Rolled Cheeseburgers

Recipe name: Rolled Cheeseburgers
Source: Taste Buds
Servings: 4
Cookbook date: January 8

1 lb extra-lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
season salt
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb bread / roll dough

Brown ground beef, onions and salt until cooked through. At the same time preheat the oven for 425 degrees. Once the beef is cooked set it aside. Roll out dough on a well floured surface until it is approximately 12 to 14 inches in diameter. Place beef mixture the over the rolled dough and sprinkle with cheese. Roll up as tightly as possible, tucking both ends under . Place the loaf on a greased baking sheet and place in the oven for 25 minutes. Let it stand for 5 mins before slicing.

Let me start with the substitutions once again. The only difference is that we used ground turkey in place of beef and garlic salt instead of season salt. Come to think of it, I'm not really sure what season salt is so maybe it wasn't a substitute at all. I added the garlic salt to taste, but I'm not really sure how much I added. Maybe a teaspoon?

For some reason, I had a hard time with this recipe. I know what you are thinking, "What is there to mess up? There are only 5 ingredients!" Well all my difficulties came from rolling the dough. To start with I realized that I only had one half pound container of crescent rolls. Actually, as my wife pointed out, we did have some rolls but they were half a pound as well. So I ended up rolling the crescent rolls and biscuit dough separately. A piece of advice: it is really hard to roll a bunch of biscuit rounds into a single flat piece of dough so don't attempt it. Next time I try something like this I am going to go for the bread dough. I suppose you could make your own dough but yeast stresses me out. Oh yeah, we don't have a real roller so I had to use a wine bottle. That didn't really help with the whole dough rolling thing either.

So after having a hard time getting both the crescent and biscuit dough to roll out I made the mistake of placing the meat in the center. I now realize I was suppose to spread the meat out pizza style but for some reason I decided to go the burrito route. As a result you get a lot of meat in the middle. I think the original point was to have a pleasant mixture of bread and meat throughout the dish. So in the end instead of having one large pizza rolled loaf with bread throughout I had two burrito rolled loafs with a bunch of meat in the middle.

Despite my mishaps we both liked this dish well enough and will probably eat it next time it comes up in our rotation. I think it would have tasted much better if I had been able to make one large pizza rolled loaf, so I we will defiantly do it that way next time. Plus I learned a valuable lesson: it is really hard to roll biscuits from a tube into one large flat piece of dough with a wine bottle.

Hearty Cheese Dip

Recipe name: Hearty Cheese Dip
Source: Adapted from recipe on allrecipes.com
Servings: Lots
Cookbook date: November 22

Ingredients
1 (2 pound) loaf processed cheese, cubed
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2/3 cup water
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) jar picante sauce

Directions
Place ground beef in a large skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain beef, and mix in water and taco seasoning mix. Cook and stir 2 to 4 minutes. Slowly melt cheese in the skillet. Stir occasionally to avoid burning. Mix in salsa. Cook and stir until well blended. Serve warm.

I created this dish while Tiffany was away volunteering for the Junior League on Saturday. It didn't take long to put together and was just the thing for a cold winter day. I'm not a huge fan of processed cheese so I halved the amount called for in the recipe and added "real" cheese for the other half. We didn't have any taco seasoning so I created my own from a recipe on allrecipes.com.

We had this with tortilla chips and we both liked it. So now we have two pounds of cheese dip in the fridge. That is a lot of dip. I know what I'm eating for lunch for the next week.

meatball sandwich

Recipe name: Meatball Sandwich
Source: allrecipes.com
Servings: Lots
Cookbook date: October 6

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground beef
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 French baguette
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 pinch salt, or to taste
• 1 (14 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 4 slices provolone cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, gently mix by hand the ground beef, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Shape into 12 meatballs, and place in a baking dish.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cooked through. Meanwhile, cut the baguette in half lengthwise, and remove some of the bread from the inside to make a well for the meatballs. Brush with olive oil, and season with garlic powder and salt. Slip the baguette into the oven during the last 5 minutes of the meatball's time, or until lightly toasted.
4. While the bread toasts, warm the spaghetti sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. When the meatballs are done, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the sauce. Spoon onto the baguette and top with slices of provolone cheese. Return to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes to melt the cheese. Cool slightly, cut into servings, and enjoy!

Tim here posting. I followed the recipe for the meatballs word for word. Last time I made this recipe I found the meatballs to be too big so this time I made them smaller. I ended up having double the number of meatballs of the original recipe. The smaller meatballs were easier to manage and made for a lot more sandwiches. Since we didn't have a baguette I just toasted up some leftover hamburger buns.

