Chili Dogs

This is something different and yummy for your left over chili! Oven baked chili dogs (or sausages). This is so yummy and easy, there aren't even any measurements to worry about!
Ingredients:

• Hot Dogs or Pre-cooked Sausages
• Hot Dog Buns
• Mayonnaise
• Relish (I used sweet)
• Yellow Mustard
• Chili (I used homemade leftover chili but you could use a good canned chili)
• Grated Cheese
• Diced yellow onion

The How-To:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Line your pan with tinfoil, it will make the clean up much easier.
3. Spread mayonnaise on both sides of the hot dog bun, then spread relish and mustard on the buns.
4. Add your hot dog to the bun (I used sausages so I halved each sausage and used one half per bun since they were pretty big!).
5. Top each bun with diced raw yellow onion.
6. Top each bun with chili.
7. Top each bun with grated cheese.
8. Cover your whole pan with tinfoil.
9. Bake for 40 minutes at 350, and then another 2-3 on broil. You will need to eat these babies with a fork and knife!

Enjoy!

Donair Wraps

We grew up in the Maritimes where donairs seem to be a common thing. They are delicious and sold at many restaurants and pizza joints. They are not as popular where we live now but we still love them. Here is a healthier (and easier) version of a donair. So so yummy, and pretty close to authentic! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Donair:

• 1 pound of ground turkey
  
• 1 pound of ground beef (lean or extra lean)
• 4 tsp flour
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• dash of ground black pepper and salt
  
• 1-2 Roma Tomatoes (they have less juice and pulp which makes them perfect for a wrap!)
• 1/2 yellow onion, raw and finely chopped
• 1 head of leaf lettuce
  
• 6 flour tortillas (or greek pitas)

Donair Sauce:

• 3-4 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp milk (I used skim)
• 1 tbsp white sugar
  
• 1 tsp white vinegar

Cooking It Up:

• Preheat oven to 375 F.
  
• Mix the meat and spices in a medium sized bowl. Mix with your hands for a full 4-5 minutes (or a food processor for 2-3 minutes). This is very important and will lend to the final consistency of the donair meat.
• Form the meat into a narrow (1 1/2 inch height) and long loaf. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 55-60 minutes.
• While the meat is cooking, make the sauce by mixing the ingredients together until no longer lumpy. Set aside in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
• Slice meat into thin slices, if you aren't serving it immediately out of the oven you can reheat the meat in a frying pan (a few minutes over medium heat).
• Place the meat onto tortillas, top with diced tomatoes, diced onion, leaf lettuce, and a good amount of the donair sauce.

Serves 4-6.

Apple & Sweet Potato Beef Stew

The Ingredient List:

1 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp water
2 cloves garlic (I use jarred minced garlic)
1 onion, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 lb lean ground beef
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cinnmon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes (optional)
1 Tbsp liquid honey
2 apples, peeled, cored, chopped
1 can (790 ml) diced tomatoes (do not drain liquid)

Cooking It Up:

• Heat oil and cook garlic, onion, sweet potato and water, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
• Add beef and cook 5 minutes.
• Add spices and cook, stirring often, 2 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and honey, continue to cook and stir often for 15 minutes.
• Add apples, cook an additional 10 minutes.

Serves 4-6. Enjoy!

Cabbage Roll Casserole

This is a great dish; if you love cabbage! Also, quick and easy!

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef
1 chopped onion
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
1 tablespoon of Worcester Sauce
1 can of Campbell's soup (Heinz does not cut it)
1 cup of water
3/4 cup of instant rice
3-4 cups of coarsely cut cabbage
Cheese to top

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Brown the hamburger, add the onions, salt, pepper, garlic powder and worchester sauce while cooking.

Once cooked, add the soup, water and rice - mix well.

Place the cabbage in the bottom of your baking dish and pour mixture over top. Top with grated cheese. Bake for 30 minutes and voila!

Lasagna Cupcakes

This recipe was found via the girl who ate everything. I originally noticed it because the portions looked so cute; and for its simplicity. This recipe was easy to make and DELICIOUS! We were so happy that it was so tasty because it was so easy to prepare. Gotta love when a new recipe works out! :)

Ingredients:

Spaghetti sauce
Ground beef (or chicken)
12 wonton wrappers
Shredded mozzarella
Parmesan cheese
Ricotta cheese
Chopped onion
Chopped green pepper
Basil or oregano for garnish

Directions:

Spray muffin tins. Brown beef; season with salt and pepper - add chopped onion and green pepper.

