Stuffed Peppers!

I hadn't had stuffed peppers in years. My mom would rarely make them because she and I were the only ones who would eat them at home. My husband brought them up and I can't believe I had forgotten about these little gems. YUM! I got this recipe from my other aunt, Star. I'm so lucky to have so many great cooks in my family who are willing to share their recipes and I've made this one twice since she gave it to me! Seems like it's a pretty traditional stuffed peppers recipe, so probably nothing new. I'm mostly putting it on here for me. :)


Stuffed Pepper Cups

Cut of tops & remove seeds/membranes of 6 peppers, any color
Boil in salted water 5mins.
Drain and salt inside cups ( save 1/2 cup water stock from peppers)
Filling:
1 lb. Ground beef or ground turkey
1/4 cup chopped onion (optional)
1/2 tsp. Salt & dash pepper
2- 8oz. Cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup uncooked minute rice (white or brown)
3/4 cup corn, frozen
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Cook ground beef or turkey with onions til browned.
Add remaining ingredients including 1/2 cup of stock from boiling peppers.
Cover & simmer approx.15 mins.
Stir in 1 cup shredded cheese
Stuff meat into cups and stand upright in baking dish
Top each cup with more cheddar cheese
Bake uncovered for 20-25 mins 350 degrees.

Best Taco Soup!

It's been forever, I know!! I will try to be better about posting! :)

Ok so I really don't like taco soup.. I've eaten it a few times because.. honestly, I didn't want to be rude. But, I'm the type of person who gets these urges to try things I haven't liked in the past.. After all, maybe it was just that recipe that I wasn't a fan of. So, I decided to give taco soup a second chance when I saw a recipe that wasn't like any of the past ones I've had. Usually they are really thin and kind of bland. The first thing I noticed about this recipe is that it was chunky. I like chunky.. plus it had diced green chilies in it.. I'll eat almost anything with diced green chilies in it. lol. I am definitely making this more often.. We ate it a few days ago and I've been eating it everyday for lunch since. It makes a TON! So, I froze some(hope that turns out).


Simple Taco Soup
2 lbs ground beef (I actually only used one.. oops.. still seemed like enough to me)
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 1/2 cups water
1 (15 ounce) can mild chili beans
1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained (I didn't have these so I used black)
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers (aka rotel)
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 (1 ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix

In a Dutch oven or large kettle, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add taco seasoning and mix well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

We topped ours with a dollop of sour cream and some cheddar cheese.. Dipped chips in it and it was oooohhh so good! I think it would also be awesome with some diced up avocado thrown on top.

Crockpot sweet and sour meatballs

So, you know how I said I never buy frozen meatballs... well.. I was walking into Walmart the other day and walked past Subway.. The smells just made me crave a meatball sandwich, and we had hoagies at home. So, I gave in and bought some frozen ones so I could easily make me a meatball sandwich for lunch, it was divine. Anyway, so I now have some store bought frozen meatballs in my freezer and I needed to use a few things in my fridge(pineapple and the sweet and sour sauce). So, I decided to throw it all in my crockpot and see how it all tasted. YUM YUM YUM! My pregnant body could hardly handle smelling it all day, I wanted to dive in! After my husband got home I was constantly asking him if he was hungry yet.. after the 3rd no.. I decided I was going to test them out. I ate 5 meatballs before we even ate. They were so yummy and super easy! Anyway, I love this sauce and have used it on chicken before but it was very good for this too, so I would recommend getting it if you can.

I have found it's cheapest at Walmart, if you can find it at yours! Anyway here is the recipe. I wish I got paid to advertise this sauce, but really.. I just like it! I also use their fajita sauce every now and then.


Crockpot Sweet and Sour Meatballs
frozen meatballs (as many as you need for your family)
1 bottle sweet and sour sauce (I prefer world harbors)
1 can pineapple chunks or tidbits, mostly drained
1/2 of green pepper diced
Garlic salt (to taste, I probably used a teaspoon, makes it a little more savory and not so sweet)
Hot cooked rice

Combine first 5 ingredients in a slow cooker and cook for 5-6 hours on low or until heated. Serve over hot cooked rice.

I have also fallen in love with crockpot liners. They are definitely a nice thing to have, but can be a little pricey. I think it's worth it, most of the time. :)

Sooner than I thought...

While I am still not feeling up to cooking every night. I have been able to cook the past few nights and also had the energy to do the dishes. Which is a big improvement.. But, I don't know if it will continue or not.. we will see. I made this Veggie Meatball soup tonight and it was so yummy! It was super easy too! I know during this time of year easy meals are important to alot of people. I used my homemade meatballs but the recipe calls for frozen. So, you can make it as easy as you want. I usually make up big batches of my homemade meatballs(my hubby and I think they taste much better than the stores) and then freeze them. So, I usually have some on hand. If you would like my meatball recipe, let me know and I will post it. The recipe also calls for a can of stewed tomatoes, I think next time I will try Italian stewed tomatoes just for a little extra flavor. I also think it would be yummy with some fresh Parmesan cheese grated on top, but I didn't have any.


