Aunt Rita's Meatloaf

1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 egg
3/4 cup oats
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup chopped onion

Mix together and put in pan.

Topping
2 T brown sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1 T mustard

Mix together and top the meatloaf

Bake 350 degrees for 1 hr.

Shepherds Pie

Ingredients

2 lbs cooked hamburger
can of green beans
can of corn
8 oz tomato sauce
1 cup brown gravy
salt and pepper to taste


Mix together in a bowl and put into a 9X13 baking dish.  Top with mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Italian Taco Stuffed Shells

1 box jumbo pasta shells
1 lb ground beef
1 packet Taco seasoning
1 can corn
1 can sliced olives
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 can enchilada sauce
cheese
salsa
To make:

layer the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with salsa.

Brown ground beef and with taco seasoning.

Add cream cheese, stirring until melted.

Drain liquid from olives and corn, add olives and corn to beef and cream cheese mixture.

Boil shells until al dente.

Fill shells with meat mixture and arrange in 9×13.

When full, evenly pour enchilada sauce over the shells.

Top with cheese.

Bake 350* for about 30 minutes.

These were so good.  I found the recipe here.

Mexican Pile Ups

• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 lb. hamburger
• 3 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• cooked rice (at least 4 cups)

Toppings:

• grated cheese
• green onion
• diced avocado
• diced tomatoes
• salsa or pico de gallo
• sour cream
• corn (I would thaw frozen corn or use canned corn)
• canned beans (rinsed and drained)
• guacamole
• sliced olives
• crushed tortilla or corn chips
• tortilla strips
• cilantro
• diced red or green peppers

1. In a large skillet, brown the beef along with the onion.  When beef is fully cooked drain off any grease.
2. Add the cans of tomato sauce and taco seasoning.  Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes.
3. Serve the beef/tomato sauce over cooked rice and top with desired toppings.

I found this recipe here.

Flatbread Tacos

I found this recipe here.

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 teaspoons ranch salad dressing mix
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 pound ground beef
1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) petite diced tomatoes with chipotle chilies , undrained
1/8 cup taco seasoning (this is 1/2 of an envelope)
1 package of grands biscuits
Optional toppings: sliced ripe olives, shredded lettuce, diced green onion and shredded cheese.

To make flat bread, roll out biscuit and fry in a pan using only pam.

1. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, dressing mix and lemon juice; chill until serving.(at least 30 minutes)
2. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the beans, tomatoes, and taco seasoning; heat through
3. To serve, spread each flatbread with 2 tablespoons ranch sour cream then top each with meat mixture. Sprinkle with toppings if desired. 

Stuffed Beef Patties with Mushroom Gravy

Beef:

• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup prepared stuffing (I used Stove Top stuffing)

Gravy:

• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2- 1 cup evaporated milk

1. In a large bowl, combine the milk, salt and thyme. Crumble beef over milk mixture and mix well. Shape mixture into eight thin patties. Place 1/4 cup of stuffing on top of four of the patties.  Then top with the remaining patties. Press edges of patties together to seal.
2. Place in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160° and juices run clear.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute mushrooms in butter until tender. Stir in the soup, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme; heat through. Add enough evaporated milk to make desired consistency for a gravy.  Serve with burgers topped with the gravy.

I found this recipe here.

Stone Soup

Today for Joy School the kids and I read the story "Stone Soup."  Then we made some.  I put a stone in a pan of water and had the kids add the ingredients.  It was so fun.  I did cook the veges a little bit a head of time so it wouldn't take as long to cook.  

1 lb ground beef (browned)

1 1/2 cup diced carrots

1 1/2 cup diced potatoes

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup uncooked rice

salt and pepper to taste

6 cups water

1 tsp tyme

6 beef bouillon cubes

Simmer on the stove for about 25 minutes.  Enjoy!

Crock Pot Pork and Beans

I found this recipe here.

1 onion- chopped
1 lb hamburger
1 lb bacon- cooked and crumbled

Cook hamburger and onion. Crumble bacon and set aside.

Layer in 5 quart Crock Pot:

Hamburger and onion
5 (11 oz.) cans of Pork and Beans (I think 4 would be plenty or maybe leave out one of the other cans of beans)
1 1/2 c. sugar (I also think you could half the sugar)
1 1/2 brown sugar
3 T. rice vinegar
1 T. liquid smoke
1 can black beans- rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans- rinsed and drained
1 c. ketchup

Cook on low for 9 hours. Stir after 3 hours. Stir in bacon before serving.

