, with or without the sauce on it already. I made one dish last night and had enough extra to put another dish in the freezer.