Shepard's Pie

Shepard's Pie, Lightened UpGina's Weight Watcher RecipesServings: 6 • Serving Size: 10.5 oz • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 7 ptsCalories: 290.5 • Fat: 11.1 g • Protein: 16.8 g • Carb: 31.5 g • Fiber: 4.9 g Potatoes:
1-1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, diced
3/4 cup fat free chicken broth
2 tbsp fat free sour cream
salt and pepper
paprika Filling:
1 lb 95% lean ground beef
1 tsp oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
8 oz mushrooms, diced
10 oz frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, peas, green beans, baby lima beans)
2 tbsp flour
1 cup fat free beef broth
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp freshly chopped rosemary leaves
1 tsp freshly chopped thyme leaves
salt and pepper Boil potatoes in water until cooked and soft. Drain and mash with chicken broth, sour cream, salt and pepper.Preheat oven to 400°.In a large saute pan brown meat. Season with salt and pepper. When cooked, set aside on a plate. Discard any fat in the pan, add oil, onion and garlic and sauté on medium heat about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and celery and sauté another 3-4 minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper and mix well. Add frozen vegetables, beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme, chopped meat and mix well. Simmer on low about 5-10 minutes.Spread the meat mixture on the bottom of a 11x7 glass baking dish. Top with mashed potatoes, using a fork to scrape the top to make ridges and sprinkle with paprika. Bake 20 minutes or until potatoes turn golden. Remove from oven and let it cool 10-15 minutes before serving

Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef
Fav Fam Recipes
This tastes JUST like P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef! You can serve it how P.F. Changs does (by draining the excess sauce and serving it semi-dry) OR you can keep the excess sauce and spoon it over rice (which is what we like to do because the sauce is SO good).4 tsp. vegetable oil2 tsp. ginger, minced2 Tbsp. garlic, minced1 c. soy sauce1 c. water1 c. brown sugar (packed)2 c. vegetable oil2 Lb. flank steaks½ c. cornstarch3 large green onionsMake the sauce by heating 4 tsp. vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Don’t get the oil too hot. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to medium and boil the sauce 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens a little bit. Remove sauce from heat.Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4 inch slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a 45 degree angle to the top of the steak so you get wider cuts. Dip the steak pieces into cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit about 10 min. so the cornstarch sticks. As the beef sits, heat up 1 c. oil in a wok (or skillet). Heat the oil over medium heat until its hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and saute for just 2 minutes, or until beef just begins to darken on the edges. Stir the meat around a little bit so that it cooks evenly.After a few minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour most of the oil out of the skillet. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the sauce, cook for 1 minute while stirring and add green onions. Cook for 1 more minute. Now at this point you can either remove the beef with a slotted spoon or tongs and discard the sauce (this is what P.F. Chang's does) OR thicken the sauce with a cornstarch-water mixture to desired thickness and serve it over rice with the beef.

BBQ Meatloaf

meatloaf recipe:
Ingredients:
* 1 T BBQ seasoning (1 1/2 C paprika, 3/4 C sugar, 3 3/4 T onion powder)
* 3 T soy sauce
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* 1 1/2 cups BBQ Sauce (recipe below), reserving 1/2 cup for the top
* 1 T Worcestershire sauce
* 1 T olive oil
* 1 C chopped red onion
* 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 cloves garlic, chopped
* 2 pounds lean ground turkey
* 1 1/2 C bread crumbs
To Make:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix BBQ seasoning, soy sauce, beaten egg, 1 cup of the BBQ sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Add onion, bell pepper, salt and pepper and garlic. Saute until tender. Remove from heat and add to wet mix.
Pour mixture into bowl with the ground turkey. Add bread crumbs and mix all together with your hands.
Transfer the meat mixture to a cookie sheet or baking pan. Using your hands, shape the meat into an oblong or rectangular shape. *Cook's Note: Alternately, you can pat the meat into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and pour 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce on the top of the loaf.
Bake for 35 minutes. Remove and add the reserved 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce to the top and continue to bake for 20 more minutes.
The best BBQ Sauce in the world:
Ingredients:
* 2 cups ketchup
* 1 cup water
* 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
* 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
* 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
* 1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
To Make:
In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Yield: 3 1/2 cups
***NOTES: get the leanest turkey you can find. Also, use store bought bread crumbs. I made my own at home and they didn't absorb enough moisture. The meat had a hard time sticking together once cooked, which made for messy serving. It tasted the same, just had a slightly different texture. Be sure to make the BBQ sauce, store bought just isn't the same.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Recipe: Sour Cream Noodle Bake
Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 8
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Ingredients
1-¼ pound Ground Chuck
1 can 15-ounces Tomato Sauce
½ teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
8 ounces, weight Egg Noodles
½ cups Sour Cream
1-¼ cup Small Curd Cottage Cheese
½ cups Sliced Green Onions (less To Taste)
1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground chuck in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add tomato sauce. 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.
Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir.
To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted.
Serve with crusty French bread.

