Someone posted a recipe for Carrot Chowder on a fb group I am a part of that looked interesting. I played with it and created this yummy Chowder. We served it with Cook's Illustrated Croissant rolls (which I will have to post - so good!) we had in the freezer. Yum! The kids really liked it.
Carrot Chowder
1/2 stick butter
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 LBS bag carrots, chopped about 2 1/2 to 3 cups
1 QT V8 juice (the tomato kind)
1 1/2 cup water
1 LBS ground hamburger, cooked (or ground turkey, ground chicken, or smoked sausage - or omit for a vegetarian dish)
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp salt
2 can cream chicken or cream celery soup
2 cups uncooked barley
In a large stock pot with a lid, melt butter on medium heat. Add celery, onion, garlic, and carrots. Cook until tender, stirring often (may need to turn up the temperature and add a little of the water - you don't want them to burn). Add water and V8. Using an immersion blender, blend the vegetable mixture (this is optional, but I like the texture). Add ground beef, green peppers, spices, cream soups, and barley. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Halloween - this is a really bright orange color which would be fun to serve for Halloween dinner. Pack in the veggies before the candy!
Showing posts with label Ground Beef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ground Beef. Show all posts
Mar 15, 2013
Jan 11, 2013
Garden Veggie Pasta Bake
Garden Veggie Pasta Bake
(makes 2 9x13)
10 cups cooked pasta (see note below)
3 jars 24oz Garden Vegetable pasta sauce (my favorite is Prego)
2 LBS cooked ground beef (could omit to make it vegetarian)
2 PKG 16oz frozen California-style veggies, thawed or added to pasta water (or
Italian - the mix my local store carried had snap peas which I like fresh but
not frozen so look for a veggie mix that appeals to you and your family)
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
16 oz shredded mozzarella
The inspiration for this came from a recipe I found on-line y-e-a-r-s ago and I have lost where it came from. I did change it a little, but the concept is still the same. I love how the veggies are hiding in the yummy pasta!
Oct 31, 2012
Halloween Dinner Ideas
Happy Halloween! I like Halloween now, I LOVED Halloween as a kid. One problem that parents can have is how to get your kids to eat something healthy before they go gorge on candy. In thinking of what I'm going to do this morning, I decided to post some of my favorite ideas.
Dead Man Over Worms
This recipe I saw years ago on some foodnetwork show. Basically, take your favorite meatloaf recipe (I will give the one they provide, but I figure it would be easy enough to use your own!), and shape the meatloaf into a "man." Kind of more like a gingerbread at attention look (don't want the arms and legs to overcook) - but you get the idea. Cook as directed, and serve over spaghetti noodles with the "blood" sauce on the side.
here is the recipe from the show. It makes a really big dead man:
Dead Man Meatloaf
3 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 slices French bread torn into bits
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup finally chopped onion (or grate)
1 cup shredded Cheddar
1 TBS chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves (or 1/2 for dried)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bouquet garni (can leave out)
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 LBS lean ground beef
1 LBS mild Italian sausage
1 (16) oz package spaghetti noodles
"Blood" Sauce
1 cup tomato ketchup
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp prepared mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup)
Preheat Oven 350
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add milk, bread, and oatmeal. Stir in carrots, onions, cheese, herbs, and seasoning. Add beef and sausage and mix well. In a shallow baking dish, shape beef mixture into the shape of a body. Round fall for head, oval shape for body, mounding up for tummy. Shape arms and place next to body. Shape legs and place next to each other, not apart. Smooth meatloaf so the seams are not apparent. Bake for 45 minutes or until the meat is cooked through.
While baking combine topping ingredients. Cook spaghetti noodles. Set aside.
After 45 minutes spoon half of the sauce over the meatloaf. return to the oven and continue baking an additional 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes.
Put spaghetti noodles on a tray, carefully place meatloaf on top of spaghetti noodles.
To serve, place a knife in the "heart" of the meatloaf man. Serve with extra "blood sauce."
Shrunken Heads
I got this one from the same episode as mentioned above. You could easily take the idea and use your own stuffing recipe.
3 slices bacon
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
6 medium (I'd say the bigger the better personally) Granny Smith apples (or other firm, large apples)
2 TBS freshly grated Parmesan
2 TBS butter at room temperature (it calls for unsalted, but don't fret too much if you only have salted)
2 tsp whole-grain mustard
3 TBS balsamic vinegar
Tip: use pumpkin carving tools, melon baler, and bamboo skewers to create features of the face.
Preheat oven 350
Slice bacon into small cubes. Saute over medium heat until brown and crispy. Remove bacon to a paper town lined plate and discard all but 1 TBS of the drippings. Saute onion in drippings about 3 minutes and add garlic. Cook until onion is translucent and beginning to brown. So not allow garlic to brown (I'd say wait to add the garlic until the very end). Reduce heat if needed. Add bread crumbs and cooked bacon and toss. Remove from heat and allow to cool in pan.
