Goulash

It's hard to believe that I started babysitting when I was 9 1/2.

I babysat for all of the kiddos on my block.  I have twins that are 11 1/2 and we just began to let them stay home alone for small periods of time.

Crazy how times change?

There was one family I babysat for at the top of the street, and she was a good cook.

A lot of times when there is a babysitter, kids are given mac 'n cheese, or PB&J, but 

this mom liked to cook, and she would prepare food for me to warm up for the kids.

One time, she had goulash.

This goulash.

It wasn't anything that my Mom ever made, and so when I tried it and I liked it, I asked for the recipe.

I still have the VERY recipe on a note card that was put in my hope chest.

Did you have a hope chest?

In my opinion it's something all of us should have.

I don't know why, but I hadn't made this recipe for years.

(B.C. even... "Before Children")

My Mom still makes it for her and her husband quite often.

I came across the recipe in my cookbook, and thought I'd give it a whirl.

When I was making it, my youngest daughter asked me how I got it "printed like that on that note card?"

Well, I used my electric typewriter.

"YOU had a TYPEWRITER?" she exclaimed.

Yes, yes, dear, we did.

How cool was I?

Back in the dark ages, a.k.a. The 80's, when we took typing class not "keyboarding."

typing class, picture taken from my freshman year yearbook

Like everything else, I switched up the original recipe.

We love our veggies, so I added more.

Plus, there are more of us to cook for, so I made more.

I hope that you won't wait 20 years to feed it to your kids, mine loved it.

Easy weeknight meal.

Goulash

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 medium sized sweet onion, chopped

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped

1 1/2 cups celery, chopped

1 - 14 ounce can diced tomatoes

2 - 8 ounce cans tomato sauce

12 ounces macaroni noodles, or what you have on hand

Brown ground beef with onion and celery,  sprinkled with salt and pepper.

Drain any excess grease.

Return to pan, add carrots, tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While sauce is simmering, boil, drain and rinse noodles.

Add to sauce, combine and serve.

May be topped with Parmesan cheese.

**Note: Feel free to add more veggies if you like, my Mom always puts corn in hers.  Use your imagination.  Can be cut in half easily.  I have a big family, so I cook big!

Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers

Most people have their favorite "bar food." Mine would be fried mushrooms and 

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches!

I LOVE stuffed peppers and make them quite often, I even have a stuffed pepper meatloaf and a stuffed pepper soup!

STUFFED PEPPERS

STUFFED PEPPER MEATLOAF

STUFFED PEPPER SOUP

So, combining the two sounded like a win-win situation!!

You could use other colors of peppers, but I decided to do my trial run with green and they were really good!

Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers

5 large bell peppers

16 ounces baby bells mushrooms, sliced

1 large sweet onion

1 pound good quality deli roast beef, I bought a medium rare one

3 Tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper to taste

16 ounces of Provolone or Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded

Cut the tops off of your bell peppers and clean out the inside, chop the pepper on that's left around the stem, set aside.  Slice onion and mushrooms, set aside.

Slightly chop the roast beef, set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place peppers in a baking dish prepared with non-stick cooking spray.

Place a generous "pinch" of cheese in the bottom.

In a skillet over medium heat melt butter. Add garlic, mushrooms, chopped pepper and onion and cook until caramelized, about 20 minutes.

Add meat and cook for 10 minutes more.

Divide meat mixture evenly between peppers, and top with a big "mound" of remaining cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes!

Enjoy!!

Copy Cat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza

Typically when I go to Taco Bell I order the same thing #1 no sour cream on the tacos.... burrito yes, taco...no.

If I sway...it's for a Mexican Pizza.

Dang, they are just so good.

I have seen many versions of them on other people's blogs, and on Pinterest, and couldn't decide which one to try, so like usual, I just ran with it.

They were a HUGE hit at our house!!

(and it was SUB ZERO outside and I didn't have to leave to "make a run for the border!")

ooey gooey cheese.

My family doesn't like olives... (Whhhhat?!) so this one is MINE!

Copy Cat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza

1-1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 small onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 packet Taco Bell  Taco Seasoning (or make YOUR OWN)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 15 ounce can Fat-Free refried beans (I love the old El Paso spicy ones!), warmed

Salsa or taco sauce, your choice, we buy the Taco Bell Taco Sauce in a bottle

8 - 9" flour tortillas, soft taco size

2 cups Shredded Mexican Cheese, divided

tops of 4 Green Onions, sliced

4 Roma sized tomatoes, diced

Sliced black olives (optional)

Non-Stick Cooking Spray

In a skillet brown your ground beef with onions and garlic, salt and pepper to taste, drain, add taco seasoning packet and 1/4 cup water and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Set Aside.