Beef Stroganoff

Ultimate Beef Stroganoff
24 Hour Menu
This meal is in my top 10, maybe even my top 5! It is incredibly good and I crave it. So we just had it for dinner.
My kitchen has been over worked since discovering a fantastic food blog, My Kitchen Cafe.
In fact, stop reading this and put it on your google readers right now, you will thank me.
Melanie knows what she is doing! Ive loved every recipe Ive tried!
Okay, Stroganoff talk....Make it, it wont disappoint.
The Ultimate Beef Stroganoff
Put in crock pot:
2-3 pounds stew meat
1 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 onion, sliced
Mix in a bowl and pour over meat:
¼ tsp. garlic salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cups beef broth or stock (made up from cubes or granules)
1 tablespoon ketchup
Cook in crock pot on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. When cooked make a simple roux by whisking 1/3 cup flour with enough apple juice (about 5-6 tablespoons) to make a thick but still pourable flour mixture. Whisk the roux into the crock pot and add 4 ounces sliced mushrooms.
Cook on high for 15-30 minutes. Then stir in ½ cup sour cream. Serve over pasta, rice or baked potatoes (pasta is my favorite option!).

Minnesota Taco Bean Soup

Taco Bean Soup:
1 lb. Gr. Beef
1 chopped onion
*browned
Add:
2 cans black beans (drain )
1 can corn (drain )
2 cans Rotel tomatoes (mild )
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can water
1 taco seasoning pack (Spicy Old El Paso worked great!)
1 package hidden valley ranch dressing mix
Mix and simmer 20 minutes
Top with sour cream, cheese, green onion, tortilla chips . . .

Minnesota Meatloaf

Meatloaf
*****
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 pounds ground beef
3/4 c bread or cracker crumbs
2 eggs
3/4 c water
Ketchup for topping

In large bowl combine all ingredients, mix well with hands. Shape into loaf.
Bake in uncovered greased oven safe pan for 1 hour 350 degrees (I use a fry pan that has a cover) After 1 hour, add a little water (just to cover the bottom)to the pan and bake 1/2 hour longer with the cover on the pan. This makes the meat loaf a little more moist.

Hint: Bake potatoes take one and half hour at this temp. So dinner is all ready at the same time. Don't wrap them in foil. Just wash good and poke the skin several times with a fork so they don't explode in the oven.

Barbeque Meatloaf

Barbeque Meatloaf
(Paula Dean)
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 onion, diced
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
3 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water, to thin sauce if necessary
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix together the beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce. Form this mixture into a loaf and place it in a shallow pan. Stir together the remaining tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, mustard, Worcestershire and the water (if too thick). Pour this sauce over the meatloaf. Bake for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes with the pan juices.
Cook's Note: Try serving as a sandwich with mayonnaise

Nick's Italian Spaghetti Recipe

Olive oil2-3 carrots, peeled, chopped1 small onion, finely chopped1 lb. ground beef (if you want to do it Nick’s way, you would do ½ lb.pork, ½ lb ground beef)3 cans diced tomatoes (imported plum tomatoes are the best, or 1 ½ lbs cherry tomatoes, half the tomatoes and sauté until they are softened and have started to release their juices, about 3-4 minutes)4 basil leaves (fresh), or 1-2 tsp. dried basilDash sugarDash saltDash pepper1 lb. spaghettiHeat oil on medium heat. Add carrots and onion. Saute a couple minutes, then add beef. Brown beef, then add tomatoes, basil, sugar, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The longer you simmer, the better (ideally, 2+ hours). In a large pot, cook spaghetti to al dente, drain completely and return to pot. Add sauce to the spaghetti noodles and toss until noodles are covered. Serve immediately.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed Bell Peppers
(justcookalready.com)
If busy, make the stuffing the night before, or the morning of, and then all you have is stuff the peppers and bake them later . . .
Ingredients
4 large red bell peppers
1.25 lbs. ground meat (I prefer turkey)
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules (or a 1/2 packet of the liquid kind)
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to taste
1 cup cooked rice** (I buy the frozen package from Trader Joe's...quick and easy, perfect for week night cooking)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
1/2 cup jarred salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped green onion tops
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 cup hot water
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Start by cutting the peppers in half lengthwise, leaving the stems intact, and halving them also. Remove the seeds and ribs inside the peppers- makes 8 servings. (You could also cut the tops off, remove the seeds and ribbing and serve that way if desired. Makes 4 servings.)
Using a hot skillet, saute the ground meat, onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon of bouillon granules, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Saute until onions become translucent. Drain the fat off. Add the rice, cheese, salsa, sour cream, tomatoes, green onion tops, and soy sauce, stir until heated through. Mix well and stuff the mixture into the peppers, top with shredded cheese.
In a small bowl, mix the hot water and the remaining bouillon granules. Pour this mixture into a shallow casserole large enough to hold all of the peppers. Place the stuffed peppers in the dish, cover with foil and bake for 25 to 35 minutes. Remove the foil and spoon the juice from bottom of the casserole over the top of the peppers. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted.
**If you have a Trader Joes in your area, check the freezer section for pre-packaged brown or white rice. There are three pkgs. to a box, and 2 cups to a package. You just microwave and eat...it's fluffy and delicious and perfect if you're in a hurry.

Crock Pot Spaghetti

crock pot spaghetti
crock pot recipes are the best because you can make them earlier in the day and not have to worry about dinner when things seem to get busy. this has always been one of my family favorites. my mom cooks this to perfection-- i made it today and jake loved it. enjoy!

ingredients:

1 lb hamburger
2 tbsp. dry minced onion (my mom and i use regular onion, diced)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2- 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp. italian seasoning
1- 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms (i always get a bigger can because we love mushrooms)
3 cups tomato juice
4 oz. dry spaghetti, broken



directions:

brown beef in skillet with onion, put in crock pot. add remaining ingredients minus spaghetti, stir well. cover. cook on low for 6-8 hours (or high for 3-5). turn to high the last hour and add dry spaghetti.