Cranberry Sauerkraut Meatballs

Sound nasty? Well guess what? IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! Love love love love love. Not only did I love it, but so did my husband, mother, father, brothers, little sister, 3 year old toddler and 9 month old baby! It was great fresh, it was great as leftovers and it was REALLY easy to put together. 4 ingredients for the sauce? I can handle that.

If you have ever bought bagged meatballs you will know that they are expensive. I was interested in eating this for dinner, not in making this for a party. So I did homemade meatballs. I think I ended up with.... probably about 15 meatballs. What this means is that the sauce to meatball ratio was MUCH higher. But we loved the sauce so much. My kids ate no meatballs - just sauce over brown rice.

The nutritional information I have included with this recipe is based on the 66 servings you can get from the bag of meatballs that you buy. This is assuming you are taking this to a party. I made my meatballs homemade style and I have included my recipe for basic meatballs as well.

The recipe and picture are courtesy of Taste of Home and can be found at this site here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Cranberry-Sauerkraut--Meatballs?pmcode=IMADV01T&_mid=2325232&_rid=2325232.558202.228586

CRANBERRY SAUERKRAUT MEATBALLS

From Taste of Home

·         1 can (14 ounces) whole-berry cranberry sauce

·         1 can (14 ounces) sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained

·         1 bottle (12 ounces) chili sauce

·         3/4 cup packed brown sugar

·         1 package (32 ounces) frozen fully cooked homestyle meatballs, thawed

In a 4-qt. slow cooker, combine the cranberry sauce, sauerkraut, chili sauce and brown sugar. Stir in meatballs. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. Yield: 5-1/2 dozen.

Nutritional Facts1 meatball with about 1 tablespoon sauce equals 53 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 11 mg cholesterol, 142 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 2 g protein. Diabetic Exchange: 1/2 starch.

HOMEMADE MEATBALL RECIPE

From Shayla's Kitchen

Servings 15

1 lb. hamburger (or pork, chicken or turkey)

1/2 cup oats

1 egg, slightly beaten

3/4 tsp salt

Few grains pepper

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup milk

Mix together all ingredient and roll into balls. Preheat a skillet over medium high heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place meatballs in skillet and brown on all sides. Drain meatballs on a paper towel. Place browned meatballs in sauce in slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours.

Mini Meatball Subs

I love Allrecipes.com. There are so many different recipes and so many new things to try out! I am signed up for their daily newsletter and when I saw this picture I knew this was one we had to try. And it was DELICIOUS! The meatballs were very flavorful and giving the cheese a chance to melt in the oven made the rolls a bit crunchy which was a perfect compliment to the sauce. No soggy bread here!

The only thing we will change next time around is that we will use less pepper. The original recipe calls for a full teaspoon of pepper and I was pretty skeptical about using that much but no one that commented on the original recipe said that the pepper was too much. I will most likely use 3/4 of a tsp. next time around.

The original recipe also said to only make 8 meatballs. I made good sized ones that were perfectly sized for the rolls I used (French Steak Rolls) and got 12.

This recipe takes a lot longer to make than some of the recipes I make - 50 minutes just to cook. BUT I promise that it is well worth it and if you have the time you should definitely go for it. You won't be disappointed with the end product. This was easily one of my favorite recipes that I made this month - right behind the Spinach Pesto Manicotti. Kind of ironic that my two favorite recipes from this month both had the longest cooking times!

The picture and recipe are courtesy of Allrecipes.com and can be found here.

MINI MEATBALL SUBS
From Allrecipes.com
Reminder Recipe! One Year Ago: Beef Stroganoff
Reminder Recipe! Two Years Ago: Skillet Enchiladas

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup crushed butter-flavored crackers
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (next time I will not use more than 3/4 tsp.)
• 1 (26.5 ounce) can spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 12 dinner rolls, split

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine ground beef, onion, green pepper, crackers, and egg in a large bowl. Season with Worcestershire sauce, garlic, seasoned salt, and pepper; mix well. Form mixture into 12 meatballs. Place meatballs in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Bake meatballs in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Pour the spaghetti sauce into a large saucepan; bring to a simmer over low heat. Stir baked meatballs into the simmering sauce. Do not turn oven off. Simmer sauce until meatballs are fully cooked, about 20 minutes.
4. Place one meatball, a sprinkle of mozzarella, a sprinkle of Parmesan, and a bit of sauce between each roll. Place sandwiches in hot oven; bake until cheeses melt, about 7 minutes.

