Mexican Lasagna

This is soooo yummy. It kind of has the flavor of
tamales meets enchiladas, lasagna style.
…So if you dig those, then you’re going to want to try this.
I just had leftovers for lunch and it' was just as good reheated. YUM!

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 8 oz. cottage cheese
• 4.25 oz. can chopped green chiles
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 bag corn tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350*

Brown the ground beef and onion until beef is cooked through. Add garlic powder, salt, black beans and tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Combine the sour cream, cottage cheese and green chiles. Set aside.

Lightly spray an 8x8 baking dish with no-stick spray, then put a layer of chips at the bottom (you could just as easily use corn tortillas for this step) of the pan. Then put half of the meat mixture, then half of the sour cream mixture and half of the cheese. Repeat layers.

Top with crushed chips and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until it’s all bubbly and heated through.

Let it sit for a few minutes to cool. Serve with a side salad and/or corn!

{{This recipe is fantastic to freeze. I usually double the recipe and freeze one! Just assemble (don’t bake it), cover tightly and freeze. Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed.}}

Stuffed Zucchini

This was really tasty.
The stuffing mixture is delish, and it’s pretty dang healthy too!

• 2 medium zucchinis
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound Italian sausage
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried Italian bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 can (15 oz.) crushed tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with no stick spray.
Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds. Chop and reserve about 3/4 of the seeds for the stuffing. Salt and pepper the seeded zucchini. In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, sausage, chopped onion, bread crumbs, egg, crushed tomatoes and the reserved zucchini seeds. Place the meat mixture equally into all of the zucchini halves; mixture should be piled up over the top. Place the filled zucchini halves into the prepared baking dish.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 45-55 minutes.

Bridget’s Make-Ahead Meatballs

I didn’t take a picture, sorry. They’re meatballs. Pretty easily imagined… ;) This is my favorite recipe that I’ve tried so far for meatballs. They’re so much better than those grossly fatty frozen kind from the grocery store (not that those don’t work in a pinch!) But these are worth the time, very yummy!

• 4 lbs. Ground Beef
• 4 Eggs
• 2 cups Dry Bread Crumbs (I used the Garlic and Herb flavor – deLISH!)
• 1/2 cup Onion, chopped finely
• 1 tbsp. Salt
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400*.
In a large bowl, beat eggs well. Add the next 5 ingredients. Mix. Add beef and mix really well.
Spoon (I used my small pampered chef cookie scoop) onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Using the small scoop, this recipe yielded 115 meatballs. To freeze, arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet (once they are cooled) and freeze for about 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and pack into freezer ziploc baggies. Return to freezer.
I did mine in the quart size bags and counted out 16 in each, so each time I want to use meatballs I just pull out one bag. Excellent!

not-yer-mama’s taco soup

• 1 lb. ground hamburger, browned
• 6 small/med. potatoes, peeled and diced to small bite size pieces
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• 1 can diced tomatoes, not drained
• 1 can olives, drained and sliced
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans no bean chili
• shredded cheese, Fritos, sour cream

Put potatoes in large soup pot and cover with water. Boil on high until potatoes are fork tender; add browned hamburger. (make sure there is not too much water. i usually have enough water to just barely cover the potatoes or slightly less. too much water will make the soup to liquidy)             Add olives, corn, diced tomatoes, black beans, and chili. Stir to combine, and add the taco seasoning {a nice variation: add half of an envelope of ranch dressing mix at this point WITH the taco seasoning. delish!}
Bring the soup to a boil; Reduce heat to med/low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Serve topped with shredded cheese, Fritos and sour cream.

Cheesy Beef Casserole

{We also call this casserole "Faux Lasagne" or "Lasagne Casserole"}

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce

1 cup cottage cheese

1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sour cream

1/3 cup red pepper, diced

1/3 cup chopped green onion

16 oz. pkg. pasta, cooked and drained (I used cut ziti, but any tubular pasta would work)
1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese

Combine ground beef and onion in skillet and cook until beef is browned. Add salt, pepper, and pasta sauce and simmer slowly while preparing remaining ingredients. Combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, red pepper, and green onion.

Place half of the noodles in bottom of a greased 9x13 casserole pan. Top with cheese mixture, then remaining noodles. Pour meat/sauce mixture over the top evenly. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes. For last 10 minutes of baking time, sprinkle mozzerella cheese over top of casserole so that the cheese will melt. Mmm!

Grilled Steak w/PW's Simple Sesame Noodles

1/4 cup Soy Sauce
2 Tbsps. sugar
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tbsps. Rice Vinegar
3 Tbsps. Pure Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp. Hot Chili Oil
4 Tbsps. Canola Oil
2 Tbsps. Hot Water
4 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin
12 oz. Thin Noodles, cooked and drained

In a small bowl, combine first 8 ingredients. Pour sauce over cooked, warm noodles and toss to coat. Sprinkle with sliced green onions and toss again.

{to view original recipe posted by the pioneer woman, click here.}

Delicious Asian-Style Steak...Combine steak (we used 3 petite sirloins) with 1/2 cup Teriyaki Sauce and a few shakes of garlic salt in a gallon size ziploc baggie. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Grill to desired done-ness. Slice and Serve!

Stacy's Sloppy Janes

1 pound hamburger
Sauce:
8 oz. sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
dash of salt and pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 tbsp. dried minced onion
1 tbsp. yellow mustard
2 dashes steak seasoning

While hamburger is browning, mix all of the sauce ingredients together. When hamburger is browned, add sauce. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve on toasted buns.