creamy taco mac

Ingredients:

1 lbs. ground beef or turkey
8 oz. dry pasta
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
4 tbsp. taco seasoning (or try this homemade version)
3 oz. cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
Salt and pepper
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Cook pasta according to the package directions.  Drain, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.  Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet or sauté pan, cook the ground turkey over medium-high heat until no longer pink.  A few minutes before the turkey is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet.  Once the turkey is cooked through, mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Mix in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit.  Remove from the heat and top with shredded cheddar cheese, if desired.

best baked ziti

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dry ziti pasta
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
• 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

Sour Cream Enchilladas

Ingredients: *

1 lb chicken breast (diced), ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas, softened
1 1/2 cups grated monterey jack cheese or Mexican blend cheese, divided
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 (15 ounce) can chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
optional: black beans, red/green peppers

Directions:


1. In frying pan, cook meat and onion together in oil over medium-high heat until chicken is just done.
2. Divide cooked chicken evenly between 8 tortillas; add 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese to each tortilla.
3. Roll enchiladas and place seam-side down in 9x13" baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with no-stick cooking spray.
4. Melt butter in a medium saucepan; stir in flour to make a roux; stir and cook until bubbly; gradually whisk in chicken broth then bring to boiling, stirring frequently.
5. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and green chiles; pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.
6. Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese & bake at 400° for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce near edges of baking dish is bubbly.


*this recipe makes *a lot* of sauce. I ended up freezing half of it for next time. If you dont want to do that, I suggest cutting all sauce ingredients in half.

Teriyaki Kabobs

Ingredients:

2 lbs. any meat or seafood -chicken, steak, shrimp, etc.
1 cup teriyaki marinade or sauce
2 red or green peppers - cut in thick pieces
1 large onion - cut in thick pieces
1 large can (16 or 20 oz.) chunked pineapples
1/2 cup pineapple juice

Directions:

1. Drain pineapples and reserve 1/2 cup of the juice
2. Mix teriyaki sauce & pineapple juice & add meat
3. Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours; stir occasionally
4. Thread meat, peppers, onions & pineapples on skewers.
5. Shrimp - grill for 4-5 mins each side. Do not overheat shrimp.
Steak or chicken - grill 10 mins each side until meat is cooked through.
6. Serve over rice.

Crockpot Chimichangas

Ingredients:

1- 1 1/2 lbs of meat (ground beef, top round or even pork)

salt and pepper

1/2 cup water

1 tsp dried minced onion, or 1/2 diced fresh onion

1 can tomatoes and chiles-drained

1 can diced tomatoes-drained
burrito-sized tortillas

shredded cheese

optional: guacomole, salsa, sour cream or any other toppings your family likes

Directions:

1. Salt and pepper your meat on all sides. Add to the crockpot and cover with 1/2 cup of water and onion. Cook on low 6-8 hours (ground beef should be ready to go in about 6 hours, while top round or pork may take longer)

2. After your meat has cooked all day, drain most grease (leave about 1 cup) & shred meat with two forks, if necessary.
3. Turn crockpot to HIGH & add the can of drained diced tomatoes and drained tomatoes and chiles. Cook for approx. 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare your toppings & steam a few tortillas at a time by stacking them on a plate and covering with a dampened paper towel. Microwave for 60 seconds.
5. Add oil to a large skillet and set heat to medium-high

6. Take a steamed tortilla and plop a spoonful of meat mixture in the center. If you use too much meat, it won't fold correctly. Fold the bottom and top of the tortilla, then the sides. The sides need to overlap a bit, so the meat doesn't escape, like this:

7. Carefully put the chimichanga into the hot skillet, seam-side down. Fry until golden brown (about 1-2 mins) then carefully flip and cook an additional 1-2 mins.)
8. Top with cheese, salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

** WHAT I DID DIFFERENT:

1. Add 1/2 packet of Taco seasoning to beef
2. Cook beef in a skillet before putting in crockpot.
3. Add all ingredients at the same time & cook on low 5 hours.
4. Added 1/2 green pepper

*Courtesy of A Year of Crockpotting


*This recipe can also be made on the stove in a large pot if you are short on time.

Au Gratin Taco Bake

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 package au gratin potatoes
1 can whole kernal corn, undrained
1 can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons taco seasoning (I used 3 tbsp)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook beef until brown, drain fat.
3. Stir in taco seasoning, water, milk, the potatoes, contents of sauce mix, corn & tomatoes.
4. Transfer to a baking dish (2 qt. or larger), cover and bake 60 minutes.
5. Sprinkle with cheese and bake another 5 minutes until melted.

