Cowboy Spaghetti

If you have a man in your life, I suggest you make this for him.  There are 4 different meats in this thing.  FOUR!  And it is dee-licious!! Probably not something to make every week, as it's not "healthified," sorry to say. But a good one to keep in the recipe box. I found this recipe at Favorite Family Recipes.  A good, cute blog with some yummy food!

 

 Cowboy Spaghetti

from Favorite Family Recipes

1 pkg (1 lb) spaghetti noodles
6 slices bacon (chopped)
1 Lb ground beef
1 medium onion (chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
salt & pepper (to taste)
2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Lb deli pastrami, roughly chopped
1/3 c. pepperoni, chopped
2 Tbsp canned, chopped jalapeno
1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
1 small can diced olives
½ c. beef broth
1 (14 oz) can fired roasted diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
green onions (chopped)

 
Heat a large deep skillet to medium-high heat. Add bacon and fry until crisp, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. In the same skillet add ground beef. When beef is browned stir in onions and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in bacon, pastrami, pepperoni, jalapeno, mushrooms and olives. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.
Add beef broth and cook for an additional 5 minutes or so. Stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce. Cover and reduce heat to low (at this point you can also throw everything in a crock pot and cook on low heat for a few hours. If it gets too thick, add another can of fire roasted tomatoes and a little more beef broth). Prepare spaghetti noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles well, add to meat sauce, and toss it all together (or you can serve with the sauce over the top). Top with sharp cheddar cheese and green onions.

Cheesy Sloppy Joes

 

Lately things have been tight financially for my hubby and I since my hubby is preparing to apply for dental school and we are both finishing up our last year as students at ASU.  However, I will never give up my passion and hobby known as cooking, no matter how tight money gets.  There are such things called inexpensive dinners, and this is one of them.  Plus, was pretty quick to put together and much better than sloppy joes made with Mamwich brand sauce that I grew up on!

Cheesy Sloppy Joes

from 5 Dollar Dinners

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 green pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 2 tsp minced onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 Tbsp prepared mustard
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• Salt and pepper
• 4 whole wheat buns
• 4 slices provolone cheese (in place of this I used shredded Monterey Jack and it worked great)

• Brown the ground beef. (If you want softer green peppers, cook them with the ground beef.) Drain and let sit.
• In the same skillet, add the tomato sauce, minced onion, minced garlic, vinegar, mustard and brown sugar. Stir and let simmer over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes.  Add the brown beef and (uncooked or cooked) green peppers and combine. Simmer over low heat for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until ready to serve.
• Spoon the sloppy joe meat over the buns and top cheese. Let the warm sauce melt the cheese, or microwave.

Slow Cooker Beef-Tortellini Soup

I am seriously in love with my slow cooker/crock pot (whatever you want to call it- I use both names.  Just whatever I feel like, mostly).  It is absolutely PERFECT on the busiest of days when you have about .552 seconds to make dinner.  Well hopefully you have more time than that, but you won't need much more ;)

I kinda cheated on this recipe because I didn't have celery (that wasn't wilted) or a can of green beans.  But even without those key ingredients, this soup was awesome! Perfect for the cooling weather. (I know, it was only what like 99 degrees today! Woo-hoo!)

My husband said he "liked it a lot" which really does indeed say a lot because he is usually a man of few words when it comes to food.  Usually I'll ask him if he likes what I made, secretly trying to get as much description out of him as possible but realistically knowing that that will never ever happen, and I'll usually get "It's good." if he likes it, "it's really good" if he loves it (I think that's a word for love?) and "It's not my favorite thing you've made" if he doesn't love it.  But being the wonderful husband he is, he will still eat it all and usually even eat seconds.  Man I just love husbands and their non-picky appetites! (Usually!)


