Meatball.Soup.Yum!

I have had meatball soup just a few times in my life and it was always some sort of grocery store deli version...
which I've always liked...
and normally grocery store deli soups aren't the greatest...
So that got me to thinking...
if I like the grocery store deli version then how about I take a stab at making a homemade version...

so I searched for a few recipes online ...there are a ton...

source: For the Love of Cooking

and had one in a cookbook here at home...
so in true-to-me fashion...
I made a combo version using ingredients that I had on hand,
making a recipe for the very first time, and not sticking to the recipe...

Hearty Meatball Soup
Meatball recipe*
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 egg
1 cloves of garlic, grated or chopped
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Dried oregano, to taste

Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs together and form small balls, I made them smaller than I would make meatballs, more bite sized. Chill for 30 minutes.

Soup
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sweet yellow onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp Dried oregano
1 bay leaf
6 cups of beef broth
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 can white kidney beans or garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup pasta of your choice (my choice, orecchiette, the ones shaped like yamaka)
2 cups spinach rinsed and chopped
2 cups of green cabbage, chopped
Parmesan cheese, garnish


Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat, add the meatballs and cook for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned all over. Remove the meatballs to a plate. Cover with foil and set aside.

Turn the stove down to medium low and add butter, onions, carrot, & celery. Cook stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes, scrapping the meatball goodness off the bottom of the pot. Add the bay leaf, beef broth, tomato paste to the pot, season with oregano, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Cover with a lid and let the soup simmer for 1 hour. Add the meatballs, pasta, beans, spinach and cabbage to the soup, cook until pasta is done (depends on the pasta you use) taste and re-season, if needed. Serve topped with Parmesan and some good crusty bread for dipping.

the family ate this up...it will for sure be on our menu a few more times this winter...
and bonus, we had enough for a few leftover meals this week!

*in a hurry, use frozen meatballs.

Bluster Busting Beef Stew

Yesterday was a blustery day....
a good ol' tie down the patio furniture windy day!
and yep, mother-of-the-year...
I checked the weather on Google like every good mother does before her kids pick out their clothes for school...
it 'said' 70...
pretty yellow sun, shiny all bright, no clouds

so I told them to pick out shorts and tee's...
this is where the mother-of-the-year part comes...
I just glanced at Google...didn't really study it...
and I wasn't looking at the weather for Redding...
I was looking at the weather for Kelseyville (where the in-laws live)
Redding did have the pretty sun...
but also the note of '25 mph winds'....

yeah, so um....it didn't feel like 70...poor freezing kids
to redeem my mother-of-the-year award I decided to make a cozy dinner
made-in-the-bread-machine 'homemade' bread with soak-your-bread-in-the-broth-stew...

Beef Stew recipes are all over the web...I have 'pinned' a few on pintrest

source Brown Eyed Baker

I looked over a few recipes online and in my own cookbooks...and not wanting to run to the store for anything...this is what I came up with a combo of all the recipes I looked at and what was in my fridge and pantry...

Blustey Day Beef Stew
1-1 1/2  lbs. beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 in. cubes ( I look for it on sale already cubed)
Salt and ground pepper
1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
3-4 stalks of celery chopped, including leaves
1 medium garlic cloves, chopped or grated
3 tablespoons  flour
5 cups beef broth, divided (or 5 cups warm water and 5 tsp beef bullion)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 medium  potatoes, washed and cut into 1-in. cubes (don't peel...more vitamins)
6-8 carrots (about 1 lb.), peeled and sliced 1/4 in. thick

Dry beef with paper towel and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat and brown beef with Worcestershire sauce, about 8 min.

Remove beef and add onions, celery, and 1/4 tsp salt and cook, scraping bottom of pan for brown bits until softened (about 5 mins). Add garlic and continue to cook for 30 sec. Stir in the flour and cook until lightly colored (1-2 min.). Add 1 cup of broth and vinegar, scraping the bottom and stiring until thick and flour is dissolved.
Gradually add the remaining beef broth, stirring constantly, scraping up the remaining browned bits on bottom of pan. Add bay leaves and thyme and return to simmer. Add beef, return to simmer, reduce heat to med-low, and cover. Simmer for 25 min.
Add potatoes and carrots, leave uncovered, increase heat to medium and cook for additional 30-45 min

if you like a thicker stew this is when you would add a mixture of 1/4 cup broth and 1 tablespoon flour (stir together before adding to stew, and slow stir into stew...I like brothy stew...so I didn't do this.

