Grandma Ellen's Meatballs

 

This recipe was shared with me by my friend MaryAlice. They are yummy meatballs covered in a sweet and tangy sauce, very easy to make. She always serves them over brown rice, so I am also including the recipe I use for making brown rice in the pressure cooker.

Grandma Ellen's Meatballs

1 1/2 lb. ground beef

3/4 c. oatmeal

2 eggs

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. salt

pepper to taste

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. dried, minced onion

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Using a large scoop or your hands, form meatballs and place them on a baking sheet. 

Sauce:

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. vinegar

2 tsp. prepared mustard

1/2 c. barbecue sauce

2 tsp. Worcestershire  sauce

Mix sauce ingredients with a whisk until smooth then pour over raw meatballs in pan. You may have too much sauce to fit in the pan. Extra sauce can be heated in the microwave later. Don't overfill the baking sheet. (see Notes) Bake uncovered in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. You want the meatballs to be a nice brown on top and the sauce to be thick. Serve over brown rice topped with the yummy sauce.

Brown Rice (for pressure cookers such as the Instant Pot)

2 c. brown rice

2 1/2 c. water

1/2 tsp. salt

Stir ingredients in the pot. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before releasing the steam. Fluff and serve.

Notes: You can also scoop your meatballs into a 9x13 which will ensure you can cook all your sauce with the meat, but be aware your cooking time will increase by as much as 20 minutes.

Jenny

Oven Tin Foil Dinner

 

I enjoy tin-foil dinners when I'm out camping; but I don't camp all that often, so this is one you can make at home any time of year. It isn't seasoned with the fire smoke, but it's pretty good.

Oven Tin Foil Dinner

7 potatoes, peeled and sliced thin

1 large onion, sliced thin

1/2 lb. carrots, peeled and chunked

1 lb. ground beef

onion powder

garlic powder

salt and pepper

1 tsp. beef bouillon powder

Spray a 9x13 with cooking spray and layer sliced potatoes, onions and carrots. Crumble beef over the top, sprinkle with all seasonings. (You can stir it if you like to distribute everything, or leave it in layers.) Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Serve with ketchup.

Notes: While living in Michigan, some friends we met spoon cream of mushroom soup over their tin foil dinners before cooking. I think you can assemble whatever ingredients you like, then bake as directed.

Jenny

Taco Casserole

 

We loved this! It has all the yummy taste of tacos layered up lasagna-style. We ate it with dollops of sour cream, but after trying it, I would add a bed of lettuce and a sprinkling of sliced olives too. This uses lots of pantry staples, making it a weeknight friendly meal.

Taco Casserole

1 lb. ground beef

1 med. onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

Brown this together in a skillet. Add:

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1/4 c. water

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 (14 oz.) can corn, drained

1 (14 oz.) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Stir together and heat through. 

9 flour tortillas

1 can cream of chicken soup, diluted with 2/3 c. of milk

1 c. grated cheese

In a greased 9x13 pan, layer 3 tortillas, tearing them as needed to make an even layer. Layer 1/2 of the ground beef mix on tortillas. drizzle a little less than 1/2 of the soup over the beef layer.  Add a 2nd layer of tortillas, remaining beef mix, then top with remaining tortillas.  Pour remaining soup over top and spread to cover. Top with cheese, bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve hot with sour cream, guacamole, sliced olives, shredded lettuce, or any other favorite taco toppings.

Notes: This could be spicier using a can of diced chilies in place of the green pepper and adding some Tabasco sauce to the meat mix.  We liked it as is, but a little spice is always nice. 

This could also be a useful make-ahead meal, storing it in the refrigerator after assembly until you are ready to bake it. If you are cooking for a smaller crowd, with a little tweaking, this could be made in two smaller pans, and one could be frozen for later.

Jenny

Beef and Bean Taco Filling

My kids love crunchy tacos, and they can eat a mountain of them. I developed this recipe to make the ground beef stretch to fill more tacos, and it is delicious and hearty. If you want other recipes to help with eating meat on a budget, check out Stretch the Meat, Stretch the Dollar.

