Crockpot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

If you love cabbage rolls, here is an easy way to get all those great flavors in the crockpot . . .without having to roll them up!  Please note, you can make this recipe with ground turkey or ground beef - both are very tasty.

Crockpot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

Serves 6+

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 LBS Ground Turkey or Ground Beef

3/4 Cup Rice 

2 LBS Cabbage (1 medium-sized head)

1 (14.5) oz Can of Diced Tomatoes

1 Large Onion

4 Cloves of Garlic

3 Teaspoons Nature's Seasoning (or use 1/2 salt, 1/2 pepper)

2 Tablespoons Parsley

1 Tablespoon Marjoram

1 (14.5 oz) Can of Low-Sodium Chicken Broth

2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Step 1:  Clean and dice the onion.  Add to a large bowl.  Also to the bowl, add the meat, uncooked rice, Nature's Seasoning, parsley, and marjoram.   Mince the garlic and add that to the bowl as well. Mix well.  Set aside.

Step 2:  In medium bowl or large measuring cup, combine the tomatoes, lemon juice and broth.  Stir and set aside.

Step 3:  Wash the cabbage.  Peel the outer leaves off and discard.  Remove the core and discard.  Cut the cabbage into thin slices.  Set aside.

Step 4:  Assembly.  Spray your crockpot with non-stick cooking spray (or use a crockpot liner).  Place 1/2 the meat mixture in the crockpot and spread out (doesn't need to be perfect).  Place 1/2 the cabbage on top of the meat layer.  Pour about 1/2 the tomato mixture over the cabbage.  Now, repeat these steps.  Place the last of the meat on top of the cabbage layer.  Distribute the best you can.  Add the remaining cabbage and then pour the remaining tomato mixture over the cabbage.  

Step 5:  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, until meat is cooked through and cabbage is wilted.

Saucy Bell Pepper Burgers

Have you ever made a recipe and once you ate it, you thought - "mmmmmmmm, can't wait to make that one again?"  That was this recipe.  It is a new twist on hamburger that is seasoned and then cooked and smothered with a sweet bell pepper sauce.  No need for a bun with this burger - you'll be eating it with a fork .  Serve with a salad or roasted potatoes on the side and BAM!  Dinner is served :)

Saucy Bell Pepper Burgers

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Sauce:

1 and 1/2 Cups Sweet Bell Peppers, Diced (I used a combo of yellow, orange and red - 1 pepper of each color)

1 and 1/3 Cup Water

1 (10 and 1/2-ounce) Can of Beef Consomme

1 Bay Leaf

1 Tablespoon Whole Wheat Flour 

1/3 Cup Water

1 and 1/2 Teaspoons White Vinegar

1 and 1/2 Teaspoons Basil

For the Burgers:

1 lb Lean Ground Beef

1 Teaspoon Chopped Garlic

1/2 Teaspoon Oregano

1 Tablespoon Minced Onion

Step 1:  In a skillet, add the bell peppers and 1 and 1/3 cups water, beef consomme and bay leaf.  Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer, uncovered for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2:  While the peppers are simmering, prepare your burgers.  In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the burgers.  Divide into 4 portions and shape into hamburgers.  Cook the hamburgers however you usually do.  I grilled mine.

Step 3:  In a small bowl, combine the flour and remaining 1/3 cup water.  Whisk until smooth.  Remove the bay leaf from the bell pepper sauce and then pour the flour mixture into the pepper mixture and stir to combine.  Add the basil and vinegar, stir to combine and simmer for 1 or 2 minutes - until combined and the sauce has thickened.

Step 4:  To serve, spoon the bell pepper sauce over the hamburgers.  Enjoy!

Boiled Corned Beef & Cabbage with Potatoes

Looking for an easy St. Patrick's Day dinner?  Here is my favorite way to serve corned beef, cabbage and potatoes.  This is a very uncomplicated way to cook everything in one large pot - and it turns out soooooo yummy.  And the leftovers are just as yummy.

