ground beef

Enchilada Casserole

Leah Short — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 15:36:57 +0000

I love a comforting casserole. Simple and easy, and you usually don’t have to worry about sides. Cut a big slice and dinner is served! This Enchilada Casserole is just that. It’s not fancy, it’s not pretty, but it’s also not hard to make. I can have this ready in no time and the leftovers are even better! This recipe comes from my JCPenney Associate cookbook from 1996. I worked for their catalog store over Christmas break that year when I was home from college. I loved it! I could organize those shipments to my OCD heart’s content. When I started they had a huge backup of returns to organize and ship back…yours truly knocked out that pile in a few days. I was the catalog store rock star! I remember every night closing the store and having to backup the day’s accounts on huge floppy disks. My my how times have changed, but I’m still making this casserole!

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Meatloaf Cupcakes

Leah Short — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 14:02:24 +0000

Ok yes, they’re quirky and some folks don’t like when food looks like other food, but that doesn’t bother me. I think these Meatloaf Cupcakes are so funny and every time I see them, I flash a silly grin. I had such a fun time in the kitchen making them. What’s not to love about a meatloaf base, mashed potatoes on top, plus bacon and chives? What’s great about this recipe is that it not only looks interesting, but it tastes absolutely fantastic! I will make this meatloaf again and again and again. I may not always pipe on potatoes and call them cupcakes, but this meatloaf recipe is a keeper!

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Taco Spaghetti

Leah Short — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:29:14 +0000

Taco Spaghetti? That sounds weird. That’s what you’re thinking right? I’ve mentioned this dish before to friends and they turn their noses up as if I’d said, “Hey for dessert let’s dip broccoli in chocolate.” I know it sounds strange, but trust me, merging taco salad and spaghetti is magnificent. There’s no tomato sauce involved, no Parmesan, so it’s not a true merging, but that probably helps you picture it’s goodness better. It’s like taco salad with the added bonus of pasta.

So, how’s it taste?

I’ve been making taco spaghetti for a long time. It really is just like taco salad, but with spaghetti. I love everything about it, all the cheese, the hearty beef, tangy olives. Plus any dish I can top with sour cream is always a winner. You can turn up the heat level with the type of salsa you use and certainly a great addition would be jalapenos. This dish is fairly low calorie for quite a big serving using beef, but if you make it with turkey it’s even lower. Both meats are fantastic.

It’s a really filling casserole and the leftovers are even better. It sounds strange, but I’m telling you, it’s worth trying. A great conversation piece when someone asks, “What’s for dinner?”

Taco Spaghetti

Better Homes and Gardens, Cooking for Today Pasta
makes 6 servings
per serving: 438 calories, 36g protein, 42g carbs, 21g fat

Ingredients:

5 oz. dried spaghetti, broken
1 lb. ground beef (or turkey)
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp. taco seasoning mix
11 oz. can whole kernel corn with peppers, drained
1 cup sliced pitted black olives
1 cup colby jack or cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup salsa
4 oz. can diced green chili peppers, drained
shredded lettuce
tortilla chips
tomato
sour cream, optional

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a 12-inch skillet, cook beef and onion until meat is brown. Drain fat. Stir in water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cooked pasta, corn, olives, half of the cheese, salsa, and green chili peppers.

3. Transfer mixture to lightly greased 2-quart round casserole. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until melted.

4. Serve with shredded lettuce, tortilla chips, tomatoes, and sour cream, if desired.

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Easy Mole Tacos

Leah Short — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 17:00:39 +0000

Recently, Progresso sent me one of each of their new Recipe Starter cooking sauces to try. I was pretty excited about finding some new recipes to use with them. My first try using them was with the creamy three cheese and it was a complete disaster. Not because of the sauce, but the awful recipe. I’m going to buy another of the cheese sauce and give it another shot. But of course after that, I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy to try the rest. One recipe had me intrigued though. You know how I like weird combination of ingredients, so next I chose Easy Mole Tacos using the Fire Roasted Tomato cooking sauce. It’s a savory dish…with chocolate AND peanut butter. I told ya it was weird!

So, how’s it taste?

This was my first try making mole. Yeah, yeah, I had a helper using the sauce, but boy was it good! I lived on the edge and used crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy, but you couldn’t tell since the taco shells are so crunchy. This stuff was super good. A bit unusual because I could taste the peanut butter just a little, but I loved it covered in all my toppings. You can’t taste the chocolate, but it makes the meat mixture really rich. It’s like a more decadent version than just using a taco seasoning packet. Which I’m not knocking that method, I eat that stuff, too. I’d like to add even more taco seasoning to my next batch of these mole tacos. I’d like to taste more of it and two tablespoons wasn’t quite enough. It also needed a bit of salt in finished product.

I topped my tacos in shredded lettuce, Mexican four-blend cheese, avocados, and tomatoes. I cannot believe I forgot sour cream! I wish I had bought a stronger cheese like sharp Cheddar or Monterey Jack. The Mexican four-blend was too subtle for the rich taco meat. I was licking my fingers and scraping every last morsel off my plate from these tacos. Two sticky thumbs up!

Stay tuned as I slowly make my way through the other Recipe Starter cooking sauces.

Easy Mole Tacos

Progresso
makes 12 servings
per serving: 190 calories, 12g fat, 13g carbs, 1g fiber, 9g protein

Ingredients:

Tacos
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 can (18 oz.) Progresso Recipe Starters fire roasted tomato cooking sauce
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp. taco seasoning mix (from 1 oz. package)
12 taco shells

Optional toppings
Shredded lettuce
Shredded cheese
Avocado
Tomato

Directions:

1. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain.

2. Add cooking sauce, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and taco seasoning mix. Heat to boiling, stirring frequently. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Meanwhile, heat taco shells as directed on package. Serve taco shells with beef mixture and toppings of your choice.

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