Place wonton wrappers into muffin tins.

Begin layering - 1 tsp ricotta, some mozzarella, beef - press the meat mixture down, add the sauce then repeat.

Top with parmesan and mozzarella.

Bake at 375 for 18 minutes; garnish and enjoy!


LLW

Taco Crescent Casserole

I found this idea via the internet one day, I can’t recall where now, but I had some crescent rolls to use up and was looking for a different recipe that I hadn’t tried – this worked; and was delicious – tastes just like a taco!




Ingredients:

Ground beef

Chopped green pepper and onion

1 package taco seasoning

3/4 cup water

8 ounce can of crescent rolls

1 cup shredded cheese

Chopped lettuce

Diced tomato

Shredded cheese

Sour cream




Directions:

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef and add green pepper and onion you could add beans or rice as well). Stir in seasoning mix and water. Simmer while preparing crust.

Place half of dough on bottom of pan, and press so that it covers an inch up the sides of the pan. Spread hot meat mixture over the dough and use the remaining dough to cover the top – pressing edges together to close.




Sprinkle the top with cheese and bake for 20 minutes.
Top just like you would a taco with lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream!

Enjoy!

Zippy Beef Bake

This is an easy recipe! A night were you are stuck; and don't have any idea what to make and your groceries are dwindling but you have the staples; this is an easy but tastey bake!

Ingredients:

ground beef
broccoli (could use zucchini, carrots etc. whatever you have in the fridge)
sliced mushrooms (or not)
chopped onion
1.5 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1.5 cups of cooked rice
1 can of chopped green chillies or jalapeno chopped to taste
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese (we used cheddar; but Monterey Jack would be good as well)



Directions:

In a large skillet, cook the beef, then add onions, mushrooms and vegetable. Stir until vegetables are tender.

Stir in the chili powder, salt and garlic. Then add the rice, chillies, sour cream and half the cheese.

Place in a greased baking dish; sprinkle remaining cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for 20-22 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Bacon Cheeseburger Turnovers

I believe I found this recipe on Tastey Kitchen; one of my favourite recipe sites. It turned out great and was really easy!

Ingredients:

1 package of puff pastry – will make four portions
Lean ground beef
½ teaspoon granulated garlic
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 cup of your favourite BBQ sauce (I used ½ cup and found it to be plenty – measure to your taste)
Chopped onion
Cooked bacon
1 cup of cheddar cheese shredded – can combine cheddar and mozza




Directions:

Cook the beef and bacon separately; put bacon aside and cut into small pieces.
Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and BBQ sauce to the beef – cook a bit longer.

Combine beef mixture and chopped bacon in a bowl.

Set out puff pastry and place some cheese on the bottom, then add 1.5 tablespoon of mixture in the center of the pastry, you can top it with more cheese then add the top pastry piece and close.

Place on a non-stick baking sheet and cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes depending on your oven.

Sticky and Sweet BBQ Shish Kabobs

We tested out a new BBQ sauce, Bulls Eye – Sticky and Sweet; and it was soooo good!

MS learned about a new trick via the net; to place the slice of onion next to the steak; then as it marinates and cooks the flavor cooks into the steak – no idea whether or not it did work that way; but when you take the bite of steak with the onion..mouth watering! I also loved that we used orange and yellow peppers – they are really sweet and almost tasted like pineapple when you ate it with the chicken.


Ingredients:

Chicken and steak (can work with your meat of choice; or vegetarian style as well – add some zucchini and mushrooms)
Red, green, orange and yellow peppers cut into square chunks
Red onion - cut into square chunks


Directions:

Alternate the veggies with the meat choices on the skewers; place in a ziplock or Tupperware container to sit while marinating – 4 hours minimum;
To marinate we used the BBQ sauce noted above; some pepper and Montreal Steak Spice.



BBQ – approx 30 minutes and enjoy!