Spray a small skillet with non-stick cooking spray and place on stove over medium heat. 

Place a tortilla in skillet and let it slightly brown, and flip it to do the other side.

The kids got a kick out of watching the big bubbles!

Place them on a paper towel until you're ready to "build" your pizzas.

We made 4 pizzas, so you will need 8 tortillas browned on both sides.

Now it's time to BUILD your pizzas.

Place about 1/3 cup of refried beans and top with about 1/2 cup beef mixture, spread to coat.

Top with other tortilla.

Place under broiler set on low for about 5 minutes. 

Remove from oven. 

Spread with 2-3 Tablespoons of salsa/taco sauce.

Sprinkle with tomatoes, green onions and cheese.

Top with olives.

Broil on high for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Remove from oven, plate, slice and dig in!

Hamburger Soup with or without Noodles

My Grandma used to make hamburger soup, and I always loved it!

I guess I have always been a huge fan of soups in general, and always LOVED my veggies!

I used to take soup to school in a thermos when I was in grade school.

No PB&J for this girl... no way!

My all time favorite canned soup as a kid was Campbell's Noodles and Ground Beef

Ever hear of it?

Well, they went and discontinued it.

The only place I could even come close to finding something even like it is at our bowling ally... I know, quit laughing!

So my Grandma always made hamburger soup, and I thought maybe I could come close to my old favorite if I added noodles.

It wasn't exact, by no means, but it helps when I have a hankering for my discontinued friend.

I love typing up this particular recipe, because I can remember the exact moment she shared it with me.

I was sitting at her kitchen table, and she was reading it to me, and I was writing it on the notecard that sits in front of me right now.

I miss my Grandma.  Every Day.

If you are lucky to still have yours, make sure and spend all the time you can with her!

Hamburger Soup

with or without noodles

(I always double this recipe when I make it)

1 pound ground beef

5 cups of water

1 - 16 ounce canned tomatoes

2 small onions, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

2 stalks of celery, sliced

1/2 Tablespoon parsley

1/4 cup barley (I use a little more, we love it!)

1/4 cup ketchup

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 Tablespoon instant beef bouillon

Salt and Pepper to taste

Egg Noodles (I used Kluski Noodles,) optional

*I usually amp up my veggies, because we like lots of them, don't be afraid to add more or something different, I have cut small potatoes into it before, or green beans, too *

In a large pot, salt and pepper ground beef to taste, and brown it with your onions.

Drain. Place back in pot.

*at this point you could add ingredients to your crock pot or continue on the stove*

Add the rest of your ingredients and bring to a boil.

Reduce and Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Add your prepared noodles before serving if desired.

If you make in your crock pot, just cook it on low all day.

Crock Pot Roast and Rice

I love roast beef in the crock pot!

I love how it cooks all day and just falls apart.

Love how it makes your kitchen smell!!

Not to mention walking in after a crazy day and dinner is virtually done!

Sometimes, I tire of potatoes with roast.

My family is a HUGE fan of rice.  

Even better if you mix it with frozen peas.

So, one time I had a roast in the crock pot and instead of making plain old boring minute rice, I made it with the juice the roast and carrots cooked in all day.

They LOVED it.

So, now, more often than not, we have rice with our roast instead of potatoes!

Crock Pot Roast and Rice

Beef Chuck Roast (Mine are always about 3-4 lbs.  Just make whatever suites your family size)

Mushrooms, canned or sliced fresh (optional)

water

1-2 Tablespoons beef bouillon

1/2 cup minced onion

sliced Carrots

Salt and Pepper

Minute Rice (I use brown, you can use white if you wish)

Frozen Peas

Honestly, I cannot give you "measurements" for this recipe to be exact.  It's really based on how big your roast and the family you are feeding is.  Make adjustments accordingly.

Place roast, carrots and onion in your crock pot.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Sprinkle with bouillon.

Pour water into crock pot, fill so there is about 2-3 inches in the bottom of the crock pot.

Cook all day on low until roast is falling apart.

(6-8 hours, depending on roast size)

Remove roast, mushrooms and carrots, shred or slice your roast.

Remove juice from crock pot and drain off fat.

LOVE my Pampered Chef gravy separator!!

Measure out equal amounts of juice and rice.

I usually make like 3 or 4 cups.

Place juice in microwave and bring to a boil.

Add rice to juice, give it a stir, and cover and let sit until rice is cooked. 

