Favorite Taco Salad

Favorite Taco Salad
(from sixsistersstuff.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans or black beans
• 1 cup (about half a bottle) Catalina salad dressing (I used a lite dressing)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 head iceberg lettuce
• Tortilla chips
• Your favorite taco toppings: cheese, tomato, avocado, olives, sour cream, salsa, etc

Directions: 
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and drain excess fat. Stir in the taco seasoning, chili beans and Catalina dressing. Add 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. 
Set out meat mixture, lettuce, chips, and all other taco toppings. Let everyone assemble their own salad. Top with salad dressing of choice.

We have made this several times over the summer and it hits the spot every time.  All the kids like it, it isn't as spicy as other Mexican dishes due to the more sweet Catalina dressing.  Our new taco salad of choice.

My favorite bean burrito crockpot/stove recipe

Beef and Bean Burritos

• 1 can refried beans
• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef, cooked and drained
• 1-2 T. taco seasoning
• 1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 c. salsa

1. Combine all ingredients and either warm on stovetop or keep in crockpot on low for 2-3 hours.  Serve in tortillas with desired toppings.

These are so kid-friendly even my 1 year old was eating them!  The brown sugar just adds a touch of sweet to offset the spice.  You can definitely forgo the sugar altogether if you'd prefer.  But we really enjoy this burrito filling.  Very versatile, easy, and tasty.

White Castle Sliders

White Castle Sliders
(favfamilyrecipes.com)

• 1 1/2 pounds hamburger
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 package Lipton onion soup mix
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter 
• 1/2 cup milk
• Sara Lee Classic Dinner Rolls (or any really soft small-sized dinner rolls), sliced in half
• Cheese slices

1. In a large bowl mix (with your hands or a spoon) the hamburger, Lipton onion soup mix, peanut butter, and milk. Spread the meat mixture on a cookie sheet with a lip. Use a cup or rolling pin to roll over the meat to smooth it out.
2. Put it in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. The meat will shrink. Take it out of the oven and put the diced onions all around the edges to flavor the meat. Place back in the oven for about 15 minutes.
3. Take it out of the oven. If you want onions on your sliders then spoon them onto the meat from the sides. Add your cheese slices. Put it back in the oven for 7-10 minutes (until cheese is melted). Then add the tops of your rolls (the bottom part of the rolls will just sit on the counter) and place back in the oven for about 5 more minutes.
4. Take it out of the oven. Slice the meat with a pizza cutter and pick up the slider/top bun with a spatula and set it on the bottom bun.

I love having homemade hamburgers, but I don't like cooking them on the griddle, touching the beef over and over again to form patties...ew.  This recipe was great because I just dumped the ground beef mixture onto a cookie sheet and let the oven cook it.  I also have enjoyed White Castle burgers in the frozen food section, since we don't have a restaurant around here, and I thought they were good.  I really like soft and small hamburgers.  Not a fan of that burnt charbroil flavor.  I recommend using extra-lean ground beef, since you don't get much fat drainage cooking them this way.  I still pat it down with some paper towels to remove extra oil.  I also liked the onion soup mix in the beef.  Tasty burgers!

Tastes Like Lasagna Soup

• Tastes Like Lasagna Soup
• (from Paula Deen)
• 
  
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped (I skipped)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (threw in a little garlic powder instead)
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 (32-ounce) box chicken broth
• 2 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups broken lasagna noodles (I used those cute little Ditalinis)
• 1 (5-ounce) package grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large pot, combine ground beef, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is browned and crumbles. Drain well.

Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese.  Serve with optional cheese, croutons, and/or french bread.

This was a fun take on lasagna!  It was pretty quick to throw together and we found it really good.      Of course, my kids will prefer regular old spaghetti over this soup, but I imagine most kids would find it rather appealing with all the optional add-ins and the fun little pasta.

Bulking up your tacos with that little baggie of meat...

Grandma Hope's Taco Filling
(from ourrecipeclub.com)

• 6 lbs. lean ground beef, browned and drained
• 2 green peppers, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 6 potatoes, peeled and grated (use hashbrowns if you'd like)
• 6 carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 pint ketchup
• 1- 46 oz. can tomato juice
• 3 packages taco seasoning (season to taste)

In a very large pot or electric skillet, brown ground beef and drain off fat. Add peppers, onions, potatoes and carrots. Stir until combined. Add in ketchup, tomato juice & taco seasoning. 

Simmer for about 3 hours, or until veggies are tender. Makes enough for a very large crowd, or for placing in tupperware containers and freezing until needed. Perfect for tacos, nachos, taco salads, etc.


