Cheeseburger Soup

So when I made this and saw what was in it I was like um is this going to taste good? And I must say it doesn’t look very appetizing either, sorry to say. But it doesn’t! But I am telling you its good!

Recipe

1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 tsp dried scallions
1 tsp dried dill
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. flour
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups peeled and diced potatoes (optional) (I ended up not adding these)
2 cups cheese, shredded
1 cup milk
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp. sour cream (optional) (I didn’t add this either)

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, brown the beef,

stirring occasionally and breaking up any lumps with the back of a wooden spoon, 7 to 10 minutes.

Drain and set aside. In the same saucepan sauté onions,

carrots

and dried herbs until tender.

Add the broth,

potatoes (I ended up not adding the potatoes in) and beef

and bring to a boil. Reduce a heat, cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter.

Add the flour

and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring all the time.

Add to the soup

and bring to a boil. Cook for about 2 more minutes. Lower the heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in the cheese,

milk,

salt and pepper.

Cook and stir until cheese melts.

Taste and adjust the seasonings. Add the sour cream if you like. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish with cheese. Serve immediately.

Hamburger-Rice Skillet

We try to eat red meat only once a week and the rest of the week we eat chicken, fish or pasta. I also don’t do meatless Mondays…Someone (Dave) asked me for recipes for meatless Mondays, maybe that could be a new challenge for me…Maybe I could try it… I would do fish though. Would that be considered a meat? Its fish.

When I made this it was a tough day for me. It was February 28th, the anniversary of being laid off. I’m going on 10 months. I think I cried all day. Cried to Normy so much.

I couldn’t even stand being around myself. Poor Normy, He is so patent with me. So glad I have him. Also ranted to my friend Stacey.

Normy and Stacey are the two people who sometimes get me through my day…Stacey is Mrs. Positive. She reminds me all the time to stay positive. Most of the time I get annoyed that she says it, but then later I know she is right, and I get mad cause (damn it) she IS right! Normy just tells me to listen to Stacey. Her and Normy think a lot a like. These two get the brunt of my not so good days…They know how to handle me (I guess) would be what I would call it. I’m sensitive and very hard on myself and the people around me. It takes a certain, special person to be my friend…I’m very….passionate, and yes moody. I’m a Scorpio. I’m extreme and most don’t know how to handle me! But I am who I am and I am a work in progress. Always try to be the best that I can. Maybe it’s not what some would say is right and maybe some don’t agree but its me and all I can do is try, and just be my crazy self!

So this recipe is what I would consider to be an easy, boring recipe. (I am such a food snob). But easy and quick and good…

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium green pepper, coarsely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup medium grain rice

1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 1/2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cheese, shredded

In a skillet coated with spray oil, brown ground beef, onion, green pepper, and garlic until meat is browned. Drain off fat.

Add rice; cook stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients (except cheese).

Bring to a boil, reduce heat.

Cover and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally.

Remove cover, sprinkle with cheese, if desired.

Smothered Beef Burritos

Tonight I made dinner for our good friend James. As you know I love James, he’s such a great friend to Normy and Me. I have mentioned him a few times on my blog…Well he’s good peeps and ladies hes single! wink wink! Annnnyways so James ordered a cheesecake from me for his co-worker so I made it for him today and he said he would stop by and pick it up. Well James lives about 20-25 minutes from us but in lame Denver traffic it takes about 35-40 minutes so I was like well since you are driving alllll that way why don’t you just stay for dinner…Of course he said yes. He likes Jamie food! And as I’ve said before Normy and James are my two favorite peeps to cook for, as they eat everything on their plates and then some and they give me LOTS of compliments, I feel so great when I cook for these two dudes and (THE BEST PART) they do the dishes for me and clean up! What more can a girl ask for…(see ladies he does dishes, and did I mention he’s single!?) Hey I’m trying to help a good friend out here!

First you MUST check out the cheesecake I made for James…

OK Now back to dinner! So I texted James and asked what he wanted and he’s suggested Taco’s…So I was like hmmmmmm how about Burritos! Because when James comes over I always try to make something new each time! You can’t make the same thing! Beef burritos smothered in green chile! MMMMMMMM PERFECT! But not just any Green Chile…Santiago’s Green Chili! That stuff is the shit! You can’t stop eating it! I’ve tried a couple of recipes for green chile and I just can’t get it. I mean its good. But not Santiago’s GOOD!

So basically I just use my taco recipe that I have: Recipe and I do the same with Burritos, only I use flour tortillas and I put the meat and cheese on the inside of the tortilla and then roll it up and then smother it in as much green chile as I can and then top with Lettuce, tomato, sour cream, guacamole, salsa… Whatever you got and want to top it with.

Normy and James got the hot chile and I wanted to take a picture of them sweating but I was told not too! DARN!

Turkey Chili

So I recently discovered that I like black beans! Well not sure if like is the word…I hate beans. But I think I stated in a previous post that I am trying to get over that, because they are so good for you…So I find myself making more dishes with beans. Normy loves them, so I decided to just get over it and add them in and if I don’t like them, I don’t need to make a big, huge deal about it. Just simply push them aside if I don’t want them…so that Normy can still enjoy them! See this is what marriage is about, making meals with beans!