Beef Samosas

Hubby and I love to buy samosas at the local market. This was my first attempt at making them from scratch. They turned out great and had just the right amount of spice! I made enough filling for two batches, froze half of it for another time and made 8 samosas with the remaining filling.

The Grocery List

• 1 package puff pastry, rolled out and cut into 8 squares
• 2 russet potatoes, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 regular carrot or 20 baby carrots, diced
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2tsp garam masala
• 1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp sweet chili dipping sauce
• 1 egg and 1tbsp water, beaten
• paprika (optional)

Cooking It All Up

Preheat over to 400.

Brown beef. Cook potato, carrots and onion until soft. (I did both of these in the things in the microwave, it took about 13 minutes for the veggies and I hit the "ground beef" button for the beef, be sure to drain and rinse the beef a few times if you use this method).

Mix beef, veggies, garam masala, curry powder, garlic, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and sweet chili sauce in a large bowl.

Roll out your pastry and cut into squares. Fill each square with the beef mixture and fold over. I sealed the edges by pressing down with the tongs of a fork.

Brush each samosa with the egg wash and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

The Hubby Burger

I call this one the "hubby burger" because my husband declared it the best burger he ever had. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as he does (and I do!).

The Shopping List

Burgers

• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
• 2 tbsp minced onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic (I used jarred)
  
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Montreal Steak Spice
• 2 shallots, diced

Burger Sauce

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1/4 cup chopped dill pickles
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• hot pepper sauce (as much as you like, totally optional)
  

Cooking It all Up

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl.

Divide mixture into 6 equal parts and form into burger patties.
BBQ over medium heat until you achieve your desired "doneness".

While the burgers are cooking up, you can make the easy peasy burger sauce. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and serve with burgers.

Easy isn't it? And just wait.....oh. so. delicious.

Mexican Lasagna

The Shopping List:

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 2 cups of chopped onions
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups green pepper, chopped
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 (15 ounce) can mixed beans (or any variety you like, black or kidney work well) drained and rinsed
• 12 (6 inch) tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 small plum tomatoes, diced
• 1/3 cup green onion, chopped

Cooking It all Up:

Spray a large saucespan with no-stick spray. Brown beef or turkey.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add onions, garlic, and green pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, salsa, and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.

Stir in beans. Remove from heat.
Spray a 13X9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Spread 1/3 of the mixture over the bottom. Cover with half the tortillas (0verlapping as needed), and half the cheese.

Spoon another 1/3 of mixture on top of cheese, followed by remaining tortillas, and last of the bean mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Cover and bake for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with tomato and green onions.

If desired serve with sour cream.

Chicks Note: You could make this a vegetarian meal by omitting the meat and adding an extra 15 oz can of beans!

Grape Jelly Meatballs

This is a Carleton County recipe that has been passed down through the ages I am sure! When I first began cooking; a few years back now. ;) It was one of the first recipes I ever tried on my own; and I still make my meatballs with this sauce, even after being introduced to many other sauce recipes; it is a favourite.

Ingredients:

Meatballs
12oz Heinz Chili Sauce
16oz Grape Jelly

You can use this recipe with frozen meatballs if you enjoy those, I’m not a fan of processed meat – and like ‘real’ meatballs.

Cook your meatballs on top of the stove.
In a pot mix the jelly and chili sauce with a whisk and bring it to a boil – cook until it is mixed well. Add the meatballs to a baking dish and top with the sauce - bake it for 15-20 minutes at 350.


The sauce is even better the next day! :)

Sloppy Joes

The Grocery List:

• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
  
• 1 small onion , diced
• 1 medium carrot , peeled and diced
• 1/2 medium green bell pepper diced
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 can (398 ml) reduced sodium tomato sauce (I used Hunts)
  
• 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 5 warmed whole wheat buns
• cheese (optional)
  

Cooking It all Up:

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Add the olive oil, beef, onion, carrot, pepper,and garlic.

Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the beef is cooked and the onions are translucent, 7 to 10 minutes.

Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, chili powder and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.

Serve over the buns and top with cheese.

Chicks Health Note: You could easily ramp up the veggies by adding shredded zucchini, mushrooms etc. and you could reduce the calorie/fat content by using lean ground turkey instead of beef.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I know that is an ugly picture, perhaps the ugliest picture to ever grace this blog...it's shame because I promise this is one of THE. Best. Meals. EVER.

