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Skillet Chili Mac and Cheese

25 Apr

Lori at My Kinda Rain posted this recipe a little over a week ago, and when I saw it, I knew we had to try it. I love a lot of the meals she shares, quick and easy for families on the go. Since I stopped buying boxed meals a few years ago, I love when I can find something similar that I can make.

I did make a few adjustments to Lori’s recipe. You can find her recipe here.

– 1 teaspoon cumin instead of 1 Tablespoon
– Added 1/2 teaspoon oregano
– Used 2 cups of beef broth instead of 2 cups water
– Didn’t have a 15 oz can of tomato sauce, so used 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes and 1 6 oz can of tomato paste
– Only used 1 cup of shredded cheese instead of 2 cups

We all LOVED it, and will be having it again soon!

Skillet Chili Mac and Cheese

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Ground Beef Gravy

3 Mar

I know, this doesn’t look very appetizing, but honestly, we really like it! It’s very simple to put together, and takes about 30 minutes to prep and cook to have a meal. Can’t beat that! I’ve served it over rice or mashed potatoes, and either way it’s great. Tonight, we added asparagus, thanks to a recent sale.

Ground Beef Gravy

Hamburger Gravy

What you need:

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 8 oz package mushrooms, diced
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon beef flavored instant bouillon
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 cups milk

How to make it:

Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and mushrooms, and cook until onions are translucent. Stir in the flour, bouillon, and Worcestershire sauce. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, to prevent lumps. Cook, while continuing to stir, until it boils and thickens, about 5 minutes.

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Ground Beef, Summer Squash, and Rice Skillet

12 Oct

I recently acquired a zucchini and a yellow squash at a Kiwanis Club meeting. I have made plenty of different meals with zucchini and yellow squash, but wanted to try something new. So, I used what I had on hand, and came up with this combination. Even my little one liked it, and she’s been rather picky lately! It also took little time to put all together, which was nice with the busy nights we tend to have lately.

Ground Beef, Summer Squash, and Rice Skillet

Ground Beef, Summer Squash, and Rice Skillet

What you need:

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash, sliced
1 cup cooked rice (I made it in my rice steamer)

How to make it:

In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat. Add in onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent. Next, stir in Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, tomato paste and beef broth. Add sliced zucchini and yellow squash. Cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until squash has softened. Stir in cooked rice and serve.

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Katie’s Chili

4 Oct

Katie has been asking me to make chili for the longest time, but I kept putting it off. It’s still warm here in AZ, and hot meals just don’t always sound appealing. But, I have never made it before, so it was time. I know there are a ton of different ways to make it, all based on personal preference. So, we found 5 different versions in the cookbooks that we have, and came up with a combination of our own. It was really, really good! Now, I won’t wait so long the next time she asks.

Katie's Chili

Katie’s Chili

What you need:

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (optional)
1 15-oz can dark red kidney beans
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
1 10-oz can tomatoes and green chiles (Ro-Tel)
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Juice of one lime
Salt and ground black pepper

How to make it:

In a large pot, brown the ground beef. Add garlic, onion, green pepper, celery, carrot, and jalapeno, and continue to cook until vegetables have softened. Next, add kidney beans (undrained), diced tomatoes (undrained), tomatoes and green chiles (undrained), tomato sauce, and beef broth. Stir well, adding more beef broth or water if it seems too thick. Next, stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, lime juice, and salt and ground black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer about 20-25 minutes.

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Sloppy Joes with Ground Beef and Lentils

10 Aug

I have been wanting to make sloppy joes for a while, and really wanted to try using lentils instead of ground beef. Of course, my family was a little hesitant to try it with lentils, so when I found this recipe that uses lentils along with ground beef, I figured it would be a good start to try with them. We all thought it turned out really well, and next time I may try it with all lentils just to save on some cost. If I do, I will update this recipe with the all lentil version.