So the past couple of days it has been BEYOND cold here in Colorado. I have lived here my whole 33 years of life and well I don’t ever recall it being this cold! Supposed to get down to -21 degrees tonight. There is ice on the inside of our windows and it seems that Normy and I can’t keep our little apt warm enough! The lights in the hallway of our apt were barely lit tonight because it’s just too cold! The only time I left my house today was to go to the gym, the rest of the time I stayed wrapped up in a blanket with coffee and hot tea in my hand. At one point I was so cold and already took the hot shower, so I turned on the oven and stood in front of it with it open. Normy and I did it together at one point. It is just so cold!

So I decided to make some Chili. Normy told me he wanted something that would warm him inside and out for dinner. As he sits by a window at work all day and he kept telling me all day how cold he was. So I said I would make him a big pot of love! Also known as Chili WITH Beans! So I wanted a different kind of chili, something a little more on the healthy side so this recipe calls for turkey…

You like my hat? It helps keep my grape warm in these COLD temperatures, let me tell you, and…It’s PINK!

• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 cup Yellow Onion, Diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1-½ pound Ground Turkey Breast
• 1 can (15 Oz. Can) Petite Diced Tomatoes
• 2 cans (15 0z. Can) Tomato Sauce
• 1 can (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Rinsed And Drained
• 3 Tablespoons Chili Powder (more To Taste)
• 1 Tablespoon Cumin (more To Taste)
• 2 cups Green Pepper, Diced (I used one green pepper and one red pepper)
• 1 cup Shredded Cheese
• Salt And Pepper

1. Warm extra virgin olive oil in a deep stock pot over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and garlic; saute until tender.
2. Add ground turkey breast; season with salt and pepper and cook through, about 6 minutes.
3. Add petite diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and black beans.
4. Add chili powder and cumin to taste.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low; add green pepper.
6. Simmer 10-15 minutes, until green pepper is tender.
7. Serve with shredded cheese sprinkled on top.

Mac Salad

My inspiration for this recipe came from this video: recipe

I watched it a few times and wrote down what all she put in the salad and went with it…

She added in:

May-o

sour cream

cider vinegar

sugar

pepper

onion salt

garlic salt

Dijon mustard

green bell pepper

red onions

shredded cheddar cheese

Pasta Shell Noodles

(I believe I wrote them in the order she added them)

So go grab all this stuff and make some salad!

So this is how much I added, Just guessed…

First I boiled the box of medium shell pasta (you could use elbow macaroni) just the average box on the shelf in the grocery store is what I Used (not sure how much it is)

drain pasta, place the pasta in a big bowl

let it cool a little while you dice 2 red onions, (I added 2 small, if you have 1 big one add that)

Then chop 2 green bell peppers, more like a medium to small dice

set these aside

add to pasta, 2 cups may-o (I didn’t measure exactly) if you need more add more

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup cider vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 tablespoon onion salt

1 tsp garlic salt (again I didn’t measure exact, so you may need to add a little more of each to taste)

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

then add the chopped onions and Bell Peppers

add one 8oz bag shredded cheddar cheese

and stir, mix as well as you can so everything is incorporated.

Then taste…

add more onion, garlic salt, pepper as needed…

Then chill for about 30 minutes so the flavors can blend a little better. I tasted it when I first made it and then after I chilled it and it tasted better after being chilled for a bit…

Then, DIG IN!

I served mine with Creamy Red Pepper Soup, Turkey Sammie, and the mac salad…

Hash Brown Quiche

Before this recipe I had never made, or eaten quiche. I thought to myself one day, I am a foodie and I have never had, or made quiche. There is something wrong here. So I found this recipe and had to totally make it.

Recipe  (Adapted from Paula Deen)

• 3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 3 large eggs, beaten

 

• 1 cup half-and-half

 

• 3/4 cup diced cooked ham

• 1/2 cup diced green onions

• 1 cup shredded Cheddar

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

 

Beef Enchiladas

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 (1.5 ounce) package dry enchilada sauce mix ( I used the stuff in the can)
10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium skillet over medium high heat, cook the ground beef and onion until beef is evenly browned and onion is tender.
Prepare the enchilada sauce according to package directions. Pour 1/4 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish.

On each flour tortilla, place an equal portion of the ground beef mixture and about 1 ounce of Cheddar cheese, reserving at least 1/2 cup of cheese. Then tightly roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the baking dish.

Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and olives.

Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and cheese is thoroughly melted.

Jamie’s Taco’s

1 pound Lean Ground Beef

1 box of Stand and Stuff Taco Shells

1 package of Taco Seasoning (we use Old El Paso)

1 Package of Shredded Cheese

Half a head of Ice berg lettuce Chopped

1 Large Tomato Chopped

½ Red Onion Diced

1 16 oz container of Sour cream

1 jar of my homemade salsa

1 box of Old El Paso Mexican Rice

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

In a medium skillet over medium high heat, brown the beef. Halfway through browning, follow Directions on seasoning Packet.

When meat is Finished Cooking Warm taco shells for 5 minutes on the center rack in the preheated oven.

When Finished Stuff Tacos with Beef, Rice, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion Salsa, and Sour cream. Serve with Rice on the side as well.

Twice Baked Potatoes

4 large baking potatoes
8 slices bacon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
8 green onions, sliced, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon.

Bake for another 15 minutes.

 

Recipe