Salisbury Meatballs - Instant Pot Inspirations #3

 I love when I am perusing social media and I come across a recipe that sounds easy and delicious. I was scrolling through Insta this week and saw an Instant Pot picture for Salisbury meatballs. Checked out the recipe and it looked super easy PLUS I already had all the ingredients AND needed a recipe for Thursday's dinner. Winner, winner MEATBALL dinner! You can find the original recipe HERE!

Instant Pot Salisbury Meatballs

Ingedients:
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (any are fine)
salt and pepper
2 1/2 cups beef broth
1 onion, sliced
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 packet onion soup mix
1 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs Dijon mustard

***EQUIPMENT NEEDED: pressure cooker

Directions:
Start saute function on pressure cooker. Heat up 2 tbs olive oil. Meanwhile mix together ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, and salt & pepper. Form into golf ball size meatballs. Saute meatballs in olive oil until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove meatballs. Deglaze bottom of pot with 1/2 cup beef broth. Stir in remaining broth, tomato paste, and Dijon. Stir in onion soup mix and fresh onions. Place meatballs back in, top with mushrooms. Place lid on pressure cooker and set to high manual pressure for 10 minutes. Once pot comes to pressure, then has its 10 minute cook time, do a quick release when 10 minutes is up. If you like a thicker gravy, feel free to make a cornstarch slurry and stir it in and cook for 5 minutes on the saute function on high. We served ours with some cheesy mashed potatoes. Yum - Enjoy!

French Onion Beef Casserole - Home Cooked Recipe #87

 Tis the season for comfort food! And what is more comforting then a creamy casserole? Nada. I present to you the French onion beef casserole. It is easy to make, great for a weeknight, and inexpensive. It is a delicious dish that is perfect for the fall/winter season.

French Onion Beef Casserole

Ingredients:

• 
  1 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 package egg noodles, cooked according to package directions
• 1 can cream of onion soup (really, any cream soup you have would work)
• 1 8 ounce container of French onion dip (I use a refrigerated brand)
• French's fried onions
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. While egg noodles are cooking, brown ground beef with diced onion. When beef is browned drain and season with salt and pepper. Mix together noodles, beef mixture, soup, and dip. Pour in to greased 9x13 baking dish. Top with fried onions. Bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Nacho Cheese Casserole - Pinterest Pick #25

Sometimes I will just get a craving for Doritos. It's not super often but once in a while. It's funny because as a kid I think Doritos were my least favorite chip. When I was scrolling through Pinterest one evening I saw this casserole and thought I just had to make it. It was pretty delicious! Here is the original PIN. The recipe can be found HERE.

Nacho Cheese Casserole

Ingredients:

• 3 tbs oil
• 3 tbs flour
• 2 10 oz cans of your favorite enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso)
• 1.5 cups of chicken broth
• 1 tsp cumin
• salt & pepper
• 1.5 lbs ground beef
• onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• black pepper
• 1/2 bag Doritos
• 2 cups shredded cheese (you can use cheddar, monterey jack, pepper jack, or a combo of your favorites)

***Toppings: lettuce, tomatoes, olives, green onions, sour cream, salsa - whatever you like on a taco basically!

Directions:
First, the sauce. In a pot over medium, make a roux with the oil and flour. Once combined and the flour is cooked out for a couple of minutes, add the sauce, broth, cumin, salt, & pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer while preparing the meat. Next, the meat. Brown the ground beef. Add onions and garlic and spices and cook a few more minutes. Combine beef with sauce mixture. Then, prepare the casserole. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 dishes with cooking spray. Lightly break up Doritos. Divide into 2 portions. Place one portion in one baking dish and reserve the 2nd portion. Top with the beef mixture. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-60 minutes. Top with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe Sliders - Pinterest Pick #22

I may have mentioned before that I adore a slider. Maybe once or twice! I think they are a great food for parties or for an easy weeknight meal. Plus I have little hands so I like sliders better than a regular size sandwich.  Sliders are so customizable as well.  You can see another one of my slider recipes HERE. Also, I love sloppy joes! I have two other sloppy joe recipes which you can find HERE and HERE. This is also a pick I found on Pinterest. You can find the original pin HERE

and the original recipe HERE.