This was really tasty, actually.  I had a little bag of meat, what- 1/2 lb or something?, and after all the potatoes and stuff were added there was actually a lot of taco meat!  Awesome.  This is great for big family dinners or reunions and stuff.  The potatoes bulk it up, the carrots are hidden tasty veggies, though I do recommend you grate them rather than chop them because they'll disappear better if they're grated.  The potatoes disappear, though you can taste them just a little.  I didn't have tomato juice, so I used crushed tomatoes and some water.  I also pretty much halved and halved again this recipe for my family. You just kind of eyeball it.  Also- to save time, because for sure I did not plan for 3 hours of simmering time, I nuked the potatoes and carrots in the microwave to soften them (don't overcook the potatoes) and then combined them with the cooked beef and onions.  The kids liked these tacos.  I made sure not to make them too spicy.  

Classic Italian Lasagna- fun to make and try!

Classic Italian Lasagna

(melskitchencafe.blogspot.com)

Red Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced (or 1/2 t garlic powder)
• 1/2 large onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
• 2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or a mix of dried oregano and basil) (I threw in some ready-made spaghetti seasoning instead so I knew I liked the red sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

White Sauce:

• 3 cups milk (not skim, I used 1%)
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 12 of the no-boil noodles, of which I far prefer the Barilla brand)
• 1 pound ground turkey or beef
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 8 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray or with a napkin dipped lightly in olive oil and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, brown the ground turkey over medium-high heat, breaking the meat apart into pieces with a wooden spoon. When turkey is cooked through, drain the grease and set aside.
3. In a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and one tablespoon butter. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. When oil/butter is hot, add the garlic, stirring constantly. When the garlic is lightly browned, but NOT burned, add the onion and mushrooms. Continue cooking on medium-high heat until the vegetables are soft and browned and the fluid has mostly cooked out. Remove from heat and either using a handheld immersion blender or transferring the vegetables to a blender, blend the vegetables to a paste-like mixture. Return the pot to the heat (pour the pureed vegetables back in, if using a stand-alone blender) and add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Then add the diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir. Cover and let the sauce sauce simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Right before using the red sauce in the lasagna, stir in the reserved ground turkey.
4. Also while the red sauce is cooking, melt the four tablespoons butter and when melted, add the flour, stirring constantly to combine and letting the mixture cook, while stirring, for a minute or two. Gradually add in the milk, whisking constantly. Add the salt and pepper. Slowly whisk the white sauce, ensuring it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan, while cooking it over medium heat. Continue slowly stirring or whisking while the white sauce cooks and thickens quite a bit, about 5-7 minutes. Add a pinch of mozzarella for good luck, if you wish!
5. To begin layering the lasagna, keep in mind that you’ll have three layers of noodles as well as three layers of the sauces and cheese – so plan on splitting all the sauce and cheese piles into thirds so you don’t run out at the end! On the bottom of your lightly greased baking pan, layer three pre-boiled noodles or four no-boil noodles, slightly overlapping the no-boil noodles. Layer the red sauce, white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, spreading all to the edges and top with another layer of noodles. Again, layer the red sauce, white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and top with the final layer of noodles. Layer the sauces and cheeses again.
6. Cover the lasagna with a greased layer of aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and let the lasagna sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

I know this recipe takes a little time but it is so much more interesting (to me) to spend a little time making something NEW. We were very impressed with this lasagna, and the kids loved it. Us adults did, too.

Lasagna Roll-Ups

(goodthingsutah.com)

Ingredients:

• 14-18 lasagna noodles (about 1 pkg), cooked al dente (I didn't use all of mine)
• 1 16 oz jar Alfredo sauce
• 1 16 oz jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 packet creamy pesto sauce, prepared with all milk (found next to the spaghetti seasoning packets)
• ½ C parmesan cheese
• 
  

• 1 lb ground turkey
• ½ lg onion, diced
• 4 slices bacon, chopped (optional)
• 1 2 lb container ricotta cheese
• ½ box frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
• Heaping ¼ C sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (optional)
• 1 ½ C 5 Italian cheese blend
• 1 lg egg, lightly beaten
• spices: salt, black pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, & ground nutmeg

1) Cook lasagna noodles until al dente. They should still have a good bite to them.
2) Combine chopped bacon and onion in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté until onions are translucent. Drain all but 2 Tbs bacon grease.
3) Add ground turkey to the bacon & onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste, ½ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp nutmeg and 1 tsp Italian seasoning, or to taste. Cook through.
3) Place meat/onion mixture in large bowl along with remaining filling ingredients. Season with ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp salt,1/8 tsp black pepper, & ½ tsp Italian seasoning. Combine thoroughly.
4) Spoon ¼-1/3 C filling along entire noodle then roll’er up. Continue with remaining noodles.
5) Spread ½ the jar of Alfredo sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan. Place lasagna rolls, seam side down in the pan. Pour remaining Alfredo sauce, then marinara and finally the pesto sauce atop rolls. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
6) Bake @ 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until parmesan is golden and lasagna rolls are cooked through. Enjoy!


