Italian Hoagies

This is one of those super easy crock pot meals that is great for a hot summer day. Of course it's nice for a cold winter day as well.

3 pounds chuck roast (I have used venison many times with great results)
2 packets dry Italian dressing mix
2 cups water

Put the meat, contents of seasoning packets and water in a crock pot and cook on low for eight hours. Shred the beef. I usually do this with two forks. Serve on toasted hoagie rolls (I spread mine with garlic butter before toasting) and top with Swiss cheese and any condiments that you wish. Mayonnaise, tomatoes and lettuce are my toppings of choice. Delicious with a side of cold watermelon.

Green Chili Burros

This recipe was created by my Grandpa George. It is a special meal at our house. Whenever I taste it I can see Grandpa standing in his kitchen, smiling.
The problem with my Grandpa's recipes is that he never measured anything. He taught my mom to cook that way, and that is how I was taught. This recipe is too good not to share, so I will do my best.

2 1/2 lb beef roast
1 cup of water
1 medium sized onion- diced
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 to 2 TBSP cumin
1/2 -1 TBSP chili powder
3 - 7 ounce or 4 -4 ounce cans of chopped green chilies
salt to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
2 tsp of corn starch
around 10 large flour tortillas
grated cheddar cheese
shredded lettuce
diced tomato
salsa
sour cream

In a crock pot place your roast,(you do not need to brown the roast first), water, diced onion, garlic, cumin, and 2/3 of your green chilies. (2 - 7 ounce cans, or 3 - 4 ounce cans)
Cook that on high for about 6 to 7 hours, or until the meat easily shreds.
Shred your beef. Stir in the last can of green chilies. Add your salt to taste, red pepper flakes, and any additional chili powder, or cumin you feel it needs. Stir in the corn starch and incorporate it evenly.

Place about 1/2 cup of your meat mixture across the middle of one flour tortilla and roll the tortilla up. Top with cheddar cheese and microwave for 30 seconds, letting it melt. Top that with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, and salsa, if desired.
I serve this with Mexican rice, and homemade beans.

I usually split this recipe in to 2. I freeze the leftover meat and use at a later date to make chimichangas. Another yummy dinner!

Chunky Cheddar Chili

I know everyone usually has their own favorite chili recipes, but this tasted so good on a cold, rainy night last night that I thought I'd share it. It is fairly mild as chilies go but zesty enough for my weakling taste buds.

1 pound of ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 pound can of whole stewed tomatoes (I often use diced)
1 (15.5 oz.) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Grated cheddar cheese for topping (4 ounces or more)

In a large skillet, brown hamburger with onion. Drain off extra grease. Add tomatoes, beans and spices stirring well to combine. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes stirring occasionally. I usually add a tomato can full of water too. This is really thick and hearty and it does lose even more liquid as it cooks so if you don't add the extra water make sure it doesn't burn to the bottom of the skillet. Serve topped with plenty of grated cheddar cheese. I usually top it with a dollop of sour cream as well and serve with corn bread or corn muffins. Also good with oyster crackers or corn chips.

Potato Bacon Torte

I made this last night for dinner. I saw Melissa D'Arabian make this on her new show on Food Network. My kids liked it, and Bethanie doesn't like potatoes. I will post her FABULOUS pie crust recipe separately.
I did use whole milk instead of cream, because I had some and it sounded a TINY bit better for us. I didn't have Gruyere cheese, so I just put what I had with it. I also added a few slices on onion. YUM!

Ingredients
4 strips bacon
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 Pie Crusts, recipe follows
3 medium baking potatoes, peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. Crumble the bacon when cool to the touch.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the thyme and cream over low heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then finely slice the potatoes. Working in circles, arrange the potato slices in the pie crust, stopping to season each layer with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. Top with an even layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices. (You may not use all the cream.)

Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes. If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.


This served our family with a few sides for dinner. I think next time I might just make a second pie, because people would have eaten more if we had it! This would be great for a lunch with friends.

Tomazin's Sloppy Joes

This is a recipe from my mother in law's family. Much better than those seasoning packets in the store and uses ingredients you usually have in your cupboards.

2 lbs ground hamburger or meat
1 medium onion
1/2 green pepper (I usually throw in the whole thing. I like peppers!)

Brown meat, onion, and green pepper together. Add sauce and let simmer for a while or throw in a crockpot and eat it later.

Sauce:
1 TBSP mustard
1 cup ketchup
2 TBSP vinegar
1 TBSP sugar (I usually omit this and no one notices)
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1/8 tsp paprika

The longer this cooks, the better. This can be frozen.
Serve on rolls or buns.

Taco Bake

I got this recipe from the Kraft Foods magazine. It's just another simple to fix casserole. This freezes well.

1 package macaroni and cheese dinner
1 pound ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup salsa

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare dinner according to package directions. While macaroni is cooking, brown meat and drain fat. Add taco seasoning mix and water to the beef and simmer. When macaroni and cheese is prepared, stir in beef, sour cream and half the cheese. Pour into greased 9x13" dish. Top with salsa (I usually just stir this in with the other stuff). Bake uncovered for 20 minutes then add remaining cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

Mac Casserole

This recipe comes from a friend here in Auburn, they call it "Matt Casserole" after her son who loves this dish. Since we don't have a Matt in our family it has just become "Mac Casserole" around here. This freezes well.

1 pound hamburger, browned
4 cups cooked shell macaroni
1 can tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 clove garlic, crushed or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix all together except 1/2 cup of the cheese. Put in a casserole dish. Sprinkle with reserved cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or cover with foil and freeze.

Variation: Pizza Mac
Substitute a package pepperoni for the browned hamburger.

Chicken Gravy

We use this for the protein element when we have Hawaiian Haystacks. It's also just good on rice or noodles with a nice steamed vegetable or green salad on the side. This freezes well.

1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup flour
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cups milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
2-3 cups cooked chicken, chopped

Melt margarine in a sauce pan, remove from heat and stir in flour and the bouillon. Pour in 1/4 cup of the milk and whisk until completely incorporated. Slowly add the rest of the milk, whisking as you go to prevent lumps. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in soup, then chicken. Cook a few more minutes until the meat is hot. Serve or freeze after adding the meat. To use after freezing either defrost in the fridge for a day or so then warm on the stove or in the microwave or put the frozen gravy into a saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring frequently until hot.

Thanksgiving Casserole

This is an easy family-friendly casserole. It originally had some boring name like "turkey casserole" but we call it "Thanksgiving Casserole" for obvious reasons. This freezes well.

2 boxes stuffing mix
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 soup can full of milk
2-3 cups cooked chopped turkey (or chicken)

Mix stuffing as directed on box. Mix soup and milk until smooth and stir in meat. Spread 1/2 of the prepared stuffing on the bottom of an 8x8 dish. Pour soup mixture on top of stuffing in dish and then top with the remaining stuffing. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or 400 for 20 minutes. Serve with cranberry sauce.

To freeze: prepare casserole as directed but instead of baking immediately, cover with foil and freeze. When ready to eat, bake frozen casserole covered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees then uncover and continue to bake until heated through--probably about 30 more minutes.