Both Tiffany and I really liked this one. The recipe for the meatballs is one of the better ones we have tried so far. The leftovers were really good as well. Its a keeper.

Loaded Enchilada Casserole

Recipe name: Loaded Enchilada Casserole
Source: Rice and Beans and Other Fine Things
Servings: 8
Cookbook date: October 28

Ingredients (I made a few adjustments from the original recipe)

1 pound ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of chicken soup

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

2 cups cooked rice

1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

12 corn tortillas, quartered or torn into fourths

1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce

3 cups Colby jack cheese

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 (4-ounce) can chopped black olives, drained

2 tsp dried cilantro or 2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

1. Brown the ground turkey, onion and garlic in a large skillet. Drain off grease, then stir in the soup, black beans, rice, canned tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.
2. Place half of the tortillas in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch pan, then drizzle with half of the enchilada sauce evenly.
3. Spoon half of the turkey mixture on top, then half of the cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the remaining cheese.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the cheese melts and it's bubbly.
5. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped tomatoes, black olives, and fresh cilantro.

This was superb! Thanks so much to Lorie for posting this recipe! We absolutely loved it. I'd estimate that the casserole cost us between $8-10 to make, but it made 8 very filling and very tasty servings, so it is a bargain meal in our book. If you like Mexican food, this is a meal that will not disappoint. It's only 8am and I'm already looking forward to my lunch break because I get to eat the casserole as leftovers!

Chinese Chicken lettuce wraps

Recipe name: Chinese chicken lettuce wraps
Source: adapted from Chaos in the Kitchen
Servings: 2-3
Cookbook date: September 27

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

• 2-3 tbsp oil, sesame or peanut are nice
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 4 oz mushrooms
• 1/2 cup water chestnuts (optional)
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp brown sugar, I use dark
• iceberg lettuce leaves

1. Heat the oil in a skillet or wok over high heat.
2. Break up and brown the ground chicken.
   
3. Mince all of the vegetables-mushrooms with garlic. You also might want to run your knife through your cooked chicken as well to get the pieces more uniformly sized, you want everything to be texturally at the same fine mince.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar. You could also add some red pepper flakes if you want a little spice..
5. Add your vegetables to the chicken and saute until onions and garlic soften.
6. Add the sauce and cook and toss for an additional couple minutes. Taste and adjust your salt and seasonings.
7. Serve with plenty of iceberg leaf “cups.”

Thanks to Chaos in the Kitchen for posting such a fun recipe. If anyone has ever been to P.F. Chang's, you know that lettuce wraps is a signature of theirs. We really enjoyed having our own version at home for a fraction of the price.

Our substitutions/additions: We used ground turkey, and the taste was awesome. I also shredded 4 baby carrots and sliced 1 green onion to add a little bit of color. We used water chestnuts which I finely diced, and we left out the mushrooms, because we believe that mushrooms are nasty.

I made this while Tim was out running errands, and I was glad to have the opportunity to sneak in water chestnuts, which he doesn't like, in general. When he tried the wraps he immediately asked, "What is the crunchy stuff in here?" I made him tell me first if he liked it, which he said he did (!) and then I revealed the secret ingredient. He wrinkled his nose up, and then confessed that water chestnuts were a good thing in this dish. Victory for Tiffany!

Rachel Ray's Chili Dog Nachos

Recipe name: Chili Dog Nachos
Source: Food Network
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 turn of the pan
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• Salt and pepper
• 2 hot dogs, sliced into 1/2- inch pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 sack yellow corn tortilla chips
• 1 sack, 10 ounces, shredded yellow Cheddar
• Sour cream, garnish
• Salsa, garnish
• 2 scallions, chopped

Directions

Heat a medium skillet over high heat. Add oil then beef, and begin to brown and crumble with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add chopped hot dogs and continue browning, another 3 minutes. Add onions and seasonings, Worcestershire, chili powder, and cumin. Cook another 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and simmer 5 minutes more.

Preheat broiler.

Arrange corn chips on a platter or in a casserole dish. Top the chips with the cooked chili dog topping. Cover the chili dog sauce with cheese. Melt cheese under hot broiler, 2 minutes, until melted and bubbly. Garnish with sour cream, salsa and chopped scallions.

So it's been a while since I attempted a Rachel Ray recipe, and since I normally have success with her dishes, I thought I'd give this one a go, just in time for football season to get going (I say that like we watch football, which we don't!).

