Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

I was so excited when I got an email from my sister-in-law, Ashley, wanting to pass along the dinner she made the other night! I gotta tell you, it makes my day to get feedback of any kind, but someone else sharing a recipe is the beez-neez! Or bees knees... whatever. Anyway, Ashley got this from the back of a La Choy Soy Sauce label and even though I'm not a big beef eater, I am excited to try it! It only takes about 30 minutes and fits in nicely with the Chinese food kick that's been going on lately. Thanks, Ashley!

2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pkg (14 oz) frozen broccoli florets

1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained{optional, but adds a nice variety to the textures}

1 lb boneless beef sirloin, cut across the grain into 2 x 1/2 inch strips

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/3 C soy sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp corn starch

1 tbsp water

Chow Mein noodles {Optional}

Heat 1 tbsp oil in large skillet or wok over high heat. Cook and stir onion, broccoli and water chestnuts 4 minutes or until crisp tender. Remove from skillet and set aside. Pour remaining oil into skillet. Cook and stir beef and garlic about 2 minutes or until browned. Add broccoli mix back to skillet. Whisk together soy sauce and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add to skillet. Stir together cornstarch and water until smooth; add to skillet. Cook until heated through and sauce thickens. Serve with Chow Mein noodles.

Chipped Beef Cheese Ball

Cheese balls are such a perfect appetizer, so it was no wonder more than one showed up! This had a heartier, saltier flavor than "Grandpa's cheese ball". Joni Joiner made me proud with her FOUR recipes!

1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1 jar dried beef, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix Worcestershire sauce, cream cheese, chopped onion and all but 1/4 C of the dried beef. Shape into a ball. Coat the outside of the ball in the remaining dried beef.

Shepards Pie

My mom used to make snowy mountain casserole and it wasn't until recently that I learned that the rest of the world called it Shepard's pie! So, I found a little twist on my mom's classic and even though I didn't think it was possible, it was even better! Again, a slight mixture of Mom's recipe and the one I'd found from Kraft.
1 lb ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1/2 pkg frozen mixed vegetables ( I like the peas and carrots variety)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp dried onion
6-8 servings mashed potatoes
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 C cheddar cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef in large skillet. Stir in soup, vegetables, salt and pepper and diced onion. Spoon into 2 1/2 qt casserole dish. Prepare mashed potatoes. Stir in cream cheese, 1/2 C cheddar cheese and garlic salt. Spoon over beef mixture and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Sweet and Sour Pork or chicken or meatballs

This has been hanging out in my 'magical cookbook' for some time, but I didn't really remember it, so I hadn't made it before. I thought I'd give it a try one night when I had LOADS of leftover pork from Harvest Maple Pork loin. It originally calls for meatballs, but pork or battered chicken would be equally delicious! If you wanna try the meatball version, the recipe for the meatballs is after the sauce. Just as good as any Chinese restaurant I've been to! I love the sweet and tangy combination of flavors in this and won't be ignoring this recipe any more!

1/4 C cider vinegar
3/4 C beef bouillon
1 tbsp catsup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp molasses
1/4 C brown sugar
1 (10 oz) can pineapple chunks or tidbits
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 C green bell peppers, cut in strips
6 maraschino cherries, halved

Mix first 6 sauce ingredients and juice from pineapple in bowl, pour into frying pan, simmer. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 C water, stir into simmering sauce. Boil, stirring until thick and transparent. Add meatballs, pork or chicken, pineapples, green peppers and cherries. Simmer until heated through. Serve over hot rice.

Meatballs:
1 slice white bread
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp soy sauce
1 6 oz can water chestnuts, diced and drained

Stir together meatball ingredients, shape into 1 1/2" balls. Brown in hot oil, remove from pan when brown, set aside to prepare sauce.

Goulash

My mom grew up on this recipe, as did I, as will my children. It is a sweet, barbecue flavored, very kid friendly meal that throws together quickly and easily. It even tastes great as a leftover- a rare quality!

