Hamburger Soup

This is a small tribute to my beautiful grandma who passed away on Saturday. We all loved her cooking. When I was a new bride and was just learning how to cook, she taught me this recipe and it instantly became my new husband's favorite dish. It's got all the meat and potato things guys enjoy, especially after a long day on the farm like my Grandpa had. I love this soup because all the ingredients are always on hand. You can pretty much just throw in anything you want to, and it will still taste great.

Grandma Lill's Hamburger Soup

Recipe from Lillian Rydalch

1/4 c chopped onion

4 1/2 c water 

1 c diced carrot

1 c diced potato

1 c diced celery

1/2 Tbsp salt to taste

1/2 tsp pepper

1 beef bouillon cube

1 bay leaf

1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder

1 28 ounce large can tomatoes (un-drained)

handful macaroni noodles (1-2 cups to your liking)

Brown hamburger with the onion and drain.

Add all ingredients except tomatoes, noodles and beans; cover and bring to boil.

Turn down heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add tomatoes, noodles, and beans and simmer until noodles are tender. If you use a lot of noodles you may need to add more water. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with some crackers or bread and enjoy!

Steak Kabobs

These steak kabobs we made last night were heavenly and so simple to throw together too! Definitely going to be on our regular rotation. I might even have to throw my snow boots on in the winter to grill outside in the dead of winter. It will be worth it though! Use whatever veggies you have on hand. We did zucchini, red onion and mushrooms.

Steak Kabobs

Marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

black pepper

Veggies (Choose what you like!)

summer squash

zucchini

red onion

mushrooms

anything!

Thick cuts of steak, cubed (I used petite sirloin and some tenderloin I had)

Marinade the steak for 1 hour in a large ziplock bag. Cube up your veggies and add them to the steak bag and marinade 1 more hour. Grill on a preheated grill (about 350-400 degrees) for 5 minutes. Flip over and grill 3-5 more minutes. Enjoy!

Serve with some cauliflower rice for added nutrition! Separate a head of cauliflower and blend batches using a food processor (you could probably use a blender too). Heat up a large skillet over medium heat and heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil or coconut butter. Throw the cauliflower "rice" into the skillet and saute for 5 or so minutes. Flavor with lots of salt and pepper. My family likes minced garlic and green onions in ours. I just saute those quickly before adding the "rice".

Cheese-steak Sammies

Oh my heavens this was so yummy! And it only took about 15-20 minutes to throw together! (Even better) You use roast beef from the deli. I got mine at Sams Club I think its the Castle-wood brand. That's where I ran into a friend and she told me about this recipe. I am definitely going to keep it in my rotation. Too easy and tasty not to! I also used shredded mozzarella cheese because it's what I had on hand, but any sliced cheese will work.

Cheese-steak Sammies

Serves 4-6 (2 adults and 4 kids in my family)

1 pound deli roast beef slices

1 bell pepper, sliced* 

1/2 onion, sliced

mushrooms, sliced (optional-I left these out)

1/4 cup butter (1/2 a cube)

1 Tbsp Montreal Steak seasoning

cheese to top (mozzarella, provolone, cheddar etc.)

French bread 

Slice up deli meat into squares or strips (I just took the whole pile and did slices about 1/2 inch wide). Put the veggies and meat into a pan with the butter and seasoning. Cook down 10-15 minutes. Cut the french bread long-wise to open it up. Spread the meat mixture onto one half and top with cheese on top of the meat mixture as well as onto the top half. Leave it open faced and bake at 400 for 5 minutes. Close it up and cut into individual sammies. Enjoy!

*Just a note on bell peppers- Just in case you didn't know- bell peppers freeze really well. I get them when they are on sale or in stock in my garden, wash them and slice them up, then lay them on a cookie sheet in my freezer for about 30 minutes. After they are "flash frozen" dump them into a freezer ziplock, label and freeze. Perfect for quick dinners especially fajitas. 

Nicole's Sweet and Sour Meatballs

These are seriously the best meatballs I have ever eaten and even

my kids love them. They are super easy too. I like to serve them with peas and

brown rice. Yum!

1 to 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

3/4 c rolled oats

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cu finely chopped onion

1/2 c milk or milk substitute

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce ( I used A1 sauce)

Combine all ingredients, mix well. Form about 12 balls, each 2 inches in diameter.

Place in casserole dish. Cover with sauce ( below) Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes

Sauce:

1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c vinegar

1 tsp mustard

1/4 c barbecue sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce or A1

Adapted from : dairyfreetriedandtrue.blogpot.com and Lion House Entertaining Cookbook

Best Chuck Roast

 I always use to cook my Sunday roasts in the crock pot, but I switched to this recipe and I'm never going back. 

