Mexican Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa

 Another good one!  This recipe is vegetarian, but I added ground beef to it.  It would be good either way. 

 

Mexican Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa

 

Ingredients

• 4 bell peppers (any color), sliced in half stem-to-tip, seeds removed
• 1c quinoa, uncooked
• ½ medium onion, diced
• 1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 roma tomato, seeded and diced
• 1 (4oz) can diced green chiles (don’t drain)
• ¼c cilantro, minced
• ¼tsp salt
• ¼tsp pepper
• olive oil, if desired
• ½c Monterrey Jack, grated
• ½c cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 recipe red enchilada sauce (or 1 (28oz) can)

Instructions

1. Add quinoa and onion to a large saucepan with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 5 minutes, cover, turn off heat and let steam 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
2. In the meantime, microwave pepper halves 2-3 minutes to soften slightly. (Prepared this way, the peppers should come out crisp-tender. If you want them crisper, you can omit this step.)
3. Pour quinoa/onion mixture into a mixing bowl. Stir in black beans, tomato, green chiles and their juices, cilantro, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. If the mixture seems to dry, drizzle in a bit of olive oil (I didn’t need any).
4. Pour enchilada sauce into a 9×13″ baking dish. Divide filling among peppers. Nestle stuffed peppers into the enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheeses.
5. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 375 degrees 25-30 minutes. Remove foil and cook about 5 minutes longer. Serve peppers drizzled with enchilada sauce.

Recipe and picture from HERE

BBQ Beef Sandwiches

I tried these a few weeks ago and they were YUMMY! I found the recipe here.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup vinegar (cider, white wine or red wine vinegar)

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

6 oz tomato paste

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4-1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (to taste)

3 lbs or so beef roast (pork would work great too!)

Directions:

Mix together all of the ingredients, except for the meat, in the slow cooker, stirring well to combine.

Cut the meat into large chunks and place into the slow cooker, turning the pieces to make sure everything is coated with the sauce.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the meat is tender and falling apart. Shred the meat and return to the sauce to keep warm.

To serve, toast your favorite buns until golden brown and pile with meat! Also great with a few slices of cheese thrown onto the bread before you toast it... yumm!

Kahuna Burgers

Drew and I love Rumbi's Kahuna burgers (it is a double patty so is a little much for me) but they sure are tasty. Last summer we tried to recreate it on our own and they turned out yummy.

Hamburger Patties (fresh ground beef tastes the best) or chicken breast
Teriyaki Marinade
Pineapple slices
Swiss Cheese

Marinade the the patties/chicken breast in the teriyaki sauce for at least a few hours (we usually do ours overnight)
Grill the patties/chicken breast (or you can cook the chicken in the oven) as the meat nears getting done add a pineapple slice with a piece of swiss cheese on top of it. Allow to melt.
Serve on yummy kaiser rolls or hamburger buns with Mayo, Tomato, and Lettuce and whatever sides suit your fancy.

We LOVE these as burgers and as chicken sandwiches.

Chicago-Style Italian Beef Sandwiches

Yummy.

3 cups water
3 beef buillon cubes
1 t. each of:  salt, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley onion powder, garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1 or 2 pkgs of Italian salad dressing seasoning (The recipe says one, reviewers say two, I had one and a half on hand so I did that ;)

Boil all together and pour over beef roast (3-5lbs) in crockpot.  Cook on low 8-10 hours.  Shred and leave meat in juices for another hour.

Optional: (but not so optional in my opinion)
Slice and add red and green peppers and onions to crockpot during last hour, but remove for serving to top sandwiches.  Mushrooms would also be fabulous.   

Serve on Kaiser rolls topped with melted provolone cheese, cooked peppers & onions, and peppecini's.

You can remove some of the juices, but as they say in Chicago "The wetter the better!"  Mmmmmm, Mmmmm.

{Spicy} Stuffed Jumbo Shells

{Spicy} Stuffed Jumbo Shells

(there is an easy lowfat version here. I haven't tried that one because, let's be honest, I really like the fat.)

1 box jumbo shells cook according to directions on box, drain and rinse with cold water

In medium skillet cook together:
1 lb ground beef
1 clove garlic crushed (or 1/2 t minced)
1/2 t oregano
drain excess fat

stir together:
1 cup mayo (I use reduced fat)
1/2 t. oregano
1 t salt
2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 c shredded mozzarella
add cooked hamburger mixture

Spoon meat and cheese mixture into shells and place in a 9x13 baking dish.

