MmmmMMMMMMMm .... it's always cloudy with a chance of meatballs at our house. After reading the book "Grandpa's Soup" with Dominic a dozen times, I decided I wanted to make my own meatball soup. I did it in the crock pot since I was teaching RE tonight and needed to have a low-maintenance meal for Daddy to serve. It was delicious!
Mamma Mia Meatball Soup (I just made that up. I'm SO clever I can't take it! :)
meatball mixture
- 1 lb ground beef
- garlic cloves, 2
- italian bread crumbs - maybe about 3/4 cup, I eyeball it and mix in slowly
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Mix, round into balls, pour a little olive oil in a skillet, cover them and cook for about 10 mins on medium high, then turn over until they finish.
crock pot soup mixture
-small baking potatoes (4) OR pasta of your choice, penne, bowtie, wagon wheels etc.
- 14 oz diced tomatoes
- 3 cups beef broth
-2 crushed garlic cloves
-1/2 cup parmesan cheese
-salt and pepper to taste
- frozen veggies, toss in at the last hour
Combine ingredients in crock pot, stir. Add meatballs once those are done cooking. Slow cook on low for about 3-4 hours. Serve with parmesan cheese on top!
*** If you add pasta instead of potatoes, make sure to add 3 more cups of beef broth or pre-boil the pasta...the noodles soak up all the moisture!
Showing posts with label Beef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beef. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Mom's Lasagna
I recently hosted my husband's colleagues. It was a big group, so I needed something that would feed a lot of people while not tying me up in the kitchen. I thought Italian would be the best option and Lasagna would be perfect. While everyone seems to have a favorite lasagna recipe, and I, myself, have made several variations in the past, my mom's lasagna always comes out perfectly. I wanted to share it and also keep it for posterity. I'm not sure where the recipe comes from, but this is what she uses:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb lasagna noodles (no need to cook!)
32 oz tomato sauce
1 lb ricotta (or cottage cheese)
1 egg (my addition for easier spreading ability)
1/2 lb shredded mozzarella
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. In a saucepan, brown meat. Drain fat and add sauce to the meat.
3. Mix 1 egg with ricotta cheese.
4. On the bottom of a 9x13 pan, pour 1 C of meat mixture, then layer:
1/2 noodles, 1/2 ricotta cheese/egg mixture, 1/2 mozzarella cheese, (1/2 parmesan cheese,) sauce, repeat.
5. Cook at 375 for about 30 minutes or until noodles are done, cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.
It's perfect as it is, but there are so many ways to vary this recipe. My mom has made a half beef, half Italian sausage mixture which turns out well. I roasted some red and yellow peppers with 1/2 onion that I then mixed with the ricotta cheese mixture. It was yummy! To be a bit healthier, you could use whole wheat noodles, easily cut out the parmesan cheese, use the mozzarella cheese sparingly, and make sure you are using a lowfat ricotta. It's also a great recipe to sneak in vegetables. I've used fresh spinach in the past. If you make your own sauce, there is so much you can add and the kids won't even notice it! Enjoy!
1 lb ground beef
1 lb lasagna noodles (no need to cook!)
32 oz tomato sauce
1 lb ricotta (or cottage cheese)
1 egg (my addition for easier spreading ability)
1/2 lb shredded mozzarella
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. In a saucepan, brown meat. Drain fat and add sauce to the meat.
3. Mix 1 egg with ricotta cheese.
4. On the bottom of a 9x13 pan, pour 1 C of meat mixture, then layer:
1/2 noodles, 1/2 ricotta cheese/egg mixture, 1/2 mozzarella cheese, (1/2 parmesan cheese,) sauce, repeat.
5. Cook at 375 for about 30 minutes or until noodles are done, cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.
It's perfect as it is, but there are so many ways to vary this recipe. My mom has made a half beef, half Italian sausage mixture which turns out well. I roasted some red and yellow peppers with 1/2 onion that I then mixed with the ricotta cheese mixture. It was yummy! To be a bit healthier, you could use whole wheat noodles, easily cut out the parmesan cheese, use the mozzarella cheese sparingly, and make sure you are using a lowfat ricotta. It's also a great recipe to sneak in vegetables. I've used fresh spinach in the past. If you make your own sauce, there is so much you can add and the kids won't even notice it! Enjoy!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Beef and Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers
Taken from Simply Recipes online.
Ingredients
* 4 green or red bell peppers
* Salt
* 5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
* 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
* 1 lb of lean ground beef
* 1 1/2 cup of cooked rice or 3/4 cup of raw instant rice
* 1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
* 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp of dried oregano
* Fresh ground pepper
* 1/2 cup ketchup
* 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
* Dash of Tabasco sauce
Method
1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, cut top off peppers 1 inch from the stem end, and remove seeds. Add several generous pinches of salt to boiling water, then add peppers and boil, using a spoon to keep peppers completely submerged, until brilliant green (or red if red peppers) and their flesh slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Drain, set aside to cool.
2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 4 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, add meat, rice, tomatoes, and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well.
3 Drizzle remaining 1 tbsp. Oil inside peppers, arrange cut side up in a baking dish, then stuff peppers with filling. Combine ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl, then spoon over filling. Add 1/4 cup of water to the baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (or longer, depending on how big the peppers are that you are stuffing), until the internal temperature of the stuffed pepper is 150-160°F.
Serves 4.
