Here's the recipe I promised. Oh look! It calls for 1 pound ground meat! Imagine that, now this recipe is under 20 minutes! Yipee!
Healthy hamburger helper
1 lb. cooked, seasoned ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken, buffalo) yes, we have ground buffalo around here!
2 cups uncooked pasta - this is a what you have noodle, I use mostly whole, wheat macaroni but have used whatever noodle I have around. I have even used a jumble of leftover pastas before to use them up! Broken up spaghetti also works.
1 16 oz can diced or whole tomatoes - I use my home canned. If you use whole tomatoes, cut them up.
1 cup frozen corn or one can drained corn - used mixed veggies if you like
2 cups water
dash salt and garlic powder
sprinkle with pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups diced velveeta cheese or 5-6 slices of american cheese - do not use the singles that are in plastic wrap, this won't melt well
In a skillet, crumble the meat and cook until hot. Add the pasta, tomatoes, water, corn and seasonings. Bring to a simmer, place the cheese on top. Cover and cook on simmer for about 15 minutes until the pasta is al dente. Uncover and simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens a bit. It will continue to thicken after you remove it from the heat.
Serve with a green salad or a fruit salad and you have a very healthy, low fat meal for just a little money! Better than the drive-thru!
This will serve about 6 very large servings. You can cut in half if you have a small family by just cutting the pasta and water by half or you can double but use a very large skillet.
It makes great leftovers for lunches.
Have a great day!
A journal of recipes and ideas to help readers laugh a little at everyday things and realize just how blessed they are!
Showing posts with label ground beef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ground beef. Show all posts
Monday, February 1, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Homemade Hamburger Helper
Let me just say first today, that I'm not against putting hamburger helper on your table every now and then. I'm not one of those women who look down on others if you use a box out of the pantry to get a meal on the table. I reason that hamburger or chicken helper is probably better than the drive through anyway as long as you serve a salad or veggie on the side. I gave up on perfectionism a long, long time ago and my mantra concerning meals is 'whatever works'! Plus, I found out after slaving over things like homemade macaroni and cheese that my kids really like boxed better.
Yes, it was a humbling experience to realize that Kraft macaroni and cheese was loved and mamma's homemade was not but I came to understand that 'whatever works' is sometimes good enough. My daughter came home from a friends house raving about the mac and cheese. 'The best ever', was the exact wording. I casually asked a few days later for the recipe and the mom started laughing hysterically and said 'it's Kraft'! I realized then and there that gourmet is sometimes lost on the young.
If you are a box reader like me, you're probably wondering how I get around all the sodium inside that little blue box. Well, I tell you, I first thought I'd be sneaky and buy a box mac and cheese but only buy an organic, whole wheat, good-for-you, taste like wallpaper paste brand that cost six times as much. It was a no-go at my house! So now I'll let you in on my dirty little secret....I only use half the package of powdered cheese! No one knows but me and I use the rest later to season rice or veggies! No one said a mom can't resort to underhandedness to save my famililes health!
Once I was able to pull that off and had no mutiny, I decided to try it in some of the other boxed meals. Worked like a charm! I do use the rest of the packet in brown rice for later meals. I also always add extra frozen veggies to the skillet after I add the seasonings and liquid. Now my kids think I'm really cool because I let them have hamburger helper sometimes and what they don't know, won't hurt them!
Tomorrow, I'll give you a recipe for homemade hamburger helper. It doesn't have all the salt and preservatives and is loved at my house. I call it mom's hamburger helper and no one knows it doesn't come out of a box! Hey, at my house, coming out of a box is exciting! (at least to the kids)
Look outside today and really see the gifts of nature that are around you! Little blessings really add up!
Yes, it was a humbling experience to realize that Kraft macaroni and cheese was loved and mamma's homemade was not but I came to understand that 'whatever works' is sometimes good enough. My daughter came home from a friends house raving about the mac and cheese. 'The best ever', was the exact wording. I casually asked a few days later for the recipe and the mom started laughing hysterically and said 'it's Kraft'! I realized then and there that gourmet is sometimes lost on the young.
If you are a box reader like me, you're probably wondering how I get around all the sodium inside that little blue box. Well, I tell you, I first thought I'd be sneaky and buy a box mac and cheese but only buy an organic, whole wheat, good-for-you, taste like wallpaper paste brand that cost six times as much. It was a no-go at my house! So now I'll let you in on my dirty little secret....I only use half the package of powdered cheese! No one knows but me and I use the rest later to season rice or veggies! No one said a mom can't resort to underhandedness to save my famililes health!
Once I was able to pull that off and had no mutiny, I decided to try it in some of the other boxed meals. Worked like a charm! I do use the rest of the packet in brown rice for later meals. I also always add extra frozen veggies to the skillet after I add the seasonings and liquid. Now my kids think I'm really cool because I let them have hamburger helper sometimes and what they don't know, won't hurt them!