Once all shells are stuffed, drizzle 1 jar of spaghetti sauce over the top.
* For the zesty spicy version (which I highly highly highly recommend) use Spicy spaghetti sauce, or add crushed red pepper flakes to any old spaghetti sauce with a little italian dressing for added zest ;) Italian sausage in place of ground beef is also tasty.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella

Cover with foil and bake at 35o for 20 min (325 for glass pan). Remove foil and bake an additional 10 min.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I love spaghetti, but I think this is my favorite version of spaghetti.  It was so good!  I got the recipe HERE, from The Pioneer Woman.  I will post the recipe on here, but she has pictures and very detailed instructions if you go to the website.  It did take time to make, but it was not hard at all.

Ingredients

• Meatballs:
• ¾ pounds Ground Beef
• ¾ pounds Ground Pork
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ¾ cups Fine Bread Crumbs
• 2 whole Eggs
• ¾ cups Freshly Grated Parmesan
• ¼ cups Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Splash Of Milk
• ½ cups Olive Oil
• Sauce:
• 1 whole Yellow Onion, Diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole (28-ounce) Can Whole Tomatoes
• 1 whole 28 Ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes
• ½ cups White Or Red Wine (optional)
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• ¼ cups Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
• 8 whole Fresh Basil Leaves, Chiffonade (optional)
• 2 pounds Spaghetti, Cooked To Al Dente

Preparation Instructions

To make the meatballs, combine meat, garlic, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley, and a splash of milk in a mixing bowl. Mix together well with hands. Roll into 25 1 1/2-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up.
To brown the meatballs, heat olive oil in a heavy pot or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs 8 at a time, turning to brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel after each batch. Set meatballs aside.
In the same pot, add the onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes, or until translucent. Pour in whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and wine, if using. Add salt, pepper, sugar, and parsley. Stir to combine and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
Add meatballs to pot and stir in gently. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring very gently a couple of times during the simmer.
Just before serving, stir in basil if using.
Serve over cooked spaghetti. Sprinkle with extra Parmesan.



I used Italian sausage and ground beef in my meatballs.  I used about a full pound of both (we were supposed to be feeding 3 missionaries,) but if I were to do this again for just my family I would probably do about 1/2 a pound of each.  Also, if you didn't want to do your own sauce like the recipe, then you could use canned spaghetti sauce.  I usually make my own sauce and so I did a version of mine and hers mixed (I added two cans of tomato sauce and had a little less tomatos and some Italian dressing.)  I also did not use the wine, obviously.
I ate this for leftovers for two days after I made it, and it got better each day. 

Pastel de Papas

Forever ago Keaton had some Chileans over who cooked us dinner. They made us Paste de Papas. It is pretty much like a shepherd pie recipe. But yummier. I have been wanting to make this for a long time now and finally found me the true recipe. I know that most of you may not LOVE something like this, and the fact that there are raisins in it is weird, but it good, trust me! Kylee, you could impress Russ and make it for him sometime. I bet he would love you :)

8 servings 1¼ hours 20 min prep

Filling

1 lb ground beef
1 1/4 onions, chopped
2 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
1 cup black olives, whole
1/4 cup raisins, soaked in warm water
salt and pepper
cumin
oregano
Mashed Potagoes 6 large potatoes
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter salt

Cook potatoes and mash with milk, butter and salt. Set aside. Brown the ground beef and chopped onions with cumin, oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Some like more cumin than others. Drain raisins. Drain the ground beef mixture and place in baking pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Layer the sliced hard boiled eggs, olives and raisins over the meat mixture. Spread the mashed potatoes over the beef mixture. Sprinkle top of mashed potatoes with sugar (yes sugar, it makes it all caramelized on top). Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Slow Cooker Lasagna

This is out of the Kraft Food & Family magazine. This recipe is basically the Simply Lasagna recipe made in a slowcooker. (If you, like me, needed Simply Lasagna to be just a little bit simpler...) This would have been great when I was working to refrigerate the night before and throw in the crockpot in the morning. The noodles were a little soggier than the oven version.

What You Need!

1 lb. ground beef

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1 cup water

1 container (15 oz.) Ricotta Cheese (I always use cottage cheese, I like it better:)

1 pkg. (7 oz.) Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

1 egg

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Make It!

BROWN meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan, egg and parsley.

SPOON 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of half each of the noodles, broken to fit; and cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles, broken to fit; cheese mixture and meat sauce. Cover with lid.

COOK on LOW 4 to 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted.

Mini Tostadas

This isn't a recipe, just another idea for leftover pulled pork. Or chicken. Or whatever. After we have a roast, we have some kind of variation of leftovers for the next couple of nights. Usually I do pulled pork sandwiches, but I had a load of corn tortillas and not buns this time. I just broiled my tortillas straight on the oven rack to crisp them up, but they would be great fried or even with those ready-made crispy tostada shells you can buy in the tortilla aisle. This recipe of Shelli's for ribs makes a good pulled pork if you aren't doing it with leftovers. But this would be EVEN easier!

