Mexican Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup salsa, divided
• 1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 3 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 pound extra-lean ground turkey
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 4 hamburger buns, split
• 1/2 cup torn curly endive
• 1 medium tomato, chopped

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup salsa, cheese, paprika, oregano, cumin, sugar, garlic powder, thyme, salt and cayenne. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well. Shape into four burgers.
• Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 165° and juices run clear.
• In a small bowl, combine sour cream and remaining salsa. Place burgers on buns; top with endive, tomato and sour cream mixture.
• Serve immediately or before grilling, wrap each burger in plastic wrap. Transfer to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag or airtight container and freeze burgers for up to 3 months.
• To use frozen burgers: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Unwrap burgers and grill or broil as directed. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup salsa. Place burgers on buns; top with endive, tomato and sour cream mixture. Yield: 4 servings.

I used ground beef because I had some to use up.  I didn't use the curly endive. 

Orginal recipe is at:  http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Mexican-Inspired-Turkey-Burgers

Pizza Pasta Casserole

This recipe is from the Taste of Home website.  The original recipe is large and makes enough for you to have one casserole to eat and one to freeze.  I halved the recipe and did not make another to freeze.  Just half of the recipe was more then enough for a meal and left overs for everyone.  But if you want another casserole, double the ingredients I have listed.

Pizza Pasta Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
8 oz of spiral pasta, cooked and drained
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese.  ( I probably used a little less)
4 oz sliced pepperoni

Baked Spaghetti

This is a recipe I've been making for several years.  It's one of the few recipes I know both kids will eat. 


Baked Spaghetti


1 pound ground beef
1/2-3/4 package spaghetti noodles
2 3/4 cup water
1 jar pasta sauce
1-2 packages spaghetti seasoning
mozzarella cheese


Brown and drain meat.  Put half of spaghetti sauce on bottom of 9x13 pan.  Mix the rest of the ingredients (except the cheese) in the pan with the beef and heat until warm.  Put 1/4 of the meat mixture on top of the sauce.  Break up noodles and put them in the pan next.  Add the rest of the meat mixture on top of the noodles.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Stir and bake for another 20 minutes.  Then stir again and add the mozzarella cheese on top and bake for another 10 minutes.

Unstuffed Shells

Wow, it's been two months since I posted!  I've kind of been in a rut with making the same recipes and the few new ones I've tried haven't been worth posting.  Until I made this!  The orginal recipe can be found here on the Kraft website.  This is going to be a regular meal in our house!  I made garlic bread and veggies to go with it.  I had leftovers for lunch the next day and I can't remember the last time I've been so excited for what I brought for lunch!


Unstuffed Shells

4 cups medium pasta shells, uncooked

1 lb.  extra-lean ground beef

1 jar (24 oz.) marinara sauce

1 tub  (10 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Original Cooking Creme

 

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil.  I used dried basil.  I didn't really measure it but I would estimate that I used around a tablespoon or a little more. 

 

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1-1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Small onion or green pepper, chopped (optional)

 

 

 
Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt. Meanwhile, brown meat in a large skillet. If using an onion or green pepper, cook it with the beef.  Stir in marinara sauce; simmer on medium heat 2 min. Remove from heat. 

Drain pasta. Mix cooking creme, basil and Parmesan in large bowl; stir in pasta. Spread half the meat sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover with layers of pasta mixture and remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella; cover with foil. 

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Take foil off after 20 minutes.

The recipe says you could refrigerate this for 24 hours before baking.  Then you would bake for 40-45 minutes, taking the foil off after 30 minutes. 

 

 

Spaghetti a la Philly

This is my most current favorite meal!  The original recipe can be found at Mommy's Kitchen.  I've made this twice in the last two weeks and it's a hit with the kids as well!  I think this would also be good as a meatless meal and plan on making it like that in the near future.


Spaghetti a la Philly
1 - lb lean ground beef, browned & drained
1 jar (24 -26 oz) Spaghetti Sauce
1/2 package (4 ounces) cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 - (8 ounces) pkg spaghetti, cooked and drained (I usually use whole wheat pasta.)
2 - tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the beef in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat. Stir the sauce and cream cheese in the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 3 minutes or until the cream cheese is melted, stirring often. Place the spaghetti into a large bowl. Add the beef mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and serve.

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
(about 1 1/2 cups each)

Debdoozie's Blue Ribbon Chili

This is our favorite chili recipe. Or I should say our favorite beef chili recipe because we also have a favorite chicken chili recipe. The original recipe can be found here. It's easy to make, doesn't take a lot of ingredients and tasts so good! I've also made this in the crock pot and let it cook on low for a few hours. Sometimes I also make some noodles, either spagetti noodles or elbow macaroni, on the side to add to the chili if desired.

Debdoozie's Blue Ribbon Chili

2 lbs ground beef (sometimes I only use 1 lb)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
2 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1 (8 oz) jar salsa
4 tablespoons chili seasoning mix ( I use one chili seasoning packet)
1 (15 oz) can light red kidney beans
1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans

In a large saaucepan over medium heat, combine the ground beef and the onion and saute for 10 minutes or until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain grease.

Add the ground black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, salsa, chili seasoning mix, and kidney beans. Mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least an hour.

Taco Pasta

This was an easy and versatile recipe that I recently came across on lynnskitchenadventures.com. Everyone seemed to like this. It's actually a "casserole" but I made it into a skillet meal to save some time. The original recipe says that you can use 16 oz of pasta and then add a can of rotel so it's not dry. That's what I did and I still thought it was a little dry. I added a little salsa and that seemed to help. I did not add the green chiles just because I thought the rotel added enough spice and the kids were going to be eating this. If not using the rotel, I would definitely add the chiles. Using 16 oz of pasta made a lot. If you don't want a lot of left overs, I would only use 8 oz of pasta.

Taco Pasta:

1 pound ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 package (8 oz) shell macaroni, cooked and drained
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chiles
shredded cheddar cheese

In a skillet, brown ground beef over medium high heat. Drain and add taco seasoning, tomato sauce, and green chiles. Stir in cooked macaroni. At this point, you could either sprinkle some cheese on top and let melt and serve. Or, place in a 9x13 inch baking dish, top with cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Hamburger Vegetable Soup

1 lb ground beef
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
2 (1 ounce) packages dry onion soup mix
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
3/4 cup elbow macaroni*

In a saute pan, brown ground beef over medium heat

Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, combine broth, water, onion soup mix, tomato sauce, celery, onion, frozen vegetables and macaroni. Bring to a boil and then simmer until macaroni is done.

Add browned ground beef, mix, and serve.

*Lacey's note-I used 1 1/4 cup macaroni. It turned out fine with that amount, but could have had a little more broth. Maybe add a little more water or chicken broth if you are going to add more macaroni.