Hearty Cheese Tortellini

~adapted from a recipe in a Taste of Home Ground Beef cookbook~

1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 jar (24 oz.) marinara sauce
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 package (19 oz.) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

*I used a spaghetti sauce with mushrooms instead of adding the fresh mushrooms.

Cook sausage and beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.  Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker.  Stir in the marinara sauce, tomatoes and mushrooms.  Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until heated through.  Prepare tortellini according to package directions; stir into meat mixture.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf by Lesa Gunn

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup onion, grated
2/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sage

Sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
3 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix ground beef, eggs, onion, crumbs, milk, salt, pepper, and sage well in a mixing bowl. put into loaf pan; pat and level mixture. Mix sauce ingredients (ketchup, brown sugar, dry mustard, nutmeg) together and pour over meat mixture. Bake about 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Unthaw. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

If frozen bake for 2 hours at 350 degrees and check the temperature before serving.

6 Servings

Pesto Meatball Stew

Makes: 6 Servings

Ingredients

2 14 1/2 ounce cans Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 16 ounce package (32) frozen cooked Italian-style meatballs, thawed
1 15 - 19 ounce can cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup basil pesto
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese (2 ounces)

Directions

1. In a 3 1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, combine undrained tomatoes, meatballs, drained beans, the water, and pesto.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.


Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 6,Calories 408,Protein (gm) 17,Carbohydrate (gm) 24,Fat, total (gm) 27,Cholesterol (mg) 34,Saturated fat (gm) 10,Monosaturated fat (gm) 1,Dietary Fiber, total (gm) 6,Sugar, total (gm) 6,Vitamin A (IU) 680,Vitamin C (mg) 2,Riboflavin (mg) 0,Cobalamin (Vit. B12) (μg) 0,Sodium (mg) 1201,Potassium (mg) 7,Calcium (DV %) 212,Iron (DV %) 2,Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Navajo Tacos

10 Rhodes Texas Rolls, thawed and risen

Vegetable oil, for frying bread and cooking onions

1 small onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 (15oz.) can pinto beans
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 cup sour cream

Salsa

To Prepare:

Flatten each roll to a 6-inch circle.  Fry each side in oil at 375°until golden brown.  Cook onions in a little oil until softened then add ground beef.  Follow directions on taco seasoning package to prepare ground beef.  Add pinto beans and heat through.  Place desired amount of ground beef mixture on warm fry bread.  Top with desired toppings.  

(from Girlfriends on the Go, by Suzie Roberts)

--------------------------------------------------------

This is a little different than the recipe I gave each of you.  Mostly I just switched the ingredients around to go in the order they are prepared.  Also, I realized that I gave you the recipe but not the instructions to prepare from frozen.  Basically you let the meat thaw and the rolls thaw and rise.  The meat is fully cooked so you will only need to heat through.  Then follow the instuctions to fry the bread and create your Navajo Tacos!  

Sorry that I confused things a little but I'm so glad I got to participate this month!  If anyone has any pointers for me please let me know.  Thanks!

Beef Empanadas

I know I have cooked this recipe before but I just think it makes a great September meal because it's easy, relatively light, you can pair it with all the fruits and vegetables of the season and have a healthy dinner. So if you want the recipe just look under the label for beef and mexican.

French Dip Sanwiches

1 LB Siced Roast Beef Sandwich Deli Meat
6 Sour Dough Rolls
6 Slices Provolone Cheese
1 Package Au Jus For Dipping

To prepare-
Slice rolls in half and open. On one side add roast beef and cheese on top. Broil on low for about 5 min. Prepare Au Jus to package. Cut sandwiches in half and dip in Au Jus. YUM!

Nutritional Facts:
Calories 413.0
Total Fat 13.1
Sat. Fat 6.5g
Cholesterol 50.6mg
Sodium 1,686.0 mg
Total Carb. 36.9g
Fiber 1.3g
Sugar 1.2g
Protein 35.1g

Tater Tot Casserole

Tater-Tot Casserole
1 lb lean ground beef
1 8oz container low fat sour cream
0.5 cup skim milk
1 10.75oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg (26oz?) tater-tots
1 can green beans
1 cup medium cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp onion powder

Directions
Brown the beef. Drain. Add sour cream, cream of mushroom, salt and pepper, and the onion powder to the mixture. Stir and cook until simmering.

In a greased 8x10 or 9x13 (depending on how thick you want your casserole) add the tater-tots. Then layer the green beans, sauce and cheese.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Makes 6 servings.
*If you want more sauce, add another 8oz sour cream and 8oz milk to meat mixture.

