Bierocks Revised

Bierocks is a traditional German meal, but with cheese and all that I add, it's much more american.  This is just the filling.  You can wrap it in dough and bake to make bierocks, or you can serve over noodles.

Once again, I didn't have a picture so I took this one from Janet Sheetz.

1 pound hamburger
1 large onion
3 tsp fresh, chopped garlic
2/3 head of cabbage, chopped
1 tbsp season all
1 tsp black pepper
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup
1/4 c. whipping cream (or milk or sour cream if you don't have the whipping cream)
1 c cheddar cheese, shredded

Brown hamburger with onion and garlic in a very large skillet.  Once hamburger is medium well, add cabbage and seasonings.  Stir often.  Once hamburger is cooked though entirely, turn down heat to med-lo and cover with lid.  Stir occasionally.  Once cabbage is soft, add soup, cream, and cheese.  Heat through.  This makes a large batch to be served over two meals or half frozen.  Serve wrapped in dough and baked or over noodles.

Don't let the cabbage scare you- it's super yummy!

A spin on tacos

 I love tacos. They are fast and easy so we eat them a lot. Since we eat them so much, I have a few minor variations we use.

1 lb hamburger
1 can of refried beans or 1 can of any kind of beans, rinsed (we love each for it's own reasons so we switch it up)
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
taco seasoning

Prepare meat as usual but when you add taco seasoning add the beans and tomato sauce. (I don't think I use the whole can of sauce. Maybe 3/4 the can? Just add until you get the consistency you like.) It makes it more of a burrito-taco than just plain hamburger. Squeeze a lime on it and top with cilantro if you want a gourmet taco! (We all know my love of cilantro) So this isn't a special recipe, just a new idea on an old meal!

Foil Dinners (Hobo Dinners)

*So I know everyone has their own version of this, but I wanted to share mine cause I think it is really good.

1lb ground beef
3-6 potatoes skinned and chopped into chunks
baby carrots
half an onion thinly sliced
2 packets of dry Ranch dressing mix
beef broth

Get out some foil. Bend up the sides to make a kind of bowl. Place carrots, potatoes, and onions in. (I put the amount of ingredients according to who will be eating it. Ex. Ashlyn loves the carrots but not the potatoes, so she gets more carrots in hers. And Terry hates onions so I barely put any in his, and so on...) Pour a little beef broth over the veggies. (this will help cook them and keep them moist.) Sprinkle one packet of Ranch mix evenly over the veggies in each foil dinner. Next, in a bowl, sprinkle the remaining packet into your ground beef and mix through with your hands. Take about 1/4 of the ground beef and form into a patty.(you can take more or less depending on who will be eating it. For instance, make a bigger patty for your husband and a smaller for your 3 year old.) Place the patty on top of the veggies and fold over the foil and seal off. Bake at 375 for no less than an hour. I usually do mine for longer.

*Side note.. I have once replaced the Ranch mix with Itallian and it is also good (though I do prefer the ranch). So just use what you have. You can also put different veggies in as well. Carrots and potatoes are our favorites.

**This makes 4 servings, but I'm sure you could stretch it out to serve more.

Easy Lasagna

Bottle of Ragu or Prego spaghetti sauce
1 lb browned hamburger
1 c sour cream
1 c cottage cheese
Lasagna noodles (or any kind of noodle!)

Mix together all ingredients. I usually only use about 3/4 the jar of spaghetti sauce or it gets kind of runny. Cook half package of lasagna noodles according to package directions. Layer noodles, hamburger sauce mixture, cheese. Repeat 3 times. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Klay HATES sour cream and cottage cheese and loves this lasagna! I've tried using different types of noodles besides lasagna for more of a pasta bake and it was delicious and a nice change.

Taco Seasoning Mix

Taco Seasoning Mix

1tbsp chili powder
2tsp onion powder
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp paprika
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp ground oregano
1tsp sugar
1/2tsp salt

Mix all together and add like you would a taco seasoning packet to 1# hamburger. This is so much more healthy than the packet and it tastes better too. I usually omit the salt to cut down on the sodium. The great thing about this is these are all spices you usually have in your cupboard and if not you can get them cheap in bulk at Sam's Club.

Jack's Dump Chili

Chili

1 1/2# of hamburger (browned)
1 lrg can of chili beans
1 lrg can of diced tomatoes
1 can of Nally's chili (any flavor you wish)

Add: Salt, Pepper, & Season Salt to taste

Dump ingredients together in a pot. Heat to a boil and then simmer 1 hour. Sometimes I skip the simmer part! I also like to add a can of corn on occasion!

Sometimes I serve this with tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream. Or it could be served over a baked potato!

Easy Party Lasagna

Easy Party Lasagna

Ingredients:
6 lasagna noodles (uncooked)
1 Can of Spaghettie sauce
1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/4 cup of milk
1 cup of cheese
1# Hamburger or Turkey Burger

Brown Hamburger. Add spaghetti sauce.
In a seperate bowl combine cream of mushroom soup, milk, and 1/2c. of cheese

In a baking dish layer 1/2 of the meat mixture, then put 3 lasagna noodles on top of that, then place the cream of mushroom mixture next put 3 more lasagna noodles, then the rest of the meat mixture. Top with the other 1/2 cup of cheese. Cover with Tin Foil and bake at 400 for approx 30 to 40 min. The noodles will cook in the oven. Great as a fast dinner, not much prep time!!!