With melon baler, remove core from apple starting at the top (stem end). Only dig about halfway down into the apple to remove the core, but do not go all the way through. You should now have a well in the apple about 1 inch wide and 2 inches deep. With a paring knife, carefully carve a face into the side of the apple, not going all the way through.
To the cooled filling add Parm, butter, mustard, and 1 TBS of balsamic vinegar. Stuff apples with filling and place in a baking dish so that they do not touch. For bet results, have carved faces toward the outside of the dish and drizzle the remaining 2 TBS balsamic on the outside of the apples over the cut features.
Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hour, until the apples is soft.
Jack O'Lantern Stew
One of my best friends likes to make this in a full sized pumpkin, but you could use small individual pumpkins or any gords you want. This particular recipe is from that same Food Network show, but that is not the first time I have heard of doing this. Again, take the idea and get creative with the filling!
1 (9-12 inch) pumpkin
1 large onion
1 green pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
1 red pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
4 carrots, thinly sliced into rounds
3 celery sticks thinly sliced and diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 LBS lean ground beef
1 LBS ground chicken or turkey
2 cups cooked rice
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 large can tomato soup
Preheat 350
cup the top off the pumpkin and scoop out the insides. Rinse well. Carve a spooky face on to the pumpkin without going all the way through. Rinse well, oil outside of pumpkin. Bake pumpkin shell for 30 minutes.
While the shell is baking, saute the onions, peppers, carrots, celery, and garlic until the veggies begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Brown ground beef and chicken. Add the veggies and cooked rice and cook over low heat stirring often for 10-15 minutes to let flavors meld.
Remove pumpkin from the oven and let stand 15 minutes. Stir the tomatoes and soup into the meat mixture. Place meat mixture into pumpkin. Put back in oven for 20 minutes. Serve on a platter with cheesy biscuits.
Mummy Dogs
This and the next recipes are my go to for Halloween because my kids are still so young and don't eat very much. So very cute.
hot dogs
crescent rolls
mustard and/or ketchup
Slice hot dogs in half (in the middle, NOT length wise)
Unwrap crescent rolls and slice into strips with pizza cutter.
Wrap hot dogs in the strips leaving a space where the face should be.
Bake 375 for 13-18 minutes. Take out of the oven and when cooled slightly, make mustard or ketchup eyes where you have left a space where the face should be.
Candy Corn Pizza
I can't remember where I saw this, but it is easy a quick for that picky eater.
1 pizza crust
orange cheddar
white cheese of your choice
Use with either a white or red sauce, but if using red sauce, keep it away from the edge so it doesn't show. Or you could do no sauce. In the center of the pizza, make an orange circle of cheese. Next, make a white circle of cheese around that - dart board fashion. The lastly, orange again. Bake according to the directions on the crust. When you cut slices, it should look like a piece of candy corn - well at least mostly :o)
Dead Man Over Worms
This recipe I saw years ago on some foodnetwork show. Basically, take your favorite meatloaf recipe (I will give the one they provide, but I figure it would be easy enough to use your own!), and shape the meatloaf into a "man." Kind of more like a gingerbread at attention look (don't want the arms and legs to overcook) - but you get the idea. Cook as directed, and serve over spaghetti noodles with the "blood" sauce on the side.
here is the recipe from the show. It makes a really big dead man:
Dead Man Meatloaf
3 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 slices French bread torn into bits
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup finally chopped onion (or grate)
1 cup shredded Cheddar
1 TBS chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves (or 1/2 for dried)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bouquet garni (can leave out)
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 LBS lean ground beef
1 LBS mild Italian sausage
1 (16) oz package spaghetti noodles
"Blood" Sauce
1 cup tomato ketchup
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp prepared mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup)
Preheat Oven 350
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add milk, bread, and oatmeal. Stir in carrots, onions, cheese, herbs, and seasoning. Add beef and sausage and mix well. In a shallow baking dish, shape beef mixture into the shape of a body. Round fall for head, oval shape for body, mounding up for tummy. Shape arms and place next to body. Shape legs and place next to each other, not apart. Smooth meatloaf so the seams are not apparent. Bake for 45 minutes or until the meat is cooked through.
While baking combine topping ingredients. Cook spaghetti noodles. Set aside.
After 45 minutes spoon half of the sauce over the meatloaf. return to the oven and continue baking an additional 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes.
Put spaghetti noodles on a tray, carefully place meatloaf on top of spaghetti noodles.
To serve, place a knife in the "heart" of the meatloaf man. Serve with extra "blood sauce."
Shrunken Heads
I got this one from the same episode as mentioned above. You could easily take the idea and use your own stuffing recipe.