Slow-Cooker Beef Tortellini Soup
from Pillsbury

Prep Time: 20 Min
Total Time: 8 Hr 45 Min
Makes: 6 servings

1 lb beef stew meat

1 large onion, chopped (3/4 cup)

1 large carrot, chopped (3/4 cup)

1 medium stalk celery, chopped (1/2 cup)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 teaspoons sugar

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cans (10 1/2 oz each) condensed beef consommé or beef broth

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

2 cups frozen cheese-filled tortellini (I used spinach-ricotta filled from Trader Joe's)

1 cup frozen cut green beans (I'm sure you could substitute a can of green beans just perfectly)

1. In 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker, add beef, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, sugar, tomatoes and beef consommé in order listed. 

2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 9 hours. (I did not have this much time so I did the first two hours on low then the last 3 on high. You could probably do 4-5 hours on high instead, also)

3 About 25 minutes before serving, stir in basil, frozen tortellini and green beans. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook about 25 minutes or until beans are tender.

Nutritional Information: 1 Serving= 320 calories, 12g fat 

Deep-Dish Taco Squares

Please forgive these photos for their lack of beauty.  Because this was sure delicious.

This was made quite a while ago, and by quite a while I mean only a month or two ago, but I never forgot about this meal and its lasting impression upon my taste-buds and memory.

This is another classic Betty Crocker recipe and I quite approve of its quality.  The crust/bottom is made from Bisquick- fancy that!- and topped with beef, onion, tomatoes, chilies, cheese and sour cream, then baked to as-healthy-as-you-can-get Mexican perfection.

Ole!

  

Deep-Dish Taco Squares

1/2	lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1/4	cup chopped onion (1 small)
2	tablespoons Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix (from 1-oz package)
1	cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/4	cup cold water
1/2	cup sour cream
1/3	cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/2	cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (2 oz)
1	medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)
1	can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 8-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in taco seasoning mix until blended.
2. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix and water until soft dough forms. Using fingers dipped in Bisquick mix, pat dough in bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of baking dish.
3. In same bowl, mix sour cream, mayonnaise and cheese until blended. Layer beef mixture, tomato and chiles over dough; spoon sour cream mixture over top.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until edges of dough are light golden brown.

Nutrition:  330 calories, 23g fat, 50mg cholesterol, 820mg sodium, 11g protein

Baked Lasagna x2

My great-grandfather was an Italian chef, so sometimes I like to think that I inherited my love of cooking and all things with garlic, tomato sauce, and noodles, from him.

That would make sense, right? I mean, the tradition of cooking has kind of been passed down through my grandmother, who had an immense love for gardening and cooking, to my mother, who I am quite used to finding in the kitchen, and finally to me.  

(And I shouldn't forget my little sister, I can already tell she will be quite the cook someday; she is already constantly in the kitchen making new things, and she's only 13.)

Apparently, my grandfather was a firm believer in MORE garlic.  More is always better.  So feel free to add a couple more cloves to this recipe; it definitely would not inhibit its fabulousness.  :)

The original recipe, a family favorite, calls for full-fat ingredients, which definitely yields the richest flavor, but in parentheses I put alternatives that I used this time around.  The taste was hardly compromised with the healthier version.  

YUM.

Baked Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef or sausage (or extra-lean ground beef or turkey)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. parsley flakes

1 tsp. salt

1 (1 lb.) can tomatoes (2 cups)

2 (6-oz.) cans tomato paste

10 oz. lasagna noodles

3 cups creamy cottage cheese (or reduced-fat cottage cheese)

2 beaten eggs

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. parsley flakes

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese (or reduced-fat Parmesan)

1 lb. Mozzarella cheese, sliced thin (2% skim pre-sliced works great)

Brown meat slowly, spoon off fat.  Add garlic, parsley, salt, tomatoes, and tomato paste, simmer uncovered 30 minutes.  Cook noodles until tender, drain, rinse in cold water.  Combine cottage cheese with eggs and seasonings.  Spread 1/2 noodles in 9x13x2 pan, spread 1/2 cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 Mozzarella cheese and 1/2 meat sauce; repeat layers and garnish with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Let stand 10-15 minutes to set before cutting.  

Serves 12.