3/4 lb ground beef
2 1/2 C elbow macaroni noodles (I didn't have any on hand, so obviously, that one is flexible)
1 (10 3/4 oz) can tomato soup
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans water
1/4 C onions, chopped
1/8 C green bell peppers, chopped (optional)
1/2 C brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 C catsup
salt and pepper
1 C frozen corn

Brown ground beef, drain fat. Stir in remaining ingredients except corn. Cover and simmer until macaroni is soft. Stir in corn, cook 5 more minutes.

Beef Gravy

Jennifer Fulton showed up a little late to Beef Night, so I'm not sure how many of us got to try this- we were all so full of the other good stuff! This is kind of like stroganoff, but a little heartier. It would also make a good biscuits-and-gravy gravy for breakfast- just substitute sausage for the beef and use it to top biscuits instead of noodles.

1 lb hamburger

1/2 onion

2 C milk

1 cube butter

about 1/4 C flour

Brown hamburger and onion; drain. Melt in butter. Heat milk and add to the mixture. Add flour little by little until pasty. It should be the consistency of gravy, not quite as thick as a stroganoff.

Mostacolli

Jamie Massey is a fellow foodie and I always look forward to what she brings. This time was a yummy Italian dish akin to a spaghetti or baked ziti or most meat-and-red sauce Italian dishes!

1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes with Italian seasoning
1 onion
3-4 garlic cloves
extra virgin olive oil
1 lb ground round
1 tsp sugar
oregano
basil
1 box rigatoni pasta

Cover bottom of large frying pan with olive oil. Chop fine onion and garlic. Saute for about 3 minutes or until onion is transparent. Do not brown garlic. Add the hamburger and brown. When browned, drain the excess fat. Add the tomatoes, sugar and oregano. Simmer on low for about an hour. The last 10 minutes add basil finely chopped. Bring water to a boil in a separate pot. Add the salt then the pasta. DO NOT ADD OIL. Mix cooked pasta with sauce and serve.

To reheat leftovers- Put in a pan on the stove. Add a little ketchup to loosen the sauce and pasta.

To freeze- Freeze in a 9x13" pan. The night before, put into the fridge to thaw. Cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Mini Meatloaves

For those of you who have been patiently waiting: Molly Heaton's Mini Meatloaves! These 'cupcake meatloaves' {or is it loaf's?} were a huge hit! It was the most flavorful and succulent meatloaf I'd ever had! It's taken me a bit to get these recipes posted and this one has been asked for a couple times already- so alright, already! Here it is!

1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 pkg Stove Top Stuffing mix {She usually uses Sage flavor, but that night it was Savory Herb}
1 C water
1 tsp garlic powder
3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 C BBQ sauce {she used Sweet Baby Ray's Original}

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix meat, stuffing, water and garlic powder. Press into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. Make indentation in center of each meatloaf and fill with BBQ sauce. Bake 30 minutes or until cooked through. Top with cheese, and continue baking 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Slow Cooker Beef in Mushroom Gravy

This extremely juicy roast was brought by Joni Joiner. It just melts in your mouth! Love the simplicity and taste- double score!

2 - 2 1/2 lbs boneless round steak
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 - 3/4 C water

Cut steak into 6 serving size pieces and place in 3 qt crock pot. Combine soup, water and soup mix in a separate bowl then add to the crock pot. Cook covered on low 8 hours or until tender.

Makes it's own gravy and is great with mashed potatoes or add red potatoes to the crock pot for the last 2 hours of cooking. Joni recommends turning the meat every 2 hours to prevent it from getting too brown on one side.

Ravioli Bake

This is like the ultimate in lazy lasagna. I added beef to it so it would qualify to come to the party, but usually I do it as a meatless meal and kinda think it's better that way...

1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 C water
2 lbs frozen cheese ravioli
1 (7 oz)pkg shredded cheese, italian blend
2 tbsp parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix spaghetti sauce, tomatoes and water; spoon 1 C onto bottom of 9x13" pan. Layer half the ravioli and 1 C shredded cheese over sauce mixture. Top with remining ravioli and sauce mix. Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese; cover. Bake 30 minutes, uncover. Bake 15 more minutes or until ravioli is tender and heated through. Sprinkle with parmesan. Let stand 10 minutes.