Sloppy Joes with Ground Beef and Lentils

Sloppy Joes with Ground Beef and Lentils
Original recipe here

What you need:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 small carrot, finely chopped
1 bell pepper (red or green), finely chopped
1 cup ketchup, divided
1 cup dried brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
4 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and ground black pepper
1 pound lean ground beef
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

How to make it:

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, carrot, bell pepper and 1/4 cup ketchup and cook until the vegetables are soft. Add the lentils, oregano and broth. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until the lentils are tender and most of the water is absorbed, about 35 to 40 minutes (add up to 1 cup water or broth if necessary). Season with salt and pepper.

Add the beef to a large non-stick skillet, break it up, and cook, until it begins to brown. Add the Worcestershire sauce and the remaining 3/4 cup ketchup and stir until combined. Add the lentil mixture and, if needed, up to 1 cup water or broth. Cook until the lentils are soft and the mixture thickens, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

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Meatballs in Creamy Dill Sauce

25 Jan

This dish was inspired by the other part of Jamie Oliver’s 15 Minute Meals.  His dish was Swedish Meatballs with Celeriac and Spinach Rice.  I liked that he used dill, since I had some fresh dill on hand.  I looked at some other recipes online, and created a blend of a few different meatball recipes.  This was really, really good.  Everyone liked it, and there really wasn’t much leftover.

Below, I have the recipe for the meatballs and sauce.  I served it over rice with spinach, but mashed potatoes or egg noodles would work well with this too.  For the rice, I cooked the rice in my steamer, then put in a large bowl when it was done.  I quickly added chopped spinach to it while still very hot, mixing well.  That way, I got a vegetable in!

Meatballs with Creamy Dill Sauce

 

Meatballs with Creamy Dill Sauce

What you need:

2/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 cup milk
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup grated onion
2 tablespoon fresh dill
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1 quart beef stock
1/2 cup cream, half and half, or milk
1/4 cup fresh dill

How to make it:

In a large bowl, soak breadcrumbs in the milk for a few minutes.  Mix in onion, 2 tablespoons dill, ground beef, eggs, and salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Roll ground beef into 1″ balls.  Add to the heated skillet and brown each meatball on every side, in batches if necessary.  When browned, remove to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium low and melt butter in the skillet.  Mix in flour.  Cook, stirring often, until you have a brown roux.  Whisk in beef stock, then cream and 1/4 cup fresh dill.  Add meatballs into the sauce.  Cover and turn heat down to low.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until meatballs have cooked through to an internal temperature of 160 F.

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Baked Cheeseburger Spinach Macaroni

26 Dec

I came up with this on a night that my older daughter wanted Spinach Bacon Shells and Cheese.  I didn’t have any bacon thawed, but I did have ground beef thawed, so I made the shells and the cheese sauce like in that recipe, and then seasoned ground beef like I did for the Bacon Cheeseburger Soup I made recently.  She and I were both happy with the results!

Baked Cheeseburger Spinach MacaroniBaked Cheeseburger Spinach Macaroni

What you need:

1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup diced red or yellow onion
1 cup beef broth
3 cups whole grain medium shells, uncooked
2 cups fresh spinach, slightly chopped
2 Tbsp. flour
1-2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, if needed
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
 
How to make it:
 
Preheat the oven to 350 F. 
 
In a large skillet, mix together ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, and pepper.  Brown meat over medium high heat.  Stir in diced onion, and cook until soft.  Pour in beef broth and reduce heat to low to simmer while you work on the other parts.
 
Cook shells as directed on package, adding spinach in to cook for the last minute.  Drain.  Return to pot.
 
In another large skillet, melt 1-2 Tbsp butter or margarine.  Add flour; cook and stir until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk.  Bring to boil, stirring constantly; cook 3 to 5 minutes,  or until thickened.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese and the Parmesan cheese; cook and stir until melted.
 
Pour ground beef mixture and cheese mixture over shells and spinach in the large pot; mix well.  Pour into a greased 2-1/2 qt casserole.  Top with the remaining shredded cheddar cheese.
 