Sloppy Joe Sliders

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 package (12 count) slider rolls (I used King Hawaiian's butter flavored rolls)
• 2 cups of shredded or sliced cheese (I used shredded cheddar)
• 1 stick butter, divided (3 tbs melted, 5 tbs whole)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup ketchup (I prefer Heinz)
• 2 tbs brown sugar (if you don't want it overly sweet, I would cut this down to 1 tbs)
• 2 tbs dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tbs chili powder (I have been a big fan of ancho chili powder lately)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Brown ground beef. About halfway through, add the onion. When beef is browned, add bell pepper and garlic. Saute about 5 minutes before adding sauce ingredients. Add butter, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire, liquid smoke, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for at least 5 minutes, up to an hour on a low simmer.  Use one tablespoon of the melted butter on the bottom of a baking dish. Pleace the bottom of the slider rolls on top of that butter. Pile up your meat on top of the bottom buns. Sprinkle your shredded cheese, or lay out your cheese slices on top of the meat. Top with the top buns. Brush the tops with the rest of the melted butter. Bake for 10 minutes. I served mine with tater tots for that old school feel. Enjoy!

One Pot Beef Stroganoff - Pinterest Pick #18

I have been a fan of beef stroganoff ever since I had my first box of stroganoff flavored Hamburger Helper. Growing up, my mom did not use Hamburger Helper or make beef stroganoff (not to my recollection anyway) so this was a complete novelty once I was on my own. As I became a more experienced cook, I started experimenting with different stroganoff recipes, both on the stove and on the slow cooker. This one pot recipe that I found on Pinterest is a winner. It is tasty, easy, and there's not a lot to clean up. Definitely a winner. Find the Pin HERE and the original recipe HERE.

One Pot Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 8oz egg noodles (1/2 a package)
• 8oz sliced mushrooms
• 4 cups beef stock
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt & pepper
• 2 tsps smoked paprika
• ***optional: french fried onions for a crunchy topping

Directions:
Cook the mushrooms over medium high heat until caramelized, season with salt & pepper & paprika. Add onions and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes. Add in ground beef and cook until browned. Then add beef stock and egg noodles. Stir and cover for a lid, cooking for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn the heat off and stir in the sour cream. Sprinkle with french fried onions, if desired.
Enjoy!

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes - Pinterest Pick #17

I found a new recipe on Pinterest! I like experimenting with Sloppy Joe flavors as you may remember from my Mexican Sloppy Joes (find that recipe HERE). I saw one on Pinterest this week for a Philly Cheesesteak version and thought it would be a great addition to my recipe collection. You can find the original pin HERE and the original recipe HERE. There's not much I would change about this recipe the only thing I did different was saute my onions in with the meat, then add the butter. It came out great!  

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

• 4 brioche hamburger buns (or whatever kind of buns you like)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, diced (I used a red onion, any onion you like would work)
• 1 bell pepper, diced (the original recipe called for green, which is traditional, but I had an orange one on hand, so that's what I used)
• 4 oz button mushrooms, sliced (NOTE: my hubby doesn't care for bell peppers OR mushrooms, so I sauteed them separately in a little olive oil & garlic salt, then my mixed my portion of meat in later - if you don't mind them in your recipe, add them in with the beef & onions, & if you don't like them, leave them out entirely!)
• 2 tbs ketchup
• 1 tbs Worcestershire
• salt & pepper (I used Lawry's garlic salt & fresh ground pepper for an extra kick)
• 1 tbs cornstarch
• 1 cup beef broth
• 4 slices provolone cheese, diced

Directions:
Brown ground beef & onions. (TIP: I like to really sear mine on each side to develop a flavorful crust before I break it up.) Add butter after meat is browned, & stir until butter is melted in.  Add ketchup & Worcestershire & stir until beef is coated. Mix cornstarch & beef broth well, pour into meat & bring to a boil, constantly stirring. Reduce heat & let simmer 5 minutes. Shut off heat & stir in provolone. Season with salt & pepper. Serve on brioche buns. Serve with your favorite side, we used tater tots. Enjoy!

