Recipes, As promised

Nacho Pie

1 lb Ground Beef, browned
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
1 - 8oz Can Tomato Sauce
3/4 Cup Water
1 - Packet Taco Seasoning Mix
1 - Tube Pillsbury Crescent Roll Dough
1 1/2 Cup Crushed Corn Doritos or Any Brand Corn Tortilla Chips
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 - Cup Kraft Mexican Cheese Blend Shredded Cheese
additional sour cream for garnish, diced tomatoes and sliced black olives (if desired)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
1. In large skillet brown beef and onion over medium heat till done.
2. Drain off any grease. Stir in tomato sauce, water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes.
3. Separate Crescent rolls into 8 triangles. 4. Place in greased 9 inch pie plate points facing towards the middle. You might have to maneuver the triangles a bit at the end and turn some of them side ways, that's OK as long as the pie plate is covered completely.
4. Press onto bottom and up sides of plate to form crust. Seal perforations.
5. Sprinkle 1 cup crushed Doritos over crust. Top with meat mixture.
6. Using a spatula spread sour cream over meat. Sprinkle the Cheese and then remaining 1/2 cup crushed Doritos.
7. Bake 30 - 40 minutes or until cheese melts, pie is bubbly and crust is golden brown.
8. Cool 10 minutes before cutting.
9. Add a dollop of sour cream, diced tomatoes and black olives for garnish.
10. If the crust starts to brown too quickly cover the pie plate with foil from the bottom and up around the sides to cover crust. .

Reality Check: We cheated and used crescent sheet dough and a rectangular casserole. This was dinner last night and we ALL loved it. It's making the list for things we'll definitely make again.

Persian Chicken Polo
6 servings

500 g basmati Rice
Onion
5 tb Butter or oil
1 large Chicken, divided in pieces
Salt & black pepper to taste
1 tb Raisins
150 g Apricots, dried
1 tsp ground Cinnamon,

Fry the onion in 3 tb of butter or oil until golden, add the chicken pieces and brown on all sides. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add raisins and apricots, and continue to cook for a minute or two longer, turning the fruit in the fat. Sprinkle with cinnamon, cover with water and simmer gently, covered, until the chicken is very tender and the sauce reduced. Bone the chicken if you like. Wash and boil the rice according to the instructions in the package. Put 2 tb melted butter or oil at the bottom of a large heavy saucepan. Spread half of the partly cooked rice over this, cover with the chicken pieces, pour the rich fruity sauce over them and cover with the remaining rice. Cover the pan with a cloth, put the lid on tightly, and steam over a very low heat for 20 to 30 minutes. The cloth will capture the steam rising from the rice and help to make it fluffy. Serve all mixed together. Very Good!

Reality Check: This was dinner Saturday night. It also was phenomenal. We cheated and used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, because we like those. I also used the whole bag of apricots (170 grams) and cut them in half. Really good if you like Moroccan, which I do, or Chinese, which everyone does!

Meat Loaf Gravy
Servings: 10

2 tablespoons butter
4 shallots, minced
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
Dash of crushed peppercorns
1/4 cup chopped red bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped yellow bell peppers
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup veal or beef stock
1 cup chicken stock
2 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
Salt and pepper

1. In a heavy pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter, and sauté the shallots, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns, and red and yellow bell peppers over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.
2. Add the wine and simmer over high heat until reduced by three-fourths, to make a glaze.
3. Add the beef stock and chicken stock, and simmer, uncovered, over high heat until reduced by one-fourth.
4. Add the tomatoes and bring to a slow simmer. Cook, covered, for 20 minutes.
5. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Strain, discarding bay leaf and thyme before serving.

72 Market Street Meat Loaf
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup minced green onion
3/4 cup minced white onion
1/2 cup minced carrot
1/2 cup minced celery
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
1/4 cup minced green bell pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cumin
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup half and half
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 pound lean ground pork sausage, with no herbs or seasonings added
3 /4 cup prepared bread crumbs
Meat Loaf Gravy (recipe above)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Heat the butter in a heavy skillet and add the green onion, white onion, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes, or until the moisture has evaporated. Cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cumin, and eggs and mix well. Add the ketchup and half and half. Blend thoroughly.
4. Add the ground beef, ground pork, bread crumbs, and the vegetable mixture. It might be easier to mix this with your hands.
5. Grease a loaf pan and add the meat mixture, pressing it into the corners. Put the loaf pan in a larger pan filled 1-inch-high with boiling water. Cook at 350 degrees F for 45 to 60 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with Meat Loaf Gravy.

Reality Check: This was a very, very wet meatloaf. I used 2 pounds ground beef and 1 pound ground pork for this. It filled an entire 9-13 casserole pan. Full. That's a lot of meatloaf. If you make it, either plan to feed a crowd, eat for a week, or make two (or even three!).