Shredded Beef Taquitos

These were a hit at my house. I found the recipe here.

1-2 Lbs. lean roast beef
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 c. water
a few shakes of hot sauce (Tabasco etc..)
Shredded cheddar cheese
Tortillas

Add roast beef to crock-pot with onion soup mix, water, and hot sauce. Heat on low for 8-10 hours. Remove beef from crock-pot and shred. Add a little cheese and beef to each tortilla and roll up (remember to add cheese first, THEN beef.. that way the cheese won't melt out). Place taquitos seam-side down on a lightly greased cookie sheet at 400-degrees for 6-8 minutes. Turn taquitos once and bake for another 5-6 minutes or until taquitos are nice, golden brown, and slightly crispy (you could also deep fry them if you'd rather). Serve with sour cream, salsa and/or guacamole.

Snowmen

We live in the desert and because of that, we miss out on snow. We have had a few dustings of snow in the last 7 1/2 years we have lived here, but not a real snow that you can play in and build snowmen with. So, we have to be creative when it comes to Winter fun. I don't miss the scraping of sidewalks, or driving in blizzards, but I do miss playing in the snow.

My kids and I decided to have our own snowmen night.
We started out our night reading this fun book called "Snow Friends." It is about some little animals that build a snowman to play with.


Then we had our snowmen dinner. We found some great recipes in a Taste of Home Test Kitchen cook book. We had Snowman Party Stew, and Cauliflower Snowmen.

Snowman Party Stew
1 pound of ground beef
1 package frozen veges
1 can beef gravy
2 cups mashed potatoes with a small amount of milk
16 whole black peppercorns
1/4 cup ketchup

In a skillet, cook beef until no longer pink. remove 24 peas and one carrot chunk from the stew vegetables and set aside. Add remaining vegetables to beef. Cook until veges are thawed. Add gravy; mix well. Pour into an ungreased 9 in pie plate. Top with eight mashed potato snowmen, using 1 tbsp of potatoes for each head, and 3 tbsp for each body.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cut the reserved carrot into eight strips. Insert one strip into each snowman for a nose, place reserved peas on each for buttons. Add peppercorns for eyes. Drizzle ketchup between head and body to form a scarf.


Cauliflower Snowman
6 cups cauliflower
1/4 cup diced white onion
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
10 whole ripe olives
1 baby carrot

In large saucepan, cook cauliflower in a small amount of water for 6-7 minutes. Drain.

In medium saucepan saute onion in butter for 2 minutes. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cheese until melted. Add salt, garlic salt, and pepper.

Place half of the cauliflower in a greased 2 1/2 qt baking dish; top with half of the sauce. Repeat. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Add olives for eyes and mouth and carrot for the nose.

After dinner, we had these cute snowman doughnuts we found at the bakery at Walmart. There were lots of cute recipes for snowman treats online though too. You could google snowman treats if you don't find the doughnuts.

After dinner we made these cute ornaments. I found the idea here.

I found the red ornament at the dollar store. I painted my kids hands with white paint. Then I had them carefully place their hands around the ornament. Once the paint dried, I used sharpies and added a few eyes, nose, mouth, buttons, and a scarf to turn their fingers into snowmen. They turned out really cute.

Then after a the kids got out of their warm bath (the painting was kind of messy) we curled up on the couch to watch "Frosty the Snowman."

We had a great night, pretending we played in the snow.

April Fool's Day Cupcakes

We made these really fun Meatloaf Cupcakes for Dinner tonight. They were so fun to make and the kids loved them. I think I will be making them for Landon's birthday too. So fun! The recipe came from Family Fun.

Ingredients

• MEAT LOAF
• 1 pound lean ground beef ( I used ground turkey)
  
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 egg

• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• POTATO FROSTING
• 3 cups mashed potatoes
• Food coloring

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 muffin tin cups with foil bake cups.

2. In a large bowl, mix together all of the meat loaf ingredients until well combined. Divide the mixture evenly among the lined cups (the liners should be about three quarters full).

3. Place the filled muffin tins on cookie sheets and bake the cupcakes for about 15 minutes or until cooked through.

4. Divide the mashed potatoes among three small bowls and stir a few drops of food coloring into each batch to create blue, yellow, and pink pastel frostings. Spread a generous dollop on each cupcake. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Happy April Fool's Day!

