Cheddar -Topped Shepherd's Pie

This recipe comes from Martha Stewart. When I make mashed potatoes for a meal I plan for extra so that I can make this recipe.

2 pounds baking potatoes (about 4), peeled and thinly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
6 medium carrots, halved lengthwise, quartered if large, and thinly sliced
6 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 450. Place potatoes in a large saucepan, and cover by 1 inch with salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high. Add carrots, celery, onion, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add beef; cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes. Add 1 cup water; bring to a boil, and simmer 1 minute. Set beef filling aside.

Drain potatoes; return to pan. Cook over medium, stirring, until liquid has evaporated and a thin film covers bottom of pan, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; add milk and 1 cup cheese. Mash until smooth; season cheddar-potato topping with salt and pepper.

Pour beef filling into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Drop dollops of topping over filling; spread to edges with a spatula. Using a fork, make decorative peaks; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake until topping is browned and filling is bubbling rapidly, about 20 minutes (if topping and filling were chilled, increase to 35 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Cook's Note: Both filling and topping can be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated separately.

How To Shred Chicken, Pork or Beef

Found this nifty tip here at Simply Healthy Family.  After you have cooked your chicken and while it is still hot put in into your Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the cookie paddle attachment.  Turn it to speed 4-6 and it will shred it better then two forks and in a lot less time.

I did a Google search and found that both pork and beef can be done the same way.  The pork or beef needs to be in 2 - 3 inch pieces.

Rustic Pot Pie

I love pie!  They aren't always easy but this one is.  The fun part about this is that you can make them personal size and customize the filling for each member of your family if needed.  The instant potatoes keep the filling from being runny.  You could also make a bunch of these and freeze them before you bake them for a fast and simple dinner.

Make or buy a pie crust.

1 jar gravy
Chicken, beef or pork
Vegetables - I usually use frozen mixed vegetables but I had a leftover baked potato and carrots
Instant Potatoes

Preheat oven to 450.  Pour jar of gravy in a pan and add enough instant potatoes to thicken but no too much that you end up with mashed potatoes.  Stir in meat and vegetables.  Heat.

While the gravy mixture is heating roll out you pie crust and place on cookie sheet.  Place the gravy mixture in the middle of the pie crust leaving 1 - 2 inches of space around the edge.  Fold the edges up, pleating if necessary.  Bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until the crust is brown.

Cheeseburger Bake

Unsure where I picked this recipe up but I used to make it quite often when the kids were little. If you don't like your biscuits soft on the bottom cook them on a cookie sheet and serve along side the meat mixture.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup chopped onion
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded cheese

Combine ground beef and flour. Brown with onion in skillet. Stir in tomato sauce, ketchup, salt and pepper; heat. Turn into 8 or 9 inch square baking dish. Top with cheese and baking powder biscuits. Bake at 425 for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Sloppy Joe Biscuit Pizza

Found this recipe on Cooking During Stolen Moments. It is very simple and tasty. A single recipe fits nicely on my half cookie sheet. When I doubled the recipe and cooked it on my large cookie sheet I learned that I needed to allow for more cooking time because the middle was still a little doughy. Omitted the 1/2 teaspoon cumin, didn't have it and I don't know that it needed it.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine, cut into pieces
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup milk - I found this to be a little dry and add just a bit more
1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef with onions in a large skillet. Drain. Stir in ketchup, mustard, brown sugar and seasonings. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until flavors are combined. Remove from heat. Refrigerate until using.

In large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and slat. Cut in butter or margarine until crumbly. Add 1/2 cup milk and combine. Add remaining milk if needed. Knead dough for 1 minute, until it holds together. Press onto the bottom of a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8 minutes, just to prebake. Refrigerate until using or assemble as below and then refrigerate, baking just before eating.

+about 15 minutes baking time. Spread the sloppy joe mixture over the biscuit crust and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, until crust is golden brown around the edges and the cheese is fully melted.

Lasagna

This recipe came to me from one of my Young Women's leaders. Steve loves this recipe and it freezes nicely.

1 lb hamburger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon whole basil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large can tomatoes
2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
lasagna noodles
2 eggs
3 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons parsley flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 lb mozzarella cheese

Brown meat slowly; spoon off excess fat. Add next five ingredients. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook noodles in large amount of boiling salter water until tender; drain; rinse. Beat eggs; add remaining ingredients except mozzarella.

Layer half the noodles in 13x9x2 inch baking dish; spread with half the cottage cheese filling; add half the mozzarella cheese and half the meat sauce. Repeat. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. If assembled early and refrigerated bake 45 minutes. If assembled early and frozen bake 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Ground Beef Spins

A recipe that Mom used to make when we were kids.