Beef Hand Pies - Home Cooked Recipe #72

Who doesn't love a hand pie!  Delicious, easy, convenient, and does not take a lot of time if you use store bought puff pastry.  It makes a nice lunch, dinner or snack.  I decided to create 2 different types of beef hand pies since I had some puff pastry stocked up due to it being on sale (which is rare!).  One beef filling is SPICY!  The other one is rich and kind of creamy, full of umami.  The best thing about this recipe is that you can adjust to flavor your beef any way you like.  Try taco seasoning, maybe a bit of pasta sauce and mozzarella to make and Italian version... Whatever you like!  You could also go completely vegetarian, or do a chicken filling such as chicken, broccoli, and cheese.  Of course I do have to say, I was more than pleasantly surprised at how delicious these two versions are, so give them a try!

Beef Hand Pies

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg (2 sheets) puff pastry (I use Pepperidge Farms) - thaw according to directions on package - tip, if dough is too soft when going to fill, freeze for 5 minutes
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup beef broth

***For the spicy - 2 tbs Harissa (I bought mine at Whole Foods in the International aisle.  It is a spicy Moroccan paste and it is GOOD)
***For the creamy - 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce, and 4 oz crumbled blue cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400
Brown ground beef with diced onion.  Drain, then add in minced garlic and saute for a couple of minutes.  Stir in beef broth and cook 1 more minute.  Separate beef into two bowls (or add half into another pan).  In one pan/bowl stir in Harissa and in the other add Worcestershire sauce and crumbled blue cheese.  Let fillings cool for a few minutes (this is a good time to freeze dough for 5 minutes if needed).
Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 4 squares.  Put 1/4 of spicy mixture in the middle of a square.  Repeat 3 more times.  Put a 1/4 of blue cheese mix on one of the remaining 4 squares.  Repeat 3 more times. Fold each square into a triangle shape, and seal edges.  Place on a greased baking sheet (I lined my baking sheet w/parchment paper then greased paper).  Bake for 15 minutes.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!!!

Galumpki - Home Cooked Recipe 65

My mom's side of the family is straight Polish, so I ate a lot of Polish dishes growing up such as kielbasa, pierogi, Gulasz (aka goulash), and Golabki (aka galumpki, aka stuffed cabbage).  I have already posted our families goulash recipe and you can find that HERE.  Cabbage is on sale this week as St. Patrick's day is tomorrow, so I thought I would grab an extra head and make some galumpki, otherwise known as stuffed cabbage or cabbage rolls.  My grandmother was always the one who made this dish when I was growing up.  Unfortunately her health is declining and rarely makes it anymore, so I thought I would give it a go.  The filling came out great, as did the sauce.  I think I should have cooked the cabbage longer.  But I don't even usually eat a lot of the cabbage so it was ok for my purpose.  But I recommend that if you make this recipe you peel the leaves from the head of cabbage before boiling them so they cook a little more thoroughly.


Galumpki

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cabbage
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 cups of cooked rice
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 8 oz cans tomato sauce (store brand is fine, at my Aldi it's only 25 cents a can)
• 1 10 oz can tomato soup (I use Campbells's condensed)
• 1/3 cup ketchup (Heinz is my go to)
• smoked paprika
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
-I use a rice cooker to cook my rice while I am boiling the cabbage-
Place head of cabbage in a pot and cover with 1 inch of cold water.  Bring to a boil, turn heat off, let sit at least 20 minutes until leaves become pliable.  Drain and let cool enough to handle.
Brown ground beef, with onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add a teaspoon each of paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Stir well.  
Mix together tomato soup, tomato sauce, and ketchup.  Season with pepper and a dash of salt.  
Add 2 tablespoons of sauce to meat.  Mix in cooked rice.  Combine well.
Layer a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.
Take a cabbage leaf and spoon a large spoonful of meat and rice mixture into the leaf.  Fold the leaf around the meat.  Place stuffed cabbage on top of sauce in baking dish.  Repeat until meat mixture is gone. Cover cabbage rolls with remaining sauce.  Bake 30-45 minutes.
Enjoy!

Latin Beef - Home Cooked Recipe 64

I needed a new recipe for ground beef and I was looking for something with a Latin flair.  I looked up some recipes online and decided to combine a couple to make my own ground beef recipe.  I call it Latin Beef (creative I know, LoL). It's easy, inexpensive, and perfect for a weeknight meal.