Spinach Pesto Manicotti

I absolutely love to try new recipes. My husband has got to be one of the most easy to please people on the planet (LUCKY me!) and so I don't have to worry about making something that he won't eat. I had some pesto sitting in my fridge from a previous recipe and have never made manicotti before and wanted to try a new adventure.

We LOVED this dish! The pesto lends a rich flavor to the beef mixture that makes it taste like Italian sausage. Even our little daughter finished her entire plate of this stuff.

Now for my disclaimer.... this recipe isn't as "easy" as so many of the recipes that I love to post. Manicotti is not easy to stuff. If you follow the directions below it will be easier, but it will never be easy. I had to get my hands dirty to get this stuff in my dry noodles (if you cook the noodles first they are almost impossible to stuff). BUT! It really wasn't that big of a deal to me and with how delicious this turned out I will definitely be doing it again!

Also please be aware that this has a lengthy cooking time. I cooked my manicotti for the entire 50 minutes and it was perfect. PLAN AHEAD!

The picture and recipe are courtesy of BettyCrocker.com and can be found here.

SPINACH PESTO MANICOTTI
From BettyCrocker.com

8 oz uncooked manicotti
1 lb extra-lean (at least 90%) ground beef
1 box (9 oz) Green Giant® frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain and chopped
4 oz mozzarella cheese, diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup purchased pesto
1 egg
1 jar (26 to 28 oz) tomato pasta sauce

1. Heat oven to 400°F.
2. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, spinach, cheese, pesto and egg. If desired, add salt and pepper; mix well. For easier stuffing, place beef mixture in resealable freezer plastic bag; seal bag. Cut about 1-inch hole in bottom corner of bag.
3. Fill each manicotti by squeezing beef mixture into manicotti. When stuffing manicotti, don't cook it first. Fill with this great tasting filling, then add quarter of the jar of sauce to the bottom of your baking pan. Put your manicotti down, then add half of remaining sauce over the top; add water to the last quarter of sauce in the jar to make the jar half full-shake. Pour this over the top. Cover with foil.
4. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until filling is no longer pink in center and noodles are soft.

Makes 6 servings

*NOTE! I use generic Great Value spaghetti sauce from Wal-mart because it is so inexpensive. I buy a packet of spaghetti seasoning and just add it to the jar of sauce after I have put down the first layer on the bottom of the pan and shake the jar up to mix. This gives the generic sauce a great and full flavor that we love. I bought the Garden variety sauce this time which has a full serving of vegetables in each individual serving. Might as well "healthify" it when you can!

Barbecue Beef and Corn Sheperd's Pie

I am a big Sheperd's Pie fan and so when I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it. What a fun twist on a classic recipe! This was tangy and a bit spicy and BURSTING with flavor. Now, I had started to make dinner by the time I realized I had the wrong kind of package of mashed potatoes. I only had a 4 oz. package of instant potatoes. So... we improvised! I didn't use the milk, water or butter and just made up the instant potatoes in the microwave. I still mixed them with the corn and onions and spread it over my beef mixture. It was still REALLY good. I also just served this with corn tortilla chips and we ate this like a dip. Super yummy and super easy!

The picture and recipe are courtesy of BettyCrocker.com and can be found here.

BARBECUE BEEF AND CORN SHEPERD’S PIE
From BettyCrocker.com

1 pound lean ground beef
8 medium green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 can (11 ounces) Green Giant® Mexicorn® whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
1 can (4 ounces) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles, undrained
1/2 package (7-ounce size) Betty Crocker® Four Cheese mashed potatoes (1 pouch)
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
1 cup corn chips

1. Cook ground beef and 1/4 cup of the onions in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce, 3/4 cup of the corn and the chilies. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, cook potatoes as directed on package for 4 servings, using 1 pouch Potatoes and Seasoning, hot water, milk and butter. Stir in remaining onions and corn; let stand 5 minutes.
3. Spoon potatoes onto center of beef mixture, leaving 2 1/2- to 3-inch rim around edge of skillet; sprinkle cheese over potatoes and beef mixture. Cover and let stand about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle corn chips around edge of skillet.