Let me just cut to the chase here, people. This was gross. It was just way too much of everything. The sheer amount of meat and cheese in this dish made me feel sick. There are some great reviews of this recipe, so evidently not everyone will agree with me. If you are feeling especially carnivorous, this may be a go-to recipe. But as for me, I won't be making this again. I could literally feel my arteries clogging as I ate it. Oh, and if this does appeal to you, definitely don't make more than you can eat in one sitting, as the chips will go soggy quickly.

Sloppy Joes

Recipe name: Sloppy Joes
Source: somewhere online (can't find it)
Servings: 8-10
Cookbook date: August 29

3 lb ground beef (we use ground turkey)
1 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup water
4 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp prepared mustard
4 tbsp vinegar
3 tsp chili powder
hamburger buns

In a large skillet, brown meat, onion and garlic. Cook until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. combine remaining ingredients (except buns) in a skillet. Stir in meat mixture. cover and cook on low for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon onto hamburger buns.

We just made half of this recipe. While I wouldn't go so far as to say that these were the best sloppy joes I've ever had, they came together quickly and they were cheap to make since I had all the ingredients on hand. I'll make them again, for sure.

taco salad

Recipe name: taco salad
Source: made it up
Servings: 4
Cookbook date: July 12
Date prepared: July 13

Ingredients:
1 head of iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups hot pepper or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 pound ground turkey
bag of corn tortilla chips
salsa
Ranch salad dressing (optional)

Brown the turkey and onions in a large skilled over med-high heat. Meanwhile, prepare each plate by putting down a layer of tortilla chips, lettuce and tomatoes. Drain the turkey. Add the meat to the top of the salad. Top with desired amount of cheese. Add salsa on top, and ranch dressing.

This was so easy and SO tasty. I got some low fat Ranch dressing to go with it and it was so yummy! It totally brought me back to the days of eating at Effie's Cantina in Enterprise, Alabama with my Memaw and Aunt Gail. I will totally make this again. I may add some sort of spice to the meat next time, although it really tasted great as is since we used hot pepper cheese.

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Chimichangas

Recipe name: Chimichangas
source: made it up with inspiration from a Weight Watchers Recipe (and of course, this dish is NOT low calorie!)
servings:
Cookbook date: July 7th
Date prepared: July 7th


Ingredients:
12 oz ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
3/4 cup salsa (I used Emeril's medium Southwestern salsa)
1/8 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried cilantro
8 (6 inch) flour tortillas
3/4 can of refried beans
1 mounded cup of cheese (prefer monterey jack or pepper jack)

1. Preheat oven to 475º F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large skillet brown meat and onion. Stir in garlic, salsa, chili powder and cilantro. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Spread a tablespoon of refried beans in each tortilla. Spoon 1/4 cup meat mixture into center of each tortilla. Sprinkle cheese on top of meat mixture. Wrap up the tortilla like a burrito. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

Serves 4 (2 each)

These were totally simple and very delicious. They also make great leftovers for work. I found that these could be eaten without a knife and fork if given enough time to cool off. Definitely give these a try (that means you, Natalie! I promise you will like this recipe!)

The next time I make these, I'm going to make a large batch and stash several in the freezer for last minute lunches to take to work.

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Taco, Burrito, What's Coming Out of Your Speedo?

Recipe name: Larry's Black Bean Tacos
Source: Recipezaar (and of course, Larry)
Servings:4-6
Cookbook date: June 28
Date prepared: June 23

Ingredients

• 2 cans black beans
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1 lb ground beef (turkey for us)
• 1 package soft tortilla

Directions

1. Brown ground beef with taco seasoning.
2. Add stewed tomatoes and black beans.
3. Simmer for 5-10, until black beans heated through.
4. Serve with tortilla chips or make soft tacos using soft tortillas.

Larry, this post is dedicated to you and yours. We don't know you, but we like you.

Our substitutions were as follows: We used ground turkey. We also used large tortillas so that these turned into burritos rather than tacos. Oh, also, we started out with dried beans rather than canned beans. If you don't know us well, I should tell you that Tim and I are pretty serious about saving money on food. We go cheap or we go home! So canned beans was simply not thrifty enough for us. Because we used canned beans this took a lot longer than it otherwise would have, which accounts for this dish not scoring well in the "time" department.

The dish was really simple to put together, but Larry, you made one crucial mistake; you left out the cheese! We added a small amount to ours, and that was a great decision on our parts (one of only a few great decisions we managed to make today!).

