Broccoli, Rice and Cheese Casserole

My Mom makes this every year for Christmas dinner.  

I know there are many variations, but this one is BY FAR my favorite!

I love making this when we have ham, it just accompanies it so well!!

The recipe you see above is a doubled version of the one I am posting.  We had it for a big family dinner and served it with steak and a salad.  Yum!!

Broccoli, Rice and Cheese Casserole

2 boxes of chopped frozen broccoli

1 onion finely chopped

1 8 ounce jar of cheese whiz

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 soup can of milk

1 cup uncooked minute rice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat all of the ingredients over the stove and pour into a greased caserole dish.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

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.

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!

Porcupine Meatballs

Porcupine Meatballs are a simple, budget friendly weeknight meal that the family will love.

They were a favorite of mine growing up, and now,  it hands down one of the top 5 most requested dinners by all four of my kids... and the hubby a.k.a. "Big Kid."

They are easy to throw together, using condensed tomato soup, minute rice and a few items you will most likely have around all of the time.

They cook on the stove top in less than 30 minutes, and can be made ahead and baked in the oven.

Our favorite way to eat them is with a yummy baked potato, my kids love the sauce so much, it's even become their "potato topper!"

porcupine meatballs

Don't get "stuck" looking for something easy for dinner. Try making porcupine meatballs.

With the 6 simple ingredients this recipe takes, you'll have dinner on the table in a jiffy!

I cook for a family of six, so remember, if this seems like a lot, this recipe is easily cut in half.

Porcupine Meatballs

2 lbs ground beef

2 cans tomato soup

2 eggs

1 1/4 c Minute rice, uncooked

2 t. Worcestershire Sauce

dry Parsley

Salt and Pepper

1 c Water

Combine beef with eggs, 1 t. of Worcestershire Sauce and rice. 

Form into balls. (don't make them too big or they tend to fall apart easier)

Place in skillet, combine soup, 1 t. Worcestershire and water.  Pour over balls.  Sprinkle with dry parsley, and salt and pepper.  

Simmer about 20 minutes, turning meatballs over from time to time, and stirring so they don't stick. When meatballs are no longer pink in center they are done. 

I always serve these with a baked potato with sour cream.  Pairs perfectly!

I typically make these in the skillet, but I have baked them in the oven.  

They bake about the same time as a meat loaf, depending on how much ground beef you are using. 

Enjoy!!