Potato Tacos

The recipe called these "Idaho Tacos" but I decided that seemed hokey.

1 lb. ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning
4 hot baked potatoes
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Salsa
Green onions

In a skillet, brown beef and drain.  Add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions.  With a sharp knife, slice open potatoes and fluff pulp.  Top each with taco meat and other toppings of choice.

Vegetable Beef Casserole

3 medium unpeeled potatoes, sliced
4 carrots, sliced
4 celery ribs, sliced
2 C. fresh or frozen green beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef (cooked or raw)
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese

In a 3 quart casserole, layer half of the potatoes, carrots, celery, green beans, and onion.  Crumble half of the beef over vegetables.  Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. each thyme, salt, and pepper.  Repeat both layers.  Top with tomatoes.  Cover and bake at 400 for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 and bake about 1 hour longer or until vegetables are done.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover and let stand until cheese is melted.

Beef Stuffed French Bread

Oh, this was so super delicious.

1 loaf french bread
1 lb. ground beef
1 can (10 oz.) cheddar cheese soup
1 green pepper, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 T. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 slices cheese, halved

Slice bread so you have long top and bottom halves.  Carefully cut out a small portion of the inside of the bottom half to make room for all the filling.  Cut removed bread into small chunks and set aside.  In a skillet, brown hamburger.  Add soup, green pepper, celery, worchestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.  Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes.  Stir in the reserved bread crumbs.  Spread into bread shell.  Top with cheese.  Replace top half of bread.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Hash Brown Beef Pie

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

Topping:
3 C. frozen hash browns, thawed and drained
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

In a large skillet, cook beef, onion, and garlic.  Stir in tomatoes, chili powder, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.  Stir in the vegetables.  Pour into greased 9-inch pie plate.  (I used my 8x8 glass dish.)  Combine topping ingredients and spoon evenly over the meat mixture.  Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Tips & Tricks:
- Whenever a recipe calls for a can of tomatoes I use fresh chopped tomatoes instead.  It's healthier and tastier.  And if you grew them yourself, it's cheaper!!  One whole tomato or 2-3 roma tomatoes generally equals about a 14 ounce can.  Don't worry about the fact that the can has a bunch of juice in it.  It came from the tomatoes inside in the canning process.  So once your chopped tomato cooks a little you'll be fine.  But if it seems a little too dry, add a tiny bit of water.

Pizza Mac Casserole

1 lb. ground beef
2 C. elbow macaroni, cooked and drained (really any type of noodle you want)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
28 oz. pizza sauce
2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese

In a skillet, brown beef.  Add macaroni, onion, green pepper, and sauce.  Pour into greased 2 1/2 quart baking dish.  Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Uncover and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

My friend Melissa gave me this recipe and it is AWESOME!!!  I did change a couple amounts when I doubled it though.  We ate a little about half and I have the other half in the freezer for easy supper another night!

1 lb. hamburger
8 slices bacon, chopped (I used turkey bacon.  I like it better & I don't have to cook it first.)
1/2 onion, chopped
4 potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cans chicken or beef broth (I used a little over 2 cups water plus bouillon granules.)
2 lb. Velveeta, cubed
2 cans cream soup of your choice

Brown hamburger with onion.  Add everything together into a soup pot except the Velveeta.  Simmer until the potatoes are done to your liking.  Add the Velveeta.  Heat until melted and heated through and serve.

Beef Taco Salad

1 lb. hamburger
2 T. chili powder or packet of taco seasoning
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed tomato soup
8 C. lettuce (more or less)
3 C. tortilla chips or Fritos
Chopped tomato
Sliced green onion
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sliced black olives
Sour cream
Salsa
Refried beans

Cook hamburger in a skillet.  Add soup and seasoning.  Heat through until hot and bubbly.  Place lettuce and chips onto plates.  Spoon hamburger mixture over the chips.  Top with a combination of your favorite taco toppings.

Baked Parmesan Meatballs

1 lb. ground beef
¾ C. Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced (or ¼ tsp. garlic powder)

Mix all ingredients together. Shape into 10 2-inch meatballs. Place in foil-lined pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Spicy Orange Beef and Broccoli

12 oz. flank or sirloin steak, cut across grain into thin strips
1 T. fresh ginger (or 1/8 tsp. ground ginger)
3 T. corn starch, divided
3 T. orange juice
2 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. beef bouillon granules
1 T. sugar
¼ to ½ tsp. crushed red pepper
½ C. water
2 T. oil
3 C. broccoli florets

Toss steak, ginger, and 1 T. corn starch in medium bowl to coat meat lightly and set aside. Stir juice, soy sauce, bouillon granules, sugar, red pepper, water, and 2 T. corn starch in small bowl until blended. Heat oil in wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add beef and stir-fry for 2 minutes until nearly cooked through. Add broccoli and stir-fry 3 minutes or just until tender. Stir soy sauce mixture until blended and pour into wok/skillet. Stirring constantly, bring to boil. Boil 1 minute. Serve with hot rice or pasta.