Also I HATE dislike peas (the one veggie I don't like, I even like Brussels sprouts....), but you can add a bag of frozen peas at the end, just rinse them in water, drain and put in stew the last 5-10 minutes

Discard bay leaves (or not, we always said the person that ended up with the bay leaf was exempt from dishes...and then it only ever worked for my dad for some reason!), adjust seasoning and serve with warm bread.
..
We had enough left over to bag and freeze

Yea for easy dinner some day next week...or month (I guess next month is next week!)

cozy soup day

who doesn't love soup on a rainy day...

and even better, putting soup in the crock pot in the morning and letting the smells drift thru the house all day long....

I'm putting a batch of Crock-Pot Minestrone soup on, and cutting up extra stuff, going to run over to my friend Kim's house later this morning and put a batch into her crock pot also...

blog note...when taking a meal to a friend think outside the box...are they okay with you coming into their home and prep-ing the meal there?...would they be okay with you coming over in the morning and putting the meal in their own crock pot?

...this is a good easy soup that is full of flavor and tons of veggies...but mild that kids love it...
it's also easy to make on the stove top...and actual this was a stove top recipe that I changed into a crock pot one...
it's also a very versatile recipe to make vegetarian or to use what you have on hand...clean out the fridge and pantry on this one...

Throw Down-Clean out the Pantry Minestrone Soup
1 lb ground beef (optional, leave out for vegetarian or change to ground turkey or pork or sausage)
1 medium onion, chopped about 1/2 cup
1 clove garlic, grated or chopped
2 cups spinach, chopped (cabbage or kale can be substituted)
1 can broth (beef, chicken, veggie) or
     1 1/4 cup water and 2 tsp beef or chicken bouillon
1/4 cup fresh basil-chopped (or 1 tsp dried basil or Italian seasoning)
3-4 cups veggies
     chopped celery, sliced carrots, zucchini, squash, green beans (fresh, canned, or frozen), corn (fresh, canned or frozen) etc...don't count the spinach from above in the 3-4 cups or the tomatoes below
1 can chopped tomatoes, undrained
1 can beans, undrained-kidney (red or white), black, your choice
1 cup shell pasta (or whatever you have on hand, small tortellinis or raviolis also work)
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese to top

1.  Brown ground beef in skillet with onion and garlic, drain and put into crock pot.
2.  Add all other ingredients except pasta and cheese...cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.  about one hour before serving add pasta to the crock pot and stir.  Soup is done with pasta is tender.
3.  Serve warm with cheese on top....and with fresh bread if you can!

all the stuff just thrown into the crock...pre-pasta of course!

this is so great on a rainy day like today...can't wait for dinner...I also threw a batch of French bread into my bread maker...

I highly recommend people use their bread machines...so many have them and leave them in the dark corner of their pantry or out in the garage, pull it out, dust it off and throw in a nice batch of bread....if you don't have one you can always find them at thrift stores or yard sales or on clearance sales this time of year.

What's for Dinner?

so this was on my menu for this past week...
but with a house full of sickies we've been eating jello, applesauce, saltines and chicken noodle soup...

but I wanted to post because it's a fast easy dinner for a winter night.

Easy Ground Beef Stroganoff
1 lb ground beef (or 1/2 lb ground turkey & 1/2 ground beef)
1 onion chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
1 can cream soup (cream of mushroom would be traditional stroganoff but my family doesn't eat the fungus so we do cream of celery)
1 cup sour cream
can of fungus drained or fresh chopped fungus (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
rice or egg noodles (cooked to package directions)

1.  Brown meat with onion and celery.  Drain off fat and stir in cream soup.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
2.  Stir in sour cream and mushrooms (optional).  Heat until warmed thru, about 5 minutes.
3.  Serve over warm rice or egg noodles.

this is a great throw down meal with things I usually have on hand, I have substituted half & half for sour cream before, just used less....
I've also made it with cream of chicken when I've been out of cream of celery...
and I usually serve with green beans on the side, but any green veggie will do.

you can also make this in the crock pot (not that you need to, it cooks up so fast...) but just put the beef, onions, celery and cream soup in the pot in the morning and then add the sour cream about an hour before eating....

Sweet-n-Sour Beans

this is an old family recipe...
well, maybe not old...but it's a recipe that I have found memories of from childhood and make it for my family and they love it...

it's a fast one to throw together with stuff you usually have in the pantry and you can 'ad-lib' the recipe a bit...
and it also does well in the crock pot...
it can be a main dish or a side...
beef or vegetarian....

love the versatility of this recipe...

