Hearty Chili

Our family loves this recipe for Chili, especially when accompanied by this recipe for corn bread. Sorry once again about the mediocre picture. I am usually trying to quickly snap a picture before my family gobbles down whatever I make. At least there is one right? Found in this cookbook.

1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red or green pepper (optional)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (30-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, undrained
1 (15 ounce) can chili
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced or 1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup ketchup

Brown ground beef in a large, heavy pan. Add onions and peppers and cook until tender. Add remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered over low heat for at least 1 hour. Chili can be made the day before and reheated. Makes about 8 cups.

Meatloaf

Please pardon the picture. I am already photographically challenged when it comes to food and taking a pleasing picture of a slab of ground turkey wasn't happening for me. And on that appetizing note, this is THE BEST meatloaf that I have ever had. My boys are really picky eaters and my pickiest (who shall remain nameless), has this as his favorite meal. It really is that good. I of course substitute ground turkey for the ground beef (most of the time).

This recipe comes from a family cookbook that my awesome SIL Amy put together for us all for Christmas. Seriously one of my favorite gifts ever. My other SIL Stacey submitted this recipe and it has become our meatloaf staple.

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (or turkey)
3/4 c. oats or saltine crackers
3/4 c. milk
1 egg beaten
1/4 c chopped onion or 1 TBS minced onion
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp minced garlic

Mix all ingredients together and put I put it in a bread pan (you could probably use a casserole dish too, never done it)

TOPPING: (Put this over the top of the meat loaf before you put in the oven)
1/3 c. ketchup
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs mustard
Bake @ 350 for 1 hr and 10 minutes

Bow Tie Lasagna

This is one of our families favorite meals. It is a great fast and easy version of lasagna. I got it from my great go-to ward cookbook.

8 oz. bow tie pasta
1 TBS vegetable oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 (12 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 c. cottage cheese
1 large egg
2 TBS grated Parmesan cheese
4 oz grated Mozzarella cheese
8 oz. ground beef (or ground turkey)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8 inch square baking dish. Cook pasta according to package directions for half the amount of time given.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over moderate heat. Add onion and saute for 1 minute. Stir in ground beef and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add spaghetti sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; partially cover the skillet and simmer the sauce for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg, and Parmesan. Drain pasta. Layer half the pasta in baking dish. Spoon the cottage cheese mixture over the pasta. Spoon half of the meat sauce over the cheese mixture and sprinkle with half the Mozzarella. Layer the remaining pasta sauce and Mozzarella. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5 to 8 minutes or until heated through and serve.

Shepherds Pie

Okay I know that this is a recipe that a lot of you have grown up with. It is pretty basic, but the funny thing is that I had never tasted Shepherd's Pie until I was married. I instantly LOVED it, and now my kids love it too. It is also a great way to use left over mashed potatoes.

1 pound ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 14 oz can green beans
1 10 3/4 oz can tomato soup
1-2 c. mashed potatoes (I make these with butter, salt and milk-just like what you would make to eat
2 c. grated cheddar cheese

Cook ground beef in olive oil. Add onion, salt, pepper and saute until the onion is tender. Put into a greased 9X13 casserole dish (I use a pie plate). Layer green beans (drained) on top of meat mixture and spread the tomato soup on top of that followed by mashed potatoes. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over casserole and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Heavenly Turkey Burgers

Okay I am adding a lot of "heavenly" stuff lately, but the name "Turkey Burger" just didn't fit this amazing burger. I made these for my family for our little Superbowl party. They were HEAVENLY. I can't even describe how in love with these burgers I am. Luckily we had some leftovers that I have been hoarding. They are even better the next day.

I have switched my family over from ground beef to ground turkey. The word on the street is that it is just better for you, lower in fat, and I feel better about serving it to the family (ya know, limiting our red meat intake). Most of the time I don't even notice the difference. There are a few things that I still use ground beef for, but for the most part, we are a ground turkey family and I actually think it tastes better. Well, I was skeptical of making hamburgers with ground turkey. That is one of the avenues that I had always thought ground beef was better, not after these babies. They are HEAVENLY (I really was looking for a different adjective to describe them, but heavenly just fits). Okay here is the recipe. Go here to get it off the site I got it from. I changed it up a little based on one of the commenter's suggestions.

3 lbs ground turkey
1/4 c seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1/2 c. finely chopped red bell pepper
2 eggs beaten lightly
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley (I LOVED this ingredient, fresh is the only way to go for these)
6-10 splashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 clove of garlic peeled and minced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
(I only had plain bread crumbs, so I also added some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, onion powder and garlic powder in place of my seasoning in the bread crumbs and it was delish.)

In a large bowel mix ingredients together. Form 12 patties (I formed 6 huge patties...maybe too huge).
Cook the patties in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C).

We grilled ours on the grill outside and then added Swiss cheese to them. The result was...heavenly.

Sloppy Joes

Sorry for the blurry picture. That seems to be how I roll lately. Okay so everyone probably has their go to recipe for Sloppy Joes. I actually have never really liked sloppy joes, but my husband absolutely ADORES them. So I had to find a recipe that I could eat. This has been my favorite one. I always think I must like Sloppy Joes, but then I try them other places and I still don't. I guess I just like this recipe. It must be a keeper huh? It is from my old reliable Betty Crocker cookbook.

1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 cup ketchup
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp ground mustard
1/8 tsp pepper
6 hamburger buns split

1. Cook beef, onion, and celery in 10-inch skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients except buns (did they really need to tell us not to put the buns in....hmmm maybe). Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.

3. Fill buns with beef mixture.

Meatballs and Marinara Sauce

I had never eaten a meatball until I got married. I LOVE meatballs and used to buy the big bags of them at Costco. I now make my own because they really aren't that hard! I found this great recipe in "The Essential Mormon Cookbook" along with a recipe to dress up your jar of marinara sauce. So good!

Meatballs

1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 lb. lean ground beef (you can also use ground turkey)
1 egg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, pressed (optional)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
1 recipe Pasta sauce (see below)
1 lb dried spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese

In a large bowl combine bread crumbs, ground beef, egg, the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Divide mixture into 12 equal portions and form meatballs. Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until no longer pink inside.
Place Pasta sauce and meatballs in a medium saucepan and simmer 10 minutes. Serve over spaghetti. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese on individual servings. Makes 6 servings.

Pasta Sauce
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup fresh or canned mushrooms (optional)
1 (28 oz) jar pasta sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 roma tomato, finely chopped
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme

In a medium saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until tender. Add mushrooms, if desired, and heat about 2 minutes. Add garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Do not overcook, as garlic will become bitter. Add jar of pasta sauce, sugar tomato, oregano, and thyme. Cook over medium low heat for about 15 minutes to blend flavors.

Taco Soup

I know this is such a basic recipe, but that is what this blog is all about. I had a roommate when I lived in Washington D.C. that would make this all the time. I forgot the recipe she used and then my sister gave it to my sister-in-law for her wedding. My sister-in-law just gave it to me yesterday. Thanks Stacey, I have missed how good and simple this recipe is!

1 lb of ground beef (I don't use as much, if you like more go ahead!)
grated cheese to taste
2 cans of garbanzo beans, undrained
2 cans of kidney beans, undrained
2 cans of pinto beans, undrained
2 cans of corn, undrained
2 cans of stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 packet of taco seasoning
Fritos corn chips
sour cream

In a stock pot brown beef (I usual saute some onion as well to brown with the beef). Then add cans of pinto beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, corn and stewed tomatoes. Add packet of taco seasoning. I let this simmer for about 15-30 minutes to combine the flavors. Serve with sour cream, cheese and Fritos.