Comfort food at it's finest Macaroni and Hamburger

 

This is so easy and it's a fave on a cold winter night ( although I crave it all year) so really any cold night will do. 

2.5 pounds ground beef regular

salt and pepper

garlic salt

2 tins of Campbells tomato soup

1 large onion chopped 

1 tbsp Louisiana hot sauce

1 box of macaroni noodles

Cook onions til tender and fragrant. Remove from heat. Brown the meat in a bit of oil. Drain when cooked ( just spoon some of the oil off after I don't remove it all) 

Cook a box of macaroni until almost done, it will finish in the pot. 

Add tomato soup and all spices stir and cook for 10 minutes together. Add everything into a large when the noodles are cooked and simmer 5 more minutes. Remove from heat so the noodles don't overcook. Let sit for 10 minutes and mangiare' 

Baked Ziti

We watched A Lot of Gordon Ramsay's cooking shows, and saw a lot of great chefs win. They also had cookbooks, so we started collecting our fave chefs books, and starting cooking! Of course Italian dishes are my faves, but I sure am having fun making all the dishes :-) 

3 cups uncooked Ziti or Penne

4-5 Italian sausages casings removed

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small onion chopped

*** Spaghetti sauce from Testa Dura sauce post **** or your own sauce

1/2 cup sour cream 

4 slices of provolone

1/4 of a bunch of spinach 

1 cup grated mozzarella 

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

fresh basil 

Boil ziti or penne until almost done (since it will cook more in the oven) 

Over Medium heat in a saucepan brown the sausage. Add garlic and onion stirring until fragrant and soft. (5 minutes) Drain the fat from the pan. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and spinach and simmer 15 minutes.Stir in the soiur cream and remove from heat. 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 1 quart baking dish. Put half noodles in the bottom, then the provolone, and half the other cheeses. Pour half the sauce over top getting the edges. put the rest of the noodles, rest sauce and top with remaining cheese.Cover and Bake for 20  minutes, then take lid off and cook another 15 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan and fresh basil, Serve. 4 portions. 

Thankyou Christine Ha (recipes from my home Kitchen cookbook)

 

Unorthodox Shepard's Pie **Sweet Revenge**

 

I've been reading Diane's novels, and they are full of great food and she's always cooking while she solves crime. Hence I am always hungry reading her books. SO I decided to try one of the recipes, since I usually cook Italian I had never made Shepard's pie, or commonly called Cottage pie when you use beef instead of lamb. And  I don't like lamb so I have eaten Cottage pie all me childhood years and never knew what it was called lol.

2 pounds ground beef

2 cups onions chopped

1 cup carrots chopped

2 cups celery chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

2 cups chicken stock

2 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbles

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary crumbled or ground

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon grated black pepper

1 cup frozen baby peas

1 cup frozen corn

4.5 pounds russet potatoes 

1.5 cups half and half

1 cup Gruyere cheese grated

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

additional salt to taste 

additional pepper to taste

2 ounces unsalted butter (1/2 stick) cut into bits

paprika

In a very large saute pan, saute the ground beef, onions, celery and carrots in the oil over medium heat until the beef is browned and the vegetables limp. Add the flour and stir for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture begins to bubble. Slowly add the chicken stock. Stir until completely combined, then stir in the thyme, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the mixture is bubbling and thickened. Stir in the peas and corn and set aside.

Bring a large quantity of salted water to boiling. Peel the potatoes and drop them into the water. Cook about 40-45 minutes. In a small saucepan, heat the half and half until steaming, but not boiling.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a lasagne pan.

Remove the potatoes from the heat, drain and place them in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Begin to beat the potatoes on low speed, slowly adding the additional salt and pepper.

Place the beef mixture in the pan. Place the potatoes on top of the beef. Scatter the butter bits on the potatoes and sprinkle generously with paprika. 

Bake for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are browned and the pies are heated thru.

Makes 8 servings. 

(Diane Mott Davidson mystery novel Sweet Revenge)

Gone all day Beef Stew

 

We were invited to Teresa's for supper one night and she made this stew. OMGosh I couldn't stop eating so I had to get the recipe, it was an oldy from a calendar, the recipe was hard to read with all the well loved creases in the print out. So here is one I can read, and never lose! 