****** I took a short cut on this one big time, just because I'm lucky to get 20 minutes to cook dinner on a weeknight these days! I just browned the beef, added Italian seasonings and then added a jar of organic spaghetti sauce. I did boil the bell peppers, and then filled them, added parmesan cheese on top, and then baked for about 20 mins at 350. They turned out dee-lish. I made brown rice to add as stuffing but then put it on the side for the kids, who like their meat sauce on top of their rice, with plenty of parm :)
Ingredients
* 4 green or red bell peppers
* Salt
* 5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
* 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
* 1 lb of lean ground beef
* 1 1/2 cup of cooked rice or 3/4 cup of raw instant rice
* 1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
* 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp of dried oregano
* Fresh ground pepper
* 1/2 cup ketchup
* 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
* Dash of Tabasco sauce
Method
1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, cut top off peppers 1 inch from the stem end, and remove seeds. Add several generous pinches of salt to boiling water, then add peppers and boil, using a spoon to keep peppers completely submerged, until brilliant green (or red if red peppers) and their flesh slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Drain, set aside to cool.
2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 4 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, add meat, rice, tomatoes, and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well.
3 Drizzle remaining 1 tbsp. Oil inside peppers, arrange cut side up in a baking dish, then stuff peppers with filling. Combine ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl, then spoon over filling. Add 1/4 cup of water to the baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (or longer, depending on how big the peppers are that you are stuffing), until the internal temperature of the stuffed pepper is 150-160°F.
Serves 4.
****** I took a short cut on this one big time, just because I'm lucky to get 20 minutes to cook dinner on a weeknight these days! I just browned the beef, added Italian seasonings and then added a jar of organic spaghetti sauce. I did boil the bell peppers, and then filled them, added parmesan cheese on top, and then baked for about 20 mins at 350. They turned out dee-lish. I made brown rice to add as stuffing but then put it on the side for the kids, who like their meat sauce on top of their rice, with plenty of parm :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie
This was first brought into my life by my Mother in Law Veronika and became the first official dish I made for company after Bronius and I got married. :)
1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
Total Time: 10 min
1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.
2. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in salt. Spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese.
3. In small bowl, stir remaining ingredients with fork or wire whisk until blended. Pour into pie plate.
4. Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
Total Time: 10 min
1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.
2. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in salt. Spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese.
3. In small bowl, stir remaining ingredients with fork or wire whisk until blended. Pour into pie plate.
4. Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Greek Pitas with beef and spinach
Beef and Spinach Pita Pockets
(makes 2 servings)
# Ingredients 8 ounces ground Beef Top Round
# 6 fresh spinach leaves
# 1 whole wheat pita bread, halved
# 2 tablespoons plain low fat yogurt
# 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
# 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
# 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
# 1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander
# 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger
# 1/8 teaspoon of salt
# 1 1/2 cloves of garlic, minced
# 1/8 teaspoon curry powder, (optional)
In a large non-stick skillet, combine the ground beef, the garlic cloves and the crushed red pepper. Cook it over medium heat until it is browned, stirring to crumble the beef. Drain in a colander, discard drippings. Wipe skillet dry with a paper towel. Return beef mixture to skillet; add chopped spinach, spices and salt; and stir it well. Cover and cook it over medium heat for 3 minutes or just until spinach has wilted; remove it from heat. Spoon 1/2 cup of beef mixture into each pita half lined with whole spinach leaves. Mix the yogurt with the curry powder if desired. Top each pita half with 1 tablespoon of yogurt. * Keep your Beef and Spinach Pita Pockets cool until serving. Wrap them up and slip them into your picnic basket or picnic backpack to enjoy on your outdoor dining adventure!
* I actually didn't have fresh spinach leaves on hand the first time I made this, so I just made lean ground beef with these spices and stuffed the whole wheat pitas with cucumbers and some herbed feta. Served it with some Near East Tabolueh salad and I was in heaven. This meal still makes the weekly rotation.
(makes 2 servings)
# Ingredients 8 ounces ground Beef Top Round
# 6 fresh spinach leaves
# 1 whole wheat pita bread, halved
# 2 tablespoons plain low fat yogurt
# 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
# 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
# 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
# 1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander
# 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger
# 1/8 teaspoon of salt
# 1 1/2 cloves of garlic, minced
# 1/8 teaspoon curry powder, (optional)
In a large non-stick skillet, combine the ground beef, the garlic cloves and the crushed red pepper. Cook it over medium heat until it is browned, stirring to crumble the beef. Drain in a colander, discard drippings. Wipe skillet dry with a paper towel. Return beef mixture to skillet; add chopped spinach, spices and salt; and stir it well. Cover and cook it over medium heat for 3 minutes or just until spinach has wilted; remove it from heat. Spoon 1/2 cup of beef mixture into each pita half lined with whole spinach leaves. Mix the yogurt with the curry powder if desired. Top each pita half with 1 tablespoon of yogurt. * Keep your Beef and Spinach Pita Pockets cool until serving. Wrap them up and slip them into your picnic basket or picnic backpack to enjoy on your outdoor dining adventure!
* I actually didn't have fresh spinach leaves on hand the first time I made this, so I just made lean ground beef with these spices and stuffed the whole wheat pitas with cucumbers and some herbed feta. Served it with some Near East Tabolueh salad and I was in heaven. This meal still makes the weekly rotation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)