Homemade Hamburger Helper

There are a million recipes for this sort of dish. I really like mine, though. =]

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 can diced, fire roasted, garlic tomatoes
16 oz elbow noodles, uncooked
2 Tbs smoked paprika
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs onion powder
Salt and pepper
8 oz block of cheddar, shredded
1 c. hot water
2 c. milk

For the roux:
1/4 c butter
2 heaping spoons of flour
cold milk

Directions:
Add a bit of olive oil to a very large hot skillet (or a large dutch oven) and toss in your onion. Saute onion until it begins to soften, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the meat is fully browned. Drain.

Turn the heat on the burner to high. Return the ground beef to the skillet, add the noodles, tomatoes, seasonings (with additional salt and pepper), water, and milk. Combine and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. You may need to add a bit more water. That's okay. Add it! =]

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Once melted, whisk in the flour. Slowly add milk until you have a nice sauce. You don't want it too thick, but you want it thicker than milk! Add salt and pepper to the roux.

Add the roux to the beef and noodles, add the cheddar, combine. Taste. Make sure your seasonings are to your liking!

You guys know I don't measure, but I'm trying - so these are approximates... I'll get better one day. Maybe. =]

Swedish Meatballs!

Have you ever wondered what makes Swedish Meatballs Swedish? I mean, is there something to it that only Swedish people do? So, since I’m curious minded, I had to find out. It really is a traditional dish served in Sweden. I read about it here. The recipe I’m posting isn’t quite as authentic, but it’s still really good!

Since I’d never made them before, at least not that I remember, I had to find a base recipe. I did made a few changes, not because I thought the original is bad, it’s because I had to use what we had and adjust to our own tastes.

Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

3 slices whole wheat bread

1/2 cup milk

1 small purple onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 tablespoons salted butter, divided

1 pound ground pork

2 pounds ground beef

2 large eggs

About 1 Tbs. dried parsley*

Pepper

Kosher salt

Gravy:

2 tablespoons salted butter

Few Tbs. flour

Kosher salt

5 cups chicken broth

1 cup half and half cream (or ½ heavy cream and ½ milk – which is what I did because I had no half and half)

*Did you know that when you use dried herbs, you should mash them in the palm of your hand before adding them to the dish? It releases oils and other yumminess trapped inside! =]

Directions:

Cut the bread into small pieces. Put them into a large bowl and pour the milk over the bread – leave it sit for a while. Meanwhile, add some butter into a large skillet, once it melts, add your onions with a bit of salt. 

After the onions have softened and have some nice color, add the minced garlic and cook for another minute or so. Remember, garlic will burn very easy, so you want to keep stirring it and only cook it barely.

In the large bowl, with the bread, add onion and garlic, pork, eggs, parsley, salt, and pepper. Get your hands in there and mix it really good. I know – it’s kinda gross, but it’s kinda great, too – admit it! Finally add the ground beef by breaking it into small pieces and mixing after every addition. It should take you about 3-4 turns with adding beef and mixing.

Once the mixture is all good and mixed together, use a large cookie scoop (about a 3-4 Tbs. one) and scoop out the meat, roll it in your hands to form the meatball. I did this in batches so while some were cooking, some were being rolled.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in the large skillet used earlier – about medium-medium high heat. Let the pan get nice and toasty, you want a good sear.  Add a batch of meatballs to pan and cook, turning frequently with tongs, until browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the first batch to a large stock pot and move on to the next batch. I think I did about 4 batches, with 14 or so meatballs per batch. I use a really big skillet. You shouldn’t have to add any more butter, but keep an eye on it because it might need a tad more.

To the pans drippings, add 2 tablespoons of butter and let melt. Add flour and salt and whisk; you’re making a roux so you want it to thicken up. Add broth a little at a time, whisking constantly until smooth. Continue until all broth is added. You may find you need a little less. I made this last weekend, I don’t remember exactly how much I used. Add half and half at end and stir well. It should have a nice gravy consistency.

Pour the gravy over the meatballs waiting in the lonely stockpot and cook for another 5-10 minutes over medium-low heat. You’ll need to stir it so all the meatballs get a good gravy drench! =]

Serve with egg noodle. And peas. Cuz I like peas. Then invite me over for dinner. Thanks! 

Oh, and I didn't take a picture. How am I supposed to call myself a successful blogger if I never remember to take pictures of things? Bah! One day! 

Today's dinner

Today I got to do two things I love. Purge the pantry and make something new!

Since I'll soon be home sharing with someone who has a pantry the same size as mine, I know it's time to do some purging... I love to do that! While over the last couple years, I've seriously minimized my use of canned foods (unless I can them myself), there are still a few things I keep around for those last minute throw together meals. 

Beef and Beans in the Crockpot
1 1/2 - 2 lbs ground beef
chopped onion, to taste
Worcheshire sauce
28 oz can baked beans - do not drain
15 oz can black eyed peas - lightly drain
15 oz can great northern beans - lightly drain
20 oz can pineapple chunks, drained
about 3/4 c BBQ sauce
a little cayenne pepper

Brown the ground beef, along with the onions and worcheshire sauce in a skillet. While that's cookin up, add the other ingredients into your crockpot. Drain the meat once it's cooked through and add it to the crockpot and mix well. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Done!

