Impossibly Easy Mini Cheeseburger Pies

I have a Betty Crocker Calendar with recipes on it.  I have made these but with a breakfast twist.  This just looked like a fun, kid-friendly recipe.

Mini Cheeseburger Pies
Burger Mixture
1 pound lean ground beef
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tablespoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup (4ounces) shredded cheese

Baking Mixture
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Bisquick
2 eggs

Garnishes
mini kosher dill pickles
diced tomato
ketchup and or mustard
shredded lettuce

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray 12 regular muffin cups with cooking spray.

In a skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until beef is no longer pink and beef is thoroughly cooked (about 7 minutes).  Cool 5 minutes and stir in Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and cheese.

In a medium bowl, stir baking mixture ingredients with a whisk or a fork until well blended.  Spoon one scant Tablespoon in each muffin cup.  Top with 1/4 cup of beef mixture.  Spoon one scant Tablespoon more over top of the beef mixture.

Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Muffin tops should be golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes.  With a thin knife, loosen the muffins from the cups.  Place on a cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes.  Serve with garnishes and enjoy.

Slow Cooker Hearty Chili

I am always looking for easy potluck recipes.  This one is inexpensive and fairly mild.  For Clyde and my tastes we would do medium salsa and add some pepper flakes - but then we like things spicy.  This is really a very mild chili - even New Englanders liked it and I joke that they can't stand anything spicier than black pepper.

Slow Cooker Hearty Chili
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
4-5 cans (15 ounces each) red kidney beans, drained
1 can 16 ounces tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups mild salsa (I use the thick and chunky kinds)
1 cup frozen corn
2 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 Tablespoon Fajita Seasoning

Brown the ground beef.  I add the chili powder and fajita Seasoning to the ground beef and bloom the flavors (I also add the pepper flakes here if they are going to be added.)  Add the meat to the slow cooker and all the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker, stirring to blend well.  Cover with the lid.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours.  Stir just before serving.  Top with cheese and serve with fresh tortillas or crunchy tortilla chips.

This will serve 12 nicely.

Note:  I have a friend that topped her leftovers with cornbread batter and baked it as she would her cornbread.  There was nothing left.  

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I made this at Carianne's house in April. Everyone liked it, except Noah. "I am sorry Aunt Heidi. I just don't like spices." He didn't like the green peppers. It made me laugh. Anyway, I am doing this from memory since I lost the recipe a while ago. I made homemade meatballs, so that recipe follows.

Sweet and Sour meatballs
1 can  cubed pineapple
1/4 c. water
3 Tbs. corn starch
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbs. soy sauce
3 Tbs. white vinegar
1 green pepper, chopped
meatballs
rice

Drain juice from pineapple to get 1 cup, if you need to add water to make it, that's fine. Pour into skillet. Add the water, corn starch, brown sugar, soy sauce and vinegar. Cook on medium heat stirring frequently. It will start to gel up. After it is all like that add the meatballs, pineapple (from the drained can) and green pepper. Let it simmer 15-20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Meatballs
1 pound ground beef/turkey/axis deer/etc.
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 small onion OR 2 Tbs. minced dry onion
1 large egg

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients. (It works best if you just mix it with your hands.) Shape the mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on rectangular pan, 13x9x2. (Grease pan if using a meat with less fat like deer.) Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes or until no longer pink in the center and juice is clear. (makes about 24)

Swedish Meatballs

When I was a teenager this was an extremely popular dish.  It has kind of fallen out of favor because it is very time consuming but I made it not too long ago and decided to post it because it is worth the time for a special occasion.  Because you are using ground meat, it is quite economical but because you have spent so much time on it, it makes the ground meat become a very special dish. 

Swedish Meatballs
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup instant oatmeal
2 teaspoons minced onions
1 teaspoon Season All Salt (make sure you get the one that doesn't have MSG in it.  If you can't find that just sprinkle about an 1/8th teaspoon each of garlic powder, paprika, Cajun seasoning, and salt in the mix)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 pound lean ground meat (beef or turkey work great)
2 Tablespoons butter
2  Tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons bouillon granules - beef or any flavor works fine
1/8 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
2 cups milk
Combine egg and 1/4 cup milk in large bowl.  Stir in oatmeal, onions and spices.  Add ground meat and mix well.  Shape into about 30 meatballs.  Arrange on a baking tray.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes - until cooked through. 