My 6 year olds favorite meal! You ask most kids what they want for a supper or a birthday dinner and you'll get "pizza" as a reply. Not my Olivia, she will reply "how about meatballs with rice". Everyone I've ever made this for has loved it and wanted more. I usually make a double or triple dose and freeze them in freezer bags for quick weeknight meals.

The Grocery List

• 1 lbs ground beef
• 1 package of dry onion soup mix
• 1 eggs
  
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 cups of chopped mushrooms
  
• 1 can of tomato soup
• 1/3 cup Ketchup (original recipe states "a dollop" which i figure is about 1/3 or until you can't squeeze the bottle any more)
  
• 2 handfuls of brown sugar (very technical...I know)
• 2 tbsp vinegar
  

Cooking It all Up

Begin by making the meatball. Add the ground beef, onion soup mix and egg to a bowl, mix well (I use my hands) and form meatballs. Lay the meatballs out on baking trays. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, turning once. Once they are cooked I place them on a plate and dab them dry with paper towel to remove excess fat.

While the meatballs are cooking, put the tomato soup, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, onion and mushrooms into a large pot on the stove.

One the meatballs are cooked, add them to the sauce and simmer at least 30 minutes.
** alternatively, if you aren't pressed for time, you could make the sauce right in your slow cooker as I did with my double batch, add the cooked meatballs, and set to low for a few hours.

Serve over rice with a side salad and garlic bread. A perfect meal for a rushed weeknight or for company on a weekend. Enjoy!

The Mommy's Shepherd's Pie

This recipe makes two family sized (2 adults, 2 kids and a bit leftover for lunch) Shepherds Pie’s – I usually freeze one and have one for dinner. You could easily half this recipe if you just want to one meal out of it. With two small kids and seemingly no time…I’m all about cook once eat twice or more!
Oh.....and I use carrots instead of the traditional corn because that's the kind of chick I am (and it's what my family prefers) but you can use whatever veggie pleases you and your crew!

Grocery List

Family Pack of Lean Ground Beef (2.5 lbs)
8 potatoes (3 lbs), chopped
¾ cup milk
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper
1 package of dry onion soup mix
8oz package of mushrooms, chopped
2 onions, chopped
3 ½ cups of chopped carrots (or you could substitute with 2 cans of creamed corn)
3 tbsp of Worchester Sauce
2 ½ cups of Ketchup
¾ cup of Steak Sauce (I use HP)
Sprinkle of Paprika

Cooking It All Up

Chop the potatoes and carrots. Bring each to a boil in separate pots and let cook until softened. The potatoes need to be fully cooked so you can mash them, the carrots should be soft but not mushy.

Meanwhile, brown the ground beef. Once browned drain it and rinse (I do this to remove the extra grease but it’s totally optional). While the beef is draining in the strainer, brown the mushrooms and onion in the same pan. Return the beef to the pan, add the onion soup mix, Worchester sauce, ketchup and steak sauce, mix well and set aside.

Drain the potatoes and mash with the milk, butter, salt and pepper to taste. Also drain the carrots and set aside.

Assembly and The Grand Finale

Layer the beef mixture into two casserole dishes. Top with carrots (or creamed corn if you prefer), top with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with Paprika.

At this point I set one dish aside for freezing and I cook the other in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, remove cover and broil for 3 minutes.

Enjoy!

Meatloaf A La Chick

I challenge you to make this meatloaf and not fall in love with it. It's so simple yet so moist and flavorful.

The Grocery List

2 lbs lean ground beef
2/3 cup crushed buttery crackers
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 package of onion soup mix (dry)
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tbsp + 2 tsp steak sauce
1 egg

Cooking it Up

Preheat your oven to 350 F. In a large bowl mix together beef, crackers, cheese, and soup mix until well mixed.

In a separate bowl stir together the egg, ketchup, and steak sauce until smooth. Dump the saucy mix into the meaty mix and combine well - your hands will work best!

Put it into a 9x5 loaf pan.

Bake for 45 - 60 minutes until no longer pink. I usually cover it for the first 30 minutes with foil and then remove it so the top browns and forms a bit of a crust.