Barbeque Mini Meatloaves

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 slice of bread (torn in small pieces)
1 egg
1/2 onion - finely chopped
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup barbeque sauce

optional: shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Combine beef, bread, egg, onion & garlic powder in a large bowl. Mix well.
2. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray and press beef mixture into all 12 cups.
3. Make an indentation in each loaf & drizzle on 1-2 tbsp. BBQ sauce.
4. Bake 35-40 minutes.
5. Optional: sprinkle with cheese and return to oven until cheese melts.

Classic Mini Cheeseburgers

*makes 24 mini burgers

Ingredients

1 medium onion
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 ½ lb. 90% lean ground beef
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp salt
6 slices American cheese
8 hot dog buns
24 hamburger dill pickle slices (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Finely chop onion and parsley & add beef, garlic and salt; mix well
3. Press beef mixture evenly over bottom of pan. Bake 10-12 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Drain grease.
4. Meanwhile, cut cheese into quarters & slice the buns (be careful not to sepearte top from bottom). Then cut buns into thirds for a total of 24 square mini buns.
5. Cut beef mixture into 24 squares using a knife or pizza cutter.
6. Top each burger with one pickle (optional) and one piece of cheese.
7. Place one bun top onto each burger.
8. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted and buns are warm.
9. To serve, place one burger with bun top onto one bun bottom using a spatula.

Tator Tot Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb. beef
1/2 -1 onion, chopped
2 cans cream mushroom soup
canned or frozen green beans (thawed) - optional
1 bag tator tots
1/2-1 bag of your favorite shredded cheese

Directions:

Brown beef and onion
In a 13x9 pan, mix beef and onion with two cans of cream of mushroom soup
mix in green beans
cover with frozen tater tots
sprinkle with cheese
bake for 50 minutes at 400 degrees

Slow Cooked Chili

Ingredients: (I double this recipe and its enough for 2 dinners and leftovers)

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 packet Chili Seasoning
1/2-1 onion
1-2 cans of your favorite beans
1-2 can tomatoes with sauce (I buy them whole and use the magic bullet to puree them)

Directions:

1. Cook beef & add to slow cooker
2. prepare seasoning as directed (usually just add water)
4. mix all ingredients in the slow cooker
5. cook on high 2 hours or low for 4.

*I double this recipe for lunch leftovers

Taco Stroganoff

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped (I didn't use this and it was fine without it)
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 small can corn with diced peppers
1/2 cup water
1 8oz tub of cream cheese with chive and onion
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
12 oz. egg noodles

Directions:

Cook onions and ground beef in large saute pan until beef is no longer pink. Drain beef.
MEANWHILE, cook egg noodles & drain.
Add taco seasoning, water & corn to beef in pan and cook 1 to 2 minutes.
Add cream cheese & shredded cheddar and cook until heated through and cheese melts. '

Toss with cooked noodles.

Mini Meatloaves

Ingredients:

1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound ground beef
2/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the egg, milk, cheese, oats and salt. Add the ground beef, mixing well, and form this mixture into eight miniature meatloaves. Place these in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Stir thoroughly and spread over each meatloaf.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes.

Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef (for best results, do not use 'lean' beef)
1 onion, diced
2 slices bread crumbled
1 egg
1 1/2 c ketchup, divided
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar.


Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine first 4 ingredients, then add 1 cup of ketchup.
2. Once all is moistened, form a loaf shape and place into a 9x9 baking dish coated with non-stick spray.
3. In a small mixing bowl combine remaining ketchup, vinegar and brown sugar and pour mixture over meatloaf
4. Bake uncovered at 375 for 30-45 minutes (I need the whole 45 mins)


*Courtesy of The Busy Mom's Cookbook.

I served this with roasted potatoes & onions. I boiled cubed potatoes for 15 minutes, then baked them, along with thickly cut onions, in the same pan as the mealoaf.

Steak or Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:

1 lb. of chicken or steak (I prefer Steak and buy it already cut into thin strips)
1 packet of Fajita Seasoning Mix
1 package of 8" tortillas
1 can of refried beans
sour cream

optional: salsa, chopped onion and peppers

Diretions:

1. Cook chicken or steak; drain
2. Add seasoning mix -follow directions on packet
3. Add chicken or steak to tortillas
4. Top with onions, peppers, salsa & sour cream
5. Serve with a side of refried beans.

Teriyaki Meatballs

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground turkey or beef
1/2 c. Teriyaki Marinade (I used Mrs. Dash Spicy Marinade)
2 tbsp. 'Mrs. Dash' Italian Medley Seasoning Mix
Olive Oil

Directions:

Add Teriyaki Marinade and Mrs. Dash to meat & mix well with hands.
Heat olive oil in saucepan over medium heat
Roll meat into balls
Fry meatballs until brown & cooked through -turning several times.

*Makes about 15 medium sized meatballs

Serve with a pasta or as an appetizer with a marinara dipping sauce.