Makes 6 servings

Burgers Stroganoff

Talk about an easy recipe - This one only has 4 ingredients! We really enjoyed this recipe and I especially liked the sauce even though it is so basic. I only used 1 lb. of ground beef and patted my patties thin enough that I still got 6 out of it. We didn't want super thick patties. The only thing that I would change next time would be to add some onion somewhere whether it be Lipton onion soup mix to the ground beef, onion powder to the sauce, or just eating the burger with onions. The ketchup makes the sauce just a little sweet and I thought it needed the edge the onion would give it. But, once again, this recipe is so simple and comes together so quickly you can't really complain! The picture and recipe are courtesy of Campbell's Kitchen and can be found here.

BURGERS STROGANOFF
From Campbell’s Kitchen

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I just used 1 lb.)
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/3 cup sour cream
6 bagels, split

1. Shape the beef into 6 (1/2-inch thick) burgers.
2. Cook the burgers in batches in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until well browned on both sides. Remove the burgers from the skillet. Pour off any fat.
3. Stir the soup and ketchup in the skillet and heat to a boil. Return the burgers to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the burgers are cooked though.
4. Stir in the sour cream. Serve the burgers and sauce on the bagels. (And any of your favorite burger toppings: pickles, tomato, lettuce, etc..)

Makes: 6 servings.

Baked Spaghetti

We have TONS of spaghetti recipes at our house. Honestly, I think I may have at least a dozen. And we have tried them all! And while they were all great and delicious in their own way... I must say that I think this one is my favorite. It comes together really quickly and simply and I made it early in the day and put it in the refrigerator for later and it was phenomenal! I was concerned that the original recipe would be too flavorless for our tastes so I added a spaghetti packet to my sauce, and I'm really glad that I did. My husband loved this recipe so much, he says it rivals his favorite spaghetti found here. When Jake asked me what we were having for dinner I told him, "Imagine if spaghetti and lasagna had a baby..." That is this dish! Spaghetti noodles in a lasagna sauce... YUM!

BAKED SPAGHETTI

2 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. ground beef
¼ c. onion
¼ tsp. basil
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 pkg spaghetti sauce mix
15 ounce can tomato sauce (I used two 8 oz. cans)
1 c. cottage cheese (I used fat free)
16 ounces spaghetti noodles
Cheddar cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Sauté together in a pan the butter, ground beef and onion; drain. Mix in basil, salt, garlic powder, spaghetti sauce mix if you are using it and tomato sauce. Take off heat and add cottage cheese. Add noodles. Put all ingredients in a 9x13 pan. Top with cheddar cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Taco Pasta Salad

Taco salad is one of my favorite go-to recipes. It is so quick, easy, and delicious. When I found this recipe on Sadie's Kitchen Adventures I knew that we had to try it! I am really happy to report that it turned out delicious. I love the addition of that pasta as I felt it gave the dish more substance so it was more filling. Still very easy too! The picture is courtesy of this site here.

TACO PASTA SALAD
From Sadie’s Kitchen Adventures

2 cups uncooked spiral pasta (I used Garden Rotini-YUM!)
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced

OPTIONAL: (The bolded/italicized ones are the ones I used)
3 cups shredded lettuce
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup Ranch salad dressing
2 cups shredded cheese
1 avacodo, chopped
1 cup corn
1 cup sliced olives
Tortilla Chips

Cook pasta according to package directions. (If you are using corn you can just throw in frozen corn in the pot with the pasta towards the end - that way you don't have to dirty 2 pans.) Meanwhile, cook beef, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, and chili powder in a skillet over medium heat. Let cool.

Drain pasta and rinse with cold water, stir into the meat mixture. Add any of the optional ingredients you want. Toss to coat. Serve with tortilla chips.

Deep-Dish Taco Pizza

We love Mexican food around here (surprise, surprise...) and this one was a huge hit! Pretty versatile too. I added some things to add more substance and I am really glad that I did. It made the Pizza almost impossible to eat without a fork but I felt like it made it more filling and "better" for you. This definitely isn't the most healthy meal you will encounter, but it was such a big hit with everyone. We were watching our niece, Serenthia, and she ate almost an entire piece by herself (12 months old)! Abrielle couldn't get enough of it either and Jake was raving about it. Try this one. You will really like it! The recipe below is my modified recipe. If you would like to see the original please visit the wonderful site http://threeonfood.blogspot.com/.

