All Time Family Favorites

I don't usually cook the same thing twice.  I love to try new and different recipes so I buy a lot of cookbooks and cooking magazines and I watch a lot of the Food Network shows for ideas.  But these are the family favorites.  I would be put on the street if I didn't make them at least every now and than. 

Cheese & Chicken (or Beef) Enchilada

1 md onion, chopped
2 tbs margarine
1 ½ c cooked chicken or beef
1 pack (3 oz) cream cheese
1 jar (12 oz) picante sauce
1 tsp cumin
1 pack (10 oz) shredded cheese
½ pack taco seasoning
8 flour tortillas

Heat oven to 350. Cook onion in margarine in a large skillet until tender. Stir in chicken or beef, ¼ c of the picante sauce, cream cheese, cumin and taco seasoning. Heat thoroughly. Stir in 1 ½ c cheese. Spoon 2/3 c of the mixture into the center of each tortilla and roll up. Place in 12X7 inch baking dish. Spoon remaining picante sauce over top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 15 minutes.

Lasagna

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 Italian sausages, casing removed (optional)
1 jar chunky spaghetti sauce
1 tbs barbeque sauce
½ c picante sauce
1 c tomato sauce
1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
16 oz ricotta cheese
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 pack parmesan cheese
1 pack mozzarella cheese
1 box lasagna noodles

Brown ground beef, turkey and sausage together in large pot. Make sure you season the meat with salt & pepper as you cook it. Drain. Return meat to pot and add spaghetti sauce, barbeque sauce, picante sauce and tomato sauce. Turn heat to low and simmer. While sauce is simmering, mix spinach, ricotta cheese, nutmeg, ¼ c parmesan and ¼ c mozzarella cheese in a large bowl. If the mixture is too thick, thin it with a little milk or water. Cover the bottom of a 12X7 inch baking dish with a thin layer of the spaghetti sauce. Cover the spaghetti sauce with lasagna noodles. Spread about 1/2 of ricotta mixture over noodles than cover with about 1/2 of spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 of remaining parmesan and 1/2 mozzarella cheese. Repeat. Bake until the cheese is browned, the sauce is bubbly and the noodles are soft, about 40-60 minutes.

Pot Roast

Nicely marbled chuck roast
Salt
Pepper
Hot sauce
Red pepper flakes
Paprika
Garlic salt
Italian seasoning
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Olive oil
Small onion, sliced
2 celery ribs, diced

Preheat oven to 300. Season meat with salt, pepper, hot sauce, red pepper flakes (not 2 much of this, a couple of shakes will do), paprika, garlic salt and Italian seasoning. Heat olive oil in a steel pan or large frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add the meat and brown on both sides. Remove the meat and sauté the onion and celery until lightly browned and slightly tender. Place cream soup in the pan with the onion mixture and stir until mixed. Add 1 can of water and stir until mixed. If using a steel pan, add the roast back to the pan with any juices that have been released from the meat. If not using a steel pan, place roast in a baking dish and add soup mixture to it. Place in the oven and bake until the meat is tender, about 3 hours.

Shere's Own Recipe

Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 lb lean ground beef

1 lb lean ground turkey

2 eggs

1/4 c medium salsa

1-2 tsp chipotle tobasco sauce
1/4 c bread crumbs

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

2 tsp finely chopped garlic

1 c spinach, coarsely chopped

1/2 c mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1 stalk celery

1 carrot

1/2 md onion

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

3-4 c cooked rice (can use brown or white & I undercook mine a little)

4 lg bell peppers, seeded and cut in half from top of pepper to bottom

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray the bottom of a baking pan that is large enough to hold all the bell pepper halfs (I used a 9").  Place bell peppers in sprayed pan and set aside. 

 In a large mixing bowl, mix ground beef, ground turkey, 2 eggs, salsa, tobasco sauce, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and spinach.  Reserve half of the meat mixture to use some other time (it is great for spagetti sauce, meatloaf, meatballs, salisbury steak, nachos and any other recipe that calls for ground meat).  Brown the meat mixture in a large skillet just until it is no longer pink.  Add mushrooms, celery, carrots and onion to the meat mixture and cook until vegetables are softened about 5 minutes.  Add the diced tomatoes to the pan and cook for 5 minutes more.  Add cooked rice to the pan (add rice to your liking.  We love rice in this house so I tend to use more) ensuring that you leave some cooking liquid in the pan.  It should not be too wet (like a soup or stew) but you will see some cooking liquid on the surface of the mixture. 

Fill each bell pepper half with the mixture.  Be generous, it is okay if the cups overflow a bit.  Bake in the over for 30-45 minutes.  The peppers will be soft but not falling apart.  

Yummy these are!