1 Can tomatoes diced 10 3/4 ounce

2 Cups of water

1/4 cup flour

2 Pounds beef chuck,fat trimmed cut into 1 - 2 " cubes - Seared

3 Medium carrots cut into bite sized pieces

2 large onions quartered

4 medium potatoes cubed

2 celery stalks cubed

1 cup (ish) of mushrooms cut in half

2 beef bouillon cubes ( just throw in no water mixed ) 

1 teaspoon of basil

1 tsp oregano

1 bay leaf

3 grinds of fresh pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

Mix together flour and water until smooth, add tomatoes stir in 

add all other ingredients in covered roasting pan

Bake at 275 for 4-5 hours, or use a crock pot. 

Great with Coleslaw and warm bread 

(Teresa Cowx)

Stampede Super Slider - Jurrasic Burger

The Stampede Super Slider/Jurassic Burger

Ingredients:
2 Waffles
2 Breaded chicken patties
Steak
pulled pork
burger (optional)

Cooking:

Cook chicken, burger and steak on bbq.
Heat pulled port as desired.
Toast waffles as desired.

 Assemble slider:

Waffle on bottom
Place chicken patty
Pulled pork
Steak
Burger (optional)
Second chicken patty
Waffle on top.

Place knife through entire Slider/Burger for stability.

Top with pancake syrup if desired.

Take photo and enjoy!

Mac and Cheese Stuffed Burger

Ingredients
mac and cheese
1/2 lbs macaroni cooked
1/2-1 shallot
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbsp corn starch
1 C half n half
6 oz shredded cheese blend I use sharp cheddar, cloth bound cheddar and gruyere
Salt and White pepper to taste
3 oz extra shredded cheese
Caramelized onions and pepper
1 large onion
1 large pablano pepper
Burger
3 lbs ground chuck
Seasoned salt
pepper
onion powder
6 slices pepper jack cheese or another cheese you like for melting on top
brioche buns


Instructions
Mac and cheese
in a saucepan on med/low heat melt the butter and add the shallots - cook until fragrent
add the flour and stir - cooking until the roux is a light tan
then add the half n half (I just make my own with milk and cream since I always have both on hand) and stir until thick
take off the heat and add the cheese - stir until melted
then take out some of the sauce - about 1/2-2/3rds cup - to top your burgers with later
add the noodles and stir
add the extra cheese (optional - for cheese chunks) and spread out in the bottom of a pan - I made a double batch in the video but you could use a 9x13 pan for this size batch - refrigerate until firm - 2 hours
Caramelized onion and pepper
over medium heat add some oil to a non stick pan
slice the onion and pepper and add to the oil
stirring occasionally cook until the onions are a dark golden color - about 15 mins
Burger
while the onion is cooking season your ground chuck with pepper and onion powder (or whatever you like to use) and mix it - go as heavy or light as you prefer
Cut the mac and cheese into circles - I cut mine 3 1/2 inches
press out the meat into a flat circle, around 4 1/2 inches around and about 1/2 inch thick
place a mac and cheese round on top - cover with another round of meat and seal the edges (you can pull away any excess)
sprinkles salt on both sides of patties
place in a hot skillet with some oil in it and cook for about 5 mins on the first side, flip and cook about 5 mins on the second side (I like to use a lid simply to make sure the mac and cheese is getting heated inside
about the last min add slices of cheese (I used pepper jack) to the burger, add an ice cube to the pan for moisture and put a lid on it.
add to a toasted brioche bun, top with the onions and extra cheese sauce and the top bun! ENJOY!

Thank you ashleemarie.com!

https://ashleemarie.com/mac-and-cheese-stuffed-cheeseburger-recipe-video/

My Italian Burger

Everyone keeps telling me how much they love these burgers..... so it's time to share :-) The secret I'm sure are the onions in the mix!

Keep in mind the measurements are very random... it all depends on how many your making, so I'll tell ya what's in 'em, and you can adjust :-) This is gauged on 4 burgers ( big ones )

Ground Beef

1 egg

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 TBLsp parsley

1 Medium chopped onion

sprinkling of garlic salt

1 TBSLsp basil

1 shake of cayenne

1 shake of paprika

sprinkle of coriander

salt

pepper

A handful of Parmesan cheese

Mix it all together and BBQ

My favorite burger is one with toasted buns and fried onions. Serve with an assortment of toppings and enjoy!

Mexican Lasagne

I was looking thru a cookbook the other day and a recipe written on paper fell out. It was from a few years back and it sounded interesting so we tried it. very simple but really yummy!

1 lb lean ground beef
1 can re fried beans
3 large tortillas
2 cups salsa
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon chili powder

Brown the beef and add salsa and chili powder
place 1 tortilla in bottom of casserole dish
spread about half the can of re fried beans
spread a meat layer, cheese layer, soft tortilla
repeat 2 more times, end with cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Serve with sour cream and salsa.