French Dip Sandwiches

French Dip Sandwiches
Adapted from Our Best Bites

• 1 2.5-3 lb. beef roast
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 1-ounce packages dry onion soup mix
• 2 c. water
• 2 cans beef broth (I used vegetable, it was fine)
• 6-8 large buns (make sure they are thick, I just used thick slices of ciabatta bread.)
• White cheese of preference, I used vegan, Justin used swiss

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and rub roast with salt and pepper.
2. When very hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear on all sides. You’re not cooking the meat, you’re just browning it quickly on all sides to add flavor and seal in the juices.
3. Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onions soup mix. Pour water and beef broth over roast.
4. Cook 8-10 hours on low or cook 4-5 hours on high and another 3-4 hours on low. The longer it cooks, the more tender it will be. 
5. When meat is ready, shred with a fork.
6. Place meat in rolls. Top with cheese and broil open-faced in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, until bread is golden and cheese is melty.

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping and enjoy!


Notes: The boys loved this! Make sure to stand next to the bread when it's in the broiler, it can burn quick. I almost made that mistake...

Mr. John's Stuffed Peppers

Yum. Definitely will make it again. Got this at FoodNetwork.com.

Mr. John's Meat-Stuffed Bell Peppers

• 6 green bell peppers, tops cut away and seeds removed
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onions
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 cups cooked long or medium-grain white rice
  
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• Water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling water, parboil the peppers until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and dry on paper towels.

In a large saute pan or skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and chopped bell peppers and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the beef, pork, garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper, and pepper flakes. Cook until the meat is browned, stirring with a heavy wooden spoon to break up the lumps, about 6 minutes. Add the rice and tomato sauce and stir well. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning, to taste.

Pour enough water into a baking dish to just cover the bottom, about 1/8-inch deep. Stuff the bell peppers with the rice mixture and place in the baking dish. Bake until the peppers are very tender and the filling is heated through, 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Layered Enchilada Pie

There were ooh's and aah's during the whole dinner from both me and Justin while we ate this yummy meal.

Layered Enchilada Pie
by Sherry Newell, from Family Favorites Cook Book, p. 23

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 minced clove garlic
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder (or more)
• 1 (4 1/2 oz.) can chopped ripe olives
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 6 tortillas, lightly buttered
• 2 c. shredded cheese
• 2/3 c. water

Brown ground beef, onion, and garlic in butter. Add seasonings, olives and tomato sauce. In a round casserole pan, alternate layers of buttered tortillas, meat sauce, and 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on top of tortilla. Pour water at edge into bottom of casserole. Cover. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from pan to serving plate. Cut in wedges.

Squashana

I pulled the classic move of seeing something in the grocery store that I'd never cooked before (not too difficult to find that for me) and took it home with no idea what to do with it. I did this a couple weeks ago with an eggplant and the meal I made does not qualify for my blog. This time it was spaghetti squash. I read that the squash can replace the noodles in lasagna. I've never made homemade lasagna. So I just made this up. Justin liked it alright.

Squashana
From the kitchen of Brooke C Hochstein

• 1 Spaghetti Squash
• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu Veggie Delight)
  
• 1 bag of cheese
• 1 lb ground beef

Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scrape out the seeds and guts. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. When finished baking, scrape from stem to stem with a fork to create spaghetti-like strands of squash. While the squash is baking, brown the ground beef. Add the jar of spaghetti sauce to the meat. In a baking dish, spread a layer of squash at the bottom, then add the spaghetti sauce on top. Cover in cheese. Repeat until you run out of room or ingredients. Make sure the top is covered with cheese. Bake in oven at 350 for about half an hour.

Notes:
If you do not want to cut the squash in half before you cook it (because it's really tough to cut it and I may not cut it next time), bake at 350 for at least an hour. Be careful when you cut it, it will be very hot!

Bacon Cheesburger Hotdish

This is definitely a man dish. Justin loved it.

Bacon Cheeseburger Hotdish
From the Blessings cookbook, p. 158

• 1 pkg. penne pasta
• 2 lb. ground beef
• 2 tsp. bacon bits (I use real bacon)
• 1 (10 oz.) can tomato soup
• 1 c. Cheese, shredded (I'm liberal)

In pan, cook pasta as directed on package, drain. In skillet brown hamburger, drain. Add bacon bits, pasta, and soup. Heat thoroughly. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover and cook until cheese is melted. Serve.

Meat Loaf

My first meatloaf! This is a combination recipe from Liptons Onion Soup Mix box, Great American Recipes Cottage Meat Loaf, my mother (Carol R. Cheesman), and my neighbor.