I used spinach raviolis that I got from Costco. It came with a packet of topping which I sprinkled over each cheese layer.

Roast Beef Aus Jous

I LOVE this recipe! I know I say that a lot, but this one is probably in my top 10 favs. Super easy, done in the crockpot, and OOOHHH soooo goood! I should have gotten a picture of the sandwiches with the dip... just imagine a yummy dip sitting next to the sandwiches just waiting to be dipped and enjoyed! Then try it for yourself!

1 Rump Roast beef

1 cans beef broth

2 cans water

1 can french onion soup

Deli or sub rolls

Provolone or Monterey Jack Cheese, sliced

In crock pot add roast, soup, broth and water. Cook on low overnight and all day or high for 8-10 hours. Slice cheese onto open faced rolls and broil until melted. Remove roast from crock pot just before serving and shred with 2 forks. Place shredded beef between rolls and serve with brother for dipping.

*** Optional: Substitute 4 beef boullion cubes dissolved in 4 C hot water for the canned beef broth and 2 cans water.

Lasagna

Catrina Bowers isn't typically a lasagna fan, but she makes exception for this lasagna recipe from her grandma. Catrina left out the ricotta cheese because her family isn't a fan of it. It was good, and now I'm curious how it would be WITH the ricotta...

1 box of lasagna noodles, cooked according to directions on box

1 1/2 lbs hamburger

1 medium onion, chopped

2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce

1/2 can tomato paste

1 container ricotta cheese

6 C shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown the hamburger with the onion. Drain the grease; add sauce and paste. Spread a little bit of the hamburger mixture on the bottom of a 9x13" pan. Place a layer of noodles, then a layer of 1/3 the meat mix, then a layer of 1 3/4 C cheese. Repeat two more times until only about 1/2 C of cheese is left. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Take off foil and top with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 30 minutes.

***Tip- to take out the HUGE hassle of precooking your noodles and dealing with precooked noodles, use oven-ready noodles OR add 1 1/2 C water to the hamburger mix and cook an extra 20-30 minutes.

Chuck Wagon Beans

Another recipe from my youth- the salty potato flavor of the tater tots over the hearty, brown sugary baked beans... yum! It's great as a main dish, or could be done as a side at a barbecue.

1/2- 1 lb lean ground beef

3 1/2 lb can of pork and beans

1/4 C brown sugar

2 tbsp catsup

2 tbsp molasses

1 tsp minced dry onion

salt and pepper

1/2 pkg frozen tater tots

cheddar cheese, grated

Brown ground beef, drain fat. Stir in remaining ingredients except tater tots and cheese. Pour into 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. Top with tater tots and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Sloppy Joes/ BBQ sandwiches

Obviously, this does not look like a sandwich. I had some leftover rolls that night and Hubby though it would be good to try the meat on those instead of a hamburger bun. He was right. This is another one of my summer favorites. Nice and barbecue-y, without having to stand over the grill out in 115 degrees! Plus, it's super easy to throw together, and would even be easy to throw in the crock pot if you are really dreading the stove on a hot summer night. The sweet barbecue flavor of the sauce is my favorite- though possibly because this is the one I grew up on. That tends to make a person partial... Well, try for yourself!

1 lb ground beef

1/2 C onions, chopped, or 4 shakes dried onion

1 10 oz can tomato soup

1/4 C chopped green bell peppers (optional)

1/4 C brown sugar

1/4 C catsup

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Brown ground beef, onion, and green bell pepper. Drain. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer 15 minutes. Serve with sliced cheese in hamburger buns.