Boiled Corned Beef & Cabbage with Potatoes

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients:

2-3lb Corned Beef Roast

6-8 Small Red Potatoes (scrubbed clean - leave skin on)

1 Medium Onion (quartered)

1 Small head of Cabbage (cleaned and cut into wedges)

In a large stock pot or Dutch Oven, cover the roast with water and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.  Add potatoes and onion to the pot and cook for 20 minutes.  Add cabbage to pot and cook for 15 minutes.

To serve, remove roast and place on platter.  Slice to serve.  For the potatoes and veggies, drain before serving.  Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Melt Hot Dish

Old Mother Hubbard went to her cupboard to find her cupboards were bare.  

Story.Of.My.Life.

But then I rummage through the freezer and realize that I have some already-cooked hamburger as well as a lot of shredded cheese . . .

And then this happened:  Cheeseburger Melt Hot Dish

That's right people - I turned it into a casserole.  A gosh-darn-dang AWESOME one to-boot.  Simple ingredients.  Real food.

Cheeseburger Melt Hot Dish

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 lb Hamburger, browned and seasoned 

1/2 lb of French Bread (or approximately 1/2 loaf of a long loaf)

2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

4 Oz Cream Cheese, Cubed

1 Cup of Mushrooms (approx. 2 small cans of canned mushrooms)

1/2 Cup Onion, Diced (white or yellow onion)

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons Flour

1 Can (14.5 oz) of Chicken Broth (we prefer low-sodium)

1 Cup Milk

Step 1:  Spray a 9x13 pan.  Set aside.  

Step 2:  Cube the bread into medium-sized/bite-sized pieces and scatter among the bottom of the cake pan.

Step 3: Add in the hamburger, mushrooms and onion in layers.  First sprinkle the hamburger over the bread.  Then scatter the mushrooms over the meat.  Then distribute the onions over the mushrooms.

Step 4:  Time to start the cheese sauce!  In a medium saucepan, melt the butter.  Add in the flour and whisk until it comes together in a blob and keep stirring it over medium heat for about 30 seconds.  Then, pour in half the chicken broth and keep whisking until flour and broth mix together.  Add the remaining chicken broth and continue whisking until combined.  Next, add in the milk and keep whisking for about a minute (do not boil - keep it over medium heat).  Now, add the cream cheese and keep whisking until it is melted into the liquid.  Then, add the cheddar cheese and stir until it has melted into the sauce.  Turn the heat up a bit, keep stirring, and once it begins to simmer/bubble - turn off the heat and pour the sauce over the bread/hamburger/mushroom/onion.

Step 5:  Bake for 30-45 minutes until heated through and bubbly.

And it is great as leftovers too!

Easy Shepard's Pie Hot Dish

Looking for a great make-ahead meal that is full of comfort?  Give this shepard's pie hot dish a chance and you will leave your family wanting more.  I personally like this recipe because 1) it uses real mashed potatoes and 2) it doesn't have a ton of mashed potatoes.  If you really like mashed potatoes, you may want to double the potatoes (and milk/butter accordingly).

Easy Shepard's Pie Hot Dish

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 LBS Ground Beef

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

1 Large Onion, Diced

1 Tablespoon Chopped Garlic

Salt and Pepper

1-14.5 oz Can Carrots

1-14.5 oz Can of Peas

1.5 LBS Potatoes (approx 4 - 6 medium sized)

1/2 - 3/4 Cup Milk

1 Tablespoon Butter

3 Packettes of Dry Gravy Mix ("Brown" flavor or Beef flavored) + Ingredients to Prepare it - or 3 Cups of Prepared Gravy

Step 1:  Peel your potatoes and cut them into quarters.  Place into a large pot and cover them with enough water so that there is an inch of water above them.  Place on stove and bring to boil.  Let boil for 15 - 20 minutes, until fork tender.  Drain and return to the pot.  Mash the the potatoes and add 1/2 cup milk and the butter.  Continue to mash until creamy.  If they seem dry, add a bit more milk and mash again.  Set aside.

Step 2:  Meanwhile, in a large fry pan, brown your hamburger along with the onion, garlic and Worcestershire sauce.  Cook until well browned.  Taste - season with salt and pepper.  Go scant on the salt, as the gravy will add some salt to the finished dish.

