Meat and Pasta Casserole

This has always been a dish that lands on our dinner table on a regular basis. When my oldest son was little he absolutely loved this so that was one reason (we all actually have loved this one from the first time I made it) Another reason I have always made it a lot is that it is just so versatile, it really is what you want it to be each time. Feel like Mexican food this casserole can give you that. What if you want Italian, no problem, this casserole will go there too. The reason is this is really just a basic road map, you fill in the blanks and make it just the way you want it.

First you choose what ground meat you want to use this time. I have made this with all of the following: ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, ground pork, bulk Italian sausage, bulk pork sausage and Chirizo. All of them worked wonderfully! So whatever you have on hand or in the mood to use.

The canned soup: any of the condensed cream of whatever soups, cheddar cheese soup, nacho cheese soup, or tomato soup. Just so it is a condensed soup (you know the ones you would add water or milk to) and it has a creamy base.

Seasonings: dried herbs, (whatever goes with what you have in mind) some ideas: basil, tarragon, dill, oregano, Italian seasonings, etc

Spices: chilli powder, cumin, caraway seed, etc

Pasta: whatever shape you have on hand elbows, ziti, egg noodles just about any shape.

Crumb topping: dry bread crumbs (mix with a bit of melted butter), Parmesan cheese (mixed with bread crumbs), fresh bread crumbs (mix with a bit of melted butter) crushed tortilla chips, crushed potato chips, chow mien noodles (crushed)

So you see you really can go anywhere with this. I love to do the following combinations:

Ground beef, chilli powder, cumin, cheddar cheese soup and top with crushed tortilla chips.

Any ground meat, Italian seasonings, tomato soup and topped with a mixture of dry bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and butter

Meat and Pasta Casserole

4 oz pasta

1 pound of ground meat

1 onion, diced

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

(1 clove garlic, chopped optional)

1 (10 to 11 oz) can condensed soup, cream based

½ cup sour cream

½ cup milk

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

½ to 1 teaspoon seasonings of your choice

Crumb topping, about ¾ cup total or to cover your casserole dish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

Cook pasta according to directions on package, drain when cooked

Brown meat until cooked through and set aside. In the same skillet sweat the vegetables until slightly tender.

Combine canned soup, sour cream and milk until mixed well. Add seasonings, cooked meat. Cooked pasta and vegetables.

Pour mixture into an 8” x 8” casserole dish

Top with topping

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until heated through and top is browned.

Family Favorite Chili

This is my Go-To Chili recipe and what my kids think of when they crave chili. I have been working on it for many years and it is really still a work in progress because I do still change it up a bit from time to time. At this point I have to say it is excellent though.

At our house we always serve chili (homemade or out of a can) over rice in a big soup bowl. There is a bit of a story there. Many, many, many (you get the point) years ago, back when I was a young bride we had some very dear friends that dropped by one day. As dinner time neared they were invited to stay to eat (without consulting me as to whether this would be in the cards) and I went into a slight panic mode. You see, I had planned chili for dinner and there really was only enough for 2 not nearly enough for 4. EEK! What to do?? I started going through the meager supplies in my cabinets and found a box of rice. Aha, I thought rice will stretch almost any meal. So I made up a nice big batch of rice, we filled our bowls with the rice first, topped it with the chili and then some toppings to garnish and a new family favorite was born. Now according to all 4 of my kids if there isn’t rice under it, it just isn’t chili!

You will find this to be a fairly mild chili, at least by many standards and yes, I have beans in there. I know, real chili isn’t supposed to have beans but I like them there.

You can top this with your favorite toppings, I have suggested our favorites but anything goes. This recipe multiplies easily and makes for a great inexpensive dish to entertain with. Just increase everything in proportion and taste as you go to adjust.

Family Favorite Chili

1 pound lean ground beef

2 medium onions, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon chili powder (your favorite brand)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon dry oregano

½ cup red wine

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

½ cup water

1 (15-16 once) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15-16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

In a large pan (soup pot or dutch oven) combine the meat, onion, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until meat is cooked through and veggies are tender.