Sweet-n-Sour Beans
1 lb ground beef (optional if you're going the vegetarian route!)
1 onion chopped (optional)
2 stalks celery chopped (optional...I just forget these sometimes...so focused on the beans)
3-5 cans of beans*, drained and rinsed,
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup ketchup
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup vinegar
water

brown the ground beef with the onion and celery in a medium pot, drain. (or put into crock pot)
add the rest of the ingredients, may need to add a can or two of water depending on the consistency you want...I prefer a heartier recipe so I don't usually add any...
stir and bring to boil, simmer for about 20 minutes before serving...you can cook for longer...the longer the better the flavors will be.
or in the crock for as long as you need...high for 3 hours, low for up to 10....

* use all or a mixture of what you have in your pantry or what your family likes...
I usually chose based on color, the more variety the better, this is the norm...1 can kidney, 1 can black, 1 can white (great northern or white kidney), 1 can green beans
other options are pinto beans, garbanzo beans, butter beans, black eyed beans, etc...I would steer clear of any bean that has been flavored like a chili bean...

~this is great with cornbread for dinner
~as a side at a bbq or potluck
~with meat/without meat this is hearty and filling!

Better Than Taco Bell

and that IS a complement from my children....

Yeah, I know pretty sad...
and seriously they might get a trip to the Bell twice a year...at the MOST!

but hey, if they think that's a complement and they devour the food...and it's a lot healthier than the Bell...then I'll make it over and over again...

Here is my recipe for any meat that you need for a mexican'ish type dinner...
ground beef, shredded beef, chicken, pork...works for them all...
and the meat is great for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, taco salad, you get the idea...

it's a wonderful throw down meal, three ingredients...
and you don't have to make this in the crock, you can do it on the good ol' stove if you forgot to put it in the pot before you walked out the door in the morning!

so for the sake of the recipe I will use ground beef

Taco/Mexican'ish Meat
1 lb ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 package onion soup mix
1/2 cup water

put all into your crock pot, stir and set on low for up to 8 hours or high for 4 hours...stir whenever you think of it, if you're home...if not, no big deal...

if you want more meat just double the taco seasoning add a little more water, I wouldn't add more onion soup mix until you get to 3 lbs meat...

I have done with with a beef and a pork roast and shredded (or pulled) the meat with a fork when it's done, so good...or a few chicken breast and shred or cube up when it's all done...all ended with the same 'complement' from the kids....

and I usually double the meat and put the leftovers in the fridge for another meal later in the week...but we do eat Mexican a lot around here!

Taking a Little Artistic Liberties...or Cooking Liberties

Made a recipe last night for the first time...
The name of the recipe, right out of my favorite new cook book (thanks again Julie), The Dinner Doctor, is Meaty Ziti...I'm sure this recipe is great just the way it was written in the book...but I decided to use half the amount of meat in this "meaty" dish and then couldn't find any Ziti so I used Penne (whole wheat too), and I also couldn't find the called for "frozen creamed spinach" (think it a southern thing) so I had to make my own and it was double what the recipe called for...so rather than Meaty Ziti...I think I ended up with Creamy Spinach Penne...I will list both recipes for you...

The Dinner Doctor's Meaty Ziti
1 lb ground beef round (or my sister-in-law suggested adding Italian sausage)
1 can crushed tomatoes, or 1 jar of marinara sauce
1 clove garlic- crushed
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
8 ounces ziti
1 package (9 oz) frozen creamed spinach, thawed
1 package (2 cups) pre-shredded mozzarella cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 375
2.  Brown ground beef in large skillet, 4-5 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and basil.
3.  Spoon 1 cup meat sauce on bottom of 3-quart casserole dish.  Arrange the ziti in an even layer on top of the sauce (no need to pre-boil the pasta, but check the done-ness before toping with cheese in step 4),  Pour the remaining meat sauce over the ziti.  Spread the creamed spinach evenly over the top.  Cover the baking dish with foil.
4.  Bake the ziti until bubbling, 30 minutes.  Remove the baking dish from the oven and carefully remove the aluminum foil and set aside.  Scatter the mozzarella evenly over the top and re-cover the dish with the foil.  Let the ziti rest until the cheese melts, 10 minutes.  Serve warm.

