Patio Beans

Great side dish for picnics or potlucks, especially of you haven't been grocery shopping in a while and don't have ingredients for a salad. Everything in these beans should be pantry staples. These are different than other baked beans, and by different I mean better :)

 

Patio Beans

Source: Janet Rose

2 (15 oz each) cans red or kidney beans (do not drain)

1 can tomato soup

1 T dry mustard

1/2 c brown sugar

1 lb ground beef

1 T dry onion

4 strips bacon, cooked and diced

Fry and crumble ground beef. Add remaining ingredients. Cook in crock pot for 4 hours or in oven at 350 for at least 2 hours.

 

Lately I've altered the recipe a little so that it fits perfectly in my 2.5 quart corningware dish.

Patio Beans Variation

Source: Amy Pugsley

 

3 cans beans

1 can tomato soup

1 can tomato sauce

1 1/2 T dry mustard

3/4 c brown sugar

1 lb ground beef

1 1/2 T dry onion

4 strips bacon, cooked and diced

Same cooking instructions as above. Fits perfectly in a 2.5 quart baking dish!

 

The recipe says two hours in the oven, but I always cook them longer than that. I like getting the beans as cooked as possible to help with the gas issue (TMI???). I also have made them without the bacon several times. It's a sad thing to cut out, but I don't always have bacon on hand. The bacon definitely makes the beans better, but the beans are still delicious without the bacon.

Cowboy's Delight

This is about the only meal that has "delight" in the name that I trust - hahaha - but really :) 

I love this because it's super easy and yummy. It's great college food or great for letting kids help cook. Kids also love eating it!

Cowboy's Delight

Source: Janet Rose

1 lb ground beef, browned

2 cans tomato soup

1 can corn

1.5-2 c dry macaroni, cooked until almost tender

Salt and pepper tt

Garlic powder tt

Sugar tt

~1 c water

Grated cheddar cheese

Mix ingredients together and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Susan Larsen's Fast Dinner

I made this tonight for the first time in a long time. It's very simple to make - only takes a few minutes of prep and then (if you are like me), you can clean your house while it cooks itself! Score!

Susan Larsen's Fast Dinner
Source: Susan Larsen :)

1 package cube steaks (4 steaks)
Thinly sliced potatoes and onions (amount determined by number of people you are feeding)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can milk

Season and brown steaks in a large non-stick skillet that has a lid. Once both sides are browned, add potatoes and onions to the pan. Combine soup and milk and mix well. Pour soup mixture over meat, potatoes and onions. Cover with lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for an hour.

Ta-da! That's it! Easy peasy lemon squeezy! :)

You can also substitute tomato soup in place of the cream of mushroom.

BBQ Stew Meat

This is simple to make and delicious. To achieve best results, don't try to cut boiling time. Stew meat needs a lot of cooking time to be truly tender. Don't worry - it is worth the wait!

BBQ Stew Meat

Source: Janet Rose

• Boil one pound stew meat until tender (approximately 45-60 minutes).
• Mix together BBQ sauce (ingredients below) and pour over boiled stew meat in casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Super tender!

1 t pepper
1/2 c sugar
2 t Worchestershire
1 c onion
2 t dried mustard
2 t celery salt
2 t paprika
2 T vinegar
2 T butter
1 1/2 c water
3-4 T ketchup

Serve over baked potato or with rice.

Hamburger Pizza Roll-Ups

A little creation made from desperation one night. I was low on ingredients and craving pizza. Worked out great! Flint and I both loved them fresh as well as leftovers on the run.

 

Hamburger Pizza Roll-Ups

- cooked ground beef

- pizza sauce (1 can tomato sauce with a few shakes Tabasco, onion salt and Italian seasoning to taste)

- small cubes of cheese

- crescent rolls (I did homemade, store bought would work too)

Add a cube of cheese and small amount of pizza sauce and ground beef to each crescent roll dough slice and roll up. Arrange on greased cookie sheet. Let rise until double. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with extra pizza sauce for dipping.

I made these another time and did them as mini calzones. They worked well also. However, Flint and I both commented that pizza dough would have been better for the calzones.

Stew Meat & Mushroom Gravy Dinner

Stew meat (1-2 inch chunks of tough beef) is one of my favorite cuts of meat. Crazy that I just called a tough cut a favorite? Well, it's all about how you cook it. Or should I say, how LONG you cook it! When I cook stew meat, I usually make my mom's BBQ stew meat recipe. Last night I wanted to try something different, though. Here was my experiment:

Stew Meat & Mushroom Gravy Dinner

Source: Amy Pugsley

Add the following ingredients to crock pot:

1 lb thawed beef stew meat

~ 3 cups water

2 cubes beef bouillon

1 T dried onion

1/2 t dried minced garlic

1/2 t basil

1/4 t celery salt

Salt and pepper

Turn crock pot to high and allow to cook for 7-8 hours. Yes! 7-8 hours! Don't try to cheat and eat sooner. You will be chewing incredibly tough meat and won't be happy. About half way through cooking time, add one small can drained mushrooms.

Unfortunately, this is one crockpot meal that really needs to be watched. The water may begin run out - if this happens, add a few more cups. Continue checking moisture level every hour or so - if the water dries up, meat will be dried out AND tough. Hello jerky! The meat is ready to eat when it begins falling apart on its own and starts turning a pinkish color on the inside.

Five to ten minutes before serving, whisk 1-2 T flour with 1-2 T cold water in a small bowl. Add hot drippings from crock pot and whisk well. Pour flour mixture into crockpot and mix well. Liquid will thicken into gravy. Serve meat and mushroom gravy over noodles, rice or potatoes.

