Cheeseburger Meatloaf

1 lb. ground beef
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup uncooked regular oats
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. minced onion
1 large egg
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 dry mustard
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup chili sauce (I substituted barbecue sauce instead)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 11 ingredients in a large bowl; stir just until blended. Shape mixture into a loaf, and place in an ungreased 8×4-inch loafpan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Pour chili sauce over meat loaf, and bake 15-30 more minutes or until meat is no longer pink in center. Let stand for 10 minutes. Drain and cut into 8 slices.

To freeze: If you used meat that had not yet been frozen, you can freeze this uncooked. When you’re ready to eat, thaw, and follow the instructions above for cooking.

If your meat had already been frozen, bake without chili sauce on top. Freeze. When you’re ready to eat, thaw meatloaf. Pour chili sauce on top and heat in oven until hot.

Brown Bag Burritos

• 2 lb. ground beef
• 2 cans refried beans (I make my own)
• 1 1/3 c. enchilada sauce
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/3 c. minced onion (I use dried)
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 3 c. shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, whatever)
• 20 flour tortillas (burrito-size)

Brown ground beef; drain. Add remaining ingredients (except tortillas). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Heat 3-4 tortillas at a time. Spoon 1/4 c. beef mixture down the side of each tortilla. (I like to use my cookie scoop for this. Helps me keep everything uniform without any mess.)

Roll up. Wrap each burrito in a paper towel, then wrap in foil. (See my crinkly foil? Because the foil doesn’t really touch the food, it is super easy to save and reuse!)

Refrigerate or freeze. I like to pack them in the tortilla ziplock bag. I can usually fit 10 per bag.

When ready to eat, remove foil and microwave for about a minute. The paper towel keeps the burritos moist. If you don’t use a microwave, skip the paper towel and just wrap in foil. Then heat burritos in the oven with foil. For a sit down meal they are nice topped with lettuce, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. If you’re eating on the run, though, just grab and go!

Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey (or cooked chicken, Italian sausage, seafood, andouille, etc.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
26 to 28 ounces (about 3 cups) pasta sauce
Salt and peppe
r 2 tablespoons red wine (optional)
1 cup chicken stock
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons white wine (optional)
12 ounces (3 cups) freshly grated mozzarella
6 to 8 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 cups cooked, well-drained broccoli, spinach, peas, or other vegetables (optional)
1 cup (about 4 ounces) freshly grated parmesan

Heat oven to 400. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan. Thoroughly cook the ground beef, garlic, and herbs in a large skillet, stirring frequently and breaking up the meat. Stir in pasta sauce and bring to a simmer for about 2 minutes. Season to taste and add the red wine, if using. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring chicken stock to a boil. Add cream cheese, turn heat to low, and whisk until smooth, about 6 minutes. Season to taste and add the white wine, if using.

Spoon half the meat sauce into the pan as evenly as possible. Sprinkle 1 cup grated mozzarella over the meat mixture. Top with 3 or 4 lasagna noodles. If using vegetables, toss them evenly over the noodles.

Pour the cream-cheese sauce over the noodles and cover with another cup of grated mozzarella. Arrange 3 or 4 lasagna noodles over the cheese, then spoon remaining meat mixture over noodles as evenly as possible. Top with the rest of the mozzarella and the grated parmesan. Bake until brown and bubbling, 35 to 45 minutes. (You'll need the longer cooking time if you have made and chilled the lasagna in advance.) Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes or it will be too gloppy to cut well.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

• 1 clove (to 2 Cloves) Garlic
• Salt To Taste
• ¼ cups Italian Flat-leaf Parsley
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Chives
• 1 cup (real) Mayonnaise
• ½ cups Sour Cream
• Buttermilk (as Needed To Desired Consistency)
• White Vinegar (optional, To Taste)
• Worcestershire Sauce (optional, To Taste)
• Fresh Dill (optional, To Taste)
• Cayenne Pepper (optional, To Taste)
• Paprika (optional, To Taste)
• Fresh Oregano (optional, To Taste)
• Tabasco (optional, To Taste)

Preparation Instructions

Mince the garlic with a knife and then sprinkle about an 1/8 to ¼ teaspoons of salt on it and mash it into a paste with a fork. Chop the parsley, chives and any of the optional herbs very finely and add to the garlic.