Tomorrow, I'll give you a recipe for homemade hamburger helper. It doesn't have all the salt and preservatives and is loved at my house. I call it mom's hamburger helper and no one knows it doesn't come out of a box! Hey, at my house, coming out of a box is exciting! (at least to the kids)
Look outside today and really see the gifts of nature that are around you! Little blessings really add up!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Big Batch Cooking 103
Today, I want to give you a recipe for ground meat that will make three different meals, possibly more, if your really creative! Many may have a meatloaf recipe that has been handed down from mom so use it, but if you don't really have a good meatloaf recipe, this one is good. Even my husband will eat it!
This one recipe will make 2 meatloafs and about 8 patties that will make swiss steak or salisbury steak.
5 lbs. ground meat - I like really lean so there is no grease - I hate greasy food!
1 chopped fine onion
3 tablespoons chopped garlic - I use the jarred garlic, if you don't like garlic, leave it out. This is a very versatile recipe!
3 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs - I use pepperidge farms seasoned bread crumbs (they are in a bag)
2 tablespoons worchestire sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mix all ingredients well.
Shape into 2 meatloafs (about 1 1/2 lbs each). I make sure they will fit into my meatloaf pan. Place each one on waxed paper and slide into a freezer bag. Label with the date. When ready to cook, take one out and place into your pan. Leave overnight in the fridge.
Cover with aluminum foil. Cook at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees in your oven, or you can cook these in a crockpot for 6-8 hours on low. I put it on balled up aluminum foil so the grease drips away, remember, I don't like grease! After about 40 minutes in the oven or in the last hour of cooking in the crockpot, take the foil off and put 1/2 cup tomatoe sauce, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 tablespoon worchestire sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes and a veggie.
The rest of the meat mixture make into patties and place on waxed paper. It should make about 8. Wrap them into your families portions, I make 4-6. Place them into freezer bags.
To use patties, thaw overnight in the fridge or cook frozen on low for a bit longer.
Salisbury steak:
Brown patties in a skillet. After about 10 minutes of cooking, place 1 can cream of mushroom soup and 1-2 cups of sliced mushrooms into skillet. Cook, covered for about 10 minutes then uncover and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with egg noodles and a veggie.
Swiss steak:
Brown patties in a skillet, place 1 sliced onion and a can of diced tomatoes into skillet. The diced italian tomatoes are good in this. Cook, covered for about 10 minutes and then uncover and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with rice.
If your family are meatball lovers, this recipe is also good as meatballs. Shape them and place on wax paper to freeze or pre-cook them before putting them into the freezer to save more time later!
If you keep these items in the freezer, you'll always have something to put on the table!
Have a blessed day!
This one recipe will make 2 meatloafs and about 8 patties that will make swiss steak or salisbury steak.
5 lbs. ground meat - I like really lean so there is no grease - I hate greasy food!
1 chopped fine onion
3 tablespoons chopped garlic - I use the jarred garlic, if you don't like garlic, leave it out. This is a very versatile recipe!
3 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs - I use pepperidge farms seasoned bread crumbs (they are in a bag)
2 tablespoons worchestire sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mix all ingredients well.
Shape into 2 meatloafs (about 1 1/2 lbs each). I make sure they will fit into my meatloaf pan. Place each one on waxed paper and slide into a freezer bag. Label with the date. When ready to cook, take one out and place into your pan. Leave overnight in the fridge.
Cover with aluminum foil. Cook at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees in your oven, or you can cook these in a crockpot for 6-8 hours on low. I put it on balled up aluminum foil so the grease drips away, remember, I don't like grease! After about 40 minutes in the oven or in the last hour of cooking in the crockpot, take the foil off and put 1/2 cup tomatoe sauce, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 tablespoon worchestire sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes and a veggie.
The rest of the meat mixture make into patties and place on waxed paper. It should make about 8. Wrap them into your families portions, I make 4-6. Place them into freezer bags.
To use patties, thaw overnight in the fridge or cook frozen on low for a bit longer.
Salisbury steak:
Brown patties in a skillet. After about 10 minutes of cooking, place 1 can cream of mushroom soup and 1-2 cups of sliced mushrooms into skillet. Cook, covered for about 10 minutes then uncover and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with egg noodles and a veggie.
Swiss steak:
Brown patties in a skillet, place 1 sliced onion and a can of diced tomatoes into skillet. The diced italian tomatoes are good in this. Cook, covered for about 10 minutes and then uncover and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with rice.
If your family are meatball lovers, this recipe is also good as meatballs. Shape them and place on wax paper to freeze or pre-cook them before putting them into the freezer to save more time later!
If you keep these items in the freezer, you'll always have something to put on the table!
Have a blessed day!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Pedicures are the cure for everything!
Ok, I'll let you in on a little secret, I'm not a high-maintenance gal. Yeah, I like a little makeup to keep me from looking like death-warmed-over and I try to fix my hair each day so I don't scare myself. My hair and I came to an impasse years ago, it is very fine and frizzy so it really doesn't matter if I spend an hour or 10 minutes fixing it after about 30 minutes, it's going to look the same! I used to say that my hair has declaried mutiny on the top of my head. I have a double crown also and several cow-licks so getting it to just lay down and behave is sometimes a challenge.