Add cocoa powder and dry oregano and stir to combine. Add red wine and stir up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the liquid is almost all gone.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for at least 2 hours, 3 is better.

Add the canned beans and cook covered for 20 minutes to heat through.

Serve over in bowls over rice and topped with sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced green onions and chopped cilantro.

Margarita Steak Sandwiches

If you like a good steak sandwich I think you will love these. You will have to do a bit of planning ahead because first the meat needs about an hour in the freezer to make it easier to cut into thin slices (you don’t want it frozen just firmed up a bit) and then it really needs to sit in the marinade for at least a couple of hours.

I do use tequila in the marinade and you can leave it out if you really want to but I think you will be missing a lot of the flavor if you do. I do cook with alcohol a lot because I like not only the flavor it leaves behind in foods but because it goes a long way on tenderizing meats. You don’t need to break out an expensive bottle of tequila; a moderately priced one will do just fine here.

Margarita Steak Sandwiches

1 lb boneless beef sirloin steak

1 large onion, sliced

¼ cup lime juice (2 or 3 limes)

2 Tablespoons tequila

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic roughly chopped

2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon salt

Oil for cooking

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

4 large hamburger buns, toasted

4 slices Pepper-Jack cheese

Freeze the steak for about an hour and then cut into very thin slices across the grain. Place the steak slices and sliced onion into a gallon size food storage bag. In a small bowl combine the lime juice, tequila, oil, garlic, chili powder, cumin and salt and mix well. Pour the liquid into the bag with the meat and onion and seal the bag. Make sure all the contents of the bag are in contact with the marinade and place into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (3 or 4 is better) Turn the bag a few times during this process

Heat a large skillet over high heat when it is hot add a bit of oil to cook the meat in and then dump the entire contents of the bag into the pan. Add the green and red peppers too and cook until the meat is cooked and the onions and peppers are crisp tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Divide the meat mixture between the bun bottoms top each with a slice of cheese and broil until the cheese melts.

Hamburger and Pasta Skillet

I know I sound like a broken record talking about having foods in the freezer ready to make meals with but I am firm believer in doing this so I am going to talk about it. Today I am sharing a recipe for both a Hamburger and pasta dish that is really so much better than the ones you get in the box (you know what I’m talking about) and really just a quick to get on the table. This recipe relies on a base mix that I try to keep in the freezer all the time. I make this base up every few months in large batches and freeze it to make lots of different types of dishes. This process can be called “freezer cooking”  or “investment cooking” or any of several other terms. They all mean basically the same thing, you cook and freeze to use later. I have been doing this off and on for probably 20 or more years and I have notebooks (literally) filled with my favorite recipes. Today’s “Basic Meat Combo” is really versatile and I will share more recipes to use it in in the near future. It will keep in the freezer for about 3 months and will make 5 dinners each serving at least 4 people.

If you have your pasta and veggies already pre-cooked and in the fridge ready to go you can actually have the Hamburger and Pasta Skillet on the table in about 20 minutes (I timed it while I cooked this time)

Basic Meat Combo

¼ cup vegetable oil or shortening

4 sliced onions

4 garlic cloves, minced (or grated)

2 cups chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrot

5 pound lean ground beef

5 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

4 cups ketchup

Hot sauce to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat cook the onions, garlic, celery and carrots until tender. Add the ground beef; stir and cook breaking the meat up until the meat is cooked through. Drain off most of the excess fat, Add the remaining ingredients and combine thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasonings. Cover and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.

Cool and evenly divide between 5 pint size containers (pint= 2 cups) use a spoon to stir the mixture in the containers a bit to get rid of any air pockets. Label and freeze for up 3 months.

Hamburger and Pasta Skillet

1 pint container of Basic Meat Combo (recipe above) thawed

3 cups of cooked pasta (any pasta will do, I used whole wheat today)

2 cups cooked vegetables (leftover or frozen ones you have thawed)

1 8 ounce can tomato sauce

1 Tablespoon Italian herb seasoning

½ cup shredded cheese (your favorite)

In a large skillet  over medium heat combine all ingredients except the cheese, cover and cook  until heated through about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Be sure to taste and adjust the seasoning at this point. Sprinkle cheese over top (don’t stir in) cover and allow cheese to melt.