(5 minutes or so)

Microwave your frozen peas, and toss with rice.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Stuffed Peppers

are one of my most favorite dinners.  We eat them quite a bit actually.

They are not only yummy and filling, they are really quite good for you when you make them using brown rice and lean ground beef.

Here is my recipe for STUFFED PEPPERS.

The night I had ingredients out for stuffed peppers a couple of weeks ago, I decided I really wanted soup.

(it was 100+ degrees outside, 

yea... I'm nuts like that)

I have seen tons of recipes for stuffed pepper soup around, and I didn't know which to choose, so like normal, I just started throwing stuff in the pot until it tasted good!! :)

I made a big batch of this, and have some in the freezer.

Yay for me!!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

3 cups brown rice, prepared

2 pounds lean ground beef, browned and drained

1 onion chopped

2 green bell peppers, cut into smaller pieces

6 sweet vine peppers, tri colored, sliced

6 cloves of garlic

4 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce

4 cups low sodium beef broth

1 teaspoon marjoram

salt and pepper

Brown ground beef with a little salt and pepper in your skillet.  Drain.

Add to it the peppers, onion and garlic, and saute for about 5-10 minutes.

In your soup kettle or crock pot, add tomatoes, sauce, marjoram and broth.

Add beef/pepper mixture.

Prepare your rice, and set aside.

Simmer on the stove for about 45 minutes to marry the flavors.

Or cook on low in crock pot all day.

Before serving add rice.

Can be topped with cheese if you like.

Easy Garlic Mushroom Burgers

I had a busy Monday, I wanted to make something quick, and my youngest son always suggests 

CHEESEBURGERS when I ask.  

I had a bunch of produce so I rigged these up!

Garlic Mushroom Cheeseburgers

2 cups fresh mushrooms

1-2 cloves garlic

1 Tablespoon of butter

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

sea salt

hamburgers 

(we buy ours already pattied from a meat locker we get our meat at, they are so great in a pinch!!)

cheese, Swiss or Monterrey Jack work great

buns

your favorite condiments

Saute the mushrooms in butter, oil and garlic, dusted with sea salt, until they are the desired tenderness. 

 You may have to vary the amount of oil and butter you use based on the amount mushrooms you make.

I left the garlic dripping in the pan, and pan fried our burgers.

Top with cheese, and mushrooms, melt cheese and place on bun.

Top with your favorite condiments.

I served it up with a side of fresh fruit.. dinner is served!!

Pepper Steak

 What a gorgeous site!!

Pepper Steak is a family favorite at our house.  I am sure there are intricate recipes for it, but this one's so darn good, and takes such little time to make!

Makes a great weeknight dinner when life gets busy.

My life is always busy... we have this a lot! ;)

I will share the recipe that I make, it's really a doubled up version, so if you don't have a family of six... plus boyfriend of daughter makes seven, then you can just simply cut the ingredients in half.

Makes great left overs though! 

Pepper Steak

8 minute steaks

flour

salt and pepper

oil

2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup

2 cans of mushrooms (or fresh if you have them on hand)

2 cans of diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons of soy sauce

2 teaspoons of beef bouillon granuals or 2 cubes dissolved in 2 cups of water

bell pepper rings (I used one of each, red, green and yellow for this meal)

2 small bags of cooked rice (about 4 cups uncooked)

Dredge minute steaks in flour, salt and pepper.  Place in heated oil in your frying pan, brown them until they are nice and brown on both sides.  I don't use much oil, just enough to get them brown, so there isn't much oil left.  Just that nice crusty part that flakes off.  To the meat add the soup, mushrooms, tomatoes, soy sauce and beef broth.  Combine, cover and simmer, stirring so they don't stick every once in a while.  

I usually cook them about 30-40 minutes.  They will be nice and tender.

For the last 5-7 minutes of simmering, place the peppers on top and cover again.  This way they will be firm when you serve it.

Serve over rice.

Stuffed Peppers

 This is one of our favorite  family dinners.

I couldn't be happier,  because since I was a kid, it's been one of mine!

I even made a meatloaf that tastes like it!

CLICK HERE

When my mom gave me this new Le Creuset baking dish, I knew exactly what I wanted to be it's first meal!

They really are so simple to make.  

Most times I just make them in the morning and put them in before I pick kids up at school to bake.

 Dinner is ready by 5, and all in one dish!

rice layered in the bottom, cored and cleaned peppers on top

stuffed with ground beef

extra ground beef in balls around the peppers

rice stuffed on top of the beef

diced tomatoes over the top

pepper tops placed back on

hot out of the oven!