Mary's Lasagna Casserole

Ingredients:

Oven ready lasagna noodles
Box of hamburger helper lasagna
Meat
Onions
Cheese – cheddar or mozzarella – whatever you have on hand
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Oregano
Hot sauce - optional
½ big can of tomato juice


To prepare:

Brown the hamburger and then add the onions – salt and pepper;
Heat up the tomato juice, hamburger helper spice packet, tsp of onion powder and tsp of garlic powder – and hot sauce if desired – we add Frank’s red hot sauce;
Cook 1/3 package of lasagna noodles broken up; when they are almost cooked add the hamburger helper noodles – cook and drain. If your using a lot of hamburger and it will fill more than a square sized casserole dish I’d cook ½ the box of oven ready lasagna noodles;
Add the hamburger to a casserole dish, add the noodles and the sauce, mix it all together and sprinkle the top with oregano and cover with your favourite cheese. We hid some pieces of cream cheese in it this time to see if it added some yummy goodness – was ok; but nothing special!

Cook on 350 for 40 minutes.

Shepherd's Pie - an oldie but a lovely!

My mother used to make this recipe when I was a kid; and she used mixed vegetables and I hated that! But I loved it otherwise, and knew it had potential. So, when I got old enough I revamped this recipe into what I love - and it is always a favourite in our house - my nephew and sister love it too - it is delicious! That's the great thing about it, you can make it your very own. I have a friend who puts onion soup mix into the beef, and that is quite good as well.



Ingredients:
Hamburger;
6 good sized potatoes;
Veggies of your choice - whether they be frozen or canned
I like to use delmonte french cut green beans and corn; a can of each;
1 small onion;
cup of mushrooms or canned if you like those as well;
milk and butter for the mashed potatoes;
1 cup of cheddar cheese; and
1/2 cup of ketchup or just squirt to taste.


First you are going to boil your potatoes; mash them your favourite way. I usually add milk and butter - however, sour cream would work well also.
At the same time you are going to brown your hamburger - I always season my hamburger with salt and pepper while it's browning; then add your mushrooms and onions - cook for another 10 mins and add your ketchup - to taste.



In a glassware dish, you are going to place the cooked hamburger on the bottom, then layer on your drained veggies of your choice, then layer on your mashed potatoes, and top with cheese.



Bake at 350 for 30-40 mins until it is heated through and cheese is good and melted on the top!



Easy as can be and absolutely delicious!

Chicks Chili - So easy a dude could do it!**

There is nothing better on a cold winter afternoon than a hearty bowl of chili. Chili is so versatile, you can add as many or as few ingredients as you wish, as much spice or as little spice as you like. I make my chili with a lot of veggies and a variety of beans. I don't make it too spicy because the kiddos eat it. I always serve it with nachos, cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce (for the more adventurous adults!).

The Grocery List

• Family Pack of Extra Lean Ground Beef
• 2 540ml (19 oz) cans of mixed beans, well rinsed in cold water
• 3 796ml (28 oz) cans of reduced sodium diced tomatoes
• 1 700ml bottle of roasted tomato sauce (or your favorite variety of tomato sauce)
• 1 cup of mushroom, chopped
• 1 cup of green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup of red pepper, chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• few dashes of hot sauce, optional

Chick Note: My slow cooker is HUGE so if you have a smaller slow cooker, reduce the ingredients accordingly or you'll end up with way too much stuff and a big old mess.

Some ingredients were too shy to pose for this picture!

Cooking it Up:

Start by browning the ground beef. While that's happening, get our your slow cooker and give it a good spray with your cooking spray, this will make cleaning up so so so much easier!

Chop up all of the veggies, drain and rinse the beans. Add them to the slow cooker.

Once the ground beef has sufficiently browned, add it to the slow cooker. Add the diced tomatoes including juice, add the bottle of tomato sauce, mix it all around. Add the chili powder, cumin, and if you are wild add the hot sauce.

Stir and let it all do it's thing on low for 8 hours. If you are less patient (or less of a think ahead kinda person) you can set it to high for a 2 hours and then reduce it to low for 2 hours.

**If you are a dude, please do not take offense to the title....just jokes. The chicks LOVE dudes!