Kielbasa Stir Fry

While I was getting ready to pan fry some kielbasa, I remembered a recipe my mom use to make (or I think she use to make...)that had kielbasa, peppers and pineapple in it. I think it also had bbq sauce or some sort of sweet and sour sauce. So, I decided to try and duplicate it to the best of my memory. It was really good, super easy, and now I have another recipe to add to my list of meals! By the way, I now have all, or most of my meals on my phone using the OI shopping list android app. I love it! I just go through the list and click on the meals I want to make for the upcoming week.

Ingredients:
Kielbasa
bell pepper
pineapple chunks(canned or fresh)
1/2 cup bbq sauce(sweet and sour sauce would work also)

Directions:
Brown the kielbasa in a pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Once the kielbasa starts to brown, add the bell pepper and cook until tender. Drain fat from the pan and add pineapple and bbq sauce(add amount of sauce to your liking). Heat for a few more minutes. Serve on cooked white rice(optional). Pin It

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

This week for dinner I made Philly cheese steak sandwiches. They were really good and really simple to make. The whole family loved them, even my 3 year old! I didn't add the bell pepper or the garlic.

Ingredients:

* 1 loaf Italian bread or French bread or 2 large hoagie rolls or sub rolls
* 1/2 lb deli roast beef (very rare, sliced wafer thin, or you can use a frozen Rib-Eye roast shaved on an electric slicer, )
* 1 white onion (thinly sliced)
* 1 green bell pepper (thinly sliced) (optional)
* 2 teaspoons garlic (minced)
* 1/2 lb provolone cheese (thinly sliced)
* extra virgin olive oil (for grilling)
* salt and pepper
* marinara sauce or ketchup (optional topping)

Directions: Heat oil on a griddle or saute pan. Grill the onion and pepper till soft. Add the garlic, salt and pepper. Push to the side and grill the meat. Break up the meat with a spatula. Once heated all the way through, mix together with peppers and onions then add meat to a toasted roll and top with provolone cheese.
Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of RecipeZaar.com Pin It

Tex-Mex Lasagna

This week was my pick for our facebook group's ROTW. I decided to go with a recipe I found for Tex-Mex Lasagna. It was really good and my whole  family liked it! I did make a few changes which are shown in bold. I made one lasagna for our dinner tonight and 2 additional lasagna's in an 8X8 pan for later use. I'm trying to make more meals that can be put in the freezer. I'll explain how you can make freezer meals later this week! It cost me about $7.00 to make 3 small lasagnas, which feeds our family of 4. Add a side of beans and that's only about $3.00 a meal!

Ingredients

• 1  pound  lean ground beef
• 1  cup  frozen diced onion, red and green bell pepper, and celery(I chopped 1/2 cup fresh onion, and omitted the peppers and celery)
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  tablespoon  chili powder
• 1  teaspoon  salt-free chipotle seasoning blend(I didn't have this on  hand. I sprinkled some garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, salt and pepper)
• 1  (24-oz.) jar mild salsa( I used hot salsa. It was HOT, but yummy)
• 1  (15-oz.) can dark red kidney beans, drained(I used a can of seasoned black beans)
• 1  (10-oz.) can enchilada sauce
• 1  (10-oz.) package frozen whole kernel corn, thawed(I used 1 can of ranch beans, since I knew my family would rather not have corn in it)
• 16  (6-inch) fajita-size corn tortillas(I cut these into 1 inch pieces to make it easier to layer)
• 4  cups  (16 oz.) shredded Mexican four-cheese blend
• Toppings: sour cream, chopped tomatoes

Preparation

1. Cook first 5 ingredients in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 to 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender and beef crumbles and is no longer pink.
2. Stir in salsa and next 3 ingredients. Cook 5 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
3. Layer 1 cup beef mixture, 2 tortillas (overlapping edges), and 1/2 cup cheese in a lightly greased 7- x 5- x 1 1/2-inch baking dish. Repeat layers once. Repeat procedure with 3 additional 7- x 5- x 1 1/2-inch baking dishes. Cover dishes with nonstick aluminum foil.
4. Bake, covered, at 350° for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 5 more minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with desired toppings.
Note: To use a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish, prepare recipe through Step 2. Omit 4 corn tortillas. Layer one-third beef mixture, 6 tortillas (overlapping edges), and 2 cups cheese. Repeat layers with one-third beef mixture, remaining 6 tortillas, remaining beef mixture, and ending with remaining 2 cups cheese. Bake, covered, at 350° for 40 minutes; uncover and bake 10 more minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe courtesy of MyRecipes.com

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Meatballs (I used for meatball sandwiches)

 

I have never made meatball sandwiches before, but decided to give it a try this week. I found a great recipe for meatballs at recipezaar.com. I put them in toasted sourdough buns with provolone cheese melted on the top of  the meatballs. Mmmm...they were sooo good.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (a mixture of 1 pound ground beef and 1/2 pound ground pork will work well also)
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs (or use enough to hold the meat together)
• 1-2 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder or to taste)
• 1-2 teaspoon salt (or to taste, I use 2 teaspoons seasoned salt)
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup milk (can use up to 1/2 cup milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• favorite spaghetti sauce(1 jar)