Beef and Bean Taco Filling
1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
2/3 c. rolled oats
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
5 Tbsp. taco seasoning
1 1/4 c. water

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and onion together. If you are using lean ground beef, add the oatmeal toward the end of browning. If you are using ground beef that will need the fat spooned off, brown it and spoon fat before adding the oatmeal, then give the oatmeal a few minutes to brown as you stir it around with the beef a bit.  When all of that is brown, stir in beans, taco seasoning and water and let it simmer about 10 min. Serve in taco shells with your choice of toppings.  Fills about 20 standard size tacos.

Notes: If you don't need this much for your family, you could cut the recipe in half, or you could just freeze the leftovers for a very fast second meal; heat and eat.
Jenny

Swedish Meatballs

I have a love for these, but they take a long time to make from scratch. This recipe is one I developed to use frozen meatballs, and it is oh, so good and fast to throw together. Serve it with Lingonberry jam if you have it, or we enjoy it with homemade plum jam or cranberry sauce.

Swedish Meatballs
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. water
4 tsp. beef bouillon powder
3 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
a dash of ground allspice

2 lbs. frozen meatballs

In an oven safe dish with a cover (tin foil works) place the frozen meatballs. Combine the milk, water, flour and seasonings in a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour over meatballs. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 25 min. Stir. Bake uncovered for 15 min. more. Serve over 1 lb. of cooked wide egg noodles, tossed while they are hot with about 4 Tbsp. melted butter.

Yum!

Notes: If you would like a meatball recipe to start from scratch, or for making your own frozen meatballs, try Meatballs for Freezing.

Jenny

Meatballs for Freezing

With the holidays in full swing, I wanted to post this recipe which is helpful as a quick dinner item or nice to have on hand for making appetizers for company or to take to the holiday parties.  The meatballs take very little time for the payback. Ideas for using them are listed after the recipe.

Meatballs for Freezing
4 lbs of ground beef
2 eggs
2 c. dry bread crumbs or rolled oats
1 onion, chopped very fine
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 c. milk

In a large bowl, with a strong wooden spoon, or using clean hands, mix all ingredients together until evenly combined.  Using a scoop or your hands, form meatballs about the size of a walnut and place on a baking sheets.  You can crowd on as many meatball as you can, they actually shrink a little as they bake. Bake meatballs in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 25-30 min. until browned.  Let meatballs cool.  Remove from pan with a spatula and transfer to large freezer bags in groups of about 20 meatballs.  I usually get about 4 bags. Squeeze out the air and freeze for up to 3 months.

To Use Meatballs:  You can thaw meatballs in the fridge or in the microwave.  They are ready to add to marinara for spaghetti, or for meatball sandwiches.  You can use them for Swedish meatballs or sweet and sour.  I like to add a package of meatballs to Mandarin Sauce and serve it over rice.  For appetizer meatballs, try one of these combinations in a crock pot:

My friend Emily buys a Smucker's Red Currant Jelly, empties the jar into the crock pot, fills the jar with yellow mustard, and dumps that in too.  Heat and stir to combine.  When the jelly is melted and everything is an even color, add meatballs and heat on low for an hour or two. Yum!

A similar method but different taste is accomplished by using equal parts grape jelly and barbecue sauce.

Notes:  Your meatballs will look much better than mine because you will pay attention to what you are doing and chop your onions very fine.... :) Don't stress about any grease that accumulates in the bottom of your pan, you are going to lift the meatballs out of that.  You can use lean ground beef if you like.

Jenny

Quick Lasagna Casserole

This recipe can be made in about 30 minutes, and my children appreciate it as much as the real thing.  I put this in a casserole dish that will fit in my microwave.  You can use sausage or beef in this, or both.  You can also use any pasta or cheese you like.