Nutritional Information:
Calories 380.7
Total Fat 21.1 g
Saturated Fat 10.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.7 g
Cholesterol 75.9 mg
Sodium 825.3 mg
Potassium 135.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate 21.0 g
Dietary Fiber 1.0 g
Sugars 0.7 g
Protein 25.1 g

FYI- This is how you would make the recipe if you were not freezing it. In order to prepare it from the freezer, follow these instructions:

Thaw the sauce. In a greased 8x10 or 9x13 pan (depending on how thick you want your casserole) layer the tater-tots, green beans, sauce and cheese. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Easy Swedish Meatballs

30 pre-cooked frozen meatballs
1 pkg. country gravy mix
1 cup sour cream
1 (12 oz. ) pkg. egg noodles


Prepare gravy according to package directions.  In a large saucepan, mix prepared gravy with 1 cup sour cream.  Add frozen meatballs.  Heat until meatballs are cooked through and the mixture is bubbly.  Serve over prepared noodles.


Nutritional info for meatballs and sauce only
Calories  285
Fat 19
carbs 13
fiber  .5
protein 15

Taco Braid

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 loaf Rhodes bread thawed
1 (15 oz.) can refried beans
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese


Follow directions on taco seasoning packet to season ground beef.  Roll out bread into a rectangle about the length of a cookie sheet.  Spread refried beans down the center.  Top with meat mixture and then sprinkle with the cheese.  Use a pizza cutter to cut strips along each side of the dough(even #'s on each side).  Starting at the bottom, take each piece, cross and twist.  Crisscross dough across top of filling.  continue until you pizza is braided.  Carefully place on a cookie sheet and back at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until bread is golden brown.


Recipe from girlfriends on the Go!

Spaghetti and Company

Spaghetti and Company
From the Cookbook "Dinner Is Ready"

3 lbs ground beef
3 lbs hot Italian sausage-Jimmy Dean
1/4 cup onion powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
15 26 oz jars Prego spaghetti sauce
3/4 cup sugar
3 small green bell peppers, diced
6 carrots, diced
15 mushrooms, diced
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup mustard
3 Tbl pepper

Brown ground beef and sausage with onion and garlic. Remove from heat. Add spaghetti sauce and sugar. Prepare Italian dishes or divide into freezer bags or containers for spaghetti. Label and freeze. Why “and Company?” This is great with other Italian dishes such as Manicotti, Lasagna, Ravioli and Pizza. Decide how much sauce you will need and make enough for all the Italian recipes you desire to make all at once.


Makes 60 Cups. (6 cups per bag)

Calories 317.9 (Again I'm not sure on these nutritional facts. I'm using Sparks.com to enter the information but they don't have the correct information for the Jimmy Dean sausage. It looks like it's 6 grams of fat and 72 calories per serving for the sausage so I can't imagine why everything is so high.)

Total Fat 21.4 g

Cholesterol 33.0 mg

Sodium 1,019.2 mg

Total Carbohydrate 23.9 g

Dietary Fiber 5.3 g

Sugars 18.2 g

Protein 10.4 g

Egg Rolls

This recipe is for 1 package of egg roll wrappers which is about 20 eggrolls.

Sorry, this recipe is really approximate. 

I just add stuff until it tastes yummy, but hopefully you'll get the jist.

1 pound groud beef, turkey, pork (I used ground beef for this exchange)

3-4 tsp. ginger root (you can buy a jar that's already chopped if you're afraid of the root...lol)

1-2 tsp. garlic

1/2-3/4 C. ALOHA Shoyu (you can find in Asian section...this is really THE BEST soysauce)

3 TBS. brown sugar

1 bag coleslaw

1 package eggroll wrappers

1 egg for sealing wrappers

oil for frying

Brown meat in skillet, I usually season with season salt and salt and pepper.  Add ginger root that has been peeled and chopped/ground to meat.  Add garlic that has been pressed/finely chopped.  Add soysauce and brown sugar, if it tastes too salty, then add a little more shoyu. 

 Add coleslaw to meat and cook until wilted a little. 

 Drain.

Add meat to eggrolls and roll.  I brush edges with egg to stick.  I usually add one heaping TBS or a little more, you don't want your eggrolls to be too full.  Heat oil to 350 and fry until golden brown.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

This is super easy, but our favorite.

1 jar of La Choy sweet and sour sauce.  Pour into pan or microwave bowl, add some sugar, a few tablespoons or more and heat. 

Enjoy with eggrolls.

Hope that this recipe makes sense.

