Italian Crescent Casserole

Italian Crescent Casserole  (adapted due to limited supplies, originally found here)


Ingredients:

• 1 lb hamburger 
• 1 cup garlic pasta sauce (I didn't read the complete directions and used a whole 26 oz can and it was saucy and still yummy but next time i'll try using less)
• 1 can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls  
• 1 1/2 cup of shredded Italian cheese blend (I used about 1 cup of shredded and then supplemented with parmesan cheese from the green can) 
• 1/4 tsp of dried basil 

Directions:

1. Cook hamburger and add sauce.  Heat until warm.  OPTIONAL: I always add a little brown sugar to my tomato based pasta sauce
2. Separate crescent rolls into 8 triangles.  Place in an un-greased 9 in pie pan allowing the thinner edges to hang over about 3 inches.  
3. Press the dough in side and bottom of pan down to form a solid thin crust. 
4. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over dough
5. Spoon meat mixture over cheese
6. Bring tips of dough over the filling so they meet in the center, try not to let them overlap.  
7. Sprinkle with remaining cheese (1/2 cup) and top with basil
8. Bake uncovered at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes

Go to the original to see detailed pictures.  

Shepherds Pie

Great recipe to use up leftovers.


Ingredients:

• 8 cups of mashed potatoes
• 1-2 cups of cheddar cheese 
• 1-2 tablespoons of sour cream 
• 8-16 ounces of brown gravy 
• 1 pound of ground beef
• 16 ounces of frozen mixed vegetables
• Chopped onion
• Diced Garlic
• Garlic Salt
• Milk

Directions:

1. Start by pre-heating your oven to 375.  
2. Prepare gravy according to the instructions on the package.  
3. Prepare mashed potatoes.  
4. Add the cheddar cheese, sour cream, milk, garlic salt etc. 
5. In a skillet, brown the hamburger and drain any excess fat. Add garlic and onion. 
6. Mix the browned hamburger, gravy, and entire bag of frozen vegetables. 
7. Pour that mixture into the glass baking pan and cover with mashed potatoes. Cover with additional cheese if desired.
8. Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes, until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Taco Salad in Homemade Bowl

Taco Salad in Homemade Bowl

Homemade Tortilla Bowl:

• Burrito-size flour tortillas
• Olive oil or Canola oil
• Oven-safe cups or canning jars (I used my some of my corningware bowls that were the right size)

 Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Place your cup/jar/small bowl upside down on a cookie sheet
3. Heat the tortillas in the microwave for about 25 seconds to get them soft and pliable
4. Coat each tortilla is about a teaspoon of oil.  It doesn't have to be thick, just make sure it all gets coated.  
5. Gently press the sides down to form a bowl shape
6. Bake in the oven for about 7 minutes

 Taco Salad (adapt to personal preferences and what is in the cupboard):

• Rice flavored with salsa
• Season Meat (ground beef/shredded chicken/steak) 
• Corn
• Beans (pinto, black, refried)
• Onion
• Lettuce
• Cheese
• Salsa
• Sour Cream

Place all ingredients into the fresh made tortilla bowl and enjoy!  

Spaghetti

Spaghetti is a simple go to recipe that we usually always have the ingredients for.  No real recipe for this one just wanted it on the "remember me" list.  While I'm here though, here are just a couple tips.

• We use Hunts pasta sauce usually in the four cheese or garlic and onion variety but add about 1/4 cup of brown sugar to the sauce to sweeten it up and reduce the acidity.  
• Left over Spaghetti is a wonderful thing, which is good because we often make far too much
• Garlic Bread and Salad are great sides
• The husband doesn't usually eat meals without meat, but for a money saving family this can easily be done meatless

Kirsten Surprise

This meal was affectionately titled by one of my really good friends and her husband.  My friend and I were roommates and I would make this nameless dish and once they got married they made it too.  They needed a name to call it and so it became "Kirsten Surprise."

Ingredients

• 1 Box of Beef Rice-a-roni
• 1 Can of corn
• 1 lb beef
• Salsa
• Sour Cream
• Chips

Directions

1. Brown beef and set aside
2. Cook rice a roni as directed
3. Add can of corn during the last 5 minutes of cook time
4. Add Beef and mix together
5. Serve Rice mixture over chips and add salsa and sour cream to taste. 

Pasta Bake

Easy Pasta Bake

Ingredients 

• 1 lb dry pasta
• 1 jar of pasta sauce 
• 1 tub of cottage cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• 1 "jar-full" water
• 1 lb of cooked meat (hamburger, sausage etc)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 
2. Mix cottage cheese, sauce and water together in a bowl
3. Add meat and mix
4. Add noodles and mix
5. Dump into a casserole dish 
6. Top with Parmesan cheese
7. Cover with foil and cook for 30-45 minutes
8. Pair with a fresh salad and enjoy

Beef Stew

This is the quick beef stew recipe that I made today.  I've never made stew before and although I'm not a huge fan of stew in the first place Brett said it was delicious so I guess it turned out good.  We had some stew meat that the Brett's parents gave us and we needed to use up.

Beef Stew (Crockpot style) 

• Stew meat (cut into bite size pieces)
• Potatoes (cubed)
• Carrots (cut into similar sized chunks)
• Onion (cut into medium size pieces) 
• Large container of Beef broth (it was 3 cups I belive)
• Packet of Beef stew seasoning/mix

Add all ingredients into the crock pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4.

I served it in a bread bowl and we were thoroughly full by the time we finished.  I'm glad we got it in on a cold day although I'm hoping spring will be here soon!

Taco Soup

This soup can be made quick and easy on the stove top or in the crock pot.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 c. water
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 pkg. taco seasoning mix

STOVE TOP:
In a heavy saucepan cook ground beef with onion. Drain off fat. Then add water, tomatoes, un-drained kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce and seasoning. Simmer together for 20 minutes!

CROCKPOT:
First brown ground been and drain the grease. Then add ground beef and all the other ingredients in the crock-pot (undrained) and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Top with cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips etc and enjoy!