If you don't have buns, or are looking for something a little different you can turn this into Barbecue cups{I sometimes double the recipe and have Sloppy Joes one night then these barbecue cups a few nights later- like a whole new meal!}:

Stir together 2 cups Bisquick and 1/2 C water until soft dough forms. Beat vigorously for 20 strokes. Drop by spoonfuls into ungreased muffin cups. Press onto bottom and sides of cups with floured hands. Spoon barbecue mixture into cups; sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Hamburger Puffs

I apologize for how cruddy this photo is. It was just one of "those" nights... Ok, so they may not look like anything special, but let me ask you something: Do you like hamburgers? Do you like soup in bread bowls? If you answered yes to either of these, then you will definitely like Hamburger Puffs! It's basically a hybrid of those two things. These were one of my dad's favorite meals and now it's one of Matt's favorites, too. If you don't have French rolls on hand, it will take a little planning a head, but it's still really simple and worth the minimal effort. Plus, they are great for on-the-go kind of stuff.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 C onions, chopped
1/2 C green bell peppers, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 dozen french bread rolls {or hard rolls}

Brown ground beef, onion and pepper. Add soup and milk; simmer. Cut the top off each roll and dig out the insides. Stir the insides into the simmering sauce. Spoon sauce mixture into each hollow roll and replace the top. Serve immediately.

These are definitely best right away. If left out the bread gets hard and if refrigerated it tends to get a little rubbery. Still tastes good, just a texture thing. I just realized I want to try this with bacon pieces in it. Guess I better put French rolls on my shopping list again!

Beef and Green Bean Dinner

Ok, before you are weirded out by meatballs, green beans, and rice, give this one a chance! My hubby was very uncertain of this when I brought it out, but it was another tried and true family recipe {From my maternal Grandma Adamson} and once he tried it, he was unquestionably on board! The tomato based sauce has kinda sweet flavor to it. Weird? Nah, a big bite with a little of everything makes for one succulent treat! I had two helpings, then finished off my son's leftovers... My 11 month old was just as crazy about it- I think she ate as much as my 3 1/2 year old!
This is another one I like to simplify with frozen meatballs, but just in case you like to make your own:
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
2 slices bread, crumbled
1 tbsp dehydrated onions
2 tbsp evaporated milk

Stir together ground beef, bread crumbs, onions, and milk. Shape into meatballs or patties. Fry until brown, drain excess grease. If using frozen meatballs, simply fry until heated though.

Sauce:
2 cans tomato soup
2 tbsp vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1 (16 oz) can of green beans

Mix soup, vinegar, sugar and 1/4 C liquid from the green beans. Pour over meatballs. Simmer 15-20 minutes. Serve over hot rice with green beans.

Lazy Lasagna Toss

I love lasagna, but then, who doesn't! My mom is kinda famous for hers, so I have a high expectation for anything that calls itself lasagna. While I wouldn't call this my first choice for lasagna, it's a pretty good option when you don't have the time to do it the right way. Hence, Lazy Lasagna Toss!

1 lb ground beef
1-2 green peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced {I was fresh out, but about a tbsp garlic powder was a good substitute}
1 (26 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 2/3 C water
1/4 C zesty Italian dressing
12 oven ready lasagna noodles, broken into quarters {to use regular lasagna noodles, just up the water to 2 cups and plan on needing to cook it a little longer.}
1 Can olives (optional)
1/2-1 C ricotta or cottage cheese (optional)

1 C mozzarella cheese

Brown meat in a large saucepan, drain. Stir in peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water and dressing; bring to a boil. Add noodles and olives; stir. Cover. Cook on medium-low heat 10 to 15 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Gently stir in cottage cheese. Sprinkle with mozzarella, cover. Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I needed something that could stay warm long enough to take in to meet my hubby for his dinner break, so I made this in the crock pot- the way to go! I browned the meat and put it in the crock pot along with the peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water, and dressing. I let that simmer for about 4 hours on high, then stirred in the lasagna noodles and olives {forgot to add the cottage cheese, but I would next time}. I let that sit for about a half hour for oven ready, hour for regular lasagna noodles. It was still nice and hot and easy to transport! Might do it like that again next time!

Navajo Tacos

I was introduced to Navajo tacos by my in-laws. It's basically a taco on a scone. This taco meat recipe is great on the scone or as Mexican haystacks {a bed of Frito's instead of a scone and a little more emphasis on the lettuce}, or taco salad. This particular meat recipe is one I got from my mother-in-law, Christie, and adjusted to fit my taste.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 lg can diced tomatoes, with juice {I used a can of tomatoes with diced jalapenos that night}
2 tsp chili powder
1 can kidney or black beans
2 tsp garlic powder
dash of cumin

Brown ground beef with the onion in a large skillet pan. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.