DEEP-DISH TACO PIZZA
From Three on Food

1 lb. hamburger meat
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 (15 oz.) cans Rotel, drained
1 pkg. Taco seasoning
1 cup frozen corn, rinsed
1 can medium olives, sliced
2 (10 oz.) cans refrigerated pizza crust dough (for a thinner crust use just 1)
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar (We used 1/2 cup cheddar and 1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack because that is what we had!)
Salsa (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°. Cook beef and onion in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well, and return beef mixture to pan. Stir in rotel, corn and taco seasoning; cook over medium-high heat 1 minute or until thoroughly heated; set aside. Unroll pizza crust dough. Press into bottom and halfway up sides of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon beef mixture over pizza crust dough and top with olives. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Top with cheese, and bake 5 minutes or until cheese melts and edges of crust are browned. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm. Top with salsa and sour cream, if desired.

Pizza Casserole

We had something else planned for dinner tonight but I thought pasta sounded good and Jake was craving spaghetti. I had all of the simple and mostly basic ingredients for this recipe on hand and I am so glad that I did! It was cheesy and delicious, substantial and hit the spot! Healthy? No... but then, when do you eat pizza to be healthy? But it really is good and is sure to be a hit. Jake loved it and is really excited to take the leftovers for lunch. The original recipe doesn't call for olives but I feel it is a must add. And really, you could add whatever toppings you wanted: green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms. This was a lot like my Meat Lover's Lasagna! Yummy! The recipe is courtesy of Blog Chef and can be found here.

PIZZA CASSEROLE

From Blog Chef

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 large onion (chopped)
1/2 clove garlic (minced)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
8 ounces rotini pasta, (cooked and drained)
2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (20 oz)
4 ounces sliced pepperoni
½ can olives, sliced

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet add oil and heat to medium-high heat. Add ground beef, onion, and garlic. Add Italian seasoning. Cook until the beef is browned. Drain.

Step 2: Stir in pasta, sauce and 1 1/2 cups of cheese into the meat mixture. Place mixture into a greased 9×13” baking dishes. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese and top with pepperoni and olives.

*The dish can be covered and frozen as this point if you are freezing.

Step 3: If you are cooking it now- Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

(Makes 7 servings)

Classic Repeat: Beef Taco Bake

We love this one around here! SOOOO good! Super easy with very basic ingredients. Make sure you don't use anything less than MEDIUM salsa so that you don't lose some good flavor.

BEEF TACO BAKE
From Real Mom Kitchen

1 pound ground beef
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup (regular or 25% Less Sodium)
1 cup salsa OR picante sauce
1/2 cup milk
6 flour tortillas (8-inch) OR 8 corn tortilla (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup frozen corn, rinsed and drained (Putting it in completely frozen makes your bake a bit too watery)

Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often. Pour off any fat. Stir the soup, salsa, milk, tortillas, cayenne pepper, corn and half the cheese in the skillet. Spoon the beef mixture into a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Cover the baking dish.

Bake at 400°F. for 30 minutes or until the beef mixture is hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. (I put it back in the oven for 5 min to get the cheese nice and melty).

Meatballs with Cream Sauce

This is a brand new recipe that I have never tried before and it turned out really good. We enjoyed it and it was a very different and unique taste. Given the option between these meatballs and the Swedish Meatballs that we love so very much I would definitely choose the Swedish Meatballs, but it is because I love the tangy sauce so much. If you want something a bit different and still tasty, this is a good recipe. The picture and recipe are courtesy of My Kitchen Cafe and can be found here.

MEATBALLS WITH CREAM SAUCE
From My Kitchen Cafe

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 (I only used 1 lb. and they were probably a bit stronger but we liked them!)
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 (We used garden rotini noodles and they were delicious!).

Classic Repeat - Bubble Pizza with a TWIST

We did this a new way tonight and I really liked it! I had planned on making this recipe but when it came time to get to dinner pepperoni was about the last thing I wanted. I was craving tacos (go figure) so we did a Mexican spin on the recipe! The recipe below includes all of my changes. If you want the original recipe go here. The picture is courtesy of Flickr from Yahoo and can be found here.