In a bowl combine all ingredients, adding other optional ingredients as you wish, tasting frequently and adjusting seasonings as needed. Chill for a couple of hours before serving, thin with milk or buttermilk if desired.

Pinto Beans

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Pinto Beans, Dry

• 4 cups Water, Plus More To Cover Beans For The Initial Boil
• 2 cubes Beef Bouillon
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 teaspoon Sea Salt (to Taste)

Preparation Instructions

Start by sifting through pinto beans. Discard all broken/halved/rotten beans … and any rocks you come across. None of these things add any value to the final product whatsoever.

Add pinto beans and water to a large saucepan. DO NOT presoak beans! Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Once pot comes to a boil, add beef bouillon cubes, garlic and bring the heat level down to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add 1 cup of water. Continue to simmer for 1 hour.

Add 2 cups of water. Continue to simmer for 1 hour.

Add a final cup of water and allow beans to simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Check beans for doneness. They should be tender throughout. If not, cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Season with salt to taste. Serve and enjoy!

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Notes:
This recipe is excellent for its purpose of rolling and cutting cookies, it also makes GREAT cookie bouquets... I add an additional cup of sugar and tsp of vanilla and my family liked them a LOT better...it doesn’t seem to affect the way they cooked either.

If the heat and humidity is high – you can add between 1/4 - 1/2 cup more flour to all my cookie recipes

The dough, as you're rolling out does tend to be sticky ....simply keep dusting it with powdered sugar and you can continue to work with it...while adding additional flavor... Thanks!

This recipe is WONDERFUL. Make sure you: chill at least 1 hour to firm up the dough. Knead the dough before rolling out with pin. Use SUGAR instead of flour when rolling. There are many options with these cookies. They are great iced. If you like a chewier cookie, roll thicker, crunchier, roll thinner etc.

And WATCH these CLOSELY, and remove from oven when edges just begin to brown. If you leave them in too long, get them off the cookie sheet FAST- they will cool faster. Lastly, use parchment paper to line cookie sheets for easy removal.

Rolled them out on parchment paper then pulled away the scraps from around the cutout cookies. It eliminated damaging the cookies while transferring them to a cookie sheet. I have also used 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

The second time I made these I used 3 cups of sugar (instead of the recommended 2) and 2 tsps of vanilla (instead of 1) and this made a HUGE difference with the taste!!

Delicious! I tried this method I learned from a different sugar cookie recipe. You make little balls with the dough, then dip a glass into sugar and flatten cookie with the bottom of the sugared glass. Keeps you from having to roll them. I also refrigerate the rest of the dough and only make as many as we will eat in one sitting.

Chili

Killer Chili

Ingredients:
• 1 (1 pound) package bacon

• 3 pounds ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups red wine
• 3 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 2 (14 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 3 green bell peppers, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 (19 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 (19 ounce) cans white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (19 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 6 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 3 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 teaspoons dried oregano
• 12 dashes hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco®)
• salt and ground black pepper to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Crumble and set aside.

2. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat and cook and stir the ground beef until the beef is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease. Stir in the bacon and minced garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the red wine, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce.

3. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the green bell peppers, celery, and chopped onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir onion mixture into the stock pot. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a near boil. Mix in the kidney beans, white beans, and black beans. Season with chili powder, brown sugar, cumin, paprika, Italian seasoning, vinegar, basil, dried minced onion, parsley, red pepper flakes, oregano, hot pepper sauce, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring often.


Award Winning Chili Con Carne

Ingredients:
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 2/3 cup red wine
• 2 (16 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, chopped, juice reserved
• garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 drops hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons corn meal
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook green pepper, and onion, until softened. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Crumble over bouillon cubes, and stir in wine; continue to cook for a few minutes. Stir in chopped tomatoes, garlic, and tomato paste. Season with paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, basil, oregano, and parsley. Stir in salt and pepper.

2. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover, and simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in kidney beans, and hot pepper sauce. You can add the reserved tomato juice if more liquid is needed. Continue to simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, corn meal, and water until smooth. Stir into chili, and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until chili has thickened up.