Just a Mom, HA!

Beef & Broccoli Au Gratins

This is a meat-and-potatoes kind of meal, but with sneaky veggies too. We tried these once and were hooked.

Beef & Broccoli Au Gratins

• 3 large baking potatoes
• 1/2 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 bag (6 oz) broccoli slaw
• 1/2 c. milk
• 2 oz non-fat cream cheese
• 1 1/2 c. sharp cheddar cheese
• pinch of pepper
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp basil

Bake the potatoes using the oven or microwave. Meanwhile, brown meat and drain. Add broccoli slaw to meat and allow to cook until just wilted. Add milk, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, pepper, nutmeg, garlic, and basil. Warm until cheese is melted and all is well blended. Start heating broiler at 350 degrees. Take baked potatoes and split lengthwise on a cookie sheet. Cover with meat mixture and sprinkle with additional cheddar cheese if desired. Broil for about 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Happy Cooking!

Black Bean Chili

We’re moving this week, so time is very short.  I won’t give you a long into this time around, I’ll just let the pics do the talking:

Black Bean Chili – can you spot the hidden veggie?  I shredded carrots into the mix! : )  The overall flavor is a sweet tang, but if you want to bring up the heat you can add hot sauce.

Day one we had it with my naan recipe:

Day two we had it over a baked potato – this was insanely good and so filling that I couldn’t even finish my portion!

Black Bean Chili

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 Tbs chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup fresh salsa (I recommend the kinds found in the produce section)
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 can black beans, drained, rinsed
• 1 can corn, drained
• 10 baby carrots, shredded to tiny pieces

Cook meat with onion and carrots in a large pot, drain fat. Add all other ingredients, stirring until combined.  Bring chili to a boil, reduce heat to med-low, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.

*Add hot sauce for more kick if that’s what you go for in chili.

Happy Cooking!

Cheesy Burger Chowder

The weather has turned cold, even down here in Texas.  The time has come for me to unveil a Mama D classic, Cheesy Burger Chowder (AKA Cheeseburger Soup, but I’ve never liked that name since it sounds like a burger, bun, and mustard in a blender – ick).

This soup is seriously out of this world.  It’s creamy, flavorful, loaded with veggies, but it’s also bad… so, so bad for you.

I almost chickened out of posting this recipe, it’s THAT bad.  I told Jay that I didn’t think I’d ever be able to make it again in good conscience and he nearly cried.  So for him, I’m putting this recipe out there, and promising to keep on making it from time to time, but I’m also going to put my notes about how to cut out some of the fat and calories (both versions have been tested on Jay and both were considered delicious).

**Going to a potluck sometime this month?  This soup will make you a rock star, I guarantee it.**

Cheesy Burger Chowder – Mama D’s version, with Kim notes for cutting back fat

• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 3/4 c. chopped onion
• 3/4 c. shredded carrots (the amounts of veggies don’t need to be exact, I usually add a bit extra)
• 3/4 c. diced celery
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. parsley
• 4 Tbs. butter/margarine, divided (I don’t use any butter in my version)
• 3 c. reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 4 c. peeled and diced potatoes (small bite sizes work best so that they cook faster)
• 1/4 c. flour
• 8 oz. Velveeta (I use the 2% milk variety that has less fat)
• 1 1/2 c. milk (skim)
• 3/4 tsp. salt (I skip this)
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 c. sour cream (I use fat-free)

Brown beef, drain, set aside.  In a large soup pot saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 Tbs butter (or just use some cooking spray if omitting butter) until veggies are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add broth, potatoes, and beef.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender (this time will really depend on the size of the potatoes you cut).  Meanwhile, melt remaining 3 Tbs butter in a small saucepan and add flour.  Cook and stir for about 3 minutes or until bubbly, then add it to soup and bring to a boil.  (If not using butter, just throw the flour in the soup, but be very attentive for lumps and smash them out on the side of the pot with a fork if necessary.) Boil for 2 minutes, stirring well.  Reduce heat to low, add cheese in small chunks, milk, salt and pepper.  Cook and stir until cheese is melted, remove from heat and blend in sour cream.  Yields 8 servings.

Happy Cooking!

Crock Pot Stroganoff

This is a super easy crock-pot meal that really shocked me. I never liked stroganoff growing up, but with very few ingredients this recipe packs an amazing flavor that we love.

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

• 1-2 lbs. Lean beef stew meat
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
• 1 can low-fat cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup low-fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 cups egg noodles

Salt and pepper stew meat and place in crock pot. Cover w/ chopped onion. Mix Worcestershire, mushroom soup, and water and pour over meat. Cook on low setting of crock pot for 6-8 hours.
For the last 15 to 20 minutes add cream cheese. Meanwhile, boil egg noodles. Stir finished stroganoff until sauce is well blended and serve over top of the egg noodles.