Latin Beef

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 cup of peas

1/2 a potato, small dice

1 small onion, small dice

1 packet sazoñ

1 tbs adobo seasoning

fresh ground black pepper

8 oz can tomato sauce

***I served mine with yellow rice, just make a packet according to manufacturer instruction

Directions:

Brown ground beef.  Add in onions and potatoes when you start beef .  When beef is browned and potatoes are mostly cooked through (10-15 minutes), add sazoñ, adobo and cook 2 minutes. Add in tomato sauce, then peas a couple minutes later.  Season with pepper to taste. Serve with yellow rice.

Enjoy!

Mexican Sloppy Joes - Pinterest Pick #7

We never ate too many sloppy joes when I was growing up but I have had them once or twice.  It's a great meal idea for kids but I never really considered it a grown up dinner. While browsing through Pinterest I came across a recipe for a spin on sloppy joes that had a Mexican feel.  I decided to try it and I am declaring it a winner!  Instead of the buns you could always use tortillas and the meat would also be great as a taco filling.  Lots of options!  You can find the original pin HERE and the website where I got the recipe is HERE.  Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest!

Mexican Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 poblano, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 10 oz can enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso)
• 1 cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded 
• 4 burger buns

Directions:
Brown the ground beef.  While halfway through, add in diced onion and diced poblano as well as garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  When beef is browned, drain and return to pan.  Add in enchilada sauce and simmer on medium low heat for 10-15 minutes.  Spoon meat over bottom buns.  Sprinkle generously with cheese.  Top with tops of buns and serve. 
Enjoy!

Meatball Stroganoff - Home Cooked Recipe 62

Today's post is a two part recipe.  One part is my own recipe for these delicious little meatballs that drown in a savory sauce and the other part is a Pinterest Pick (#5) for noodles cooked in broth and butter.  That's right, two recipes in one! You can find the pin for noodles HERE and the recipe on the original website HERE.

Stroganoff Meatballs

Ingredients:
Meatballs - 

• 1lb ground beef
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 slices white bread, torn in to tiny pieces
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tbs dijon mustard
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbs dried parsley
• salt and pepper

Sauce - 

• 1 packet brown gravy mix
• 2 cups sour cream
• 2 cups beef broth

Directions:
In small saute pan, cook onion over medium in olive oil.  After 5 minutes add garlic and saute 2 additional minutes.  Set aside to cool.
Place torn bread in to mixing bowl.  Add milk and let soak while onion and garlic are cooking.
Add beef, egg, and mustard in to soaked bread.  Mix well.  Add in cooled onion and garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.  Combine until everything is incorporated.  Refrigerate mixture for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350.
Form meatballs into golfball sized balls.  Place on cooling rack set on a baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes.
While meatballs are baking, make sauce.
Heat 1 cup beef broth over medium high.  Cook for 5-7 minutes until broth is reduced by half.  Add in gravy packet, whisking well.  Add remaining cup of beef broth, constantly whisking.  Reduce heat to medium low.  Let simmer for 5 minutes.  Turn heat to low.  Whisk in sour cream.  When meatballs are done baking, place them in sauce.  Let flavors meld for at least 10 minutes.  Serve with noodles or your favorite side.
Enjoy!

Broth and Butter Noodles

Ingredients:

• 32 oz beef broth
• 1/2 stick butter
• 12 oz wide egg noodles
• 1 tsp salt
• garlic powder (optional, I did not use it)

Directions:
Bring all ingredients, except noodles, to a boil in a large pot.  Add noodles and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit (I make these while the meatballs are baking) for 20-25 minutes until the majority of the broth is absorbed.

Blue Cheese Meatballs - Home Cooked Recipe 56

Can you tell I am obsessed with the beef and blue cheese combination lately?  There is just something so satisfying and umami about those two together!  I love meatballs, and combining them with blue cheese seemed like the perfect thing to do.  They turned out great, and I recommend you try them! This recipe is so simple and takes almost no time.  You can serve them with your normal pasta sauce, or blue cheese dressing for dipping.

