Beef Stew with Mushrooms

Last winter I found stew beef on managers special several times, so we ended up eating a lot of beef stew, vegetable beef soup, and beef tips with gravy over mashed potatoes.  Not that anyone really complained.  Even the 9 year old will eat the beef and the potatoes from beef stew.

Creamy Beef and Penne with Vegetables

Eons ago when I thought I was a good cook, and my husband did too, but in reality what I did was fake it with processed foods and shortcuts that may or may not have worked, I made a pasta dish I'd found in a magazine.  It had stew beef, mostaccioli pasta, and lots of vegetables.  I remember it being good, but for some reason I never made it again.

Cast Iron Skillet Nachos

The final post of my little two week camping series is for these super yummy and easy cast iron skillet nachos.  You don't really cook the nachos in the skillet.  It's more for getting everything warm once its assembled and for serving.  So if you don't have a cast iron skillet, don't panic.  You can still make these nachos easily using a heavy duty pan or even a disposable aluminum pan.

Salisbury Steak

One of my goals this year is to clean out my cookbook collection and get rid of cookbooks that I am never going to realistically use.  While I've been working on this process one book at a time, I've realized that most of the cookbooks I'm keeping are the ones that have simple, wholesome, time tested recipes.  The ones that generally get the boot are the ones with fancier, trendy recipes.

Beefy Rice Romano

A couple years ago when we were really struggling financially and getting food from a food bank, we happened upon a box of Parmesan cheese flavored rice mix.  There was a "recipe" on the back of the box for Beef and Rice Romano.  Basically one was to combine a pound of browned ground beef with the rice mix.  At the time, it seemed like an inexpensive way to make a decent dinner for my family.  The 8 year old sucked it down like there was no tomorrow and kept telling me to keep the recipe forever.

Momma's Chili

Like my momma's meatloaf, I suspect this was first my grandmother's chili.  Also like my momma's meatloaf, my mother and I don't make this the same way.  The basic "core" recipe is the same, but the combination of spices is slightly different.  And it's generally not made the same way twice.

Southwest Pasta Skillet

The kids are back in school after a long winter break.  Activities are starting back up again after one or two weeks off.  There are more demands on our time again.  Our lazy days of the end of the month are over until spring break.

Meatloaf with Creamy Celery "Gravy"

Many, many years ago, my mother put a plate full of meatloaf in front of an 8 year old me.  I turned my nose up at it and scowled "I don't like meatloaf."  My mother, not missing a beat, responded, "Good.  More for me."  Eventually, I did eat it and determined I was wrong.  Meatloaf was pretty good after all.

Slow Cooker French Dip with Horseradish Aioli

Did you ever have one of those weeks that left you emotionally exhausted?  Well a few weeks ago we were struggling with the 8 year old and his homework.  He likes to play around - a lot - while doing his homework.  He wants attention, but when you give it to him, he still plays.  If you ignore him, he does everything he can to get your attention.  I try disengaging, but it's difficult when he won't do what he's supposed to until someone responds to him.

Making the Best of Things - Hamburger Macaroni Casserole - Recipe

So you've gotten a food pantry distribution and now you need a good recipe for a full meal with some of the items you've received?  Hamburger macaroni casserole is a great choice.  It's got grains, proteins and vegetables in one dish.  If you top it with a little cheese, you even get some dairy too.  It's also a very versatile dish that can be adapted based on what you have.

I adapted this from a recipe in my favorite cookbook, Mennonite Country Style Recipes by Esther Shank.   My college roommate gave me an autographed copy of this book as a wedding gift because I went to school just a few miles from where the author lives and where many of these recipes originated.  Almost 20 years later when I want to know how to make something or need meal ideas, I frequently turn to this book first.

Weekend Recipe Review - Beef and Bean Taquitos

Have I mentioned that the SPD, non-vegetable eating 7 year old is gone for the week and we can eat anything we want without having to alter a recipe for him or make him a separate meal?  I love my 7 year old more than anyone else in the world, but it is nice to go in to the kitchen and just cook.  That means this week, my husband and I have been eating a lot of things that we wouldn't normally eat - like Tex-Mex twice and buffalo wings and tomato cream sauce.

Wednesday night we had Beef and Bean Taquitos from Fort Mill, SC Living that I topped with a fresh roasted tomatillo salsa with avocado.  The tomatillo salsa was inspired by A Spicy Perspective's, but not exactly like hers.

These taquitos were so good, I'm glad I got a picture while the last two were finishing up.  Otherwise, I may not have gotten any pics at all.  As soon as I cut into mine, I snarfed them up as fast as I could, scooping the salsa onto each bite.  The only change I made is somewhere in the directions, there is mention of adding garlic, but garlic is not listed in the ingredients.  So no garlic in my dish.  Also I ran out of onion making the salsa, so I used about 4 green onions instead.  My husband liked these too and immediately dubbed them "a make again."  We also agreed, while he probably wouldn't try them because you could see bits of peppers and cilantro, the 7 year old would more than likely have enjoyed these too.

Working Ahead - Hamburger Patties

Welcome to a new five week series entitled Working Ahead.  Each week I'll focus on one area where I do prep for a meal or meals in advance.  Most of what I prepare ahead of time goes into my tiny freezer, but some things are short term and go to the fridge for the next day.