Serves 4 or 5

Beef and Veggies over Noodles with Peanut Sauce

This is the perfect dish for a night when you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table fast! I prepped the veggies while the water was coming up to a boil and it took only 15 minutes from the time the pasta was dropped into the boiling water until I had dinner ready to go on the table. The sauce isn’t spicy at all but you can certainly bump up the amount of hot sauce to your taste.

Beef and Veggies over Noodles with Peanut Sauce

8 ounces un-cooked spaghetti

1 pound ground beef

4 green onions chopped

8 ounces of fresh pea pods, cut in half

1 red bell pepper cut into strips

Salt to taste

1 ½ cups chicken broth

A few shakes of Tabasco (or to your taste)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

½ cup creamy peanut butter

Peanuts to garnish (about ¼ cup)

Cook the spaghetti as directed on the package and drain

Brown ground beef in a large skillet breaking the meat up when it is cooked through. Add the veggies and salt and cook another 3 or 4 minutes until the veggies are crisp tender.

Combine the broth, Tabasco and cornstarch, stir well to combine completely and add immediately to the meat mixture along with the peanut butter. Stir to combine everything together. Cook a minute or two until thickened and bubbly. Add the cooked spaghetti and combine.

Serve with the peanuts as garnish.

dinner's in the freezer- Meatball Subs

Dinner can be as close as your freezer. Since I live out of town a ways (closest grocery store is about 12 miles away) I try to have some things on hand to make meals from. One of my favorite methods is to make items in large quantities and freeze them in meal size portions. Today’s dinner is the merging of 2 of my favorite freezer items: meatballs and spaghetti sauce. Both of these I made up a month or so ago and froze to for future use. They can be used individually in many dishes or combined like today. They are of course good over pasta but today we were in the mood for nice gooey meatball subs. So I grabbed the meatballs, sauce and some sub-rolls out of the freezer to thaw and with the addition of some grated mozzarella cheese we had a quick dinner. All I needed to add was a salad to complete it. (Sorry for the picture, that is part of this I am having the most trouble with, I can come up with great recipes, taking really good pictures is a lot harder)

Meatball Subs
1 container freezer meatballs, thawed
1 container freezer spaghetti sauce, thawed
4 hoagie buns, heated
Shredded mozzarella cheese to taste
Heat the meatballs and sauce together in a small saucepan until heated through. Spoon onto the heated buns, top with cheese and put under the broiler to melt the cheese.

4 sandwiches




Meatballs for the Freezer

4 pounds ground beef
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combing all the ingredients in a very large bowl being sure to mix very well. Form the meat mixture into balls about 1" balls. Place the meatballs on rimmed baking sheets and bake 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Be sure to not over crowd the baking sheet with the meat balls. Immediately remove the meatballs to a paper towel lined surface to cool. When they are cool enough to handle put about 30 meatballs (divide them evenly) in each of 5 quart size freezer bags. Label and freeze.
Use within 3 months.
Makes 5 containers of meatballs.
 
Spaghetti Sauce for the Freezer
 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
32 ounces tomato sauce
2 cups water
12 ounces tomato paste
2 Tablespoons dry minced onion
2 Tablespoons dry parsley flakes
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

Combine all of the ingredients in a large soup kettle or dutch oven, over medium heat bring to a simmer lower heat to medium low and simmer 20 minutes. Cool and divide between 6   pint (2 cup) containers, label and freeze.
Use within 6 months
makes about 6 pints


On the spaghetti sauce I gave the amounts of the canned goods in ounces because I always check to see what size can is the most cost effective. Be sure to do this each time sometimes it is cheaper to buy multiple small cans sometimes the larger cans are more cost effective. Learn to think in the total number of ounces you need not the individual can size.