Quick Lasagna Casserole
1 lb. ground beef or sausage, browned
1 large can (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 lb. lasagna noodles, broken up (or other pasta)
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sour cream
1/4 c. milk
1/8 tsp. garlic salt
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Boil pasta until tender.  Stir spaghetti sauce into browned meat and warm while pasta cooks.  Stir together, in a small bowl, cream cheese and milk until smooth, add sour cream and garlic salt and mix.  When pasta is ready, spread a bit of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of a 2 qt. casserole dish. Layer 1/3 of the noodles, 1/3 of meat sauce then 1/3 of the white sauce, repeat layers twice.  Top the last layer of white sauce with cheese.  Microwave on high for 8 minutes, or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbling.  Serve with French bread and a salad.  Serves 4-6

Notes:  I have a few noodles left over from my layers when I use a whole box of lasagna noodles.  So, if you want to start with less, you can.  You can use cottage cheese in place of the cream cheese/sour cream sauce.  You might like to still add the milk to thin it a bit.

Clip art from vintagefeedsacks.blogspot.com

Jenny

Beef Taco Skillet

This recipe comes from a cooking with Campbell's Soup pamphlet, but I have tweaked it to feed a bigger crowd.  The tortillas in it always make my kids hesitant, until they taste it, then it disappears.  You can also use leftover shredded beef in this, which makes is a super fast-to-fix meal.

Beef Taco Skillet
1 lb. ground beef
2 Tbsp. dry minced onion
1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup
1 1/2 c. salsa
1/2 c. water
12 flour or corn tortillas, cut into bite-sized squares
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 c. shredded cheese

Brown beef and onion together in a skillet, spoon off fat.  Add soup, salsa, water, tortillas and tomato sauce.  Heat to a boil, cover and cook about 5 min. or until hot.  Top with cheese.

Notes:  I prefer flour tortillas and I like to serve this with a dollop of sour cream.  To use already cooked beef in this, just heat the beef until it is warm in the skillet with the onion and a bit of oil, then proceed.

Jenny

Spoon Burgers

Not a sloppy jo, just a burger with all of its toppings in the skillet.  This is a fast weeknight meal.  You can adjust any of the ingredients for your tastes, this is just a place to start.

Spoon Burgers
1 lb. ground beef
2 Tbsp. dry minced onions
salt and pepper
Brown together, drain any extra fat.  Add
1/2 c. ketchup
2 Tbsp. mustard
4 Tbsp. relish (I like sweet pickle)
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. horseradish sauce
a little water to desired consistency
Heat through.  Serve spooned onto hamburger buns with cheese and lettuce if you like.

Jenny

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Once in a while, I cook for two--me and my sweetie.  Because there are some things we like that our children don't appreciate.  This soup is one of those, we love it, and we especially love that we don't have to fight anybody for it.  But, if your household has a lot of mushroom fans, you will have to make this recipe bigger.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 med. onion, chopped

3 Tbsp. butter

In a sauce pan, melt butter and caramelize the onions in it over medium heat.  Add:

8 oz. sliced mushrooms

2 tsp. olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

Brown together, until the mushrooms are dark then add:

2 c. beef broth

2 c. cooked beef, cubed (I use leftover roast.)

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 c. heavy cream

1 c. milk

salt, pepper and smoked paprika to taste

Heat through and serve. Makes about 4 servings.  The picture shows this topped with skillet croutons.

Notes: This soup isn't thick.  If you want a thick soup, you could add a few tablespoons of flour to the browning ingredients just before the broth.  Make sure to stir it through to coat the flour particles in oil, so they will incorporate without lumping when you add the broth.  You could also eliminate the beef and double the mushrooms.

Jenny

Beef Stir Fry

This is a simple stir fry that "cheats" by using an Au Jus packet for making the beef sauce.  We really like it. 

Beef Stir Fry

1 lb. beef, cubed

2 c. chopped carrots

1/2 c. chopped onions

1/2 c. chopped celery

3/4  c. shredded cabbage

vegetable oil for frying

Sauce ingredients:

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. Asian seasoning

1 packet (1 oz.) Au Jus mix (we used Western Family brand)

2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 c. cool water

1 Tbsp. oyster sauce (opt.)

Prepare vegetables and set aside.  Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk and set aside.  Heat oil in a wok or skillet and stir fry vegetables for a few minutes, then add the beef and stir fry until it is cooked through.  Add sauce to the pan and heat and stir until sauce thickens.  Serve over rice or noodles.