These are very low calorie, and if you watch your fiber, high in fiber.

That's a lot of food!!

And It's GOOD FOOD!!

I make a big dish of this.  I have a family of six, but this recipe can easily be cut in half.  

If you want more rice and meat, use less peppers, you will still get the flavor when they bake, but you won't have as much pepper if the kids don't really like to eat that part.

Mine all do!

Stuffed Peppers by An Affair from the Heart

2 pounds lean round beef

4-5 cups prepared instant brown rice (white can be used)

2 - 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes

6 large bell peppers,  tops cut off, cored and cleaned

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350, and prepare a covered baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Prepare rice according to the package.  You can add a bit of beef bouillon to the water when you make the rice if you want a little extra beef flavor.  Add about half of the rice to the bottom of the pan.

Place peppers on the rice, reserving tops.  Fill each bottom of the pepper with some ground beef, leaving enough room to top with rice and tomatoes.  Reserve remaining rice.

Take remaining ground beef, roll into balls and place around the peppers.

Add rice to the peppers, and put the rest of it around the peppers in the dish.

Salt and Pepper the whole thing.

Pour tomatoes over the top of all of it.

Salt and Pepper again.

Place tops of peppers on.  Cover with lid to baking dish. 

(make sure you spray the lid with non-stick cooking spray,too!!)

Bake 1 1/2-2 hours, or until beef inside peppers is no longer pink.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

stuffed cabbage rolls

Cabbage is one of those things I didn't like as a kid, but it's grown on me... 

now I think it's quite good!!

My husband and I have been married for 21 years, and I have NEVER made these!

Both of us grew up eating them, and for some reason they popped into my head this morning when he asked the age old question

"what's for dinner?"

So, when I paid my Sunday homage to the grocery to stock up on lunch box food, I picked up the ingredients and whipped them up.

hot out of the oven

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

2 pounds ground beef

i - 29 ounce can of tomato sauce

1/2 cup instant rice, uncooked

1 head green cabbage

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup minced onion

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place a large pan of water to boil on the stove.

Prepare a covered deep baking dish wit non-stick cooking spray.

Combine ground beef with rice, onion, cheese and spices.  Form into decent sized meatballs.

Peel pieces of cabbage, trying to keep them "intact" place into boiling water for about a minute to 

slightly wilt them.

Roll a meatball up in the cabbage and place seam side down into baking dish. 

Pour tomato sauce over the top, cover and bake for one hour.

Makes about 10 rolls.

Beef Enchilada Soup

I wanted to add a new addition to this year's Halloween Soup Supper.

My kids always request Homemade Chicken Noodle and Broccoli Cheese, 

but I wanted something new....

So this year, it's Beef Enchilada Soup!

Everyone LOVED it!!  

Beef Enchilada Soup

2 lbs ground beef, browned and drained

1 onion, chopped

1 - 15oz can of Mexican stewed tomatoes

1 - 15oz can pinto beans, liquid an all

2 - 11oz cans of Mexi-Corn

2 - 10oz cans enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded Mexican Blend cheese

extra cheese for topping

6 corn tortillas, cut into strips

Spray crock pot with Pam. Brown ground beef with chopped onion, drain and put into your crock pot.

Dump the rest of the ingredients (except for the cheese and tortillas) into your crock pot.  

Add two cans of water, using the enchilada sauce cans.

Give it a stir.

Cook on low all day.

About an hour before eating add your 2 cups of cheese and tortillas.

Top with extra cheese if desired!

Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner in the Crock Pot

Corned Beef, Cabbage, Irish Potatoes and Rye Bread

My kids get super excited when I make this meal.  I think I make it once or twice a year.  

I don't know why? It's not like it's hard?

But when March rolls around, I see the Corned Beef front and center in the super market, 

and I know it's time!

There is no mistaking the scent of this cooking in your house!!

Best part...put it in the crock pot and walk away!!

Corned Beef and Cabbage in the Crock Pot

5.5-6 pounds of Corned Beef

1 1/2  cups water

1 head of green cabbage, quartered

3 cans of Irish Potatoes

Loaf of Rye Bread

Place corned beef, juices and all in crock pot, fat side up.

I always buy the corned beef that has the seasoning packets right in it, place those in the crockpot over meat.

Pour water over the top.

Cook on high for about 6 hours.

Reduce to low.

Pour potatoes in.

Place cabbage on top and recover.

Continue to cook for about 2 hours.

Serve with rye bread.