In Missouri my friend Sarra made the most delicious roast I have ever eaten (sorry Mom, lol). I asked her how she did it and she said the trick to really good flavored roast is to use chicken broth, not beef stock. Interesting. Since then I begged her for the complete recipe, along with the seasoning she used. We both get our roasted garlic herb seasoning from Sams club (it's weber brand), but I'm sure you could use any. I also thought it was fun she cut her potatoes into steak fry wedges rather than quartering them. 

*Quick Tip-Put the celery stalks in the center and lay the roast on top of the celery and this will keep it from sticking to the bottom. It will go to mush and not be good to eat, but it serves a good purpose and adds good flavor too :)

Chuck Roast
Recipe from Sarra Bauer

chuck roast (around 5 pounds or so)
6 big or 8 smaller potatoes, cut into steak fry wedges 
6-8 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-4 pieces (or around 2 cups baby carrots)
a few celery stalks 
roasted garlic herb seasoning
salt and pepper
1 1/2- 2 cups chicken broth

Season the roast on both sides with salt and pepper and with the garlic herb blend. Spray a large roasting pan with nonstick, or I just use the bottom half of my broiler pan without the top. Lay the seasoned roast in the center of the pan (on top the celery if you can) and arrange the veggies around the roast. Sprinkle a little of the seasoning on the veggies too. Add 1 1/2- 2 cups of chicken broth. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 400 for 4 hours.

Barbecued Burgers

This is my favorite favorite burger recipe of all time. Yes it takes extra time to make the barbecue from scratch, but I promise it's totally worth it! Just in time for grilling season too! I like these served with extra sauce and a tomato and maybe lettuce. Don't go ruin it with ketchup and mustard or mayo! It doesn't need any extra sauces, just toppings of your choice. 

Barbecued Burgers

Recipe from Taste of Home Backyard Grillin

Serves 6

Sauce:

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup molasses

2 tsp mustard

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp liquid smoke

1/8 tsp pepper

Burgers: 

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup oats

1/4 tsp onion salt

1/4 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (I use 90 %)

6 hamburger buns

toppings of choice

In a small saucepan, combine first 10 ingredients (the sauce). Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside 1 cup of barbecue sauce to serve with the burgers.

In a bowl combine egg, oats, 1/4 cup of the remaining barbecue sauce (you will use the rest for basting), onion salt, garlic salt, pepper and salt. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 6 patties. Grill covered, over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees, basting with the remaining 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce during the last 5 minutes. (I baste before flipping...so I put it on top, flip the burgers and then baste the tops and grill until they are done). Serve on buns with toppings and reserved sauce.

Lasagna

I will never forget the first time I made this lasagna. I was a newly wed and definitely new to the whole cooking idea. I just pulled it out of the oven when I realized that I didn't cook the noodles and immediately burst into tears! Kevin ran over and said, "Wait! Is that my Mom's recipe? You don't ever cook the noodles!" We've gotten a good laugh out of it and in honor of our 9 year anniversary today, here's my favorite lasagna recipe!

Lasagna

Recipe from Cathy Riggs

1 big can spaghetti sauce (3-4 cups)

1 pound lean ground beef

package of dry lasagna noodles (not oven ready)
1 24 ounce carton cottage cheese (I usually do small curd)

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

8-16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown the hamburger and drain. Pour about 1/2 cup or so spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan and spread it on the bottom. Add the remaining spaghetti sauce to the ground beef. Mix the cottage cheese with parsley, basil and parmesan cheese. Add dry lasagna noodles ontop of sauces 9x13 dish. Layer half the meat sauce evenly over dry noodles, sprinkle and spread half the cottage cheese mixture over the meat sauce. (optional you can sprinkle mozzarella between the layers but I never do). Repeat the layers- noodles, sauce, then cottage cheese mix. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes. If it starts to brown too much you can cover it with tinfoil.

My Sidenotes:

*In college I could usually squeeze 2 8x8 dishes out of this recipe so that I could freeze one for later. If you want it to keep the original amounts of sauce and cottage cheese, etc. it actually will only make 1 1/2 8x8s. Tonight I doubled the recipe and made 3 8x8 dishes...one for tonight, one to freeze for later, and one to bring to a gal who just had twins. Hope that makes sense! If you freeze it just cover in a few layers of tinfoil. You can thaw it overnight, or you can even throw it in the oven frozen, it will just take a lot longer to cook.

