Lasagna

15 Lasagna noodles
1 lb Italian sausage or ground beef, cooked and drained
2 jars spaghetti sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar, optional
15 oz. Ricotta cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375. Cook noodles, drain and separate. In a large saucepan, combine cooked meat, sauce and brown sugar, simmer 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 3 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and eggs. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread a little sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Place 4-5 lasagna noodles over the bottom, slightly overlapping. Spread half of the cheese mixture over noodles and cover with meat sauce. Repeat layers. Cover last layer with remaining noodles and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes before serving.

**To make it a little easier, just exclude the ricotta mixture, only use mozzarella cheese and you have a basic lasagna.

Shepard's Pie

1 lb ground beef, browned
6-8 servings of instant mashed potatoes, cooked (if you have leftover mashed potatoes, even better)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Add cream of mushroom soup to the browned hamburger, season with salt and pepper and onion powder. Pour into a 1-2 qt casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes and cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until warmed through.

Pedro's Special

1 lb ground beef, browned
1 can tomato sauce
1/3 can water
1 can kidney beans
2 Tbsp taco seasoning
tortilla chips
cheese, lettuce, tomato, olives, sour cream

Simmer ground beef, tomato sauce, water, kidney beans, and taco seasoning for 15 minutes. Pour over chips and cover with cheese. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted. Serve with your choice of remaining ingredients.

Wendy's Chili

2 lbs ground beef
29 oz can tomato sauce
29 oz can kidney beans - with liquid
29 oz can pinto beans - with liquid
1 medium onion, diced
8 oz diced green chilies(2 small cans)
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp. cumin
3 Tbsp. Chili powder
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 cups water

Brown ground beef and drain off the grease. Crumble the beef into pea size pieces. In a large pot combine beef and all other ingredients. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes for 2-3 hours.

Also good to make in a crock-pot as long as you stir occasionally.

(Shanna)

Slow-Cooker Meat Loaf with Shiitake Mushrooms

Ingredients
2 (1-ounce) slices whole wheat bread
3/4 pound ground round
3/4 pound ground turkey
1 1/2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup grated fresh onion
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper


Preparation
Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until crumbs measure 1 1/3 cups. Combine the crumbs, beef, and next 7 ingredients (beef through garlic) in a large bowl, and shape meat mixture into a 9 x 6-inch loaf. Place loaf in an electric slow cooker.
Combine ketchup, mustard, and pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a fork. Spread ketchup mixture evenly over top of loaf. Cover with lid; cook on LOW for 5 hours.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: 4 ounces)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 265(43% from fat); FAT 12.7g (sat 4.2g,mono 5.1g,poly 1.7g); PROTEIN 25.2g; CHOLESTEROL 152mg; CALCIUM 41mg; SODIUM 545mg; FIBER 1.9g; IRON 3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 12.7g



Jess Cool , Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2003

Hamburger Deep Dish

1 pound lean ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 2/3 cups water
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon salt, if desired
2 tablespoons instant minced onion
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
2 2/3 cups Betty Crocker® Potato Buds® mashed potatoes (dry)
3 to 4 medium medium tomatoes, sliced
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced


1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease rectangular baking dish, 11x7x1 1/2 inches. Cook beef, 1 teaspoon salt, the pepper and garlic in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain.
2. Heat water, milk, butter, 1 teaspoon salt, the onion and oregano to boiling in saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in dry potatoes just until moistened. Let stand about 30 seconds or until liquid is absorbed. Whip with fork until as fluffy as you'd like. Spread half of the potato mixture on bottom of baking dish. Layer with beef and half of the tomatoes. Top with remaining potatoes and tomatoes; sprinkle with cheese.
3. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Barbecued Pot Roast - Slow Cooker

Barbecued Pot Roast
• 1 tsp salt
• 2lb lean pot roast
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 24 peppercorns
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
Sprinkle salt over the roast and place in slow-cooker. Spread tomato paste over meat; imbed peppercorns into paste; top with onions and worcestershire sauce. Cover and cook on LOW 8-10 hrs. Serve meat with accumulated gravy.

Quick Onion Pot Roast

This roast needs no prior browning. Brown meat in the slow cooker and forms a brown gravy. Prepare vegetables separately.
• 1 pkt onion soup mix.
• 3lb lean beef pot roast trim off any fat
• 3 Tbs flour in 3Tbs water, mixed to a paste.
Sprinkle onion soup over the bottom of the slow-cooker. Add pot roast. Cover and cook on LOW about 10 hrs. or 5 hrs. on HIGH. Pour accumulated juices into a saucepan; skim off fat. Add flour-water paste and bring to the boil, stirring constantly until thickened. Serve over sliced meat.

Roast

Roast

Not much to say about this one. I brown the roast. Then I put carrots, onions and halved potatoes at the bottom of a roasting pan and put the roast on top. I put about 1/2 a cup of water in and then I sprinkle everything with a package of onion soup mix. Cook at 350 for about 3 hours. For me, the key to a great roast meal is the gravy. Add beef bullion and water to taste (depending how much you want to make) to drippings. Bring to a boil. Add flour/water mixture to thicken.

Flank Steak Marinade

Flank Steak Marinade

Marinate 1 large Flank steak several hours (or over night) in a mixture of

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 TB veg oil
2 TB honey
1 TB red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp. ground ginger