* Flint got seconds and said I could make this again. Success!

Chicken Fried Steak

No people, it's not chicken! I am always surprised how many people think Chicken Fried Steak is chicken. Let's set the record straight.... It's BEEF, people, beef!

I grew up watching my mom make this and it has become one of Flint's all time favorite meals. He will just about fly me to the moon if I make him this. (Sadly, flying to the moon doesn't cover doing dishes!)

Chicken Fried Steak
Source: adapted from Janet Rose (my mom)

1 pkg cube steak (4 steaks)

Prepare three pie plates:
1. Plain flour
2. 2-3 eggs and a little milk, beaten well
3. Flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, poultry seasoning and bread or cracker crumbs

Bread thawed cube steaks (flour, then egg, then flour/bread crumb mixture). Make sure to do a good job of coating the steak in each pie plate! Every layer is important. Use your fingers - get messy!

Place breaded steaks directly into a hot frying pan that has a layer of oil on the bottom. Let steaks brown well on both sides. Interior of steaks does not need to cook all the way. You may need to continue adding oil to your frying pan as you cook more steaks.

Prepare a glass 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Arrange browned steaks in the bottom. Add ~1 cup water and 1-2 chicken bouillon cubes. Seal with tin foil very tightly. You want the steaks and water completely enclosed so the steam/water can't escape.

* Alternately, if you have a cast iron skillet with a lid, fry AND bake the steaks in it! Same results, less dishes!

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Steaks should be super tender! If you need to keep it in the oven longer, just make sure the water hasn't dried up, you don't want jerky :)

Serve with white gravy and mashed potatoes (or in the case of my picture, with oven-baked steak fries). Delicious!

Seriously, this is always a huge hit at my house! It takes a little longer, but also makes my husband happy with me!

Enjoy your trip to the moon!

Spaghetti Meatballs

Lately I've been on a meatballs kick - lots of our favorite Waikiki Meatballs as well as lots of BBQ meatballs. Last Saturday I decided to switch things up and try something new. Spaghetti is my "go-to" easy and quick meal, but I've never (nope, never!) made meatballs to go with spaghetti. I did a quick internet search and Rachael Ray was the first google result. Typically Rachael Ray uses too many crazy ingredients for me. Not so with these tasty meatballs!

Spaghetti Meatballs

Source: adapted from Rachael Ray

Makes ~30 small meatballs

1 lb sausage or ground beef

2 t Worcestershire sauce

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c Italian breadcrumbs

1/4 c grated Parmesan

1 t garlic powder

1 "splash" milk

Salt and pepper

Combine ingredients well (KitchenAid mixer works well). Heat oil in skillet over stove. Use cookie scoop or hands to form evenly sized balls. Brown meatballs on all sides and allow to cook through.

Keep hot in a warm oven. Serve over noodles with spaghetti sauce and lots of cheese. Warm garlic bread or breadsticks and green salad make the perfect sides!

* She used 1 1/4 lb meat, but I refuse to open another package to get the extra quarter pound. That's why I needed the "splash" of milk - the mixture was a little dry without. I used sausage this time and loved it. Interested to see if we like ground beef better or the same.

* I made my own breadcrumbs: cube two slices of bread and place them in a 350 oven. Watch closely and stir often! Bread should be dried out within 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool and then place in zip-loc bag and crush with rolling pin.

Flint and I both really loved these meatballs and it took spaghetti from a quick last minute meal to something much nicer.  I will definitely make these again!

Beef Enchiladas

I keep searching for the perfect enchilada recipe and can't seem to find it. In the past few months, I have tried making enchiladas more than once with a "made-up" recipe and haven't been impressed. Today I took my "made-up" recipe and made some changes. The results? Much better! I was making enough to share so this recipe is huge. I will scale back when it's just Flint and I.

Beef Enchiladas
...or as Flint likes to call them: "Enchilupes" (en-cha-loo-pays)

2 lbs ground beef, cooked
1 recipe homemade refried beans (see below)
2 cans tomato soup
1 (28 oz) can medium enchilada sauce (red)
2 cans olives, sliced
1 lb grated cheddar cheese
16 (10 inch) flour tortillas

Homemade Refried Beans
1 can pinto beans, drained and washed
~ 1 t garlic paste or powder
1 beef bouillon cube
1/4 c water

To make the refried beans, combine ingredients in sauce pan and cook for 5-10 minutes over medium to low heat, stirring and mashing throughout until desired consistency is reached. Cooking longer helps take some potency out of the beans ;)

Once ground beef is cooked through, season to taste with salt and pepper, and add refried beans, 2-3 T enchilada sauce and one can tomato soup. Mix well and allow to cook for a few minutes. Meanwhile, spray two 9x13 pans with cooking spray.

Mix remaining enchilada sauce and one can tomato soup. Heat tortillas in microwave until warm and pliable. Spread a thin layer of the enchilada/soup mixture in the bottom of each pan. Divide meat mixture among tortillas; add a small amount of cheese to each one and roll up. Place enchiladas in pans, seam-side down. Cover with lots of shredded cheese, remaining enchilada/soup mixture and sliced olives.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

* The key to these enchiladas being better than my previous attempts was how much "saucier" they were. I was also afraid they smelled too spicy while I was making them, but I think
adding the tomato soup helped a ton with both issues!

* One 9x13 pan is being delivered to a friend. Instead of putting the other half of the enchiladas into another 9x13 pan for Flint and I, I divided ours into two smaller pans. I baked one tonight and stuck the other in the freezer for a quick, easy meal in the next month or so!

* Flint called these delicious and also mentioned he wouldn't mind rice being added to the meat mixture next time. He also said that more beans would be good.