Creamy Spinach Penne

1/2 lb ground beef 

1/2-3/4 jar of marinara sauce (depends on how much sauce you like)

1 clove garlic- crushed

8 ounces Whole Wheat Penne

1 recipe Creamed Spinach (recipe follows)*

1 package (2 cups) pre-shredded mozzarella cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 375

2.  Brown ground beef in large skillet, 4-5 minutes.  Stir in Marinara sauce and garlic 

* I made the creamed Spinach at the same time that the ground beef was browning, so not really more time, just a few more steps.

3.  Spoon 1/2 meat sauce on bottom of 3-quart casserole dish.  Arrange the Penne in an even layer on top of the sauce (no need to pre-boil the pasta, it will cook in the oven with the marinara sauce, but check the done-ness before toping with cheese in step 4),  Pour the remaining meat sauce over the Penne.  Spread the creamed spinach evenly over the top.  Cover the baking dish with foil.

4.  Bake the Penne until bubbling, 30 minutes.  Remove the baking dish from the oven and carefully remove the aluminum foil and set aside.  Scatter the mozzarella evenly over the top and re-cover the dish with the foil.  Let rest until the cheese melts, 10 minutes.  Serve warm.

Creamed Spinach

3 TBS butter

4 TBS flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup whole milk, cream or half and half

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

2 TBS butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup water

1 package chopped frozen spinach, thawed

1.  Melt  3 TBS butter in small saucepan, stir in flour and salt until creamed together, slowly add milk, increase the heat, stirring constantly with whisk until mixture is thick and smooth.  Remove from heat and set aside.

2.  Melt 2 TBS butter in med saucepan, add onions and cook until transparent.   Add spinach and water to pan, lower the heat, stir until all warmed through, add white sauce and sour cream.  Heat through

....

Okay so when I made this I used about 16 oz of Penne (didn't look at the box, oops) so there wasn't enough liquid to completely cook all the pasta in the oven, but I will read the directions and boxes better next time and I'm sure it will turn out better...but the family loved it anyways even with a few not-so-done Penne's here and there...

And don't worry about the "S" word...the spinach was a nice mild flavor.  I think spinach has gotten a bad rap over the years, but it's such a great vegetable that you can sneak into so many different dishes.

I also think I'm going to add this recipe (or both, the Meaty Ziti and Creamy Spinach Penne) to my make and take meals that take to families with new babies, or that have someone in the hospital, or whatever.  You can make it all ahead of time and refrigerate it for 3-4 days before baking it...what a perfect thing to hand over to someone needing a meal...just don't forget to give them a bag of shredded cheese to top it at the end.

Also, first time I've ever made a creamed spinach, it was so yummy, I'm going to make it again with fresh spinach and serve as a side dish, I was licking the pan after I put it into the Penne dish!...might use some pearl onions rather than chopping up an onion...maybe topped with some crispy bacon crumbles?!?!

Serving options for this meal...French Bread...the meat, dairy, pasta, and vegetables are all in the dish, so no need to make anything else.  Maybe a nice big salad.

hmmm...old family recipe

okay...I'm going to break down and share my family's chili recipe...

My mother has always made the best chili...everyone LOVES my mom's chili...

I move out...get married...

and make some chili following the recipe in good ol' Betty Crocker

(my mom's favorite go-to cook book...and mine)...

FAIL...

try again...

this time going to my second go-to cookbook...

Better-Homes-and Garden's cookbook...

FAIL...

don't worry, I will figure this out...so I got online and found a few recipes

(not as many recipe sites 12 years ago as there are today)...

try a few more times...

Fail...Fail...FAIL!!!

okay, so I call up mom...

"Hey, Mom, can you tell me your secret chili recipe..."

...

and now here it goes...

I'm unleashing the famous chili recipe that's been passed down generation-to-generation...

(okay from my mom to me...but I'll pass it on to my children someday!)

ChambersMade Chili...(okay RobertsMade...or maybe ShelbyMade???)

1 lb ground beef (more or less depending on how beefy you like your chili

1 sm onion, chopped

1 sm call tomato sauce

2 cans water

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can diced tomatoes

1 package Carroll Shelby's Chili mix (can find at almost any grocery store)

1.  Brown ground beef in pan with onions.  drain fat and add remaining ingredients...I ONLY use the seasoning packet out of the Carroll Shelby's mix not the chili powder or the masa powder or the salt...follow the directions on the package...

...

depending on my day I either make this 30 minutes before dinner (it only takes 30 minutes, 25 of that with you just walking thru the kitchen every once in awhile and stirring the pot)...or I throw it in the crock pot mid morning some time...today was a crock pot morning...

top with cheese & sour cream

Serve with corn bread..

use leftovers for a baked potato bar...