Veggie Meatball Soup
adapted from the taste of home

1 14 oz can Beef Broth
1 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables, thawed.
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 bag of frozen meatballs, thawed. (depending on how big your bag is.. I would just put in the right amount for each person in your family. I usually do 4 a person.)
2 Bay leaves
1/8 teaspoon pepper or to taste
1 cup pasta (use whatever you have on hand.. I used mini Farfalle)

In a slow cooker, combine the first 6 ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. Cook pasta as directed on package, drain. Add to soup and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Discard bay leaves before serving.

Salisbury Steak and Garlic red potatoes

I'm not much of a person who likes a lump of hamburger. Sure I love hamburgers but when they are on buns.. and meatloaf.. we won't even go there.. Anyways, my mom made these once when we were at her house and I wasn't excited to eat it, but I didn't want to be rude. So, I ate it anyway. Let me tell you.. AWESOME! I love these little babies. Infact, I wanted more. Now I've got the recipe and plan on making it often. It's quite simple too! Whole family raves over these little guys. Of course they may not look like a million bucks, but most comfort foods don't. I also tried this recipe for red potatoes last night. My hubby is not a big potato kind of guy, but I thought he might like this recipe that has a hint of lemon to it, and he did! Both will be added to our dinner rotation. This would also go great with home-made mac and cheese! Enjoy!


Salisbury Steak
1 1/2 pounds hamburger
1/4 cup catalina dressing
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mix and shape into patties. Cook in a baking dish at 400 for 10-15 minutes(depending on the thickness of your patties). They will not be done at this point. While that is cooking mix together, set aside.

1 envelope brown gravy mix
1 small onion thinly sliced (I didn't have an onion on hand so I just used the dehydrated)
1 cup water

When the timer goes off, pour the above mixture over patties. cover and cook 10-15 minutes or until meat reaches desired doneness. YUM!

Garlic Red Potatoes
taken from allrecipes.com

2 pounds red potatoes, cut into bite sized cubes
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Place potatoes in an 8x8 inch baking dish. In a small bowl combine melted butter, garlic, salt and lemon juice; pour over potatoes and stir to coat. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over potatoes. Bake, covered, in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Taco Casserole

I adapted this recipe from my taste of home Best ever casseroles cookbook. It required to packages of taco seasoning, we don't like that stuff in our house so I made some changes to it. It was very tasty, reminded me a little of a tamale. I didn't use the 2-1/2 lbs ground beef that the recipe called for, so I should have halved the biscuit topping. I think I forgot that the recipe called for the 2 1/2 lbs and just figured it was 1 lb like most recipes. Anyway, toddler loved it, hubby loved it, I loved it.. we will be making it again! I am going to put the recipe how I made it except I will half the biscuit part for you.


Taco Casserole

1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 to 3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
salt to taste
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper jack cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup biscuit/baking mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, diced
1 can sliced olives, drained.

In a large skillet cook beef and onions until meat is no longer pink, drain. Add garlic and continue to saute for 1 minute. Add chili powder, cumin, salt, tomato sauce and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in beans

Spoon mixture into a greased 8-in square baking dish. Sprinkle with Monterey jack cheese. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk and biscuit mix until moistened. Pour over cheese.

Bake uncovered, at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Spread with sour cream. Top with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomoato and olives. Enjoy!

Cheesy Shell Lasagna

This recipe is very similar to another casserole I make. I like this one better though. It's made with the small pasta shells, which is easy for my little guy to eat and it's chunkier than the other casserole I make. We liked it so much we had it for dinner 2 nights in a row. :) Well I didn't make it twice, but we had enough left over! :)


Cheesy Shell Lasagna
Adapted from Best Ever Casseroles

1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1-2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 can mushroom stems and pieces, drained
8 oz uncooked small shell pasta
2 cups reduced fat sour cream
11 slices provolone cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

In a nonstick skillet, cook the beef, onions and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms and italian seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Place half the pasta in an ungreased 13x9 baking dish(I actually used my large casserole dish). Top with half of the meat sauce, sour cream and provolone cheese. Repeat the layers. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Cover and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until the cheese begins to brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Skillet Chili Mac with Green Chiles

When I found this recipe on My Kitchen Cafe it was perfect timing. I needed a recipe using ingredients I already had on hand and I had all of this except for the cilantro. My family isn't a fan of cilantro so I guess that was ok, although I like it. Anyway this... recipe... was... AWESOME! I couldn't stop eating it and it makes so much I literally won't stop eating it for the next few days. :) But I won't mind. My whole family loved it! I will half it next time for sure. I made a few changes when I made it, if you would like the original recipe it's here (I don't like corn mixed into things). :) And if you are thinking it looks like cowboy delight.. it's not.. I hate that stuff. But this... is going on our "make often" list! THANK YOU MELANIE FOR SHARING THIS!