Notes:  I use Pampered Chef's Asian seasoning.  If you don't have any, you could substitute some garlic powder and ground ginger, or, you could serve this over plain ramen noodles and use part of the seasoning packet in place of the Asian seasoning. Taste for saltiness.  Add more or less soy sauce to taste. You can vary the vegetables to suit your taste too.  I think it would be easy to use a bag of California mix frozen vegetables with this.

Jenny

Crock Pot Beef Stew

I love to put dinner in the crock pot on a busy day!  This is a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs kind of stew.  The recipe is from a Betty Crocker cookbook called Come Home to Dinner.  Yeast Biscuits would be delicious with this.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

1 1/2 lbs. potatoes, cut in chunks

1 medium onion, chopped

2 c. carrot chunks

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (10 1/2 oz.) can condensed beef broth

2 c. sliced mushrooms (original recipe calls for Shiitake)

1/2 c. flour

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. dried parsley flakes

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 lb. beef stew meat, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Mix all ingredients, except beef in crock pot.  Add beef on top.  Cover and cook on low heat setting 8-9 hours or until vegetables and beef are tender.  Stir well before serving.

Jenny

Green Pepper Steak

This recipe is from my home town cookbook.  I used to make it when we were in college using elk steak.  Now I add more beef and more vegetables to feed my crew.

Green Pepper Steak
1 lb. beef chuck or round, fat trimmed
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
Cut beef across the grain into thin strips, 1/4 inch thick.  Combine soy sauce, garlic, and ginger.  Add beef.  Toss and set aside while preparing vegetables.

1/4 c. oil
1 c. green onion, thinly sliced
1 c. green pepper, cut in 1 inch squares
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 c. water
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

 Heat oil in large frying pan.  Add beef and toss over high heat until browned.  If meat is not tender, cover and simmer for 30 min over low heat.  Turn heat up and add vegetables.  Cook about 10 min. or until vegetables are crisp.  Mix cornstarch with water.  Add to pan, stir and cook until thickened.  Add tomatoes and heat through, serve over rice.  Makes 4 servings.

Notes:  I substituted 1 1/2 c. sliced carrots for the celery this time, and found it yummy enough to want to add them in the future with the celery.  I used 2 lbs. of beef, but the same amount of soy sauce marinade.  I added the carrots after the beef, and simmered for 10 min. covered, before adding the other vegetables.  I also did not have fresh tomatoes, so I opened a can of whole tomatoes and used 4 of them, drained the juice into a bowl and added the cornstarch and water to that. Yum.

Jenny

Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup

Growing up, I thought this is what people meant when they said they were having Corned Beef and Cabbage.  It was the only one I knew!  My mother made this soup a lot when I was a child, so it holds comfort food memories for me.  My husband had really never eaten cabbage before our marriage, and thought I might be testing the depth of his love the first time I served it.  But, to our mutual delight, he liked it.  This is a great mid-winter soup.  Serve with bread and butter.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup
4 c. peeled, cubed potatoes
2 c. peeled, sliced carrots
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 head cabbage, cut into large chunks
1 can corned beef, cubed
salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, bring to a boil, 2 qt. water. Add potatoes, carrots celery and onion, cabbage and corned beef.  Add a little more water if you need to, remembering that the cabbage will wilt down into the pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 min, or until cabbage is tender.  Salt and pepper to taste. We always splashed just a little white vinegar over our individual bowls at the table.

Jenny

Hamburger Surprise

This recipe is from my little hometown cookbook.  What I am excited about is having a new Cheater-Pants Meal!  This was 20 min from "We'll have that." to "Come and get it!" And I keep these things on hand. The kids ate it with gusto, a win/winner!

Hamburger Surprise
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
Brown together.  Add
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can of water
Stir and heat through.  Serve over rice.

