Sloppy Joes

I thought you all might be interested in my go-to sloppy joe recipe... I've been using it for about a year or so.  Tonight, we ate it with potato wedges and carrot sticks. Cayson had two servings of everything which is crazy for him at dinnertime! 

Creamy Mexican Skillet

I've been meaning to share this recipe with some of my friends so I thought I would share it with all of you too! I don't have any pictures to share but I promise it is wonderful!

Creamy Mexican Skillet

Ingredients: 

1 pound ground beef

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1/2 t chili powder

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t salt

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup salsa

1/2- 1 lb pasta (I used whole wheat Rotini) 

Directions: 

Brow ground beef in a skillet with onion, bell pepper and seasonings. Drain grease. Stir in cream cheese, sour cream and salsa. Stir until cream cheese is melted. Add cooked pasta to skillet and stir to coat. 

Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy!

Taco Cuppies

I tested a new recipe on my guys last night and it was a solid home-run with them. They ate these up! I call them Taco Cuppies because they are essentially a taco in a biscuit cup and I just kind of like the word cuppies.

Ingredients

1 lb hamburger meat, browned with chopped onions
1 can Rotel
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne chili powder (optional)
salt and pepper
2 cans of biscuits (you can use reduced fat but don’t do the butter flavored ones- ick!)
chopped tomato
shredded cheese (your favorite kind! )
sour cream
shredded lettuce

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown hamburger meat with chopped onion, salt and pepper. If I have bell pepper or jalapenos, I’ll throw some in the pot too. Drain grease off the cooked meat. Add seasonings and Rotel. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Flatten biscuits by hand to make them thin – like pancakes. Press the biscuits into the muffin pan. Sprinkle a small amount of cheese into the cups. Spoon the meat mixture into the biscuit cups and bake 10 minutes or until cups are lightly browned. Remove from oven and top with your favorite taco toppings.

Chili & Cheddar Muffins

Sunday night’s dinner consisted of a new version of chili and cheddar muffins. I wanted to make a new chili that included different types of beans. This recipe makes a HUGE pot of chili. I froze half of it and the hubby & I still had left-overs! The muffins are great because they have the hint of cornbread flavor along with the cheddar. They are the perfect accompaniment for many entrees - especially soups! I think adding some garlic to the muffins would make them outstanding! I love garlic though!

Sarah’s 3 Bean Chili

2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, diced

½ bell pepper, diced (optional)

2 jalapenos, diced (optional)

1 packet chili seasoning

2 cans ranch style beans

1 can black beans, rinsed & drained

1 can chili beans

4 small cans tomato sauce

2 cans Rotel

4 T chili powder

1 T cayenne pepper (optional)

½ T garlic salt

salt & pepper to taste

Brown beef with onion and bell pepper. Drain all fat and return to pot. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer covered or put in the crock pot for the day. Yum-o!!!! It's great as leftovers - you can always make it way ahead of time!

Cheddar Muffins

1 ½ cups flour

½ cup cornmeal

1 T baking powder

½ t salt

pinch of ground red pepper

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1 cup milk

1 large egg

1 ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups (do this thoroughly – I had some difficulties removing mine).

In a large bowl, with combine the dry ingredients.

Melt the butter and cool it slightly. Stir in the milk. Beat in the egg. Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients until moistened. Stir in 1 cup of cheese. Divide the batter into muffin pans and top each muffin with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. These were a wonderful accompaniment to the chili!!!

Bacon Cheeseburger Chili Mac & Cheese

I ran across this recipe somewhere in blogland - I'm not sure where. It is adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe. I enjoyed it, but the hubby told me it tastes like Hamburger Helper. Thanks, hon! Anyway, I've never had hamburger helper, but I have to say this has to be better. :)

Bacon Cheeseburger Chili Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon (cut up)
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
2 T chili powder
2 T garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1-2 cups beef stock (I used a can of chicken stock)
1 lb whole wheat pasta
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp yellow cheddar (I used colby jack)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Drain off most of the grease, leaving about 1/2 tsp or so. Add meat and onion and cook until browned. Drain grease.

Return meat to skillet. Add the chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir in ketchup, mustard and beef stock. Bring to a bubble and simmer until slightly thickened, 4-5 minutes.

Salt the boiling water and add pasta. Cook to al dente, according to directions on the package. Drain thoroughly and return it to the pot.

Add the chili mixture and the bacon to the pot with pasta. Mix everything good. Transfer to a casserole dish and top with shredded cheese. Bake 25 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown.

South of the Border Casserole

This is a recipe I ran across today when looking for a new recipe for ground beef. I found it on Delicious Meliscious. It was so easy and delicious! Everyone gave it the thumbs up... I'll be adding this to my recipe book to use again! I totally meant to take pictures of the casserole and forgot! We were in such a hurry to eat this up!

South of the Border Casserole

Ingredients
1 pound of lean ground beef (I used 3/4 beef, 1/4 pork sausage)
1 mild jalapeno, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
28 oz can tomatoes (I used two 14.5 oz cans - both were crushed tomatoes and one had peppers in it)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
2 cups fat free sour cream
8 oz. penne, ziti or any small pasta (I used whole wheat penne & elbows)
1 cup cheddar cheese (I used low fat mexian cheese)
1/4 cup cilantro, minced (I left this out)

Directions
In a deep skillet, brown meat, drain fat, if neccessary. Add the peppers, onion and garlic, and cook on medium-high heat. Saute until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin.

Add the can of tomatoes, breaking up the whole tomatoes with a spoon, but sitll leaving big chunks. Add sour cream, stir until mixed. Add pasta. Cover and cook until pasta is al dente, about 25 minutes. Make sure to stir frequently so pasta doesn't get stuck to the bottom. Serve with the cheese and cilantro sprinkled on top. Serve immediately.

Last Night's Fiasco We Called Dinner

Last night's dinner was a bit of fiasco... let's just say, my meat was still frozen, I was out of ingredients, I ended up with tomato sauce covering my kitchen and myself. No joke. It was in my hair, on my face, and all over my shirt. Ugh! Oh, and I forgot to turn on the oven... and realized it after the casserole "baked" for 30 minutes. Not good when you have a VERY hungry toddler!

The casserole did turn out good so I thought I'd share the recipe. These are estimates because I tend to not measure things out!

My Italian Pizza Casserole

2 1/2 cups egg noodles
1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
onion, diced
3 8 oz cans tomato sauce
3 T Italian seasoning
1 t oregano
1 t rosemary
1 t thyme
Pepperoni
Mozzarella Cheese - grated

Cook noodles according to package and drain. While noodles are cooking, cook garlic, bell pepper, and onion in a bit of oil on medium heat for 3 minutes or so. Add hamburger meat and brown. Salt & pepper. Drain off any fat.

Mix noodles, hamburger meat, tomato sauce, seasonings, and 1/3 cup cheese. Spread in 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese and pepperonis. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

I made two 9" square dishes and froze one for later.