Step 3:  Prepare the gravy according package instructions, this should yield 3 cups of finished gravy.

Step 4:  In a 9x13 cake pan, add the hamburger mixture.  Next, drain the peas and carrots and add them to the hamburger.  Mix to combine.  Pour the gravy over the top and mix to combine again.  Dot the mashed potatoes on top (I put 8-blobs on mine and then spread them out a bit).  There will not be enough mashed potatoes to evenly spread on top - which is why you 'dot' them.

Step 5:  If you plan to eat immediately, bake it in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, until hot and bubbly.  

Step 5 (if making ahead):  Do not bake now.  Cover the pan and store in the fridge up to 2 days.  Then, bake uncovered in a preheated oven to 350 degrees for 1 hour until hot and bubbly.  

Beef Paprika Hot Dish (Casserole)

Here's another great hot dish recipe!  I found this one in my vintage Minnesota cookbook.  Yum!

Beef Paprika

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs Ground Beef

1 Cup Chopped Onion

2 Cloves Garlic, Chopped

2 Tablespoons Flour

2 Teaspoons Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

1 Tablespoon Paprika + additional for serving

7-Oz Can of Mushrooms or 1 Cup Fresh Sliced Mushrooms

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Cup Water

1 Cup Sour Cream

1/4 Cup Parsley

12-Oz Egg Noodles (dry weight) - Cooked and Drained

Brown the beef, onions and garlic together in fry pan  Stir in flour and seasonings.  Add mushrooms, water and soup.    Cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Blend in sour cream; remove from heat.  Stir parsley into the noodles and add to the meat/mushroom sauce.  Pour into a greased casserole pan and place in preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 1/2 hour, or until heated through.

SOS: Cheeseburger Edition

Desperation meals . . .fueling creativity since the beginning of time.  I especially love SOS.  Not familiar?  Let's just say I'm not going to define the acronym here . . but you can look it up sometime.  Comfort food at it's finest!

SOS:  Cheeseburger Edition

Serves 6-8

1 lb Ground Beef (cooked and drained)

6-8 Slices of Bread

6-8 Slices of Cheese

Pickles

Chopped Onions

Ketchup

Mustard

Step 1:  Toast your bread.

Step 2:  Preheat your broiler.

Step 3:  Place toast in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Step 4:  Divide the cooked (and still warm) ground beef evenly among the slices of toast.

Step 5:  Drizzle each SOS with ketchup and mustard.

Step 6:  Top them with some chopped onion.

Step 7:  Finally, lay a slice of cheese on top of each SOS.

Step 8:  Put into oven and broil until cheese is melted and bubbly.  Serve immediately with a side of pickles.

Note:  I often brown/cook large amounts of ground beef at one time.  Once cooled, I split into 1 pound portions, place in a freezer bag, and then freeze for later.  It can be used for spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, SOS etc.  For this recipe, I just pulled out a frozen bag and defrosted the contents in a fry pan and reheated.  Super simple time saving tip.

Weeknight Tostadas

Every Sunday morning routine seems to reign.  Retrieve paper from the neighbor's driveway, separate the sections, look at the advertisement circulars, complain that nothing good is on sale, and then ask hubby what he wants for dinner this week.  He almost inevitably responds, "Tacos".  Or maybe, just maybe - he'll say "something Mexican".  If you are like me and get tired of the same-old, same-old tacos . . .try this out.  They are fabulous.  These can also be made without meat for a yummy meatless meal.

Weeknight Tostadas

Ingredients:

1/2 Can Red Enchilada Sauce (10 oz can - save or freeze the rest)

1 Can Refried Beans (same size can as above, but use the whole thing, please note the weight will be different)

1 - 2 lbs Taco Meat Prepared (I used ground beef)

Shredded Cheese of Choice (I used taco blend)

Tostadas

Taco Fixin's of Choice (lettuce, guacamole, etc)

Step 1:  Open up the refried beans and place in skillet.  Slowly mix in the enchilada sauce. Heat over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until heated through.

Step 2:  Heat up your taco meat if it's not already heated.

Step 3:  Assemble.  Place a tostada on a plate, spread with the bean/sauce mixture and sprinkle with cheese.  Garnish with all your favorite taco fixin's!