Notes:  The original recipe has you make a mixture of the hamburger ingredients and form them into small meatballs, brown, then simmer with the soup.  That would make for a nicer presentation, but I was in a hurry.  Start the rice first and everything else will be ready about the same time.  We ate it with steamed carrots and applesauce.

Jenny

Tamale Pie

This is a hearty can-of-this-n-that recipe.  The hamburger mix can be served over cornbread or you can serve it over scones and call them Navajo tacos.  Put the cornbread in the oven and then start the ground beef, this way, they will be ready together.

Tamale Pie

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 large onion
1/2 c. green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced

Combine these and cook in a skillet.  When hamburger is browned, spoon off fat and add the following:
1 can corn, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained

2 cans tomato sauce (or 3 to make it saucy to your taste)

1 can diced tomatoes with juice (you could also use the kind canned with chilies)

1/2 Tbsp.  sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 c. chopped olives (opt)

Heat through and serve over cornbread, sprinkled with grated cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream. 

Jenny

Rose's Forgotten Goulash

My friend called last night to give me a recipe, so I could write it down, so she could find it again if she forgot it again. Made me smile.  But I had all the ingredients on hand and made it for dinner.  Thanks for sharing, Rose, it was delicious!  And now it will be here where you can find it!  This is an easy weeknight meal.

Rose's Forgotten Goulash

1 lb. hamburger, browned

1 pkt. dry onion soup mix

2 cans diced tomatoes (seasoned or not, your choice)

1 c. sour cream
cooked noodles for serving

Add soup mix and tomatoes to browned hamburger.  Simmer 10 min. (Boil the noodles in the meantime.) Stir in sour cream and heat through.  Serve over noodles.

Notes: I stirred noodles into mine.  Measurement was 2 c. dry elbow macaroni.

Jenny

Tangy Beef Stroganoff

This is a nice, basic recipe from Taste of Home.  It is versatile, I use it sometimes with ground beef.  Sometimes I serve it over noodles, sometimes I stir the noodles into the sauce for easier serving at our table.  I like balsamic vinegar in it.

Tangy Beef Stroganoff
1 lb. sirloin steak
1/4 c. butter or margarine
8 oz. fresh mushrooms
1/2 c. sliced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp. flour
1 c. water
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 tsp. beef bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1c. sour cream
Hot cooked noodles

Cut beef into strips or cubes, in a large skillet over medium high heat, cook beef in butter until no longer pink. Remove with slotted spoon and keep warm.  In the pan juices, cook mushrooms, onion and garlic until tender; stir in flour.  Add water, lemon juice, vinegar, bouillon, salt and pepper; bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2 min.  Stir in sour cream and beef; heat through, but do not boil.  Serve over noodles.  Garnish with parsley and paprika if desired.  Yield 4 servings.

Notes:  If you substitute ground beef for sirloin, omit butter.  I add the garlic and onion while I brown the hamburger, then spoon off fat if there is too much, and proceed as directed.  I also substitute canned mushrooms for fresh if that is what I have on hand, in doing this, you can just add the canned mushrooms to the browned burger in the skillet and omit the saute step.

Jenny

Leprechaun Soup

My mother found this recipe in the March issue of a children's magazine when I was young.  It is good, and easy. Besides, you can use a bit of fun and a little Leprechaun lore to help your children eat their veggies.

Leprechaun Soup
1 can tomato soup
2 soup cans water
5 beef bouillion cubes
2 carrots, sliced
2 potatoes, cubed
4 stalks celery, slices
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 c. chopped cabbage
1 c. frozen peas
1 c. corn
Put all ingredients in a soup pot and simmer for 1 hour.

Notes: I fluff this up a bit with an extra can of tomato soup and more water, also more potatoes. You can leave this as a vegetable soup, but my favorite is to add leftover beef, or a bit of browned ground beef to this.  In the photo, we added about 2 c. egg noodles, and liked it so well, I will probably make it with noodles from now on.  If you add noodles, do it when there is only about 20 min. left before you serve.

This would be nice served with Yeast Biscuits or Mary's Breadsticks.

Jenny