So make this dish, eat it, love it, take it to work the next day, and make your co-workers jealous Spartan Cheerleader-style (I wish I could post this skit, but it looks like Saturday Night Live has their skits on lock-down...nothing to be found on YouTube!).

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Mexican Beef and Bean Casserole

Recipe name: Mexican beef and bean casserole
Source: no idea
Servings: 4-6, depending on appetites
Cookbook date: June 18
Date prepared: June 15

1 pound ground beef (or turkey)
2 cans pinto beans
8 oz tomato sauce
1/2 cup salsa
1 tsp chili powder
1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese

Heat oven to 375
Cook beef over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until brown. Drain. Rinse and drain beans. Mix the beef, beans, sauce, salsa and chili powder in an ungreased baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 20 minutes. Stir. Bake another 20 minutes. Uncover. Add the cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes.

My post must begin with an apology. I TOTALLY forgot to take a picture of this casserole. But I'm sure you can imagine this....think ground meat, sauce, lots of beans, topped with cheese. Yup, what you are imagining is pretty much what this meal looks like.

Overall, this dish was very tasty and actually easier than the instructions would have you believe. The shortcut that worked for us was to add the sauce, salsa, beans and chili powder to the cooked beef (turkey for us) and let it get hot in the pan, which took maybe 3 or 4 minutes instead of 20 in the oven. Then follow the rest of the directions. Serve this with tortilla chips for scooping.
Oh, our head chef Tim has one more important note: 1 cup of cheese is ridiculous. You definitely need to double that, and don't apologize for doing it!



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Eewy gooey monte cristo sandwich

Recipe name: Monte Cristo Sandwich
source: Food Network
servings 1 sandwich
Cookbook date: May 21
Date prepared:

3 slices white bread
Mayonnaise, as needed
2 slices Gouda
2 slices turkey
3 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Strawberry slices, for garnish
Orange wedges, for garnish

Serving suggestion: Blackberry jam

On a work surface, lay out 2 slices of bread and spread with mayonnaise. Top each slice with the 1 slice of Gouda and 1 slice of turkey each. Put the third slice of bread on top of one stack, and flip the remaining stack on top, cheese-side down, to make a triple-decker sandwich.

Using a knife, cut the crusts off the sandwich (this helps to pinch and seal the ends). Wrap the sandwich tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 6 hours. (Wrapping the sandwich in plastic wrap, compacts it, and prevents the egg batter from seeping in.)

Combine the eggs and milk in a bowl. Heat the oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Unwrap the sandwich and dip it in the egg batter, to coat evenly. Gently place it in the skillet, and fry, turning once, until golden brown and hot, about 5 minutes total.

Cut the Monte Cristo in 1/2, transfer it to a place, and garnish with the strawberry and orange. Spoon some jam over each 1/2 and serve immediately.

Tim here. Well both Tiffany and I didn't much care for this one. Overall we thought it was too greasy of a dish, even with me cutting the amount of oil and butter by half. I didn't have any slices of cheese, just shredded, so it was hard to gauge how much equaled a slice. Being a cheese lover I erred on the side of too much cheese and it was, well, too much. Besides being greasy and heavy there wasn't a lot to the taste of the meal. I don't think we will be trying this one again. If you have a monte cristo recipe you think rocks we would love to hear about it.

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Fusion meatloaf?!

Recipe name: Hawaiian meatloaf with peanut glaze
source: no idea
servings: 4-6
Cookbook date: May 11
Date prepared: May 17 (dinner)

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp finely minced fresh ginger (1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

peanut glaze
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp minced garlic

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix until well blended. Put into a greased loaf pan and bake about 50 minutes, or until done.

While the meatloaf is baking, make the peanut glaze. To make the glaze combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and continue to cook until thickened. Pour about 1/4 cup of the peanut glaze over the top of the meatloaf 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Serve the remaining warm peanut glaze on the side.

What can I say? I'm a complete sucker for food that sounds strange. If a recipe combines meat and fruit, the odds are good that I will give it a try. This recipe did not disappoint, and it accomplished a dual feat: it was both strange and strangely good! Putting the meatloaf together was very simple and fast. The sauce was also very simple, though I would suggest having all the ingredients out before you start. Tim thought that the pineapple chunks should be bigger (he said he could hardly taste them), but I thought they were just right. The glaze, however, was where it was at, friends! It puts the traditional pseudo-ketchup topping to shame. Because the taste was so unusual for a meatloaf, I can't see myself making this frequently, but it will definitely keep its spot in our year long cookbook. I wish the picture was more appetizing, but let's be real, it's meatloaf.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a side to go with this?

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