Cowboy Joe Casserole

Do you ever just feel a little down and out and a little bit tired but you're not sure why?  Well, I call it the winter funk.  Everybody is just sick and tired of the snow.  And that's where I was when I had been cruising the interwebs and found a recipe for Cowboy Lasagna.  I figured this could be the last hurrah for winter . . .and then get the heck outta here and bring on spring.  

It sounded pretty good:  ground beef, onion, tomato, cheese, tots.   What could go wrong?

This recipe is certainly easy enough to throw together.  I'll warn you though - 1) it's like a sloppy joe casserole with tater tots and is very sweet.  2) If you are not a corn fan, omit the corn.  That's what I'll be doing the next time I make this.

Ick.   Corn.  

Corn is best consumed by itself - not mixed in with other stuff.  And it's not a vegetable.  It's a grain.  'Nuff said.

Cowboy Joe Casserole

1.5 lbs Ground Beef

1 Small Onion, diced

1 Can Tomato Soup (condensed)

3 TB Mustard Powder

2 TB Garlic Powder

1 Tsp Ground Black Pepper

1 Can of Corn (optional), drained

1 Small Jar Pickled Pepperocini's, diced

1 TB Worcestershire Sauce

2 Cups Cheese (I used Colby)

1 Bag Tater Tots

Spray pan and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large skillet, add the meat, onion, mustard powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire and ground black pepper.  Cook on medium high heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks.  Cook until well done.  At this point, stir in the can of tomato soup (do not dilute), the corn, and the pepperocini's.  Stir well.  Pour into the prepared pan.  Evenly distribute the cheese.  Next, evenly distribute the tator tots.  Bake for 1/2 hour - 45 minutes or until the tots are golden brown.  

I do have to admit though, this did taste better the next day as leftovers for lunch :)

A few notes for the next time I make this:

1)  My family (myself included) thought this was a little sweet - I would ditch the tomato soup and use salsa or diced tomatoes instead.

2) I would also omit the corn

Country Fried Steak

Need I say more?  Well, okay, maybe I do.  YUM.  Best meal we've had all week. The crust was flaky and crispy, the inside cooked perfectly.  I actually had to snap this photo before all the food was consumed (good golly, the gravy was already gone)!  It was soooooooooo good . .. that everyone was a member of the clean plate club last night.  And, everyone had second helpings too. 

Country Fried Steak

1 - 1.5 lbs Beef Cube Steaks - (cut into individual serving sizes if not already done so when purchased)

2 Cups Flour

2 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Pepper

3/4 Tsp Salt

1.5 Tsp Garlic Powder

1.5 Cups Buttermilk

1 Egg, beaten

1 TB Tabasco (or other hot sauce of your choice)

Vegetable Oil for Frying

To get the party started, you'll need two shallow pans (pie tins work great).  Place the flour in one of the pans.  In the remaining bowl, add your egg and buttermilk.  Stir to combine.  Then add the baking powder, soda, pepper, salt, and garlic powder.  Stir to combine.  Lastly, add in the Tabasco and stir to combine.  Oh, yummy - it adds a little something that I just can't put my finger on.  It's not spicy at all, but definitely provides flavor.

These delicious steaks are going to be fried in oil.  So, grab your favorite large, heavy duty skillet and enough vegetable oil to fill it half way.  Heat on medium-high until the oil reaches 350 degrees.

To prepare the steaks, it's a 3-step dip:  1.  take a steak and dip it into the flour and make sure it's well coated.  2.  Dip it into the wet ingredients.  3.  Dip that same steak back in the flour, making sure to cover it well with the flour.  Once fully coated, place into the hot oil.  Repeat this process for all pieces of steak.  

Fry for about 5-7 minutes, turning once so that each side of the steak becomes a yummy golden brown.  Drain on paper towels before serving.

Please note, this can also be made in a deep fat fryer. 

We served ours with side of gravy (not pictured), mixed veggies and mashed potatoes.  YUM.  And don't mind my Christmas plate.  I've been too lazy to pack away my Christmas dinnerware.  Don't judge!