1. Mix all ingredients(except sauce) together in a large bowl.
2. Shape into small meatballs (at this point you can place on a jelly-roll/baking sheet and freeze to use later, or cover with plastic wrap refrigerate up to 24 hours before using).
3. Drop the meatballs into simmering pasta sauce, do not stir for at least 20 minutes or you will risk breaking the meatballs.
4. Continue cooking in the simmering sauce for another 20 minutes (depending on how fast your sauce is simmering 40 minutes total should fully cook the meatballs).
5. After the 40 minutes cooking time continue cooking your sauce with the meatballs in for as long as desired.
6. **note** you may also bake the meatballs at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until cooked through. 

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Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon

 
I found this recipe originally in the recipe section of our local newspaper's website. I love finding new places to get more menu ideas and I'm glad I found this site because I LOVED this recipe for beef bourguignon! I adapted it a little bit to work with my very much beloved slow cooker. For those of you who do not share my same fondness for slow cookers;)....you can get the original directions here.

2 pounds beef chuck shoulder pot roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 slices bacon, chopped (about 4 ounces)
Vegetable oil
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup ready-to-serve beef broth
2 cups Burgundy or other dry red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried marjoram leaves, crushed
8 ounces baby carrots (about 1-3/4 cups)
8 ounces fresh pearl onions, peeled or frozen pearl onions or medium onion in chunks

Fry bacon in a large pan until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside on a paper towel. Brown beef in the same pan with bacon grease. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Once lightly browned, remove beef with a slotted spoon and place in a slow cooker. Add bacon and remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. Serve with hot egg noodles(optional)

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Burrito Filling

A few weeks ago Kimberly posted her review for spicy black bean empanadas. The recipe was one of the recipe's of the week from our Facebook group. It was such a delicious recipe that I decided to make a similar version of it tonight and use it for burrito filling. I used a lot of the same ingredients and I also added a few things. It tasted great and it was a nice change from the packaged mix that I usually use when I make burritos.

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1&1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1&1/2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 15oz can pinto beans, drained

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder*

1/4 teaspoon onion powder*

1/4 teaspoon salt*

1/4 teaspoon pepper*

1 cup shredded cheese(I used cheddar/jack mix)

*Onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper are approximate measurements. I added these to taste. Add more or less to fit your taste.

Brown beef in pan. Once it is almost cooked through, push meat to side and add minced garlic and onion. Saute for a few minutes until tender. Mix together and add remaining ingredients(except cheese). Cook on low for 8 minutes. Mix in cheese. Once melted, wrap up in warm flour tortillas. Tastes great with guacamole and sour cream.

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1 Roast, 2 Dinners!

Don't you just love getting two dinners out of one? I do! Last night I made french dip/shredded beef sandwiches using the slow cooker. This is such a simple recipe that even my kids love. The great thing about this recipe is that there is always plenty of beef leftover to use the next night in tacos or burritos. I'll post that recipe also.

French dip/shredded beef sandwiches

2-4 lb beef roast*
2 packages of onion soup mix (I use Liptons)
2 - 3 cans of beef broth, depending on size of roast

*Not sure what type of beef to use? Check out Kim's earlier post!

Put everything in to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high for 6-8 (depending on size of roast and slow cooker). 1/2 hour before serving, shred the beef, return the beef to the slow cooker. Serve beef on toasted sandwich rolls.  Top with cheese (optional) Put some of the beef juice, in a cup, on the side for dipping.

Tacos/Burritos

Take your leftover shredded beef and reheat it in a pan with approx. 1 cup of your favorite salsa. You may want to add more or less salsa depending on how much beef you have leftover. Serve in tortillas along with your favorite toppings, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.... Pin It

Amber's ROTW/Chili and Cornbread Review

What could be better on a cool Halloween night than chili and cornbread? Too me it's the perfect choice. Both the chili recipe and the cornbread recipe were so delicious!

First let's talk about the chili. Be prepared, this recipe makes A LOT of chili. Perfect choice when company's coming for dinner. I only made 2 changes to the recipe. I added 2 packets of chili mix instead of 1. I also omitted the peppers and celery, since my family is not a fan of either. I thought the addition of sausage in chili was a great idea. I have never tried that before. Everyone loved this chili which always makes me happy!

Now on to the cornbread. Since I've been married I have been making Jiffy cornbread. It tastes good and for less than 50 cents a box, you can't beat it. I just always assumed however that all corn bread will leave your plate with a huge pile of crumbs. Not to mention the huge mess of crumbs that make it too the floor. This was such a delicious cornbread recipe. It was sweet and had a wonderful texture. The best part, virtually no crumbs!

I will absolutely be making both of these recipes again. I hope everyone enjoyed these as much as I did. Pin It