Meatloaf
compiled by Brooke Hochstein

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/4 c. ketchup
• 1/4 tsp salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. stovetop (dry and crushed)
• 1 tsp. prepared mustard
• 1/2 package onion soup mix

topping:

• 1/4 c. ketchup
• 1/4 tsp. prepared mustard
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Mix all ingredients but the ground beef. Add the beef and massage the ingredients thoroughly into the meat. Add the meat to a 9x5 pan. Use foil to line if necessary. Combine topping ingredients in separate bowl and spread over the top of the meat loaf. Bake at 350 for about one hour.

Steak with Mushrooms

I'm a cookin fool! Woohooooo!

Steak with Mushrooms
From Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes
(I love this book! It's Justin's. There will be many more recipes from this book to come! It has a section for meals with five ingredients or less. Yessssss!)

• 1 lb. boneless beef round steak, cut 1 inch thick
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 41/2-ounce jars whole mushrooms, drained
• 1 12-ounce jar beef gravy
• 1/4 c. apple juice

Trim fat from meat. Cut meat into 4 servings-size pieces. In about a 4-quart slow cooker place onion slices. Arrange mushrooms over onions; add beef. Stir together gravy and apple juice. Pour over beef.
Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8-10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4-5 hours.

Notes: I doubled the meat, added more juice, cooked on high for 5 hours, and it was yummy. Good for a go-to-church-and-dinner-is-ready-when-you-get-home meal.

Beef Taco Skillet

I finally started cooking again! I got this recipe from enrichment. They gave us several easy recipes you can throw together with what you usually find in food storage (if you have such a thing). I just made this tonight. It was fast and yummy.

Amber's Beef Taco Skillet

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 can (10 3/4oz.) tomato soup
• 1/2 c. salsa
• 1/2 c. water
• 6 flour tortillas (6") cut into bite size pieces
• 1/2 c. shredded cheese (I'm always liberal with cheese)
• 1/2 c. sour cream

Cook beef until well browned. Drain (if desired). Stir in soup, salsa, water, sour cream, and tortillas. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Stir. Top with cheese. (I just added cheese to each bowl when I served it.)
Makes 4 servings.

Notes: We decided next time we would add taco seasoning to the meat. I think it would also be yummy to throw some fresh diced tomatoes and shredded lettuce as toppings. We ate it in bowls, but I wonder if it would be good over rice?

London Broil

I wasn't very satisfied with this one, but I would change a few things about how I cook it. I would not grill the meat, I would cook it in the oven so it was more tender. I also need to learn how to make gravy, because this one was just runny and separated every five seconds. It tasted good though. I served it with mashed potatoes, seasoned asparagus, and spinach salad with grapes, tomatoes, and poppy seed dressing. Justin ate it like a champ.

London Broil
from COOKS.COM

• 4lb. flank steak
• 1pkg. meat marinade (I had to use a steak marinade- couldn't find meat marinade pkg.)
• 1/4 c. oil
• Dash catsup
• Dash Worcestershire sauce
• Dash seasoning salt
• Dash garlic (opt.)
• Dash liquid smoke
• 1 pkg. teriyaki marinade sauce (I used liquid)

Mix meat marinade, teriyaki marinade, oil, atsup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and liquid smoke together. Add enough water to make 2 cups. Place meat in casserole dish. Pour marinade over the meat and let set about 8 hours, turning once. Cook on grill 25 minutes at 350-375 degrees.

Gravy:

• 1/3 c. Marinade (I remixed a smaller batch instead of using the one the raw meat sat in for 8 hours)
• 2 cans consomme soup
• 1/4 c. red cooking wine (I substituted apple juice)
• 3T cornstarch

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Serve over meat or baked potatoes.

Taco Croissants

Taco Croissants
From the kitchen on Tabitha Owens Welch

• 2 rolls of Pillsbury crescent rolls
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• shredded cheese
• sour cream
• salsa

Preheat oven according to crescent rolls baking instructions. Brown meat, then season with taco seasoning. Roll out crescent rolls on cookie sheet or stone. Spoon meat into the larger end of crescent dough and roll the dough around the meat. Bake according to instructions on crescent rolls. Immediately after rolls are baked, sprinkle with cheese. Serve with salsa and sour cream according to taste.

Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff
From the kitchen of Carol R. Cheesman

• 6 T Butter
• 2 lbs Beef Tips
• Salt to taste
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 T minced onion
• 2 lbs fresh mushrooms sliced thin
• Ground pepper
• 1 c sour cream

Melt 3 T butter in skillet. Add onion and cook slowly until transparent. Remove and set aside. Brown meat and set aside. Add remaining butter and stir in mushrooms. cover and cook 3-4 min. Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg. Whisk in sour cream. Do not boil! Add beef and onions and heat through.
Serves 8