1 pound hamburger
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/3 cup celery, diced
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup bullion
1 can Crescent rolls or biscuit dough

Cook onions and celery with seasoned meat until meat is brown.  Stir in 2 tablespoons flour into 1/2 cup boullion* and then add to meat.  Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.  Roll biscuit dough to 1/4" thick in a rectangular shape.  Spread with ground beef mixture and roll up lengthwise.  Cut in 1" pieces.  Bake at 450 for 15 to 20 minutes.Serve with gravy made in the pan the meat was cooked in.

*1 bullion cube to 1 cup boiling water

Nacho Casserole

My friend Ruth Nelson gave me this recipe. I make it with refried beans on half otherwise Kaitlin won't eat it.

1 lb. Hamburger
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 can refried beans (optional)
4 c. shredded cheese (you can use 2 1/2 c. of cheese, but if you like a lot of cheese use 4 cups)
1/2 c. chopped onions (optional)
1 can sliced olives
1 large bag of corn tortilla chips (Doritos Nacho cheese chips are the best)
1 container sour cream
1 container guacamole dip

Preheat oven to 350. Cook hamburger and chopped onions. Drain grease. Add taco mix and refried beans. Put a layer of chips in a 13x9-baking dish. Then a layer of hamburger mix, a layer of cheese, then sprinkle olives over cheese. repeat layers two more times. Put in oven uncovered and bake for 30 minutes. Serve with guacamole dip and sour cream.

Spicy Rice & Beef

Last night I prepared Organic Harvest Medley, a gourmet blend of four uniquely aromatic California rices, and it had absolutely no flavor. We had to use a lot of salt, pepper, almonds and green onions to be able to eat it and I had prepared extra for leftovers. I didn't want to waste it so I had to come up with a recipe to use up the remainder. Steve loved it so much he told me that I had to post it on the blog so that we could make it again.


1 quart Tomato Soup
1 pint Salsa
1 lb. Ground Beef
Salt
Pepper
Frank's Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
Rice, precooked


Combine tomato soup, salsa, uncooked ground beef, salt and pepper. Cook on high for 4 hours. Stir in rice and add cayenne pepper sauce to taste. Cook for an additional 1/2 hour or until warmed through.

Crockpot Beef Stew

Steve has wanted me to make a stew using the vegetables out of the garden. I thought I would check out A Year of Slow Cooking to see what recipes she had for stew. I took her Traditional Beef Stew CrockPot Recipe altered it to what I had on hand.

2lbs beef stew meat
1 onion
handful of baby tomatoes - ran these through the blender / no chunky tomatoes at our house
carrots
green beans
2 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 t kosher salt
1 t black pepper
1 t seasoning blend (whatever you have on hand for bbqing, stir-frying, etc.)
1 t Worcestershire sauce
cornstarch
cold water

Wash and chop all vegetables. Put them into the crockpot. Put the meat into the crock. Add dry seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Dissolve bouillon cubes in the water and pour into crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours. About a half hour before stew is done mix cornstarch and water together and stir into stew to thicken, replace lid until ready to serve. The more cornstarch added the thicker the gravy.

Beef Taquitos

I found this recipe on the top of the roast beef cans that I purchased at Costco. My taquitos didn't take 20 minutes to bake so keep a close eye on them. I liked these with beef but I am thinking that I might try this with chicken.

2 12 oz. cans Roast Beef, drained
1 small can diced green chilies, drained
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
16 corn tortillas (8-inch)
Cooking oil spray
Garnish - salsa, guacamole, sour cream

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or place a baking rack over the baking sheet.

In a large bowl, mash the drained beef until shredded. Blend in chilies and seasonings, then divide the mixture into 16 portions.

Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and warm in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until tortillas are completely flexible. Place one portion of filling in each tortilla and roll up tightly. Place the rolled taquitos on the prepared baking sheet; spray tops lightly with oil. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

Grandma Birrell's Chili

It's 3:30 in the afternoon and the sun is shining but with the windchill it is 22 degrees, BRRRRR!!!  This caused me to think that I needed a pot of chili and cornbread for dinner.  I remembered that I had Grandma Birrell's chili recipe.  The beans are never cooked with the chili and this is supposed to not cause as much...humph, how to I put this delicately, oh heck, GAS.

4 pounds ground beef - Chad don't have a cow, I didn't use this much

1 large onion

1 teaspoon salt - I omitted this

1 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic salt

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons oregano

2 can tomatoes - My family doesn't like chunk tomatoes so I ran them through the blender first

2 cups water

1 can kidney beans

Brown ground beef, onion and salt.  Drain off grease then stir in remaining ingredients.  Simmer 1 hour.  Heat kidney beans in separate pan.  Serve separate so each person can mix to their own liking.

Chinese Hamburger

This is my version of a recipe that I found.

1 pound hamburger
1 can Cream of Celery soup
1 soup can of instant rice
1 1/3 soup cans of water
A couple of sprinkles of soy sauce
Chow mein noodles

Brown hamburger. Drain then stir soup, rice, water and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, turn down to medium, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Serve over chow mein noodles and with extra soy sauce.