You can eat right away or refridgerate and then freeze in a single layer.  When recooking, place on cookie sheet and bake at 400 for about 10 minutes or until heated.  You could also refry if wanted.  Microwave works ok, but they are a little more soggy when cooked in microwave.

12 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		302.3
Total Fat		11.1 g
	Saturated Fat	3.6 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	2.1 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	4.0 g
Cholesterol		34.3 mg
Sodium		745.7 mg
Potassium		211.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate		37.8 g
	Dietary Fiber	1.1 g
	Sugars	3.0 g
Protein		12.8 g

Lasagna

Lasagna

1 pkg frozen spinach
2 lbs ground beef
1/4 lb sausage
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/8 t oregano
1 12 oz package lasagna noodles
1 lb mozzarella cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c parmesan cheese

Cook spinach as directed. Brown beef and sausage. Add salt,pepper, oregano, worcestershire sauce; stir in spinach. Cook noodles, drain, rinse thoroughly. Arrange 1/2 noodles, 1/2 meat, 1/2 grated cheese, repeat. Combine soup and milk and spread over casserole and let seep in. Spread tomato sauce over the top and sprinkle with paremsan cheese. Bake at 350 in oven for 30 minutes. This can be prepared the night before, if so cover and refrigerate. When ready to cook, uncover and bake at 35o for 45 minutes.


Fat: 14.1
Calories: 234
Protein: 17.4
Fiber: 1.7

Beef Empanadas

1 lb ground beef,
1/2 can tomato sauce
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 green bell pepper, diced
1/4 large onion, diced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
12 empanada shells
1/2 can diced green chiles
1/4 package brown gravy mix

Saute the veggies until tender. Brown hamburger. Drain. Mix the rest of the ingredients together with the hamburger.
Add small amount of mix to an unthawed empanada shell*.
Pinch together with fingers or fork.
Cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

When pulling out of the freezer:
Unthaw, place on greased cookie sheet and cook until hot.

Can serve with rice and beans. Fun to top with lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup, salsa and/or sour cream or they're great all by themselves.

Nutritional Facts:
12 Servings**
Calories 106.0 Total Fat 7.9 g Total Carbohydrate 1.4 g Dietary Fiber 0.3 g

*The empanada shells you can find at a local hispanic market place, especially if it specializes in Argentina food. Either that or you could try a premade pastry shell.

**This is not super accurate. I can't find nutritional information on pastry shells and I threw away the original packaging. So probably double the amounts but I won't know til I buy another package of pastry shells. Sorry!

Tater-Tot Casserole

1 lb lean ground beef
1 8oz container low fat sour cream
0.5 cup skim milk
1 10.75oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg (26oz?) tater-tots
1 can green beans
1 cup medium cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp onion powder

Directions
Brown the beef. Drain. Add sour cream, cream of mushroom, salt and pepper, and the onion powder to the mixture. Stir and cook until simmering.

In a greased 8x10 or 9x13 (depending on how thick you want your casserole) add the tater-tots. Then layer the green beans, sauce and cheese.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutritional Information:
Calories 380.7
Total Fat 21.1 g
Saturated Fat 10.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.7 g
Cholesterol 75.9 mg
Sodium 825.3 mg
Potassium 135.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate 21.0 g
Dietary Fiber 1.0 g
Sugars 0.7 g
Protein 25.1 g

FYI- This is how you would make the recipe if you were not freezing it. In order to prepare it from the freezer, follow these instructions:

Thaw the sauce. In a greased 8x10 or 9x13 pan (depending on how thick you want your casserole) layer the tater-tots, green beans, sauce and cheese. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chili

CHILI

Recipe:
1 lb. ground beef
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped green bell pepper
1 (16 oz.) can cut-up petite diced tomato
1 (16 oz.) can dark red kidney beans (drained/rinsed)
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. dried basil, crushed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:
Brown beef; drain excess oil. Combine remaining ingredients. Bring to boil; cover reduce heat to low/medium-low; simmer 20 minutes.

**FYI - The nutrition facts will vary based on the kind of beef you get. When calculating the nutrition facts on sparks, I selected "lean ground beef". However, it did not specify what "lean" was exactly. I think the facts are a little inflated from what I use and how I prepare it.
Calories -- 308.8
Total Fat -- 16.3 g
Saturated Fat -- 6.3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat -- 0.8 g
Monounsaturated Fat -- 6.9 g
Cholesterol -- 56.7 mg
Sodium -- 793.1 mg
Potassium -- 430.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate -- 23.4 g
Dietary Fiber -- 7.7 g
Sugars -- 6.6 g
Protein -- 19.9 g