Mom's Hamburger Casserole

Growing up, my mom would cook dinner for us every night.....maybe that's where I get this from. Anyway, she never took the easy way out. I didn't have Hamburger Helper until I met Jason (very telling, isn't it?). Tonight, I pulled out a recipe that mom would make for us all the time. It sort of reminds me of Hamburger Helper, but way better. It definately brought back some good memories eating this tonight....enjoy my mom's Hamburger Casserole.

Hamburger Casserole:
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Salt & Pepper
1 small can corn
1 small can tomato sauce
2 cans of water (just use the tomato sauce can)
5 shakes of Worcester Sauce (I maybe used 10 shakes)
3/4 of a package of egg noodles (not sure why you don't use the entire bag, but just don't)
Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Brown ground beef and onion in a large oven-safe skillet.
2. Add garlic and salt/pepper.
3. In another pot, cook the egg noodles according to package directions (about 8 minutes).
4. Once ground beef is cooked, add corn, tomato sauce, Worcester sauce.
5. Add cooked egg noodles to meat mixture.
6. Top with cheddar cheese and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.


Here's what the finished product looks like.....way better than anything from a box, and it's really easy. The Worcester is the secret to making this so good....that and all the cheese on top.

Taco Salad

Tonight was the end of a long weekend and we were both pooped. Taco salad was the only answer. There are a million different ways to do this and the toppings are endless. Here's our version, which is very little salad and lots of meat and cheese.

Taco Salad:

16 oz Velveeta

1 - 4 oz can of diced green chiles

1 can of Rotel

1 package of sausage (we used Jimmy Dean Mild)

1 lb ground beef

1 package taco seasoning

Lettuce

Tortilla Chips

Toppings:
Chopped green onions

Sour cream

Chopped tomatoes

Taco Sauce
Guacamole

Directions:

1. Brown sausage in a pot and crumble

2. Drain grease

3. Chop Velveeta and add to sausage

4. Add Rotel and stir over low heat until all melted

5. In a skillet, brown ground beef

6. Add taco seasoning

7. Assemble salad by layering chips, lettuce, meat, cheese dip, and then toppings.

Stuffed Green Pepper Soup

I love the idea of stuffed peppers, but I always wind up eating the filling and leaving the pepper. I just never want to take a big bite out of a green pepper. When I found this recipe, I thought it was brilliant. This tastes even better than stuffed peppers because the peppers are chopped up into small pieces and you still have all that great filling. I served this with garlic bread...it just felt right.

Stuffed Green Pepper Soup:
2 lbs ground round
3 small green peppers, chopped with seeds removed
1 small onion, chopped
1 can chicken broth
1 - 14.5 ounce can peeled, crushed tomatoes
2 - 10 ounce cans tomato sauce
3 cups white rice, cooked
8-10 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. In a soup pot, cook ground beef in olive oil until browned
2. Add chopped onion and peppers and cook for 8 minutes
3. Drain grease
4. Add salt & pepper, chicken broth, tomatoes, and tomato sauce
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes
6. Cook rice (I used Minute rice) in a separate pot

** The recipe says to add rice to each bowl and then top with soup....I added all the cooked rice after the soup had cooked. I really like this better. The rice absorbs some of the liquid, so it ends up a little more on the stew side than a real soup, but it turned out great. This recipe makes a lot, but we froze the leftovers for another night.

Potato Box

We call this meal Potato Box and it's another one of those quick fix meals that is ready in about 30 minutes (and it couldn't be easier). We think Jason's brother Jeff would love this meal for some reason. Maybe it's the combination of ground beef and potatoes from a box, maybe it's the bread crumb topping, or just call it a hunch. Either way, this dinner is in heavy rotation at our house because of how easy and delicious it is.






Potato Box
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 box of potatoes (we've used juliene, scalloped, hashbrown, they're all great with this)
1 small onion, chopped (optional)
Bread Crumbs
Spray Butter
*Some box potato packages call for milk, so make sure you have about a cup on hand


1. Brown ground beef and one small onion in a skillet
2. Drain grease
3. Assemble potatoes according to package directions (add water & milk to dry potatoes and place in a casserole dish)
4. Add ground beef & onion to potatoes before placing into the oven
5. Top with bread crumbs and give it a few hits of spray butter
6. Bake according to package directions


The result is wonderful and if you try this, you'll probably be thanking us for changing your life with this recipe.

Chili

Most people think chili has to slow cook all day, but in reality it can be ready in as little as 15 minutes. This is our easy chili recipe that you can tweak as needed. If chili seems like a chore to you, make sure and try our easy version.

1 lb. ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 large onion, diced
4 - 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
1 can chili beans (we don't like too many beans in our chili)
1 packet of McCormick Mild Chili Seasoning
1 packet of McCormick Hot Chili Seasoning

Toppings:
Cheddar or Pepper Jack Cheese
Sour Cream
Fritos

Really, just follow the directions on the back of the chili seasoning packets. If you don't want to read that, just do the following:

1. Brown ground beef and onions in a large pot

2. Drain grease
3. Add tomato sauce, chili seasoning, and beans
4. Bring mixture to a boil and then let simmer for at least 15 minutes