Taco Pie {from Mom}

1 (8 oz.) package refrigerated crescent rolls

1 lb. ground bef

1 (1 oz.) package taco seasoning mix

1 (16 oz.) container sour cream

8 oz. shredded Mexican-style cheese blend

1 (14 oz.) bag tortilla chips, crushed. 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Lay crescent dough flat on the bottom of a square cake pan and bake according to package directions.
3. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the taco seasoning and stir together well. When dough is done, remove from oven and place meat mixture on top, then layer with sour cream and cheese, and then top off with the crushed nacho chips.
4. Return to oven and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef Copycat Recipe {from Mandi}

2 tsp. vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. ginger, minced

1 tsp. garlic, chopped

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/2 c. water

3/4 c. dark brown sugar

vegetable oil, for frying (about 1 cup)

1 lb. flank steak

1/4 c. cornstarch

2 large green onions, chopped

Directions:

Sauce:

1. Heat 2 tsp. of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Dn't get the oil too hot.

2. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches.

3. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then increase the heat to medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat.

Beef:

1. Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4" thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts.
2. Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.
3. As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking.
4. Add the beef to the oil and saute until brown. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and put it onto paper towels.
5. Dab excess oil off meat with a paper towel and add to medium saucepan with the sauce in it. Put the pan back on the oven over medium/low heat. Add chopped green onions and let sauce simmer until warm. Serve over rice.

Aunt Pat's Casserole {from Meg}

This recipe is classic Hambly and comes from Ryan's Dad's Aunt Pat. It's not even close to being healthy, but it sure is tasty!

1 pound package egg noodles

2 pounds ground beef

salt & pepper

2 – 8 oz cans tomato sauce

1 cup cottage cheese

16 ounces cream cheese

1 pint sour cream

1 bunch green onions (chopped)

½ green bell pepper (1/4” dice)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook noodles per package directions, drain and set aside.

3. Brown hamburger, season with salt and pepper to taste, drain; add tomato sauce.

4. Mix cream cheese, cottage cheese, and sour cream with a hand mixer to blend; fold in onions and green pepper.

5. Layer 1/2 of the noodles on the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover with the cheese mixture. Layer with the rest of the noodles and finish with the meat/sauce mixture.

6. Bake to heat through (about 20 minutes), bubbling around the edges and browning the top slightly.

Enchilda Stack-ups {from Grace}

1 lb. hamburger

¼ small onion, chopped

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

2 Tbsp. green chilies

½ tsp salt

½ tsp chili powder

1 can kidney beans (16 oz)

½ c. sliced olives

4 small tortillas

1/8 tsp pepper

¾ c. tomato juice

Cheddar cheese, grated

1. Cook hamburger with onion till brown,drain fat. 

2. Add tomato sauce, chilies, chili powder, pepper &salt. Mix well.

3. Add beans & olives. Place ½ mixture in bottom ofcrock pot. Top with 1 tortilla and sprinkle with grated cheese.Repeat layers. 

4. Pour tomato juice around edge. Cover & cook on low heat for 5 hours or high heat for 2.5 hours.
5. Cut into wedges. Serves 5-6

Sloppy Joes

2 lb. hamburger
1/2 envelope Sloppy Joe seasoning mix
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. mustard
1/4 c. sugar
3 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
1 dozen hamburger buns

1. Cook hamburger with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
2. Drain fat.
3. Add remaining ingredients and stir well.
4. Cook on high (in crock pot) 2-3 hours or low 4-5 hours. Serve on hamburger buns.

*I was a little hesitant to try this--sloppy joes from a can are perfectly acceptable to me. But this is so delicious! Totally worth the effort (which is still minimal)

Jumbo Shells with Meat Filling

1 pkg. jumbo past shells, uncooked
2 lbs. ground beef, pork, or turkey
4 eggs
1 c. flavored dry bread crumbs
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 c. very finely chopped onion
3/4 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 c. spaghetti sauce
Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375* F.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown meat until thoroughly cooked. Drain.
4. In a large bowl, stir together meat, eggs, bread crumbs, mozzarella cheese, onion, oregano, salt, and pepper.
5. In a 9x13 baking dish, spread 1/2 cup sauce.
6. Fill each cooked shell with 1 1/2 level tablespoons of filling.
7. Layer half of the filled shells in the prepared baking dish. Cover with half of the remaining sauce. Layer the rest of the filled shells on top and pour remaining sauce over. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.
8. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Yield: 8 servings

*I halved this recipe since there are only two of us and it still made so much that we had a ton of leftovers. It makes a lot!