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until it is bubbling and the cheese on top is melted.

 

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Sausage, Cabbage, and Potato Dinner

25 Oct

I’m at a loss at what to call this one, but I can promise you that it tastes good!  I just picked up 20 pounds of breakfast sausage yesterday, so I wanted to use some of it to make dinner.  I also had onions, carrots, potatoes, and shredded cabbage, so why not put it all in a pot and see how it comes out?  Delicious!  The breakfast sausage is a little spicy, and I don’t really like eating as links, but with the casings removed, all of it broken up and browned, then mixed with other things, it’s perfect.  What I also love is that aside from chopping things, this meal was very quick to prepare.

Sausage, Cabbage, and Potato Dinner

Sausage, Cabbage, and Potato Dinner

What you need:

1 lb sausage (I used breakfast sausage, removed the casings, and broke it up.  You could also use smoked sausage, that would just need to be sliced into 1/2 inch slices)
1 small onion, diced
2 carrots, cut into thin slices
1 cup water
2 medium potatoes, cut into thin cubes
4 cups shredded cabbage

How to make it:

In a large pot, brown sausage over medium heat.  Add in onions and carrots, and continue to cook until onions are soft.  Next, add water and potatoes.  Reduce heat to low, and cover.  Cook for 15 minutes.

Finally, add cabbage and stir in well.  Again, cover, and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.

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Creamy Mushroom, Beef, and Potato Skillet

24 Sep

My new skillet has been getting a workout!  I’ve been experimenting with a lot of skillet meals to not use the oven in the last of the heat of summer.  This one turned out pretty good.  I was just worried about the potatoes, but I sliced them thin enough that they cooked in a reasonable amount of time.

Creamy Mushroom, Beef, and Potato Skillet

 

Creamy Mushroom, Beef, and Potato Skillet

What you need:

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup beef broth
5-6 small red potatoes, thinly sliced
1 package mushrooms, sliced

How to make it:

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef.  Add onions and garlic, and continue to cook until onions are translucent.  Push meat and onions to one side of the skillet.  In the open side, melt the butter.  Stir in the flour and stir for a few minutes.  Pour in milk and beef broth and stir until there are no lumps.  Mix in the ground beef and onion mixture.  Add potatoes and mushrooms to the skillet.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.

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My Version of Bulgogi

5 Sep

Last week, we discovered a Korean restaurant in town, Sunna’s Korean Restaurant.  In fact, we liked it so much for lunch one day, that we went back for dinner the next day!  Super nice staff, go out of their way to take care of you and say thank you when you leave, plus delicious, fresh food.  Both times I ordered the Bulgogi, which is Korean barbecued beef.  Since I had a flank steak in the freezer, I decided to give it a try making it myself.  I looked at a few different recipes, and settled on a marinade that I liked, so here it is!  I have no idea how authentic it is, but it turned out really good.  I marinated just the meat and onions, then added the other vegetables after cooking the meat and onions first.

Beef Bulgogi

 

Bulgogi

What you need:

1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 pound flank steak, cut into thin slices
1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
1 bunch green onions, chopped
Vegetables of your choice to serve with, if desired (I used carrots, cabbage, broccoli, and zucchini)

How to make it:

Stir together the soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, sesame seeds, garlic, and ginger.  Pour over the sliced steak, onions, and green onions.  Cover and marinade in the refrigerator overnight.

Steak and onions marinading

 

Heat a grill over high heat.  Place meat and vegetables on a piece of foil on the grill, or use a grill basket.  Cook until beef is cooked through and vegetables are tender.

 

Alternatively, you can add 1 tablespoon of oil to a wok and heat over medium-high heat.  Cook beef and onions in the wok until meat is cooked through.  Add in any other vegetables and cover, continuing to cook until vegetables are tender, stirring often.

Serve with rice, if desired.

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