Skillet Chili Mac with Green Chiles
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, minced
3/4 tablespoon chili powder (add more if you want more heat)
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 cups water
8 ounces (2 cups) elbow macaroni
1 4.5-oz can chopped green chiles
2 cups shredded cheese

Heat oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef, onion, chili powder, coriander, cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook the ground beef until it is no longer pink. Drain off any excess fat or grease. Stir in garlic and brown sugar and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce, water, and macaroni. Cover and cook, stirring often and keeping the heat at a steady simmer, until the macaroni is tender, about 12-12 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup of the cheese and green chiles and sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top. Cover and let sit off the heat until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes.

Taco Burgers

I love Tacos. They are one of my favorite foods actually. I can't get enough of them.. I like them in all forms. Soft tacos, hard tacos, taco salads and yes taco burgers. I usually just use half of the packaged taco seasonings but after I found this recipe on My Kitchen Cafe I had to give it a try. I have to say it was loaded with flavor, but not hard on your tummy like those packets tend to be. Give it a try, it's supper yummy!


Taco Burgers

For the meat
Heat in a medium skillet over medium heat:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
Add:
3/4 cup chopped onion
C
cook, stirring often, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and add:
1 pound ground beef

Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until it is no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Stir in:
1 to 3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander (I couldn't find this.. so I made it without and was still good)
Salt to taste (I used about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt)

Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add:
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced fine (I didn't add this either, didn't want too much spice for my toddler)

Cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat for 10 minutes.

hamburger buns
shredded cheddar cheese
avocado
tomatoes
shredded lettuce
thousand island dressing

Place some of the meat on the bun and top with any toppings you prefer! Try it with the thousand island, it adds a hint of tang. Enjoy!

Meatballs with Cream Sauce

Ok so for those of you who follow my family blog you know I've already posted this recipe. But that time I didn't include a picture. So I am posting it again with a picture. I will do that probably with all my recipes that I have previously posted because I am planning on printing a cookbook hopefully by the end of the year. So.. If you didn't try these due to a lack of picture here it is.. again I made them with turkey burger here so if you use ground beef they might look slightly different. Also, if you are thinking.. wow they had green beans AGAIN.. your wrong.. it's actually asparagus. Yum! It's usually an expensive Veggie, but it was on sale last week for 1.39/lb.. so we stock up a bit! We do like our green veggies, but we also eat other varieties. For some reason everytime I cook for this blog it seems we have something green. Go figure. Enjoy! If you have already tried these let me know what you think!


Meatballs with Cream Sauce
from www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com

MEATBALLS:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 T. ketchup
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup quick oats
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
3 T. flour

CREAM SAUCE:
2 T. butter
3 1/2 T. flour
1/4 t. dried thyme
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
14 oz. can chicken broth (If you want your sauce thicker, cut down the chicken broth to 1 cup)
2/3 cup milk
2 T. minced fresh parsley

In a bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients EXCEPT the beef and flour. Add beef and mix well. Shape into balls. Roll in flour, shaking off excess. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet and bake, uncovered, at 400 for 10 minutes. Turn meatballs, bake 8-10 minutes longer or until no longer pink. Meanwhile, for the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, thyme, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add broth and milk; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. If using the full can of chicken broth, the sauce doesn't thicken overly much, but it is delicious that way. If you want it slightly thicker, cut down the chicken broth to 1 cup. Drain meatballs on paper towels; transfer to a serving dish. Top with sauce and parsley. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Next up from me: Creamy Chicken Enchiladas!

Baked Spaghetti

While Spaghetti is a very cheap meal.. it can get a little boring. In fact I'm sick of just plain old Spaghetti with hamburger and sauce. But this recipe knocks my socks off. It is cooked and then baked in the oven with this creamy cheesy layer in the middle. It's so yummy. This recipe makes enough for 2 9x13 pans. I always make both and freeze one for another day. But if you don't want to do that, you can just half the recipe. I wish my picture showed the middle layer because it's just yummy! I rarely have left overs with this one and when I do, everyone fights over who gets it for lunch the next day. It's pretty easy to make too! Enjoy!


Baked Spaghetti
16 oz pkg spaghetti noodles cooked (I usually use a little bit more noodles.)
2 24 oz jars spaghetti sauce
2 lbs ground beef browned
4 T butter
4 T all-purpose flour
4 T grated parmesan cheese
2 t salt
1/2 t garlic
12 oz can evaporated milk
3 c cheddar cheese shredded and divided

Combine spaghetti noodles, spaghetti sauce and ground beef together; set aside. In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter; add flour, parmesan cheese, salt and garlic. Stir constantly over heat until smooth and bubbly. Add evaporated milk and one cup cheddar cheese; stir until thoroughly melted. Pour 1/4 of the spaghetti noodle mixture into each 9x13 casserole dish and pour 1/2 cheese mixture over top in each pan. Pour remaining nood mixture into casserole dishes; top with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 mins.