*You can use fresh herbs if you'd like to-just know that fresh needs 3 times more than dry, so for 1 tsp dried you would use 1 Tbsp fresh and for the 1 Tbsp dried you would use 3 Tbsp fresh

Mexican Pizza

Before you put it in the oven

The added ingredients after the oven

In our house I beg Chris to make these Mexican Pizzas ALL the time. (I've tried to do it myself and they just don't come out the same!) They may look simple but they sure are worth every calorie ;)

Chris's Famous Mexican Pizza

Recipe by Chris Salcido

Ingredients you will need:

Tortillas (we use the bigger ones, but you can use small or big)

1 Can of Refried Beans (heated on stove)

1 Package Taco Seasoning (we use the hot and spicy kind that's in the Mexican section at the stores because we like it extra hot!)

1 lb ground beef-cooked with the taco seasoning

Cheese (any kind you want)

Chopped Green Onions

Chopped Onions

Chopped Tomatoes

Chopped Olives

Lettuce

Chopped Jalapenos

Whatever other kind of topping you want!

So you'll first put a very thin layer of the Cooked Refried beans on the tortilla, then the cooked ground beef, a little bit of cheese, green onions, onions, olives  and then more cheese on top. Cook at 350 for 5-10 minutes (depending how crispy you like yours) After you take it out of the oven top with lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos (and whatever else you want). Then of course have your dipping sides like homemade guacamole, salsa, Tabasco, and sour cream. The great thing about this recipe is that you can alter it to whatever you like!! Chris likes a lot more toppings then I do and he likes to smother guacamole on top where as I like to dip mine in it. Use a pizza cutter to make slices and enjoy!:)

Beef Mozzarella Bake

Here's another college recipe... our neighbor brought it over one night after I came home from the hospital after having my first baby-Scott. I make it at least once a month and love it because it's so simple yet super yummy and I always have the ingredients on hand. It's much easier to throw together than lasagna too.

Beef Mozzarella Bake
Recipe by Shelley and Blake (can't remember their last name!)

1 pound lean ground beef
1 can condensed tomato soup, italian if you can find it
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 1/4 cups water
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp Italian spices (only if you can't find the Italian tomato soup)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 garlic clove or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
4 cups hot cooked bow tie pasta (about 3 cups uncooked)

Cook your noodles if they aren't already and drain well. In a medium sized skillet, cook beef until browned and drain off fat. In a large bowl, mix together the beef, soups, water, all of the spices and 1 cup of the cheese. Stir in the cooked noodles and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Stir, and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese over the top. Bake another 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Baked Spaghetti: Great for kids!!

1 lb ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

1 Tbsp. butter

1 can (28 oz) tomatoes w/liquid cut up

1 can (4 oz) mushroom and pieces

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 pkg.(12 oz)spaghetti, cooked and drained

2 cups (8 oz) shredded chedder cheese

1 can cream of mushroom

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 can (8oz) tomato sauce

In a large skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Add ground beef/cook until done. Drain. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, and oregano. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Plase half of spaghetti in greased 13 by 11 baking dish. Top with half of spaghetti sauce.Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Repeat layers. Mix the soup and water until smooth. Pour over the casserole. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees or until heated through. 

Recipe by: Shawna Felli

If you HATE mushrooms, you could do it without, but you really can't taste them very much :)

Easiest Chili Ever

Here's another recipe I got from my classes I took getting my home economics ed degree :) I love it because it's super easy to throw together and the picante gives it a really great kick!

Super Easy (and tasty) Chili

1 pound lean ground beef

1/4 cup onion (I use about 1 Tbsp onion flakes), optional

1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 (16 oz) cans crushed or diced tomatoes and juices

3/4 cup picante sauce

2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

cheese and chips of course

Cook and brown hamburger in skillet with the onions; drain. Stir in remainder of ingredients and cook until hot.

Saucy Stuffed Shells

 I love this recipe because it introduced me to fennel seeds which I now love. It's the secret ingredient that turns any economical meat dish into tasting like more expensive italian sausage, and plus it's healthy too! I usually throw in about 16 shells and that leaves me with a few extra non-stuffed ones for the picky eater.

Saucy Stuffed Shells

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

Serves 2-4

12 dried jumbo shell macaroni

12 ounces ground beef or ground pork

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper (or red works great too)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 beaten egg

1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs 

1/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 15-16 ounce jar meatless spaghetti sauce

Parmesan cheese to serve

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cold water. Drain again.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook ground meat, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic until meat is brown. Drain.

In a medium bowl combine egg, bread crumbs, fennel seeds, salt, and black pepper. Add the meat mixture and 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce; mix well. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture into each macaroni shell. Arrange the filled shells in a 2-quart baking dish. Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over the filled shells. Cover the dish with foil.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

*Sidenote: You can freeze these- after filling the shells and covering with the spaghetti sauce, cover them with saran wrap and tinfoil (before baking) and freeze. When you want them just thaw in the fridge overnight or all day and bake as directed above (making sure you remove the saran wrap first)

Taco Super Skillet

This is an ultimate kid pleaser, especially if you use these fun wagon wheels! If you can't find wagon wheels, try to get creative with other fun shaped pasta, or you could even use macoroni noodles.