Blue Cheese Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1/4 medium onion, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 4 oz crumbled blue cheese
• salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Form into golf ball size balls.  Place on a cooling rack you have put on a baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes.
Enjoy!

Blue Cheese Bacon Meatloaf - Home Cooked Recipe 53

This is not my mother's, or doubtfully your mother's meatloaf.  This is a rich, decadent meatloaf.  Not for the faint of heart.  Definitely not on a diet plan. This is an indulgence dish, but one that is amazing.  Filled with Umami (the "5th" taste, that is neither sweet, salty, sour, or bitter, but something beyond), this meatloaf is a savory taste you won't soon forget.

Blue Cheese Bacon Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef (only paid $2.49 as it was on sale)
• 8 oz crumbled blue cheese (I got this at Aldi for $1.98 - a steal!)
• 4 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled
• Soy sauce (just to drizzle over the top)
• 1/4 of a red onion, diced finely
• 1 egg
• 2 slices white bread, torn in to small pieces
• 1/4 cup milk
• Salt and pepper
• ***Onion powder
• ***Garlic powder
• ***Adobo seasoning
• *** = optional seasoning, but it is what I used, just a dash or two of each

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Line a baking sheet with foil.  Place rack on top.  Make a square piece of foil, about the size of the meatloaf you're making.  Place in center of rack.
Soak your bread in milk for about five minutes.  While waiting, dice onion and beat egg.  After bread has soaked, mix in onions, egg, and spices.  Mix well.  Add meat and combine thoroughly.  Let meat rest for at least 30 minutes.
Form meatloaf and place on foil square on pan.  Make a well in the center.  Fill with 1/2 the blue cheese and bacon.  Close meat around cheese and bacon mixture.  Drizzle soy sauce over the top of meat loaf.  Top with remaining blue cheese crumbles.  Bake for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes.  Slice and serve (I served mine with mashed potatoes and honey glazed carrots).
Enjoy!

Easy Salisbury Steak - Home Cooked Recipe 48

Who doesn't like comfort food?  And who doesn't need a new ground beef recipe?  Well, in this post, you get a little of each.  As always, in searching for new recipes I checked out Pinterest.  I found this recipe, and thought it was perfect for a weeknight meal.  So I made it last night, and my bf and I both agreed, it was delicious!!!  Find the original recipe here.

As a side, instead of noodles or potatoes or rice, I paired it with my famous savory cheese pies!

Easy Salisbury Steak


Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 packet onion soup mix (I used Lipton Beefy Onion)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup cracker crumbs (I used Ritz Garlic Butter flavor)
dash of seasoning salt
lots of fresh ground black pepper
a couple of dashes or Worcestershire sauce
GRAVY
1/4 - 1/2 cup sour cream (I used whatever was left in the container, and mixed the gravy right in the sour cream container so I didn't have to dirty another dish!)
1 packet brown gravy mix (I used the Aldi brand, super cheap and super good)
1 cup water
lots of fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. (Luckily, my cheese pies also cook at this temp, for the same amount of time - score!!)
Mix together ground beef, beaten egg, soup mix, cracker crumbs, Worcestershire, and spices.  Form in to 4 oval shaped patties.  Brown in a frying pan on both sides (about 2 minutes a side).  Place in a baking dish.  
Mix together sour cream, gravy mix, and water, then season with black pepper.  Pour over beef patties in baking dish.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven, wait five minutes, serve!
Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Muffins - Home Cooked Recipe 47

Need a new recipe for ground beef?  I am always looking for one, and am glad I found this one.  It is simple, delicious, and is great for dinner OR as a party snack!!!  My boyfriend originally brought me the recipe on the back of a calendar page.  I did some research and found the recipe comes from Betty Crocker and you can find the original here.  I did adjust it a little bit, because the biscuit batter was way too thin.  I also added minced garlic, and a touch of ketchup and dijon mustard to the burger mix.  Delish!

Cheeseburger Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tbs minced garlic
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• black pepper
• 1 tsp ketchup
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard (or any mustard)
• 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used a three cheese cheddar blend)
• 1 cup biscuit mix
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease muffin tin with cooking spray.