The new thing I got to do was homemade biscuits! Here's the thing. I don't do unhomemade biscuits either - I love biscuits, therefore I never have them. Makes sense, right?! It does to me!

I didn't realize that I'd ever made homemade biscuits before until I was cutting them and memories came to me about doing that when I was a little girl with my momma. It was a sweet moment for me. I totally followed someone elses recipe since I'd never done them before and they turned out great! One thing I did learn, though, is that I NEED a rolling pin! heh.

So, to make the dinner complete, I threw a biscuit in the bottom of a bowl, broke it up, and put the beef and beans over top! Simple, delish, and filling!

Burger, Noodley, Go!

Yes. That's the title and the instructions received from my dear friend, Jessica. She was coming over, after work last night, for dinner. She asked, "What's for dinner?" I said, "I don't know. I took some burger out. What do you want?" She said, "I don't know. Something burger and noodley." I said, "Cheesy?" She said, "A little cheesy." Here's what was created from that amazing instruction.

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 small onion, diced
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 15 oz can fire roasted diced tomato, with garlic, undrained
• small bag frozen corn
• 1/2 box (or so) whole wheat penne pasta
• some chili powder
• some cumin
• some oregano
• some fresh ground sea salt
• some ground red pepper
• some fresh ground pepper
• some water (about 3/4 empty tomato can)
• some shredded cheese of choice (I used mild cheddar)

OK, so by now, you know how I "measure". I don't. Unless mandated, like for bread or something. When I say some, just go with your gut. Here's what I did:

Get a big skillet. Big. Really. Brown the ground beef with the onion. Drain. Add it back to the pan and add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, frozen corn, all the seasonings, water, and bring that up to a nice boil. I told you a big pan, right? Then add a few handfuls of pasta and bring it to a simmer or number 2 on your burner as I like to call it. Cover. Let that cook up, stir it up a couple time for about 25-30 minutes or until the pasta is done. Now is a good time to make sure your seasoning is just the way you like it, too. Add some more things, if you like. Then, sprinkle some cheese on top, turn off the burner and recover for about 5 minutes or until your cheese is all melty and stuff. There ya have it. Eat it. =]

Oh yeah... Sloppy Joe Sunday!

So, our youth group is hosting and serving sloppy joes after church tomorrow for lunch! It's a great fundraiser for the kids and inexpensive on all involved! Manwich has nothing on my sloppy joe! =]~

2.5 (or 3) lbs lean, lean, lean ground beef
1/2 - 1 orange pepper, chopped
1/2 - 1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
some garlic
1 1/2 c. Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
1 can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
some W sauce
some hot sauce
salt & pepper

Drizzle a wee bit of EVOO in a large skillet, add chopped onion, pepper, and however much garlic you feel like adding, I probably used about a tablespoon of minced garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes, then add ground beef and cook until brown all the way through. (Depending on your meat, you may or may not have to drain this. I use the leanest meat possible and only have to do a little tip over the sink to drain a tiny bit off.)

Then, add the tomato sauce and paste, BBQ sauce, splash some W sauce over all the meat, do the same with the hot sauce (but I wouldn't use as much of this as the W sauce! lol)Add salt and pepper... simmer for about 10 minutes until it thickens. Slap it on a roll, or a plate, or whatever your heart desires and enjoy!

Comfort food ground beef style!

With my kidlet getting older and wanting to "hang out" with his friends all the time now, I feel like I am always cooking for one! This makes a lot, but I had dinner tonight... enough for dinner (me and the kidlet) tomorrow and I froze two servings (or so) for my lunches over the next couple of weeks.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
some minced garlic
cayenne pepper
cumin
salt & pepper
1 can cream of chicken (or whatever you like) soup
1 can peas, drained
1 can carrots, drained
1 can corn, drained
1/2 bag frozen, shredded hash browns
about 1 - 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar

Preheat your oven to 350. Add ground beef, onions, and garlic in a skillet and brown it up. Drain off any excess fat and add it back to the pan. Add in your seasoning, you can use what I used or whatever you prefer... I don't measure, I just throw it on in there... Mix it all up. Add your canned veggies (you can use any you like, or even use frozen - I used what I had on hand) and your can of soup; mix well over medium heat.

Prepare a 13x9 pan with cooking spray. Add about half of the meat mixture in the bottom of the pan, then add a layer of hash browns, and some cheese. Add the rest of the meat mixture on top, then a good handful of cheese (I have big hands!) over the top of the entire dish. Cook for about 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Mexican Burger Sloperific!

For some reason I noticed a mass amount of burger in my freezer this weekend, so I was trying different things

1 lb burger
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can corn (drained)
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
seasonings of your choosing
frozen shredded potatoes (about 1 serving or more if you're feeding a larger group)

loaf of cornbread (any kind you like)


Start your loaf of cornbread. Brown the burger. Drain. In the same skillet add some butter or margarine and cook the frozen potatoes. I just added them to give the meat some texture, so I didn't use a lot. Add the meat back into the pan along with the packet of taco seasoning and some water (by some I mean about 3/4 cup. I just put some water in the empty seasoning packet and dump it into the pan, but you can measure it however you like). Add the corn and black beans. You may need to add more water... you just have to keep an eye on it. Cover and let it heat through while the cornbread finishes. We ate it with a piece of cornbread in a bowl and the meat mixture on top of it.