Chicken Quesadillas

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced small
1 TBSP. garlic pepper
1-15oz. can diced tomatoes with the juice
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 flour tortillas
2 cups Monterey Jack and Colby cheese, shredded

* Fry diced chicken with garlic pepper until done. Set aside. Simmer tomatoes, green pepper, onion and garlic until all liquid is absorbed. Set aside. Fry tortillas on each side until lightly browned. Lay out 4 tortillas on cookie sheets. Top each with 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. Divide chicken evenly between the 4 tortillas, spreading evenly on top of cheese. Spread each with 1/4 of tomato mixture and then sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese over the top of that. Top with remaining tortillas and put in ziploc freezer bags. When needed, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place frozen quesadillas on cookie sheets and bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted. Serve cut into wedges with salsa, sour cream and guacamole if desired. To round this out, I simply heat a can of refried beans and make Spanish rice if time permits. A pizza cutter cuts these beautifully

Reality Check: Okay. When it came time to package these for the freezer, we were at a loss. We ended up putting them on paper plates and bagging them individually. Also, the salsa stuff is h-o-t so I made some with (for J) and some without (for kidlet). They can pull out 1 each, or however many they want and pop them in the oven and have a nice quick meal whenever they're ready.

Fifteen Minute Stroganoff

1 pound round steak
2/3 cup water
3 ounces canned mushrooms
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons flour
egg noodles, cooked and drained

Cut meat into thin strips; brown in shortening. Add water and mushrooms. Stir in onion soup mix; heat to boiling. Blend sour cream and flour, and add to hot mixture. Let thicken. Serve over noodles.

NOTE: To make ahead, prepare completely; let cool and freeze. On serving day, make fresh noodles and heat sauce. Sauce will separate somewhat, but vigorous stirring brings it right back!

Easy Day Before Casserole

7 oz. macaroni (uncooked)
1 can celery soup
1 can mushroom soup
1 small jar pimentos (optional)
4 oz. mushroom pieces
1 small onion, chopped
2 c. milk
1/2 lb Velveeta cheese diced
1/4 c. green pepper diced
2 c. ham, chicken or turkey, cooked and chopped
1 can water chestnuts, sliced

Combine all ingredients. Place in buttered 3 quart or 9x13 inch pan.

Refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 1 hour before baking.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake one hour, serves 8.

Reality Check: I cooked my pasta beforehand. I also left out pimientos and water chestnuts. Added a green frozen veggie, peas I think it was. We tasted the sauce to this and it was wonderful. Can't wait to try it hot!

Inside Out Ravioli

1 pound lean ground beef
salt & pepper to taste
1 md onion -- chopped
6 ounce mastoccioli pasta
3 cloves garlic
10 ounce spinach; frozen -- cooked
1 tablespoon salad oil -- (opt)
1 cup american cheese -- grated
16 ounce tomato sauce
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
6 ounce tomato paste
2 eggs -- well beaten
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 cup salad oil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup parmesan cheese -- grated

Brown meat, onion and garlic in oil (oil is optional for use if meat is extra-lean). Drain excess grease. Add tomato sauce and paste (diluted with 3 cans of water), dried parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 min. Cook the pasta as directed on package. Drain and rinse with cold water. Put back into pan in which it was cooked. Add cooked spinach, American cheese, breadcrumbs, eggs, oil and Parmesan cheese. Spread mixture in a 9x13" greased baking dish. Top with meat mixture. Sprinkle more grated Parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 350~F for 30 minutes

Reality Check: We didn't know what mastocioli pasta was--turns out it's ziti. I bought mini bow ties and they worked fine. Plus it's pretty. :) Kidlet tried the sauce to this and was FURIOUS we didn't have it last night, we we're having it tonight. We also did not use American cheese--we used cheddar and mozzarella.

Chicken Casserole Supreme

4 skinless, boneless chick breasts
1 can cr. of mushroom soup
3 T. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, pressed
salt and pepper to taste
16 oz. sour cream
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 large onion, chopped
8 oz. herb-seasoned stuffing mix
1/4 c. melted butter
10 oz. frozen broccoli spears, thawed and drained

Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a skillet, saute the chicken in the oil with the onions and mushrooms til browned. Add garlic and saute for 1 more min. Cube meat and add to a bowl with all the skillet contents, sour cream and soup. Blend well. Pour mixture into a 2-qt. casserole dish. Mix together stuffing mix, butter and broth. Set aside. Lay broccoli on top of chicken in casserole, place stuffing evenly over and bake for 45 min. at 350. Serve with cranberry sauce and a salad and add a veggie to supper.

Reality Check: I roasted 4 chickens Saturday to use in all my recipes. They were all seasoned identically without concern for what the recipes called for. Lemon pepper and Italian seasoning and olive oil. After I roasted my chickens and deboned them, I put all the bones and fat and bits and drippings into the crock pot, covered the whole icky mess with water, and let it stew over night. Sunday I had the best broth I've ever tasted. We used THAT in this recipe. And in ALL the recipes that called for broth, in fact. We also mixed our broccoli in the chicken and soup mixture.