Taco Super Skillet
Serves 4

1/2 to 1 pound lean ground beef

1 envelope taco seasoning mix

2 1/4 cups water

1 1/2 cups uncooked wagon wheel pasta

1 1/2 c frozen corn

1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 medium tomato - chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Fresh or dried chives for garnish

Cook beef in large skillet on medium/high heat, drain.

Stir in season mix, water, pasta, corn, beans, and tomato with beef

Heat to a boiling; stir; reduce to simmer

Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally until pasta is done

Stir in sour cream and remove from heat

Sprinkle with cheese and chives and cover

Let stand 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted

Serve over tortilla chips

Grandma Lil's Sloppy Joes

"Sloppy Joes! Slop, Sloppy Joes!" That is what my husband sings around the house when I make this, because it is his absolute favorite meal! I love it too because it is so so easy to make and DELICIOUS!

Sloppy Joes

recipe by Lillian Rydalch

1 lb ground hamburger
½ c chopped onion
¼ c chopped peppers (optional)
½ c chopped celery (optional, but yummy)
1 T flour
½ c water
1 c ketchup
½ can tomato soup
salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger and veggies together. Cook for about 5 minutes, then stir in flour. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns.

Skirt Steak with Rice and Beans

This was heaven. I've had the recipe sitting on my cute cook book holder all week and have been so excited to make it. It took 4 stores to find skirt steak, but I'm glad I didn't settle for anything else. I was scared to ruin the steaks since they are so thin (and more expensive than I usually get)....you can see I cooked mine to medium, but they would taste even better with some pink or red in the center. So so so delish, especially with the rice and cilantro.

*To cut the meat properly, take the long slab and cut it into 3 or 4 sections. Then take each section and cut against the grain at an angle in strips*

Sliced Skirt Steaks with Rice and Beans

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray

Serves 4

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup white rice

4 green onions, chopped

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained

4-5 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp hot sauce

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp mustard

1/2 tsp of each- garlic powder

                           chili powder

                           red pepper

                           salt

                           parsley

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2-2 pounds skirt steak

2 jalapeno peppers, halved and seeded

2 ripe avocados

a handful of chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

2 limes

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in the rice and bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat, and cook for about 12 minutes over low to medium-low heat. Stir in the green onions and black beans, replace the lid, and cook for 6 more minutes.

In a shallow dish, combine the hot sauce, Worcestershire, mustard, 3 Tbsp olive oil and the seasonings. Coat the steak and marinate for 10 minutes. Heat outdoor grill to medium-high.

Brush the jalapenos with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the meat and jalapeno on the grill and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side (I cooked mine 5 and it was a little much). After you turn the meat and jalapeno, halve and pit the avocados and place them on the grill to char and mark. Remove meat, jalapenos and avocados to a platter and let the meat rest for a few minutes, tented with foil, to settle the juices.

To serve, thinly slice the steak on an angle *see note above*. Divide the steak slices among 4 plates. Serve with an avocado half, a jalapeno half, a sprinkle of cilantro and some halved tomatoes. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lime over each dish. Serve the black beans and rice alongside.

Cold Weather Chili

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey ( I used ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 yellow or red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 (16-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Directions:
In a large pot, brown the turkey or ground beef with the onion and garlic over medium heat, until cooked  breaking up the ground turkey into pieces as it cooks. Drain off  grease. Add the chopped bell pepper and cook 1-2 minutes. Add the rinsed and drained beans. Stir. Add the remaining ingredients and spices. Stir well. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the chili to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or more, stirring occasionally and making sure the chili isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla chips, if desired.

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafehttp://www.melskitchencafe.com/

Beef Noodle Bowl

I love this meal and it is super super easy and has great flavor.

Beef Noodle Bowl

Recipe adapted from Kraft Foods

12 ounces fettucine noodles (or spaghetti works fine like I did in the picture)
3 cups fresh broccoli florets (or frozen if you have to)
2 carrots, peeled, chopped diagonally (or baby carrots slices lenthwise for a fun twist)
2 tsp. oil
1 lb. beef sirloin steak, thinly cut into strips
1/4 cup Zesty Italian Dressing
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Cook pasta as directed adding carrots and broccoli the last 3 minutes (still with a little crunch, not soggy). Meanwhile brown meat in the oil. In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir dressing, teriyaki and ginger and add to the meat. Cook for a few minutes until thickened. Drain pasta and toss in the meat mixture.