3 slices bacon
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
6 medium (I'd say the bigger the better personally) Granny Smith apples (or other firm, large apples)
2 TBS freshly grated Parmesan
2 TBS butter at room temperature (it calls for unsalted, but don't fret too much if you only have salted)
2 tsp whole-grain mustard
3 TBS balsamic vinegar
Tip: use pumpkin carving tools, melon baler, and bamboo skewers to create features of the face.
Preheat oven 350
Slice bacon into small cubes. Saute over medium heat until brown and crispy. Remove bacon to a paper town lined plate and discard all but 1 TBS of the drippings. Saute onion in drippings about 3 minutes and add garlic. Cook until onion is translucent and beginning to brown. So not allow garlic to brown (I'd say wait to add the garlic until the very end). Reduce heat if needed. Add bread crumbs and cooked bacon and toss. Remove from heat and allow to cool in pan.
With melon baler, remove core from apple starting at the top (stem end). Only dig about halfway down into the apple to remove the core, but do not go all the way through. You should now have a well in the apple about 1 inch wide and 2 inches deep. With a paring knife, carefully carve a face into the side of the apple, not going all the way through.
To the cooled filling add Parm, butter, mustard, and 1 TBS of balsamic vinegar. Stuff apples with filling and place in a baking dish so that they do not touch. For bet results, have carved faces toward the outside of the dish and drizzle the remaining 2 TBS balsamic on the outside of the apples over the cut features.
Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hour, until the apples is soft.
Jack O'Lantern Stew
One of my best friends likes to make this in a full sized pumpkin, but you could use small individual pumpkins or any gords you want. This particular recipe is from that same Food Network show, but that is not the first time I have heard of doing this. Again, take the idea and get creative with the filling!
1 (9-12 inch) pumpkin
1 large onion
1 green pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
1 red pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
4 carrots, thinly sliced into rounds
3 celery sticks thinly sliced and diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 LBS lean ground beef
1 LBS ground chicken or turkey
2 cups cooked rice
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 large can tomato soup
Preheat 350
cup the top off the pumpkin and scoop out the insides. Rinse well. Carve a spooky face on to the pumpkin without going all the way through. Rinse well, oil outside of pumpkin. Bake pumpkin shell for 30 minutes.
While the shell is baking, saute the onions, peppers, carrots, celery, and garlic until the veggies begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Brown ground beef and chicken. Add the veggies and cooked rice and cook over low heat stirring often for 10-15 minutes to let flavors meld.
Remove pumpkin from the oven and let stand 15 minutes. Stir the tomatoes and soup into the meat mixture. Place meat mixture into pumpkin. Put back in oven for 20 minutes. Serve on a platter with cheesy biscuits.
Mummy Dogs
This and the next recipes are my go to for Halloween because my kids are still so young and don't eat very much. So very cute.
hot dogs
crescent rolls
mustard and/or ketchup
Slice hot dogs in half (in the middle, NOT length wise)
Unwrap crescent rolls and slice into strips with pizza cutter.
Wrap hot dogs in the strips leaving a space where the face should be.
Bake 375 for 13-18 minutes. Take out of the oven and when cooled slightly, make mustard or ketchup eyes where you have left a space where the face should be.
Candy Corn Pizza
I can't remember where I saw this, but it is easy a quick for that picky eater.
1 pizza crust
orange cheddar
white cheese of your choice
Use with either a white or red sauce, but if using red sauce, keep it away from the edge so it doesn't show. Or you could do no sauce. In the center of the pizza, make an orange circle of cheese. Next, make a white circle of cheese around that - dart board fashion. The lastly, orange again. Bake according to the directions on the crust. When you cut slices, it should look like a piece of candy corn - well at least mostly :o)
Sep 9, 2008
Beginner’s Sheppard's Pie
This is a whip-together Rachael recipe that is very simple. It doesn't even really need a recipe. Once you make it a time or two, you can whip it up with whatever you have on hand - most veggies work, different flavored potatoes (garlic and herb was good)- you get the idea. Believe me, anyone can make this.
Sheppard's Pie
1 LBS ground beef
1 package instant potato (Idaho Potatoes are good)(I sometimes use more - it depends on what you like)
1 10oz bag of frozen veggies, your choice (peas, carrots, corn, green beans, a mix)
OR 1-2 cans veggies (how thick you veggie layer is a personal preference. I personally like it just thick enough to cover the beef)
Preheat oven to 350. Brown beef in large skillet. While the meat is cooking, microwave veggies according to package directions. Make potatoes according to directions. Drain the beef when all the pink is gone and all the beef is cooked through. Place drained beef in a 8X8 pan. Top with veggies, then potatoes. Bake 20-30minutes until hot. Turn oven up to broil for a few minutes to slightly brown the top (if desired).