For Navajo Tacos:
I made the dough recipe from the comments of this post in my bread machine and used that to make scones. You can buy scone mix or look a scone recipe up at any of the lovely links to the right of this blog. Fill a large skillet about 1/2" deep with canola oil {healthiest cooking oil} and slowly heat on medium to medium low heat. You can tell when oil is hot enough for frying by either dripping a little water in it and having it pop or putting the handle end of a wooden spoon in the oil and when little bubbles form around the wood, it's done. Roll a handful of scone dough into a ball than smash into a disc about 1/2" inch thick and about 4" in diameter. Carefully place into hot oil and cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Serve hot with lettuce, cheese, olives, sour cream, or taco sauce.

Taco Ring and my basic Taco Meat

I saw this from Pampered Chef, but wasn't intrigued enough to try it until the recommendation of my sis-in-law, Ruthie. I was instantly hooked! This comes together pretty easy and looks and tastes amazing! Now, I never have good old taco seasoning on hand, which this recipe calls for, so I will start with my taco meat recipe then the Taco Ring recipe with the option of taco meat or taco seasoning. Got that?

Taco Meat
Keep in mind, I kinda do the 'little of this, little of that' method here so these are all approximates. You can do more or less of each ingredient to fit your taste.
1 lb ground beef
1/2- 1 medium onion (or about 2 tbsp dried onion)
2 tbsp oregano
2 tsp parsley
2-3 shakes cayenne pepper
1 can diced tomatoes, drained well
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the beef with the onion and salt and pepper. Drain. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with taco shells, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, olives, guacamole, diced tomatoes, corn, etc.

Taco Ring
Taco recipe from above OR:
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg (approx 1/4 C) taco seasoning mix

2 pkg refrigerated crescent roll dough
2 tbsp water
1 C shredded cheese
Desired toppings

Prepare taco recipe as above OR brown ground beef, drain then stir in taco seasoning. Add water. Separate crescent dough into triangles. Arrange triangles in a circle with wide ends overlapping in the center and the narrow ends pointing towards the outside. There should be about a 5" diameter in the center of the circle. A pizza pan works great, but I've made this into 2 rings and done it in cookie sheets as well. Scoop the meat mixture evenly onto the widest end of the triangles. Lift the pointed ends over the filling and tuck under the wide ends at the center of the ring. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with optional toppings of salsa, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, olives, sour cream, etc.

Layered Enchilada Bake

I love the simplicity of this. Suuuuper yummy and if you use low fat ingredients, it's actually pretty darn healthy for you! I altered another recipe to come up with this:

1 lb ground beef {ground turkey works well in this also}
1 large onion, chopped
2 Cups chunky salsa
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed well
1/4 zesty Italian dressing
2 tbsp taco seasoning mix {or approx 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp oregano, and salt & pepper to taste}
6 flour tortillas (8 inch or burrito size)
1 C- 16 oz of sour cream
1-2 C Mexican style shredded cheese
1 C olives, sliced or whole(optional)
1 Can corn(optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brown the beef with the onions in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Drain any grease. Stir in salsa, beans, dressing, seasoning and corn. Arrange 1 burrito sized shell each on the bottom of two 9" pie plates, or make a layer of three 8" shells on the bottom of a 9"x 13". {I like the pie plate option because we can eat one plate and freeze the other for another day when I'm lazy. I'd guess one pie plate serves about 4 adults who eat like my husband or 2 adults and 3-4 kids...} Cover shells with a layer of half the meat mixture, half the sour cream, half the cheese, and all the olives. Repeat layers. Cover with foil. Bake 10 minutes then remove foil and keep baking for 30 more minutes or until it is heated through and cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting to serve.

This is good with a garnish of lettuce or tomatoes. We really love corn in our Mexican food for some reason, so if you're not brave enough to put it in the casserole, it would be excellent as a side instead.