Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Here is another favorite from my cousin Heidi at Tasty Sensations. This is one of the recipes I make more frequently because it is super easy (when using the frozen meatballs) and I LOVE Jake's reaction while he's eating them :)

1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks
1/3 cup water
3 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 batch of 30 meatballs
1 large green or red pepper, cut into pieces
Hot cooked rice

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Set aside. Add water to juice if needed to measure 1 cup. Pour into large skillet. Add 1/3 cup water, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and cornstarch. Stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Add pineapple, meatballs, and green pepper. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes or until heated through. Serve over rice.

I've also included her home-made meatball recipe if you're feeling adventurous and want to make your own.

Meatballs

4 eggs
2 cups dried bread crumbs
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 Tbsp salt
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp pepper
4 lbs lean ground beef

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, but meat. When everything is mixed together then add beef and mix again. Roll in to 1-inch balls. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees, 10-15 minutes, turning once. Once meat balls cool, put on clean cookie sheet and put in freezer until they are frozen. Once they are frozen you can put them in a Ziploc freezer bag, and just pull them out of the freezer when you want them. They are also really good in spaghetti sauce.

Poor Man's Stroganoff

I had my regular stroganoff on the menu for tonight but Mel's Kitchen Cafe posted this recipe so I had to try it. I'm glad I didn't wuss out and stick with what I was used to. According to Jake, bacon....good. Mushrooms.....good. He even helped out by chopping the onions and garlic and boiling the noodles. I love that man-o-mine.

1-2 teaspoons olive oil
6 ounces turkey bacon, diced
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 ½ pounds lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 medium red or yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
¼ cup flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 or 1 1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
½ teaspoon paprika
1 cup sour cream, light or regular
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried

Cooked egg noodles or rice, for serving

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 1-2 teaspoons olive oil and saute diced bacon over medium heat until crispy. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate and set aside, leaving any grease/oil in the pan. Add sliced mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, for about one minute (if the pan is too dry, add a teaspoon of oil as needed). Add salt. Continue cooking until the mushrooms are softened and have given up most of their juices. Transfer them to the same plate as the bacon.

In the same skillet, brown the ground beef or turkey with the onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Drain the grease.

Stir in the flour and tomato paste to the meat mixture and mix to combine well. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 1 minute. Add the beef broth and bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking to combine all the ingredients. Simmer vigorously for 3-5 minutes until the mixture is slightly reduced and thickened. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and paprika. Cook until flavors blend, about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add sautéed mushrooms and bacon back to the skillet. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the sour cream, mixing well to avoid lumps. Stir in the parsley. Serve over egg noodles or hot, cooked rice.

Mock Lasagna

• 1 8-oz. cream cheese
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1-1 ½ lbs. ground beef with chopped onion
• ½ lb. lasagna noodles*
• Can of Hunt’s spaghetti sauce (+ 8 oz. tomato sauce for more sauce)
• Mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese in mixing bowl. Heat beef with onion in saucepan until cooked. Boil lasagna noodles until cooked. Layer half of the noodles in a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Top noodles with all of cheese mixture. Top cheese mixture with remaining half of noodles. Top with meat mixture. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and then bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese to taste. Pairs well with French Peasant Bread

*To cut out 1 preparation step, oven ready lasagna noodles can be substituted. Just add 1 cup of water to the spaghetti sauce mixture so the noodles can cook the same time as the lasagna. I still like it a little better with regular noodles, however.

Meatloaf

Dinner tonight was courtesy of my Cousin's wife, Heidi, over at Tasty Sensations. The first time I made this was back in our first few months of wedded bliss and Jake still loves when he sees it coming up on our menu.

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1.5 pound lean, ground beef
1 c. oats (quick or regular)
1/2 c. plain bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 TBS. dried parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 finely chopped onion

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix above ingredients well.
Place meat in loaf pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and baste with:

Savory Topping (mix all below ingredients until smooth)
6 TBS. brown sugar
1/2 c. catsup
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. prepared mustard

Place pan back in oven for 15 minutes. Serve with baked potatoes.

Shepherds Pie

Brown 1 pound ground beef with onion. Mix meat with 2 large cans of vegetable beef soup in a 9 x 13-inch glass pan. Put mashed potatoes on top and top with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

A super easy go-to recipe for when you can't think of anything else, such as tonight at our house. :)

Mexican Meat Cups

This is one of the recipes that was a favorite growing up. I remember always LOVING when my mom would make these. Now that I'm married, I'm glad Jake likes them just as much as I do. The meat filling makes kind of a lot for our family of 3, so I can either half the recipe or freeze the other half that we don't eat. (I love finding good freezer meals, too. :)

Ingredients:

1 can flaky refrigerator biscuits

1 cup shredded cheese

1 lb. ground beef, brown and drain

½ cup ketchup & ½ cup barbeque sauce, mixed together

1 can corn (opt.)

Place each biscuit in a muffin cup. Press dough to cover bottom and sides, forming a ½ inch rim. Put about 1 T. of cheese into each cup. Combine ground beef, ketchup-barbeque sauce mixture and corn. Spoon into biscuit. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until biscuits are deep golden brown. Cover tops with shredded cheese during the last 5 minutes.

*Freezer option: Freeze the filling separate from the biscuits. Take out the night before, or the morning of, to thaw. Then assemble and bake as normal.

Taco Soup

Oh, bless this soup. It is so easy! All you have to do is brown some beef, open a bunch of cans, and turn on a crockpot in the morning and you have a yummy yummy dinner 6-8 hours later that makes a lot, and is great as leftovers too! It came in real handy today too because what I had originally planned for dinner tonight (Cranberry Pork with Red Potatoes) wasn't happening because it turns out you need pork for that recipe. Weird. I was SO glad that I had halved the Sloppy Joe recipe on Wednesday because then I already had a 1/2 lb of ground beef browned and all ready to go this morning when plan A didn't work out. It's like it was meant to be!

TACO SOUP

1 lb hamburger
chopped onion (brown with hamburger)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can beef broth
2 cans cream of potato soup
2 cans kidney or chili beans, drained and rinsed
1 can or 2 small cans tomato sauce
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 1/2 cup chopped celery*
1 1/2 cup chopped carrots*
1 can corn

Cook all day on low in a large crock pot or until vegetables are tender. Serve with grated cheese, tortilla chips, and sour cream. A really easy recipe to cut in half if you are only serving up to 4 people.

*a lot of times I have this meal as a backup plan so I might not have these ingredients on hand so sometimes these ingredients are omitted. The soup is just as good without them, just more healthy with the extra veggies!

Schuyler's Sloppy Joes

I got this recipe from my college roommate, and it's one of Jake's very favorite things that I make. Good thing, because they are so easy! Thanks Schoop!

1 lb ground beef

1 T. dried minced onion

2 T. chopped celery

1 can tomato soup

2 T. Worchestershire sauce

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 T. prepared mustard

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup brown sugar.

Brown beef and onion and drain fat. Mix the rest of the ingredients and cook until hot. Serve on a bun.

Momma Winegar's Chili

1 lb hamburger

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 can creamed corn

1 can kidney beans

1 can no-bean chili

1 large can tomato sauce

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 can chopped olives (opt.)

Brown hamburger, onions, and pepper. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 1 hour. Goes well with cornbread.

*This is a great recipe to double. When I do, I only increase the meat by another 1/2 pound.