Meatballs

Another recipe from Steve's party.

Bag of Armour Meatballs
Jar of your favorite Marinara Sauce

Bake the meatballs according to the package directions. Put into an electric frying pan and pour sauce over. Heat thoroughly. You can serve immediately or turn on to low to serve in a buffet. They work great with toothpicks.

I also used the meatballs in my spaghetti sauce the other night and Steve and Christopher loved it.

Barbecued Spareribs

This is Mom's recipe. To change it up a little bit we cut the meat into bite size pieces, that helps to remove a lot of the fat.

4 pounds spareribs
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup water
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cut spareribs into serving size pieces. Brown slowly in two 10-inch skillets; put in a baking pan. Pour fat from skillet, melt butter, add onion and cook until tender. Add next nine ingredients, simmer 20 minutes. Set oven at 350. Pour sauce over ribs. Bake, covered, 1 1/2 hours.

Pioneer Woman's Favorite Enchiladas

I took this recipe off of The Pioneer Woman website. My alterations no cilantro because Steve hates it and only one can of diced green chilies hoping that it won't look too green so that Christopher will eat this. Steve says he likes this better then black bean enchiladas (the recipe is below) and I asked him why and he said it is because it has meat in it.

THE SAUCE
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 large (28-ounce) can enchilada or red sauce
2 cups chicken broth
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped Cilantro

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for 1 minute. Pour in other red sauce, chicken broth, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 to 45 minutes.

THE MEAT
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 4-ounce cans diced green chilies
1/2 teaspoon salt

Brown meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.

TORTILLAS
10 to 14 corn tortillas
½ cup canola oil

Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas oil until soft, not crisp—about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.

ASSEMBLY
Sauce (above)
Meat (above)
Tortillas (above)
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup chopped black olives
1 cup chopped green onions
½ cup chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan. Spread to even out.Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubble. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over enchiladas before serving.

Sukiyaki

Steve gave me Betty Crocker's International Cookbook the Christmas before we were married. I love this book, it has so many fun easy recipes and it worked great when my kids were in school and needed food for a country they were studying.

In Japan's early history, when peasants were forbidden to eat meat, savvy farmers quickly cooked on the spot what game they could find. Suki means hoe - the trademark of the Japanese peasant; yaki means to broil. According to legend, the farmers used their metals hoes as skillets!

Our only complaint is that it seemed too salty. This isn't the first time we have made this but I don't remember that complaint so it just might be the brand of soy sauce that we have, it is what we usually buy. I think that I will buy the lite soy sauce, it is supposed to have 50% less salt.

1 teaspoon instant beef bouillon
1/2 cup hot water
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 pound beef tenderloin or boneless sirloin,* 1 inch thick
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 stalks celery, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch slices
2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/8-inch slices
1 bunch green onions, cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces
8 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
1 can (about 8 1/2 ounces) bamboo shoots, drained
4 ounces spinach, stems removes (4 cups)
Hot cooked rice

Dissolve bouillon in hot water; stir in soy sauce and sugar. Reserve. Cut beef into 1/8-inch slices. (For ease in cutting, partially freeze beef about 1 hour.) Heat oil in 12-inch skillet until hot. Place half each of the celery, carrots, green onions, mushrooms and bamboo shoots in separate areas in skillet. Pour half the reserved soy sauce mixture into skillet.

Simmer uncovered until vegetables are crisp-tender, turning vegetables carefully, 8 to 10 minutes. Push vegetables to side of skillet; add half each of the beef and spinach. Cook beef to desired doneness about 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining vegetables and beef. Serve from skillet with rice and additional soy sauce.

*1 large whole chicken breast (1 pound), boned and skinned, can be substituted for the beef. (For ease in cutting, partially freeze chicken about 1 1/2 hours.)

Sloppy Joes

This is the way that I remember Mom making sloppy joes. They are best when you put potato chips on top of the sloppy joe mix and then put the bun on top.

1 pound ground beef
1 can chicken gumbo soup
squirt of catsup
squirt of mustard

Brown ground beef, drain. Stir in soup, catsup and mustard. Heat through and serve.

Hamburger Helper

1 lb. hamburger, browned
2 1/4 c. instant rice
3 1/2 c. hot water
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. minced onion

Salt to taste and cook down until water has evaporated.

Mini Mexican Meatloaves

I have made these with my plain meatloaf recipe as well since everyone doesn't like the spice.

1 1/2 lb. ground beef
3/4 cup mild picante sauce
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies, drained
1/2 cup finely crushed corn chips
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
Picante sauce
1 cup shredded Mexican four-cheese blend
Tortilla chips or corn chips
Garnishes: sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro

Combine first 8 ingredients and shape into 6 loaves. Place on a lightly greased rack in a broiling pan.

Bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until done. Spoon desired amount of picante sauce over loaves and sprinkle with cheese. Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips. Garnish, if desired.