BUBBLE PIZZA


1 lb. ground beef
1 taco seasoning packet
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup salsa
2 cups cheddar cheese
2 tubes buttermilk biscuits

Lettuce, sour cream, more salsa, or anything else you like on tacos.

1. Open the two tubes of biscuits and cut the individual biscuits into quarters. Place in bowl and set aside.
2. Brown ground beef; drain. Add taco seasoning and water according to package direction.
3. Stir in salsa with biscuits being sure to coat all of the pieces.
3. Add meat and frozen corn, NOT CHEESE. Mix well.
4. Pour mixture into a GREASED 9x13 pan (Pyrex is best).
5. Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
6. Remove and sprinkle cheese over the top. You may not need all two cups (we didn't).
7. Bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Serve with additional toppings.

Sloppy Joes

Need a quick, easy, and tasty meal? This is it! Make a homemade sloppy joe without the hassel! I don't remember where I originally got this recipe but the picture is courtesy of Vacation.com.

SLOPPY JOES
adapted from Dave Lieberman

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup smoky BBQ sauce (or whatever BBQ sauce is in your fridge)
¼ cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is finely crumbled, the liquid boils off and the meat begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, and keep stirring until the meat is coated. Add the BBQ sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. You can make the sloppy joe up to 2 days in advance and reheat it over low heat or in the microwave.

Classic Repeat : Taco Rice Bowl

We LOVE this one! So good and you don't even HAVE to have Doritoes to make it. Crush up some tortilla chips and mix in the salsa! YUM!

http://shaylaskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/super-simple-taco-rice-bowl.html

Beef Taco Bake

This is a true Shayla recipe! Super fast, super easy, basic ingredients, and SOOOO Tasty! My husband loved this one so much he was complimenting me throughout the entire meal! I really enjoyed it and it will DEFINITELY make an appearance in our house again! Thanks so much to Real Mom Kitchen for another fantastic recipe! By the way, we really like things SPICY in our house. If you aren't really the spicy type, use mild salsa and leave out the cayenne pepper. Also, you can't fail using flour or corn tortillas. I don't usually like corn tortillas but used them because we had them on hand and REALLY enjoyed them!

BEEF TACO BAKE
From Real Mom Kitchen

1 pound ground beef
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup (regular or 25% Less Sodium)
1 cup salsa OR picante sauce
1/2 cup milk
6 flour tortillas (8-inch) OR 8 corn tortilla (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces (I use my pizza cutter to do this)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often. Pour off any fat.

Stir the soup, salsa, milk, tortillas, cayenne pepper and half the cheese in the skillet. Spoon the beef mixture into a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Cover the baking dish.

Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes or until the beef mixture is hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. (I put it back in the oven for 5 min to get the cheese nice and melty).

 *NOTE: I used a 2.5 quart stoneware cooking dish and cooked it for the 30 minutes with the lid on and it was PERFECT. When I added the extra cheese I left the lid off to let it get a little bit brown while I cooked it for 5 more minutes.  

Meat-Lover's Supreme Lasagna

Healthy? HA HA HA HA! No. Delicious? OHHHHHH YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This turned out FANTASTICALLY. We are huge fans of supreme pizza at our house and this was a great variation. It requires more ingredients than I would usually post about, but it is WELL worth it. Sprinkle it with a bit of red pepper to finish it off and OHHH MAN! Honestly, if you don't like supreme pizza you could adapt this to pretty much any kind of pizza. I am tempted to try pineapple and canadian bacon. Yum!

MEAT-LOVER’S SUPREME LASAGNA
Shayla Original

10 lasagna noodles, cooked
1 large can/jar favorite marinara sauce
20 slices pepperoni
1 lb. ground beef, browned
6 slices precooked bacon, cut into small pieces
½ green pepper, sliced
½ red onion, sliced
1 can medium olives, sliced
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Parmesan Cheese, grated

Cook lasagna noodles according to directions on box; drain. In the meantime, brown ground beef and drain. Put a little bit of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 dish so noodles won’t stick. Layer half of: noodles, ground beef, bacon, pepperoni, green peppers, onions, olives, sauce, cheddar cheese, and parmesan cheese; repeat once more with all layers. Cook uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

*NOTE: Just sprinkle the cheeses on to your personal preference, there isn't an exact measurement.