...

do you have any favorite "family recipes" that you found out weren't so secret???

It Just Might be a Snail

Made a really yummy soup last night...and then as Beau and I are trying to enjoying our dinner, we turn into "those parents"...
...sit up straight...can't you just sit still...what did you just drop...have you forgotten HOW to use a napkin...please just try the soup...take just one bite...will you please stop touching each other...STOP SLURPING the soup!...no there is not poison in the soup...you have to eat some soup before you get any more bread...no you can't have any more cheese on top of your soup...

and then...
Yes, it's probably a snail in your soup, mommy likes to cook with snails...

the Snail soup...

This is a VERY easy soup, the prep is the hardest part...my suggestion is to prep everything ahead of time, open all the cans, drain, chop, zest/grate, etc. and then you can just dump the ingredients as you go...I hadn't done any prep and felt like I was running the whole time, because the recipe went faster then I had expected...

Tortellini Soup
1/2 lb Italian sausage (mild) or ground beef browned (or omitted for a vegetarian soup)
1/2 cup onion chopped
2 Celery stalks chopped
2-3 cloves garlic finely grated (I like to use my zester; the fine side of the grater for my garlic, you get all the flavor without chunks of garlic, or you can use a garlic press, but I don't own one)
3 cups beef broth or vegetable broth
1 can chopped tomatoes, drained (or one fresh tomato chopped)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1/2 Green Bell Pepper chopped up
2 carrots peeled and chopped
1/2 -1 cup sliced up zucchini
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1- 1 1/2 cups dried tortellini (I used pesto filled, from Trader Joe's a 16 oz bag was $1.99 and I used less than 1/2 the bag...any kind/flavor would work)
Parmesan cheese for topping

Brown the sausage or beef in large sauce pan, remove meat from pan and drain all of 1 Tbl of fat from pan.  Sauté onion, celery and garlic in pan, return sausage/beef to pan, add broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, peppers, carrots, zucchini, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for about 25 minutes, add tortellini and cook to package directions, around 15-20 more minutes, don't over cook the tortellini...
top with Parmesan cheese when serving.
Serve with French Bread for dipping....

Cheese and Beef=Heaven

I had to pack my crock pot away for a few weeks...it was just taking up too much space on my space deprived kitchen counter and the holiday baking won out...

but it's been returned to it's rightful place...

and how are we welcoming it back in style...
our favorite...
the best...the easiest...
the ChambersMade Cheddar Roast...
I actually got this recipe from my one of my oldest friends, Jennifer
(known her the longest...we met on the school bus in kindergarten...not oldest as in age...)
and I have only made one change in the recipe...

Cheddar Roast
1 beef roast (any size any type)
2 cans of condensed cheddar soup
3-5 boiler onions, sliced in half (optional...the only thing I added to the recipe)

Place all ingredients into crock pot, heat on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours.

Yes, it sounds weird...sounds crazy...cheddar and beef...this is so amazingly good...the "gravy" that it makes (just the soup and the beef juices) is very good served over smashed potatoes (mashed potatoes not peeled and mixed with sour cream, butter, salt & pepper) and steamed broccoli (or any other steamed veggies that your family likes)...

Loafing Around

Meatloaf was on the menu...and more accurately Meatloaf in the crock pot was on the menu...
but I kept putting off making it and putting off making it and well, 4 o'clock rolled around and I realized that this would be regular ol' meatloaf...

...or would it...

I then remembered a recipe a friend had sent me...

Mexican Meatloaf...

...yes it was a recipe for the crock pot, but heck, I take regular recipes all the time and make them crock pot recipes so why not the other way around...

so the original recipe from my friend, Jesica Wright, looked like this
~~~~
Mexican Meatloaf-crock pot style
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups crushed corn or tortilla chips
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup salsa
2 eggs, beaten
4 tablespons taco seasoning

Combine all ingredients in large bowl; mix well. Shape meat mixture into loaf and place in slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 8 to 10 hours. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Tip: For a glaze, mix together 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 teaspoon dry mustard. Spread over meatloaf, cover, cook on high 15 minutes

~~~~~~
I had just looked at the recipe a few days ago, but when it was time for me to actually make dinner I couldn't bring myself to walk ALL the way up the stairs...
log onto the computer...
open up my recipe folder...
find my crock pot recipes...
find the Mexican Meatloaf recipe...
print or write it down...
and then walk ALL the way back downstairs...