Mexican Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb extra lean (at least 93%) ground beef
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 cup Old El Paso® Thick ‘n Chunky Salsa
1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1 can (11 oz) Green Giant® Mexicorn® corn, drained
1 pouch Betty Crocker® loaded mashed potatoes (from 6.1 oz box)
1-1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)
1 medium tomato, sliced into thin wedges
Tortilla chips, if desired

Directions:

1. In 10-inch skillet, cook ground beef and 1/4 cup of the green onions over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.
   
   2. Stir in salsa, chili powder and cumin. Spoon corn evenly over beef mixture in skillet. Cover and cook over low heat until mixture is
   thoroughly heated.
   
   3. Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat water and butter to boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in milk and 1 pouch potatoes with seasoning just until bended. Let stand about 1 minute or until liquid is absorbed; beat with fork until smooth.
   
   4. Spoon potatoes over corn in skillet; spread evenly. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining 1/4 cup green onions. Cover; cook over low heat about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
   
   5. Arrange tomato wedges in spoke fashion over potatoes. Garnish with tortilla chips around outside edge of skillet.
   
   Health Twist: Replace ground beef with ground turkey breast and use reduced-fat cheese.

Reality Check: Use whatever mashed potatoes you would normally feed your family. I'm partial to Ore Ida's frozen Smashers in the french fry section.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients:
2 cups quick cooking long grain, wild rice
2 cans low fat, low sodium cream of chicken soup
1 brick low fat or fat free cream cheese(softened)
4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 bag frozen broccoli
1 cup shredded low fat cheese of your choice
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp ground thyme
1 tbsp ground oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Directions:
Cook chicken breasts on the broiler,let rest.

Cook rice according to pkg. directions.

Cube chicken into bite size pieces. Cube softened cream cheese.

Make sure broccoli is thawed, and cooked.

Put broccoli into food processor and chop broccoli into very small pieces.

Add Rice, Chicken, cream of chicken soup, cream cheese,broccoli,and spices into a casserole dish.

Mix well.

Sprinkle with cheese, and breadcrumbs.

bake in the oven for about 25-30 mins or until cheese is melted and bubbly and breadcrumbs are browned.

Reality Check: Again, used my chicken from Saturday. Made two boxes of Wild Rice. Did not chop up broccoli, just used broccoli cuts. Worked fine. This is the one casserole I'm concerned about kidlet eating. It's got a lot of strong flavors in it and he might not go for it.

Tater tot casserole

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

celery, diced

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, diced

tbsp garlic, minced

1 family size can cream of mushroom soup

1 bag tater tots

2 cups shredded cheddar

enough skim milk to make enough soup for casserole (maybe 1/2-1 cup?)

bag frozen peas and carrots

Brown onion, celery, garlic, mushrooms. Drain and set aside. Brown ground beef. Drain and set aside.

In skillet, mix soup, veggies, including peas and carrots, ground beef, and milk as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Dump mixture in casserole. Cover with shredded cheese and tater tots.

Can be frozen.

Heat at 400 until bubbly.

Reality Check: We love this. Family favorite. I change up the veggies in it all the time. I thought peas and carrots would be nice this time, but I've made it with corn, green beans, mixed veggies--whatever I had on hand.

Fairy Pie

2 cups cooked chicken, diced

1 bag frozen mixed veggies

1 can cream of chicken, family size

1 8 oz sour cream

2 tbsp poppy seeds

2 rolls ritz crackers, crushed

1 stick butter, melted

mix chicken, soup, sour cream, veggies and poppy seeds. Pour into casserole. Crush ritz crackers in a large zipper bag and add melted butter. Mix well. Sprinkle cracker mixture on casserole.

Bake at 350 until bubbly and crackers are browned.

Reality Check: Again, this is a family recipe. I don't actually change this one that much, because we like it just like this.

Chili

per recipe on Carolle Shelby's Chili Mix package

Double batch, 2 packages mix, both salts, 1 cayenne, NO masa.

4 pounds ground beef

Reality Check: We love chili. We also love it chunky, so I make a double batch, use two 30 oz cans of tomato sauce, and 3o oz can of diced tomatoes. If you like it hot, use the tomatoes with peppers in them. We're milder folk.

Tamale pie

Fill casserole with leftover chili. Top chili with corn. Top corn with cheese. Top cheese with corn bread batter. Bake until Cornbread is done, according to package. OMG good!

Reality Check: This is another family recipe. I've eaten this my whole life and everyone loves it.

Well, there you have it. The recipes for this months cooking. If there's anything you saw on the menu that you don't see here, leave a comment and I'll try to get it for you. If you have any questions, I'll do my best.

Happy eating!