Ultimate Peppercorn Burgers

This is a pampered chef recipe

1 small onion
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 slices bread
1/3 cup milk
1 tbsp crushed peppercorn and garlic rub
1 lb ground beef
4 onion rolls
Additional toppings such as steak sauce, sliced tomatoes, or cooked bacon

Heat pan and cook the onion in rings. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes and set aside.

Tear bread into pieces. Combine bread, milk, and peppercorn rub. Mix until a paste forms. Add beef and combine.

Form four patties. Cook until no longer pink.

Serve on rolls with additional toppings.

Healthy Hamburger Helper

I found this recipe on A Daily Dose of Dieting blog. It turned out so good I thought I would share.

1-1/2 cups uncooked whole wheat penne pasta
3/4 pound lean ground beef
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) no-salt-added diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons dill pickle relish
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon steak seasoning
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Chopped green onions, optional

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.

3. Drain pasta; add to meat mixture.

4. Stir in the tomatoes, relish, mustard, ketchup, steak seasoning and seasoned salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

5. Sprinkle with cheese. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand until cheese is melted. Garnish with green onions if desired.

This was so good. It was just like eating a cheeseburger but much better for you. The kids even liked it. You could even use ground turkey to make it even less fattening.

Upside Down Deep Dish Pizza

This recipe was in a Parent and Child recipe. It turned out really good and even the kids ate it.

1 lb ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can refrigerated pizza dough.

Brown beef in skillet; drain. Season with salt and pepper. Stir inn spaghetti sauce and bring to a boil. Turn into a 2 quart baking dish

Top with broccoli, then cheese. Press dough over dish, sealing edges.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes.

I put mine in a pie plate, but it didn't hold everything. I put half of it in a square casserole dish and froze it, so we will be having this again. It was really good.

Sloppy Joes

These were super easy, super fast, and super tasty.

1 medium onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1 60z package of mushrooms sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 60z can tomato paste
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar

Saute onion, garlic, mushrooms, salt, and pepper with the oil over medium high heat. Add the hamburger and brown. Add the ketchup, tomato paste, and brown sugar til combined. Serve in hamburger buns.

Taco Tortilla Bowls

1 tbsp oil
1 medium red or green pepper
1 small onion
1 package taco seasoning
1 can diced tomaoes, undrained
1 can black beans, drained
2 cups shredded cooked chicken, or turkey (I used ground turkey)
1/2 cup water
2 cups cooked rice
4 tortillas

Heat oil over medium high heat and cook pepper and onion, stirring occasionally until tender. Stir in the next 5 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce eat to low, simmer occaionally 3 minutes. Stir in rice and heat through.

Meanwhile, spray both sides of each tortilla with nonstick spray and press into oven safe bowls to form bowl shape. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool 3 minutes. Remove from bowls and cool completely.

Serve rice mixture in tortilla bowls with your favorite taco toppings, such as shredded cheese, lettuce, quacamole, and/ or sour cream.

Makes 4 servings.

Weeknight Lasagna Toss

This came from a kraft Food and Family Magazine

1 lb ground beef
2 cups chopped green peppers (about 2 peppers)
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 2/3 cups water
1/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing
12 oven ready lasagna noodles, broken into quarters
1 cup shredded low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese

Brow meat in large saucepan on medium heat; drain.

Add peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water and dressing. Bring to a boil. Stir in noodles; reduce heat to medium low, and cover.

Cook, stirring occasionally, 10-15 minutes or until noodles are tender. remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 5 min or until cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings 2 cups each.

(This turned out really good. It was really fast, easy and I didn't have to turn the oven on.)

Grandma Kroeger's Sloppy Joes

1 lb. ground beef
4 carrots grated
2 tbs. dried onion or onion powder
2 cans of tomato soup
salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef, drain fat. Add onion, and soup to meat . Heat through. Serve on hamburger buns.

Classic Chili

This recipe was in a woman's day magazine. We had it for dinner tonight with cornbread muffins. It was really easy, and pretty tasty.

12 oz lean ground beef
1 cup diced green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can pinto beans, rinsed

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add meat and vegetables and cok till mean it browned. Add seasonings and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender. Stir in beans and heat through.