Anyway, I'm not really high-maintenance. I had my first pedicure done a few years ago when my husband got me a gift certificate for mothers day. Now I try to save up my money and go a few times each summer. My birthday is in May so I get a certificate for mother's day and another on for my birthday, makes for an easy gift that my hubby doesn't have to stress over. He knows I'll love it!
If I was as rich as Oprah, I would have a pedicure each week and drink Jamacian blue coffee every morning. Oh, and let my hair stylist do my hair each morning! Well, I fell in love with the pedicure chairs at the place I go! They knead and rub your back while your getting your toenails done some ridiculus color. I never get just natural or get the tips painted white. What kind of thing is that anyway, getting the tips painted? If I'm paying for someone to paint my toes, I want the entire thing painted!
I love the chairs so much that the man that runs the store always puts me in a chair as soon as I come in, even if they aren't going to do my pedi for 30 minutes. He knows that I'll be so very happy sitting in that chair watching taped tv programs on Vietnam. If they aren't busy, he usually sits back there beside me and we talk about the food on the programs. It doesn't matter that I speak Okie and he has a very Vietnamese accent, food brings us together!
Speaking of food, which is where most of my conversations go, here's a quick easy recipe to use that precooked and seasoned ground meat sitting in your freezer! I made up the recipe when we went to a very expensive Chinese restaurant and wanted to re-create it for my kids.
Lettuce wraps:
1 lbs precooked/seasoned ground meat
1/2 cup hoisin sauce (you may need to add more depending on the consistency you like and if you're adding rice, you'll need more. The final product should resemble taco meat)
1/4 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or hot pepper, I like them spicy!
Seasoned rice wine vinegar - serve on the side as a dipping sauce
Warm the ground meat in a skillet until hot, add the hoisin and hot pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes. If you have a large family and need to stretch the meat a bit, add pre-cooked brown rice to the meat mixture. Remember, a little meat goes a long way if you know how to stretch it!
Serve in lettuce leaves, I like bibb lettuce for this but regular loose leaf is also good. Put about 1/2 cup of the meat in the center of the leaf and roll up. This is messy with kids so I adapted it a bit to serve in flour tortillas, not as traditional but much easier for them to eat! In a large flour tortilla, place about 1/2 cup of the meat and cover with shredded lettuce. fold like a burrito and serve.
I usually serve this with a fruit salad and fried rice or rice pilaf for a light, quick and easy meal.
Now, if I could just justify going to get a pedicure today!
Spread your blessings out today to cover several people!
Anyway, I'm not really high-maintenance. I had my first pedicure done a few years ago when my husband got me a gift certificate for mothers day. Now I try to save up my money and go a few times each summer. My birthday is in May so I get a certificate for mother's day and another on for my birthday, makes for an easy gift that my hubby doesn't have to stress over. He knows I'll love it!
If I was as rich as Oprah, I would have a pedicure each week and drink Jamacian blue coffee every morning. Oh, and let my hair stylist do my hair each morning! Well, I fell in love with the pedicure chairs at the place I go! They knead and rub your back while your getting your toenails done some ridiculus color. I never get just natural or get the tips painted white. What kind of thing is that anyway, getting the tips painted? If I'm paying for someone to paint my toes, I want the entire thing painted!
I love the chairs so much that the man that runs the store always puts me in a chair as soon as I come in, even if they aren't going to do my pedi for 30 minutes. He knows that I'll be so very happy sitting in that chair watching taped tv programs on Vietnam. If they aren't busy, he usually sits back there beside me and we talk about the food on the programs. It doesn't matter that I speak Okie and he has a very Vietnamese accent, food brings us together!
Speaking of food, which is where most of my conversations go, here's a quick easy recipe to use that precooked and seasoned ground meat sitting in your freezer! I made up the recipe when we went to a very expensive Chinese restaurant and wanted to re-create it for my kids.
Lettuce wraps:
1 lbs precooked/seasoned ground meat
1/2 cup hoisin sauce (you may need to add more depending on the consistency you like and if you're adding rice, you'll need more. The final product should resemble taco meat)
1/4 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or hot pepper, I like them spicy!
Seasoned rice wine vinegar - serve on the side as a dipping sauce
Warm the ground meat in a skillet until hot, add the hoisin and hot pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes. If you have a large family and need to stretch the meat a bit, add pre-cooked brown rice to the meat mixture. Remember, a little meat goes a long way if you know how to stretch it!
Serve in lettuce leaves, I like bibb lettuce for this but regular loose leaf is also good. Put about 1/2 cup of the meat in the center of the leaf and roll up. This is messy with kids so I adapted it a bit to serve in flour tortillas, not as traditional but much easier for them to eat! In a large flour tortilla, place about 1/2 cup of the meat and cover with shredded lettuce. fold like a burrito and serve.
I usually serve this with a fruit salad and fried rice or rice pilaf for a light, quick and easy meal.
Now, if I could just justify going to get a pedicure today!
Spread your blessings out today to cover several people!
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