Sheppard's Pie
1 LBS ground beef
1 package instant potato (Idaho Potatoes are good)(I sometimes use more - it depends on what you like)
1 10oz bag of frozen veggies, your choice (peas, carrots, corn, green beans, a mix)
OR 1-2 cans veggies (how thick you veggie layer is a personal preference. I personally like it just thick enough to cover the beef)
Preheat oven to 350. Brown beef in large skillet. While the meat is cooking, microwave veggies according to package directions. Make potatoes according to directions. Drain the beef when all the pink is gone and all the beef is cooked through. Place drained beef in a 8X8 pan. Top with veggies, then potatoes. Bake 20-30minutes until hot. Turn oven up to broil for a few minutes to slightly brown the top (if desired).
Aug 12, 2008
Not yo' mama's Taco Soup
This is another one from Chrisy's family collection. I don't know what is so special about this recipe. I can tell you that I've given it the above title because we have had NUMEROUS guests tell us after, "When you said Taco Soup was for dinner I though 'Oh Great.' My mom used to make taco soup and it was never very good. But this was fantastic!" I am not joking! So even if your memories of Taco Soup leave you wanting (or gagging), give it another try with this super easy, super yummy recipe. (I even made it this time to show you pictures! Mostly because my brother was coming to visit and I knew it would feed the "human garbage disposal" as we so delicately call him)
Ingredients:
1 LB Ground Beef
1 pouch Taco Seasoning
1 can kidney beans
1 can of corn
1 can of diced tomatoes (pre-seasoned OK)
1 large jar of tomato sauce (I always use our left over spaghetti sauce)
1 cup of water or more as needed
cheddar
sour cream
tortilla chips
Brown your ground beef and drain the fat. Add taco seasoning to meet according to package directions.
Add remaining ingredients (NOT cheese, sour cream, or tortillas). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let it cook, covered, a few hours, stirring occasionally, adding water if necessary. You can also do this in a crock pot. It will take longer to cook - 4-5 hours. For me, I just do it on the stove because I have to brown the beef anyway - why make more dishes for myself?
I have to get a final picture and I will. I was so hungry and it smelt so good, I forgot :^)
Top with cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you like) and/or sour cream and eat with tortilla chips. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 LB Ground Beef
1 pouch Taco Seasoning
1 can kidney beans
1 can of corn
1 can of diced tomatoes (pre-seasoned OK)
1 large jar of tomato sauce (I always use our left over spaghetti sauce)
1 cup of water or more as needed
cheddar
sour cream
tortilla chips
Brown your ground beef and drain the fat. Add taco seasoning to meet according to package directions. 
Add remaining ingredients (NOT cheese, sour cream, or tortillas). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let it cook, covered, a few hours, stirring occasionally, adding water if necessary. You can also do this in a crock pot. It will take longer to cook - 4-5 hours. For me, I just do it on the stove because I have to brown the beef anyway - why make more dishes for myself? I have to get a final picture and I will. I was so hungry and it smelt so good, I forgot :^)
Top with cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you like) and/or sour cream and eat with tortilla chips. Enjoy!
Jul 25, 2008
The Simplest Sweet and Sour Meatballs
On to the strangest two ingredients you would ever have thought to put together - or never thought to put together. I actually thought my sister-in-law had gone a little nuts when I saw chili sauce in her pantry. Her kids won't even eat tomato sauce let alone anything even CLOSE to chili sauce. I truly thought the stress of the past year had finally gotten to her and she just bought whatever she could at the grocery store. Oh no, there is logic to the madness. So here is the Sweet and Sour Meatball recipe I got from her, who got it from her mom, who got it from???? Well it is one of those.
1 12oz jar of CHILI SAUCE (look in the salad dressing isle)
1 16oz of GRAPE JELLY
1 2lb bag of meatballs
Combine chili sauce and jelly in either a pot on the stove or a slow cooker. Melt the two together, stirring frequently (slow cooker on high). Add meatballs. If cooking in a slow cooker, let them simmer on LOW all day if you can. They are the best this way. But you don't have to do this. You can cook them on the stove (covered) on low to med-low until the meatballs are heated all the way through. I serve over rice for dinner, but I also just EAT THEM because they are so good. You choose.
1 12oz jar of CHILI SAUCE (look in the salad dressing isle)
1 16oz of GRAPE JELLY
1 2lb bag of meatballs
Combine chili sauce and jelly in either a pot on the stove or a slow cooker. Melt the two together, stirring frequently (slow cooker on high). Add meatballs. If cooking in a slow cooker, let them simmer on LOW all day if you can. They are the best this way. But you don't have to do this. You can cook them on the stove (covered) on low to med-low until the meatballs are heated all the way through. I serve over rice for dinner, but I also just EAT THEM because they are so good. You choose.
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