Baked Ziti

I know I posted this on my old blog. I hope I haven't posted it already on this one but I looked and can't find it. I made this the other night and forgot to take a photo. This is literally one of my family's favorites.

1 lb. dry Ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. lean ground beef of sausage (I use sausage, but not the spicy kind.)
If a pound is too much, use less.
2 (26 oz.) jars of spaghetti sauce
6 oz. Provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups of sour cream
6 oz. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tbls. Parmesan cheese, grated (I use a lot more than that.)

Cook your pasta until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain.

In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef or sausage over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pam a 9x13 baking dish.

Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven or until cheeses are melted.

*This recipe makes a lot. For those of you with small families, I would definately cut it in half and bake it in a 8x8 dish.

Taco in a Bag

This isn't so much a recipe but more of an idea. A few years ago when we were at Lagoon, I ordered a "Taco in a Bag." It was one of the best meals I've had, mainly because I was starving. I loved the idea though of putting all your taco fillings into the bag of chips. A year later, I did this for our Blue and Gold banquet and the boys LOVED it! It's not very often you get to eat out of a bag! I also did this for dinner the other night as well. (It saves on dishes and the kids think it is fun.)

My pictures aren't the best, not that you really need to see what it looks like. Taco's at the Babcock's are pretty mild considering no one will eat the "good stuff." But, if I was making this for a group of people other than my picky children :), I would add rice, beans, olives, tomatoes, onions, guacamole and salsa. Just crunch up the chips and I usually cut an inch or so off the top of the bag.

Fresno Tacos

This is one of our favorites and one of the only recipes where my kids will eat cooked cabbage.

1 lb. ground beef
6 cloves of garlic (more or less to taste)
1 can (15 oz.) diced new potatoes (drained)
2-3 C. cabbage (sliced to preference)
white corn tortillas
grated cheese
cooking oil

Brown the ground beef and garlic together until brown. Then add the diced new potatoes and cabbage to ground beef and toss together. Cover and simmer on medium low for about 15 minutes or until the cabbage is cooked to your preference. While the ground beef is simmering, heat the oil and fry the corn tortillas to where they are slightly stiff but still bendable. Serve with cheese.

*This recipe calls for a lot of garlic. You can choose how much you like. I usually add more. You can add more cabbage to bulk up the meal. I drain my tortillas on paper towels before serving. For less fat don't fry the tortillas but warm them in a moist paper towel in the microwave. Mark and I are big Cholula hot sauce fans and I think it tastes really good on it. The photos show 1 1/2 lbs. of ground beef.

Simple Lasagna

1 container (15 oz) part skim ricotta cheese. (I use a 16 oz. container of low fat cottage cheese)
2-½ cups mozzarella cheese, divided
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
¼ cup chopped parsley (I use a couple T of dried parsley)
1 egg lightly beaten
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 lb ground beef(or chicken), cooked
1 cup water
12 lasagna noodles
Preheat oven to 350. Mix ricotta cheese, 1 ¼ cup of mozzarella, ¼ Parmesan, parsley and egg until well blended. Set aside. Pour spaghetti sauce into meat in skillet. Pour water into empty sauce jar and shake well. Pour into skillet, stir until well mixed. Place 1 cup of meat sauce on bottom of the 9x13 dish(prevents noodles from sticking to the pan) Layer 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of ricotta cheese mixture and 1 c of meat sauce. Repeat layers 2 more times. Tops with remaining 3 noodles and sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover tightly with greased aluminum foil. Bake 45 min or until cooked through. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 min. Let stand 15 min before cutting.

Easy Zucchini Casserole

Sliced desired amount of zucchini and spread evenly in a lightly greased casserole dish(use cooking spray) Cover with grated mozzarella. Pour can of spaghetti sauce over zucchini. Cover with favorite prepared stuffing or breadcrumbs. Bake at 400 for 15 minute. Can also add chicken or ground beef to the zucchini.

Taco Soup

You can make this vegetarian style without the beef and it is still really good. Just add the taco seasoning to the bean/corn/tomato mixture
1 lb ground beef
taco seasoning
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
2 cans kidney beans
1 can white beans
1 can corn (or I use frozen and it's yummy)
I can tomato sauce
I can diced tomatoes
I can water (optional)
brown ground beef, then add taco seasoning. In crock pot add beans, corn, tomatoes, mix then add meat mixture. I cook it for at least a couple hours on low in crock pot. Serve with sour cream, cheese and tortilla chips.

Beef Stew: (or chicken stew or just pick out the beef

1lb stew meat browned
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
1 packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 cans of waterpotatoes (I usually do about 3 big potatoes or 4 smaller ones)
carrots (just one of the small bags of the baby carrots works)
peas (one package of frozen peas is usually good)
1 onion chopped or sliced however you want to cut is great
Cook on low in crockpot and enjoy!