Brown ground beef with onion in pan.  Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute. Turn off heat and remove pan from burner.  Stir in garlic salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard, and Worcestershire. Let cool 5 minutes and stir in cheese.

Mix together biscuit mix, eggs, and milk.

Spoon a small tablespoon of biscuit mixture into each tin.  Top with burger mixture in each tin.  Top burger with 1 tablespoon of biscuit mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes.  I serve mine with a mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, horseradish sauce; use whatever condiments you like on burgers.  

Enjoy!!!

Goulash - Home Cooked Recipe 45

This recipe is affordable, filling, and easy to make.  Perfect for people who are on a budget, and/or are in need of a quick dish.  I have  been eating this my whole life.  My mom has been making it forever, and when I ventured out on my own it was one of the first recipes I asked her for.  Beef and macaroni... What could be better?

Goulash

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 8 ounces elbow macaroni
• 8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• ***optional, other spices such as paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder (I use a teaspoon of each)
• ***in my family we have always topped ours with hot sauce and parmesan cheese, feel free to use what you like (i.e. shredded cheddar, green onion, parsely, etc)

Directions:

Cook elbow macaroni according to package instructions.  Drain and set aside.  Brown your ground beef.  When it is halfway done, add in the onion and bell pepper.  When beef is almost done, stir in garlic and spices.  Next stir in tomato paste and let cook out for a minute or two.  Add in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Mix well and let cook on medium for 5 minutes.  Turn heat to low and stir in elbow macaroni.  Let combine for a few minutes, then it's ready to serve.  Top with parmesan and/or hot sauce to taste.

Enjoy!

Shepherd's Pie - Home Cooked Recipe 44

There are few things better on a cold day than a nice comforting meal.  Believe it or not, it can get quite chilly here in Florida, especially during January and February.  One of the meal's I would describe as a comfort food meal is Shepherd's Pie.  If you and your family love a good meat and potatoes meal, this is the dish for you.  There are a lot of variations and a lot of ways to make shepherd's pie, but this recipe is my favorite.  When listing the ingredients, I'll try to give you some options for things you can substitute or add to make your own spin on this dish.

Shepherd's Pie


Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (80/20) - you can use your favorite ground meat, ground turkey, lamb, or chicken work
1 onion, diced
1 tsp garlic paste (make your own with a couple cloves and a sprinkle of salt, or buy some from your produce section of your grocery store)
1-2 cups frozen mixed veggies (I use a carrot, pea, corn, green bean blend) - you can also use just one veggie, like 1 cup peas or 1 cup corn - or find your own favorite veggie blend
2 tbs soy sauce
1/2 jar turkey gravy (I use Heinz, but even the store brands are delicious - you can also use beef or chicken gravy, but I like the turkey the best for this application)
1 tsp seasoning salt
fresh ground pepper
1 tbs cajun seasoning (you can omit this but I highly recommend it.  Or sub something like chili powder, cumin, oregano, etc)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 8oz package shredded cheese (use your favorite, I used a cheddar/colby mix here, I also like sharp cheddar, but you could use a mexican blend or italian blend and it's just as tasty)
1 lb petite red potatoes ***you can also use the packet mashed potatoes instead of making mashed potatoes from scratch. Use 2 packets and make them according to the package directions.
4 tbs butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp garlic paste
plenty of salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Boil potatoes.  Cover potatoes with one inch of cold water and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.
While potatoes are cooking, brown ground beef.  When beef is halfway browned, add diced onion and garlic paste, stir well.  Cook 5 minutes and add spices.  Stir well.  Mix in soy sauce first, then turkey gravy.  Let cook 2 minutes then add in frozen veggies.  Stir well and cook, 2 minutes.  Pour into 8x8 baking dish.  Sprinkle 1 handful of grated cheese over top.
When potatoes are tender, drain in colander.  While potatoes are draining, add milk and butter to pot and let heat up until butter is melted.  Stir in garlic paste.  Add potatoes back and mash well.  Season liberally with salt in pepper.  Stir in one handful of shredded cheese.  Spread over top of beef mixture in baking pan.  Top with remaining grated cheese.
Bake for 30-45 minutes until cheese is melted an bubbly.
Enjoy!!!