Mini Shepards Pies

12 biscuits from the can (recommended brand: Grands)
2 tablespoons oil
1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves, chopped*
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped*
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup beef stock
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 cup leftover mashed potatoes
1 tablespoon granulated garlic powder
2 tablespoons granulated onion powder
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425*.
2. Spray a 12-count muffin pan with cooking spray. Mold biscuits to shape each muffin mold. Par-bake biscuits for 6 to 8 minutes until light golden. Remove from oven and set aside.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat add oil. Add ground beef and brown. Add onions, pepper, salt and garlic and allow to cook together.
4. Mix in flour to meat and stir together until consistency is pastey. Add beef stock to pan. Stir in vegetables and herbs at the last few minutes. Mix all together.
5. Reheat mashed potatoes in microwave for 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in granulated garlic and onion powder.
6. Spoon equal amounts (approximately 2-tablespoons) of warm potatoes on bottoms of each par-baked biscuit. Then top with equal amounts of beef mixture (approximately 2 tablespoons).
7. Finally top with equal amounts of cheddar cheese on each pie. Return to oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is melted and browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before popping individual pies out with a knife.

Yield: 12 pies

Foodnetwork.com

*I used dried spices.
**I found that I had a ton of extra meat mixture. Because I had a lot of extra potatoes, too, I layered the extra potatoes, meat, and cheese in a square baking dish and put it in the oven with the mini pies. You could also probably half the meat mixture.

Ruth's Meatloaf

3 lbs. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 - 15 oz. can tomato sauce
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. quick oats
1 - 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1. In a large bowl, combine first seven ingredients.
2. Press mixture into a 9x13 pan.
3. Bake in a 350* oven for one hour.
4. Drain off the liquid.
5. Top with the 8 oz. can of tomato sauce.
6. Bake an additional 20-30 minutes until the sauce browns slightly.

*If you don't want a full 9x13 pan of meatloaf, you can use a 9x9 pan. The leftover meat mixture is great for meatballs!

Slow Cooker Hearty Beef Chili

1-1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1 can (15 oz.) dark red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (15 oz.) light red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1-1/2 cups TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Mild Salsa
1 can (16 oz.) no-salt added tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 onion, chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed, drained
1 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese

BROWN meat; drain. Add to slow cooker with remaining ingredients except cheese; stir. Cover with lid. COOK on LOW for 5 to 6 hours (or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours). STIR just before serving. Serve topped with the cheese. (from www.kraftfoods.com)

Darcey Pett

Sour Cream Enchiladas

1 pint sour cream
1 small can chopped green chilies
1 small can sliced black olives
1 medium chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 lb ground beef or cooked chicken (I prefer chicken)
1 package taco seasoning
1 can refried beans
1 lb cheddar cheese
2 doz. flour tortillas

Mix first 5 ingredients and set aside. Mix chicken, taco seasoning, and refried becans together. Place about 2 tbsp. sour cream mixture down the center of the tortillla. Add 2-3 tbsp of meat mixture. Top with grated cheese. Roll and place seam down in 13x9x2 in. pan. Cover with remaining sour cream mixture and cheese. Cover with foil and freeze.

To prepare for serving, thaw enchiladas and preheat oven to 350. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes.

**I double the sour cream mixture and put a thin layer in bottom of pan.

Freezer Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. minced garlic (1 clove)
1 Tb. parsely flakes
1 Tb. dried basil leaves
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 can (16 oz.) peeled tomatoes
1 can (12 oz.) tomato paste
1 package (8 oz.) lasagna noodles
2 cartons (12 oz.) larg curd, low fat cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tb. parsley flakes
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
12 oz. sliced mozzarella chese

In a large saucepan, miz browned beef, garlic, parsely, basil, salt tomatoes, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 30 min, stirring frequently.

Cook noodles according to package directions until al dete; drain. Combine cottage cheese, eggs, pepper, parsley flakes, and Parmesan cheese. Grease a 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Place a layer of noodles in dish, spread half of cottage cheese mixture over noodles, layer with half the mozzarella, top with half the suace mixture. Repeat process, topping with noodles and covering with sauce. Wrap dish with foil and freexe.

To prepare for serving, thaw lasagna and preheat oven to 375*. Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 min. Serves 8.

Mexican Lasagna

Prep Time: 20 min.
Bake Time: 15 min.

2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and farlic, undrained
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
3 green onions, sliced
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
6 corn torillas
2 c. shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained*
Sour Cream*

In a bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. Place two tortillas in a 13x9 in. baking dish, coated with cooking spray. Spread with 1/3 of the corn mixture; sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese; sprinkle with 1/3 of the meat; add a few dollops of sour cream. Repeat layers. Bake, uncovered, at 400* for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 5 minutes.

*The beef and sour cream are optional. I added them when I made this, but the original recipe does not call for either

Yield: 6 servings

Taste of Home magazine