So instead I relied on my memory...and this is the recipe I ended up with...
~~~~~~
Mexican Meatloaf-oven style
1 lb of ground beef or turkey
1 cup tortilla chips crushed up
1/2 cup corn (canned-drained, frozen-defrosted)
1 cup mexi style pre-shredded cheese
1/3 cup salsa
1 carrot finely grated (use the fine side of your grater)*
1/2 cup spinach chopped finely*
1/3 cup ketchup
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 egg

Mix all together form into loaf and bake in loaf pan or pie plate for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees...

 ~~~~~~
*I like to add extra vegetables to dinner dishes this way, no one at the table knew they were eating carrots and spinach...

My family liked it, they all ate their original serving and Madison and I both had seconds...the whole family had been expecting regular meatloaf...
yes, my family LOVES meatloaf...
so, when they couldn't cover it in A-1 sauce and ketchup they were all a little disappointed...but they still liked it!

Serving Ideas
choice of salsa, sour cream, avocados/guacamole, and chips...
Refried beans (home made-so easy...future blog)
Spanish rice
Corn

Recipe variations you could try
add 1/2 cup of beans (pinto or black) to the meat loaf
chop up some broccoli really fine and "hide" it in the meatloaf
a can of Rotel tomatoes (tomatoes w/ green chilies in them)
use Mexi corn instead of regular corn
a can of green chilies
a sm can of sliced or diced olives
and more cheese...

Lessons learned from ChambersMade Meatloaf...
next time I won't spring on my family at the table that I made "special" meatloaf...and they will probably LOVE it, rather than just liking it!

you can put off making dinner all day and still end up with a pretty darn good dinner...

you can feed your family extra veggies and they'll never know (unless my husband reads my blog...)

I don't need to walk up the stairs (although my Wii fitness trainer tells me more stairs would be good for me) to get my recipe off my computer...

when I have my dream kitchen my computer will be on one of the islands...(so I can check recipes and so I can blog while cooking!)...

a crock of Lasagna

What's for dinner...leftover lasagna...

Last night My Beau and I had a rare night out...

(my Beau and I all fancied up for the Christmas Party)





...so I made dinner really easy for the sitter, I made lasagna in the crock pot earlier that day...

(if you don't know me you might not know that I HEART my crock pot!)

...so all the sitter had to do was butter the French Bread and serve! This recipe makes WAY more than my family would ever eat in one sitting, and the kids loved it so we are having it as "first's" for My Beau and I, and as leftovers for the kids!

this is the recipe as I received it from a friend (I think it was Kelly Jackson?)
~~~~
Crock Pot Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 pkg (8oz) no-cook lasagna noodles**
4 cups (16 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1½ cups (12oz) small-curd cottage cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Add the tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt and oregano; mix well.
In another bowl mix together 2 cups of mozzarella, cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese.  Spread 1/4 of the meat sauce in an ungreased 5 quart slow cooker.  Arrange a third of the noodles over sauce (break the noodles). spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of noodles  Repeat layers three times.  Top with remaining meat sauce, and extra mozzarella.  Cover and cook on low for 4/5 hours or until noodles are tender.  Yields 6-8 servings.

~~~~

Changes I made
*only used 1/2 lb of ground beef
*didn't have the large can of tomato sauce so used 3 sm 8 oz jars-plenty
*I grate my garlic on the really fine side of the cheese grater, no more big chunks of garlic, and all the flavor.
*didn't have the no-cook noodles so I boiled the reg ones for 1/2 the time, drained and rinsed them
*added 1 cup of chopped fresh spinach to the cottage cheese mixture
*added 1 egg to the cottage cheese mixture

Changes I didn't make but you might like to...
*Italian sausage along with the beef or to replace the beef
*ground turkey, which I find dry, but in dishes with lots of sauce the dryness isn't a big deal
*leaving the meat out all together and making it vegetarian
*using 2 cups mozzarella and 2 cups cheddar
*using rocotta cheese rather than cottage cheese
*using manicotti noodles rather than lasagna


**Trader Joes has the no-cook lasagna noodles for cheaper and twice as many WinCo carries them...so pick up a box next time you run in for some Candy Cane Joe Joe's (Oreos) and Sea Salt Carmels (YUMMY)!

Serving suggestions-I always think pasta dishes have it all, the starch, the meat, the veggies...but if you want to serve it with something, butter up some french bread (I like to keep an extra loaf in the freezer), and grate some garlic onto it and a little cheese...broil until it's as done as you like.  Add a good hearty salad and you're more than done!