These were a hit at our house, well relatively; half the kids ate them happily. I liked the sauciness, and the spinach/ricotta cheese. I used regular ground beef and skipped the bacon and sun-dried tomatoes. Of course you could do it meatless, too. The pesto sauce is pretty optional too but I think it adds a little something.

Different take on Spaghetti

Spaghetti a la Philly

Makes: 4 servings (about 1 1/2 cups each)

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 jar (24 ounces) Spaghetti sauce
  
• 1/2 package (4 ounces) Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese, cut into cubes
• 1/2 package (8 ounces) spaghetti, cooked and drained
• 2 tablespoons Kraft grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
  

1. Cook the beef in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat.
2. Stir the sauce and cream cheese in the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 3 minutes or until the cream cheese is melted, stirring often.
3. Place the spaghetti into a large bowl. Add the beef mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

The kids loved this. They love white spaghetti most, then this recipe, then red spaghetti. Stinkers. I thought it was good too, in fact, I think I upped the cream cheese to about 6 oz. This recipe is a good way to use jarred spaghetti sauce, because I usually don't enjoy store spaghetti sauce, but the cream cheese mutes the fakey flavor. Try this!

2 more chili recipes I really like

Chili (kid-friendly and tasty)
(Liz Rosenbaum's recipe)

• 2 lbs. hamburger, fried and drained (or as much as you have- I use about half a pound)
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 chili seasoning packet
• 2 green bell peppers (I skip)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (or to taste)
• 2 t. chili powder
• 3 cans kidney beans, draining 1, not the other 2
• 1 qt. crushed tomatoes
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute onion and green pepper with the beef.
2. Add all ingredients and heat thoroughly for 30 minutes on low.

Mandy's Chili (more fiery and mature, and very tasty as well!)

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced (optional)
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced (or use 1/2 t. garlic powder down with other spices)
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 1 can of chili beans
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1 soup can of water
• 1 or 2 cans stewed or diced tomatoes

Spices:

• 1 t. sugar
• 1 t. oregano
• 2 T. flour
• 2 t. ground cumin
• 2-3 T. chili powder
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. pepper

1. Brown the ground beef. Season with montreal steak seasoning if desired. Drain. Add onion and garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
2. Throw everything else in, with all the juices in the cans, and bring to a boil. Simmer for as long as desired.

Rachel Ray's Sloppy Joes

Rachael Ray's Super Sloppy Joes

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef
  
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped (optional)
  
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 crusty rolls split, toasted, and lightly buttered
• Garnish: sliced ripe tomatoes, pickles
  

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops.

If you don't have a good sloppy joe recipe, this is a good one to have. The Montreal Steak seasoning adds a nice smoky flavor.

Wendy's Chili recipe

Wendy's Chili
(from recipezaar.com)

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (29 ounce) can kidney beans (with liquid)
• 1 (29 ounce) can pinto beans (with liquid)
• 1 cup diced onion ( 1 medium onion)
• 1/2 cup diced green chili pepper (2 chilies)
• 1/4 cup diced celery (1 stalk)
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 2-3 teaspoons cumin
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups water

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat.

2. Drain off the fat.

3. In a large pot, combine the beef plus all the remaining ingredients, and bring to a simmer over low heat.

4. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 to 3 hours.

Well, I don't go to Wendy's to get their chili...who goes to a place specializing in fast food and frostys and comes out with chili? Or a baked potato for that matter? However, I have tried it, and enjoyed it. I don't make chili that often but when we have it, I want it to be good. This recipe hit that spot. Scale down the cumin/chili powder/green chili/black pepper to own family's preference.

Kid-friendly (really!) enchiladas

Beef & Brown Sugar Enchiladas(from recipeclub.blogspot.com)

• 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 can refried beans
• 1 can red enchilada sauce, divided
• 1/3 cup brown sugar-- or to taste
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided
• 10-12 flour tortillas

1. Brown ground beef in a large pan. Drain off fat & add refried beans, 1/2 of the enchilada sauce, brown sugar & onion powder. Mix well & bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
2. Fill one tortilla with about 1/4 of a cup of filling & 2 Tbsp. cheese. Roll up & place in a 9x13 pan. Repeat process until pan is full.
3. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over prepared enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, sliced olives, diced onions, shredded lettuce, avocado or guacamole.

