Cheesy Taco Soup

This recipe is for taco soup, which is great in cold weather. We don't really have cold weather where I live, but it's still yummy.
Ingredients: 2 cans chicken broth (more if you want it more soupy instead of hearty), 1 can corn or hominy, 1 can diced tomatos, 1 can diced green chiles, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can olives, 1 packet cheesy taco seasonings, 1 can chicken or chopped leftover chicken (hamburger could also be used), 1 can kidney, black, or pinto beans--your choice.

Add all ingredients to crockpot and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours. Serve with chips or tortillas. Top with cheese, sour cream, avacado--be creative!

You can also heat this in a stock pot on the stove. Add all ingredients (brown hamburger first, if using) and bring to a boil. Turn to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Mushroom Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

I found mushrooms on sale for a dollar so I picked some up. I also had a few sweet potatoes and surprisingly an onion that needed to be used real soon in addition to muenster cheese in the freezer that I had picked up on sale a while back. What to do with all these? Make hamburgers and fries, of course.

I bake my hamburger patties in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, flipping once. I find this is easier for me than cooking them all in a skillet, especially since we don't have a grill. I sliced the onions thin and sauteed them with the mushrooms in Worcestershire sauce. As for the sweet potatoes, I peeled them and then placed them on a cookie sheet with some olive oil and salt and pepper for about 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Green Pepper Soup

I found this recipe off of 5dollardinners.com while looking for a new soup recipe. My husband and I thought it was good. Our kids, not so much. I served it with homemade rolls.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

1/2 cup rice, uncooked

1T. brown sugar

4-5 c. water

1 beef boullion

salt and pepper

Directions: Brown ground beef and drain. In large saucepan, add all ingredients. Bring to boil and simmer until rice is done, 15-20 minutes.

Sliders

The new thing in all the fast food restaurants right now seems to be sliders. I like the idea of mini-burgers mainly because they are fun for my kids. I decided to cook some up for dinner.

Ingredients:

1 1/2lb hamburger

1 bell pepper (or 1/2 c. onions)

2T Worcestershire

1 pkg hot dog buns

12 slices cheese

If you have a meat grinder, then grind the hamburger and bell pepper together, otherwise, you can but the bell pepper in the food processor and then mix it in. Mix in Worcestershire to hamburger. Place hamburger in 9x13 dish and pat down. It should be about 1in thick. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until no longer pink.

Cut hot dog buns into thirds while waiting and then separate the tops from bottoms.

Cut cheese slices into fourths.

When hamburger is done, cut into squares. Place one piece of cheese on each square and top with top of hot dog bun. Place bottom of bun on top. Cover with foil and bake for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Garnish with your favorite condiments and enjoy.

Vegetable Skillet

This originally started out as a pot pie recipe, but I adjusted it enough, it's more of a skillet meal.

You need: 1lb ground hamburger or turkey

1T brown sugar

2T Worcestershire

1 pkg frozen mixed vegetables

1/2 c. salsa

1/4t. chili powder

1/2t. mustard

First, brown your meat. Once meat is brown add your frozen vegetables. When vegetables are cooked through, about 3 minutes, add the rest of your ingredients. Mix together and let simmer about 1-2 minutes.

We had this with biscuits, but it would also be good with mashed potatoes.

Hamburger Calzone

Tonight I made hamburger calzones. I was looking for a new way to use hamburger and this is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

vegetables of your choosing, I used diced bell pepper, mushrooms and olives

pizza, spaghetti or tomato sauce

bread dough, I used premade frozen dough

cheese

salt, pepper, parsley, pizza seasoning

First brown your meat. I seasoned my meat with salt, pepper and parsley. Next turn off heat and add your veggies. Add enough sauce to just coat everything, but not so there is excess in the pan.

Roll out your dough into a rectangle.

Brush sauce over dough and sprinkle with pizza seasonings. Next add your topping and finish with cheese. Bring up the sides and fold together.

Place seam side down on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Uses extra sauce or ranch for dipping.

Upside Down Shephards Pie

Last night I made upside down shephards pie for dinner.Ingredients: 1/3 c. sour cream, 1/3 c. ketchup, 1 can green beans, 1t. parsley, dash of dill, instant mashed potatoes (serving 4), 1lb hamburger, cheese (not pictured)

Prepare mashed potatoes according to package directions for 4 servings. (You can also use regular mashed potatoes, if you're so inclined, but it takes longer.) Mash into bottom of 1.5 or 2qt dish. Place in oven at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until edges are a golden brown.

Brown hamburger and then add the remaining ingredients, except for cheese. Mix all together.

Place hamburger mixture on top of mashed potatoes.

Top with cheese and bake another 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve.

We had this with cottage cheese and peaches, but a nice dinner salad would also go well.

Bacon Burgers

Tonight I made bacon burgers. I marinated the hamburger in Heintz 57 steak sauce and they turned out quite well. I served it with tator tots and baby carrots. Normally, I don't make hamburgers at home. They bring back too many memories of being poor newly weds when we used to buy a box of 30 hamburger patties at Sams for $10 and every other night each month we had hamburgers because they were dirt cheap that way. Looking back, I'm not sure why I didn't think to chop the patties up and cook something else with it besides hamburgers.