5 minutes before the meatballs are finished cooking, melt butter in a sauce pan.  Stir in flour and bouillon granules with pepper.  Add 2 cups milk.  Cook and stir over medium-high heat until the sauce thickens and is bubbly.  Add meatballs and coat well. 

Serve as an appetizer with toothpicks or over noodles or rice for a main course.

Note: I quite often put a 1/2 cup sour cream in the sauce after it has thickened and just before I add the meatballs.  It adds a richness that is wonderful. 

BBQ Bean casserole

Carianne requested that I post this. I had her make it for my children while she was here. Despite my difficult can opener the recipe was a hit as usual. (I can't get rid of the underline, sorry.)

BBQ Bean Casserole

1 lb ground beef/turkey

1 (16 oz.) can pork and beans

1 Tbs. minced onion

4 Tbs. BBQ sauce

4 tsp. brown sugar

1 (10 count) can biscuits

1-2 c. grated cheese

Brown meat; drain fat. Add beans, onion (can use real onion, but I don’t like the texture.) BBQ sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil. Simmer 15 minutes. Pour into a casserole dish. Flatten biscuits and arrange to cover the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes until biscuits begin to look golden. Sprinkle with cheese and put back in the oven until cheese is melted. Serves 5-6.

Hamburger Stroganoff

I found this recipe when Clyde and I were first married. It is an easy go-to dish. I make it with reduced fat cream of mushroom soup and low fat or non-fat sour cream now.

Hamburger Stroganoff
1/2 pound ground beef
1 Tablespoon dried minced onion
1 Tablespoon flour
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooked wide noodles
Brown the ground beef with the onion. Add the salt and pepper. Over medium heat stir in the flour until none is left showing. Stir in the cream of mushroom soup and cook 5 minutes. Stir in the sour cream and heat through. Serve over the cooked noodles.

Note: This good over rice, baked potatoes or any kind of pasta

Shepherd's Pie

This is a great recipe for when there are leftover in the house. Use your leftover meat, (I have had it with leftover beef, pork, turkey and lamb) vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy for a great casserole. This is a variation on a recipe my Aunt Norma gave me.

Shepherd's Pie
1 pound ground beef or left over meat
1 can vegetable beef soup
1 can beef gravy or 1/2 -1 cup leftover gravy (This is actually optional, it just makes it richer)
1 1/2 cups mixed vegetables, leftover, frozen or canned
2 cups mashed potatoes
Shredded cheese
Brown ground beef. If you are using leftover meat, cut it up into small cubes or shred it. Rinse off any fat from the ground beef. Add the soup, gravy and mixed vegetables and combine well. Pour into an 9x13x2 pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Top with mashed potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until the center is cooked through and the edges are bubbling. Top with cheese and put back in the oven for 10 more minutes or just until the cheese melts.

Note: If you don't have gravy just add a second can of vegetable beef soup or one large can of vegetabel beef soup. You need the liquid from the soup for the vegetables and beef to taste good.

Turkey Sausage

I have tweaked this over the years until it has become one of our favorite breakfast sausages. I throw everything in my Bosch and mix it that way but it is easy to mix it by hand. I only use my Bosch if I am doubling or tripling the recipe. Then I know for sure I am getting all the spices mixed through.

Turkey Sausage
1 pound ground turkey (lean ground turkey breast is better for you but doesn't have as much flavor)
1/4 cup skim milk
1 Tablespoon oat bran or 2 slices of bread run through a food precessor and made into fine bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/8 seasoning ground dried ginger
Dash red pepper flakes

Add all the ingredients and mix well. Divide into 12 equal patties that are flat and thin. Refrigerate them overnight so the flavors blend.

A note: What I do is partially cook the patties and then freeze them - 2 per bag in 'snack bags' and then in a bigger bag in the freezer. This way I have what I need for breakfast and and they take just a few minutes to cook. Don't keep them in your freezer for more than 3 months though - they don't taste good after that.

April Fools Dinner

I love to do something fun for any holiday. I remembered seeing these a few years ago in Family Fun. So, I decided to try it last night.

For the "cupcakes" just use your favorite meatloaf recipe and fill foil baking cups 2/3 full. (It needs to be foil because of the grease.) Cook at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Make mashed potatoes and then add whatever food color you desire. (There is fighting at our house unless the color is gender neutral.)

For the grilled cheese I used a loaf of angel food cake and toasted it then added orange buttercream frosting (3 cups powdered sugar, 1/3 c. butter and about 1 Tbs of milk) I made. It was a fun meal. We did have broccoli for the veggie but it didn't fit the theme.