Classic Repeat - Skillet Enchiladas

We love Mexican food around here! This is a classic dish from Real Mom Kitchen. She has so many great recipes! If you haven't checked out her blog yet make sure you stop by! I have her link on the side of my blog.

SKILLET ENCHILADAS
From Real Mom Kitchen

1/2 to 1 pound ground beef (I use the 1 lb)
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can (10 ounces) enchilada sauce (red or green)
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons canned chopped green chilies (Sometimes I don't have these and leave them out)
Vegetable oil (I use canola)
8 - 10 corn tortillas
2-1/2 to 3 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese, divided

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the soup, enchilada sauce, milk and chilies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat 1/4 in. of oil. Dip each tortilla in hot oil for 3 seconds on each side or just until limp; drain on paper towels. When meat mixture has simmered for 20 minutes, top each tortilla with 1/4 cup cheese. Roll up and place over beef mixture, spooning some of mixture over the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and cook until heated through and cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Yield: 8- 10 enchiladas.

*I use flour tortillas, cut in ½ instead of corn tortillas. And I used ¼ tsp. of cayenne pepper instead of the chopped green chilies.

Super Simple Taco Rice Bowl

Our great friend Michael Anderson came over to our house and made us this wonderful fast, simple, and tasty dish. The longest part of the whole dish is waiting for the rice to cook. Try it! It is really good! The picture is courtesy of Closet Cooking and can be found here.

TACO RICE BOWL

1 lb. ground beef, browned, drained
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cups white rice, cooked
1 bag Nacho flavored Doritos
Lettuce, Cheese, Tomatoes, Salsa or anything else you want to put on top

Get your rice cooking first as it will take the longest. Brown the ground beef and drain. Put ground beef back in pan and mix with 1 packet taco seasoning and water as indicated on package. Layer ingredients in bowl as follows: rice, beef, crushed Doritos, toppings.

See? I told you it was easy!

The Best Meatballs with a Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce

I got this recipe from my friend, Amy. (Posted on Facebook). We love pasta and so I wanted to give this one a try. I thought the meatballs were good, but what really made the dish was the sauce. SOOOOOOOOOOOO good! Jake absolutely went crazy about it and told me to DEFINITELY keep this recipe. Quick, easy, and easily adaptable to ingredients you have on hand.

The Best Meatballs

2 lbs. ground beef
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken (or Turkey!)
1- 1/4 cups water
2 eggs salt and pepper

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil. Spray with cooking spray. Mix ingredients until blended; shape into balls. Each meatball= 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture.
2. Place meatballs on each prepared pan. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until done.
3. Freeze half or more of meatballs for later. Combine 16 meatballs with Tomato-Basil Cream sauce.

Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced (or 4 tsps. Minced garlic)
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (or leave them out if you don't like mushrooms)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
salt and sugar to taste
4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Heat oil in a skillet. Saute garlic and mushrooms until mushrooms are tender. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Heat through. Salt and sugar to taste. Stir in cream cheese and basil until cheese is melted and heated through. Add in meatballs. Cover and cook until heated through. Serve over hot pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Brown Bag Burritos

I have no idea why this recipe is called brown bag burritos. Maybe because it would be really easy to take for a sack lunch? This recipe is exceedingly versatile. Jake ate the "sauce" in a flour tortilla, folded over like a quesadilla to avoid a big mess and I ate it over chips for nachos. It was definitely a different flavor but one that we both enjoyed immensely. This recipe will DEFINITELY be a keeper in our house! And yes, the recipe list surprised me at first too... but it really does work!

BROWN BAG BURRITOS
From Three on Food

1 lb. ground beef
1 can refried beans
2/3 c. enchilada sauce
1/4 c. water
1/3 c. minced onion (or sprinkled onion powder)
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 c. shredded colby/jack (or cheddar)
10 flour tortillas

Brown and drain meat. Add all ingredients, but tortillas. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Fill tortillas and roll up. Serve with shredded lettuce, cheese, sour cream and salsa.