Our in-home enchilada hater (Anika) even liked these! She didn't realize they were enchiladas until the next day. I had to try this recipe because of the brown sugar. I try every main dish recipe that uses it! These don't come off overly sweet, but do err on the side of less brown sugar and add to what flavor you like. The red sauce adds subtle spiciness to offset any sweet, as does the Mexican blend cheese, if you use that. I liked the beans mixed in with the beef. Made the consistency better than just beef, imo. Plus it tasted good. Of course I used uncooked tortillas! They only take a few minutes to get ready, and they taste so much better than regular torts!

Italian Shells

Italian Turkey Stuffed Shells
(picture and recipe from goodthingsutah.com)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 small onion, minced

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes (cut up and big pieces)

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (I used about half)

1 tablespoon dried basil (I cut in half)

2 teaspoons dried oregano (I also cut this in half)

1 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained

4 cups shredded Italian Style cheese (I used 2 cups from the Italian Blend cheese package)

12 large shell pasta and drain

1 pound of cooked browned ground turkey (or beef)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
   
2. Brown and drain the ground turkey.
   
3. Boil the water and cook the Large shelled pasta, drain and rinse with cold water.
4. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until translucent, about three minutes.
   
5. Stir in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, mushrooms, and 4 cups of the shredded cheese. Cook until the cheese has melted, stirring occasionally. While the sauce is cooking, add the cooked turkey.
6. Place the pasta in a 9x13 inch glass dish sprayed with cooking spray. Spoon the mixture into the shells, saving sauce to spoon around the shell pasta.

Cover the top of the dish with foil. Bake in the preheated oven about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with green salad or green beans and bread.

I saw this recipe on Good Things Utah. We thought it was great! I halved the cheese, didn't melt it before putting it in the oven, browned the onions with the ground turkey instead of separately to save time. The ground turkey is pretty healthy and cheap, too. It tasted good in this recipe! I cut the seasonings in half just to make it less potent for the kids. Season to preference.

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Laura's Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

• 1 pkg frozen meatballs (or you can make your own but who wants to do that?)
• 8 oz grape jelly
• 2 t. lemon juice
• 12 oz chile sauce

1. Combine all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 3-6 hours.
2. Serve over rice.

I'm pretty sure this recipe is from Laura. It is surprisingly good. The meatballs are rich, so a few go a long way. I think this would taste good in a sub sandwich as well. The kids like it pretty well, too. How couldn't they- it's got grape jelly in it!

Spaghetti and Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti Pie

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• garlic powder to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper (optional)
  
• 1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. In a skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef. Drain and crumble. Put crumbled beef in skillet. Stir in salt, pepper, garlic powder, bell pepper and pasta sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. In a small bowl combine sour cream, green onions and cream cheese and set aside. Coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and add the cooked spaghetti. Spread the cream cheese mixture over it, add the meat mixture and sprinkle with Cheddar Cheese.
5. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes until the cheese is bubbly.
   

Easier to serve than spaghetti and a nice change from spaghetti. The cream topping might not be healthy but it sure is good! Try light sour cream and light cream cheese.

www.allrecipes.com

Spaghetti Sauce

2 cans diced tomatoes, Italian style or regular, or crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 c. diced onion (I cook mine along with the ground beef)
ground beef
1/2 pkg spaghetti seasoning
1/2 T sugar, or to taste
1 can tomato soup (I use sometimes to use up food storage and to give smooth consistency)
any other seasonings or veggies you want to throw in. I like to cook the ground beef and then throw it all in the crock pot for a few hours.

My kids love spaghetti. It is O's and I's favorite meal; maybe the only one O eats! We eat it with cottage cheese. May sound strange, but we all love it.

Taco Soup

Taco Soup

• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef, cooked and drained
• 1/4 c. chopped onion
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 16 oz stewed tomatoes with juice
• 1 can kidney beans with juice
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 2 T taco seasoning mix
• cheese, sour cream, lime tostitos to put on top (optional)

Combine all over stove or in crockpot.

Crock Pot Lasagna

Crock Pot Lasagna

Lasagna no-bake noodles (I use probably only 4-6 broken up)
Cottage cheese or Ricotta Cheese
1-2 c. mozzarella cheese
Jar spaghetti sauce
Ground beef, cooked and drained (optional)


Layer in the crock pot, starting with sauce, then noodles, then cheese. Cook on high 3 hours, leaving lid off the last 30 minutes to solidify a bit.