Chipped Beef on Toast

This is really just a white sauce with meat in it.

Dried beef, cut up
Toast
1 T. butter
1 T. flour
⅛ tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
¾ cup milk

In a saucepan melt butter. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Add beef and more seasonings as desired. Serve generously over top of toast.

Tricks & Ideas
-We don’t even use actual dried beef anymore. We use Carl Buddig-type lunchmeat and just cut it up. It’s cheaper and faster that way.
-Make sure you make up lots of toast before you sit down so you don't have to keep getting up to make more when you decide you can't stop eating it!
-This is a good thing to make lots of so you have leftovers. All you have to do it warm it up and make toast.
-This is such a hit I usually make 4 times the recipe. I have written on my white sauce recipe that a double batch is enough for 6-7 pieces of toast.

Shepard’s Pie

Several potatoes
1 lb. hamburger
Chopped onions
Frozen vegetables
Cheddar cheese

Cook and mash potatoes.  Brown hamburger with a few onions.  Put hamburger in bottom of a square baking dish.  Put frozen vegetables over top of the hamburger.  Add a thick layer of mashed potatoes, pressing down on surface.  Add desired amount of cheese to the top.  Bake at 350 degrees until heated through.

Tricks & Ideas
-Using leftover mashed potatoes is a great time-saver.
-Cook up your hamburger on the weekend when you have more time and store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Porcupine Meatballs

1 pound hamburger
1 cup minute rice or mostly cooked regular rice
1 tsp. salt
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Mix meat, rice, and salt together. Make meatballs no larger than golf ball size and place in a cold skillet. Cover with soup and cover. Simmer over medium heat about 20 minutes, occasionally turning meatballs to brown all sides.

Sloppy Joe Bake

1 pound hamburger
1 can mushroom soup
Ketchup, mustard, & brown sugar to taste
1 ½ cups bisquick
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Brown hamburger. Stir in soup, ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar. Spoon into greased 9x13 pan. Stir bisquick, milk, and eggs with a fork until blended. Carefully pour over hamburger mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Tricks & Ideas
-Cook up your hamburger on the weekend when you have more time and store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Tater Tot Casserole

I know people probably know all about how to make this.  But you never know!

1 pound hamburger
Chopped onions
1 can cream soup
1 bag tater tots
Frozen vegetables

Brown hamburger with a few onions. Mix half of the soup with the hamburger and put the mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Put a small layer of any sort of frozen vegetables over the meat. Dump and arrange tater tots over top of vegetables. Spoon the rest of the soup over top of the tater tots. Bake uncovered until tater tots are crispy, about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Tricks & Ideas
-You can use any cream soup – chicken, mushroom, celery…
-We also like to put a little shredded cheese on before the tater tots.
-Use a bag of tater tots that have onions and stuff in them and you won't have to cut up onions.
-Cook up your hamburger on the weekend when you have more time and store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Cheesy Hamburger & Noodles

We always liked to say my dad invented this.

Egg noodles
1 can of cheese soup
1 lb. hamburger
Chopped onions

Cook noodles according to package directions. Brown hamburger with a few onions. Add cheese soup and stir together until soup melts a bit and is hot. You may need to add a little salt.  Depending on the amount of noodles you used you may also want to add some shredded or sliced cheese and melt it.  Stir together drained noodles and hamburger mixture.

Tricks & Ideas
-You can also use the nacho cheese soup or the cheese soup with broccoli.
-Cook up the hamburger with the onions on the weekend when you have more time and store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Cream Cheese Chicken Soup

This one might seem like a lot of work.  But it is SO worth it!

1 small onion, chopped
1 T. butter
3 cups chicken broth
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium potatoes, cubed
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
2 T. parsley
¼ cup flour
1 cup milk
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, cubed

Saute onion in butter. Add broth, carrots, and potatoes. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add chicken, parsley, salt, and pepper. Heat through. Combine flour and milk until smooth. Add to vegetable mixture and bring to boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat. Add cream cheese. Cook and stir until melted.

Tricks & Ideas
-Cut up the raw chicken and boil it in water to cook it. Then you have your chicken broth.
-Remember, you can always use low fat or fat free cream cheese.