Texas Hold-Ums Mini chipotle Beef Burgers w/ Warm Fire Roasted Garlic Ketchup

Ingredients
• 2 pounds ground sirloin
• 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in 1/2
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
• 2 chipotles in adobo and 2 tablespoons of adobo sauce
• 2 tablespoons grill seasoning, a couple of palm fulls, (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 (15-ounce) can crushed fire roasted tomatoes, about 2 cups
• Salt and pepper
• 12 slices, 1/2-inch thick, brick-cut smoked Cheddar or sharp Cheddar, (recommended: Cabot), optional
• 12 small round rolls, split
• (Many markets sell mini Keiser rolls or use dinner rolls in any flavor you like)
Directions
Preheat grill pan to high.
Place the meat in a bowl. Cut the onion in half. Grate half the onion into the meat using the small grate on a box grater. Chop and reserve the other half onion. Add Worcestershire, chipotles and sauce and grill seasoning to burgers. Drizzle a little extra-virgin olive oil over the bowl and mix meat. Score the meat into 4 sections. Make 3 mini-burgers, each 3 inches wide, 1-inch thick, from each half-pound of meat.
Heat a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and garlic. Cook garlic 2 to 3 minutes then add sugar and vinegar, cook 2 minutes more and stir in tomatoes. Season sauce with salt and pepper and allow it to reduce 5 to 6 minutes more.
Grill meat 2 to 3 minutes on each side and top with cheese, if you like.
Place burgers on buns and top with raw chopped onions and warm fire roasted ketchup and serve.




As a side dish I baked some homemade fries and Crunch Cabbage Salad. For the fries cut up potato's (with skins on) coat in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, and Rosemary and place on cookie sheet at temp of 375 degrees for 20 min, then turn over and cook an addition 10 to 20 more mins. They should be golden and crispy, and totally yummy.

The Cabbage Salad is: half a head of cabbage roughly chopped, 4 tbs. Green onions, 2 pkgs. Chicken Ramen crunched up, and diced chicken. I boil the chicken with some italian seasoning in the water for 10 min. on medium to med. low heat (you don't want the water bubbling out just a light simmer) Then cool the chicken and cut up to add to the rest.
Dressing
1/3 oil
1/2 red wine vinegar
Chicken seasoning packets
1 tbs. sugar
1 pinch salt
Whisk
Toss all together in dressing and put in fridge, serve once chilled slightly.

Kicking things off with.. Chili

Welcome to my new blog. Things aren't quite set up the way I want right now, but I will work on adding some design elements over time. This blog is designed to help others cook on a budget. I will also try to include recipes that will use up any food storage that you might have. It's important to store, but it's also important to use that storage and keep it rotating. I'm going to kick of my new blog with a great simple recipe for Chili made in the crockpot. I love this recipe because it's fast, I usually have all the ingredients already and I can just throw it in and forget about it until dinner time. I know everyone seems to have a different recipe for chili and this is the one that I use. This recipe includes the use of black beans which are a wonderful bean to cook with. You will find over time that I cook with them often. They are loaded with wonderful nutrients and taste great. They are a good source of fiber, protein, iron, potassium and even a little calcium. I buy a lot of these for storage because if for some reason I am unable to buy any meats in the future these guys can help up my protein intake and basically replace meat, if needs be. Same goes with almost any bean, I just happen to like the black variety. If you are not a fan of black beans you can substitute the can of black beans for an additional can of chili beans. I have also included a yummy corn bread recipe. This recipe is a sweeter cornbread and I always make it along with my homemade chili. Enjoy! Nothing like a warm bowl of chili to warm you up during these chilly days.


Crock Pot Chili (estimated cost about $6.00 without toppings)

1 lb ground beef or you could do Italian sausage or 1/2 lb of both it all tastes good.
1 can diced tomatoes undrained
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup onion chopped(I use dehydrated onions.. I hate chopping onions.. I always cry)
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 heaping tsp oregano leaves
2 cans chili beans, undrained it is important you do not drain these, they are canned in a sauce that will add additional flavor to your chili. (or substitute 1 can of black beans rinsed and drained for one can of chili)


Brown ground beef in a large skillet, drain. Put beef in crockpot with everything but the beans. Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Add beans and continue to cook on low for another 45 mins. Serve when mixture is completely hot. Serves 6.

Sweet Cornbread
1/2 c melted butter
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c milk
Mix together. (batter will be thin) Bake in a greased 9x13 pan at 375 for 25 mins.