Happy Cooking!

Crockpot Lasagna

Since having Cee, I love using my crock pot.  All of the prep can be done during naps or the night before, and then you have an amazing meal ready for you at dinner time.

I also love that there’s more to crock pots than merely pot roast.  Here I’ve made crock pot lasagna.  This is a super easy way to get real lasagna without the heat from an oven, or big pots of boiling water.

Crock Pot Lasagna
1 lb lean ground beef
1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce
2 c. cottage cheese
2 c. mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
6 regular lasagna noodles – UNCOOKED
1/4 c. water

In frying pan, brown ground beef and drain fat. Add water and pasta sauce, reserving a small amount of sauce to line bottom of crock pot. Stir until well blended. Line crock pot with very thin layer of sauce, then top with 2-3 uncooked lasagna noodles that are broken to fit shape (some overlap is fine). Cover noodles with half the cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese, then top cheeses with half of the meat mixture. Repeat layers with the other half of the ingredients. Cook on low for 4 hours.

Kim’s Special Note: If you noticed the plastic lining in the pictures, that is a Reynold’s crock pot liner. You cook your meal in it just like normal, but then after serving the bag removes for virtually no clean up. If you want to try them, they are at the grocery store near the foils. I’m addicted to these things!

Happy Cooking!

Crust-less Dinner Quiche

This is one dinner that I made just to get outside the norm, but with low expectations for the final result.  Boy was I wrong!  This was delicious, easy, and a healthy alternative to buttery quiche.  I’m already plotting to make it again, but to do a few switch-a-roos to make it Mexican.  I’ll be sure to post my results if it turns out well.

Crust-less Dinner Quiche

• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium zucchini, shredded
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian Herb blend
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used a mix of mozzarella and parmesan)
• 1/2 cup heart-healthy reduced-fat biscuit mix (such as Bisquick)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs

Brown meat and onion in a frying pan.  When the meat is about half done use a cheese grater to shred the zucchini into the frying pan, stirring until mixed together.  Once meat and veggies have cooked through, drain excess fat and liquid.  Mix Italian herbs and pepper into the meat and veggie mixture.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Dump meat and veggie mixture into the pie plate, then top with cheeses.  In a mixing bowl whisk together milk, eggs, and biscuit mix.  Pour batter into pie plate trying to disperse it evenly.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

Serving size = 1/6 of pie.  Calories per serving: 239  Fat per serving: 11 grams.

Happy Cooking!

Easy Curry

I’ve had two roommates in my life that have been missionaries to Japan.  Though they didn’t serve in the same place, they both came home with one unifying passion: Curry!  Sporadically throughout the school year we would host curry parties at our apt.  We’d break out the HUGE rice cooker, the biggest stew pot that we could find, and dish this up for anyone who wanted some with the specially set aside “Curry Spoon” (it used to be white, but with all the curry scooping the ladle part changed to a lovely shade of yellow, thus dictating its status as the Curry Spoon so that no other utensils would have to go through its same fate).

Anyway this meal is filling, delicious, a step away from ordinary, and EASY!  It’s so easy that I’m having Jay make it for us this week while I’m laid up.  The ticket for success, the key ingredient, is this stuff:

It can be found in any grocery store in the Asian food section, usually on or near the top shelf.  I always recommend getting the medium-hot.  Jay has no tolerance for spice, but he eats this with no problems.  We tried the mild once, but it had no flavor.  As my Grandpa would say, “It was like sticking your tongue out the window.” Trust me on this, medium-hot, the green label.

Easy Curry

• 4 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces (can use steak or seafood also, check box for recommendations and amounts)
• 1 med onion, sliced
• 4 red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into small cubes (don’t peel)
• 2 c. baby carrots, chunked
• water
• Golden Curry sauce mix, med-hot

Cut up potatoes and carrots first.  Put them in a microwave safe bowl with about ¼ c. water, cover loosely with saran wrap, then microwave them until just starting to soften – about 10  minutes, then test them and add more time as needed.  By softening the veggies first you cut down your simmering time by a TON! It’s really worth it.

While the veggies are steaming, sauté the onion and chicken in a little cooking spray in the bottom of a large stew pot.  Once the onions have softened and the chicken is cooked through, add the potatoes and carrots.  Now fill the stew pot with water until everything is just about covered.  Chunk up the curry block and add to water.  Bring to a boil and stir, helping the curry to dissolve.  Reduce heat, but continue to boil the curry until it reaches the consistency that you want and the veggies are as soft as you want.  Serve over rice.

Happy Cooking!

Green and Orange Stir Fry

In an attempt to branch out from my normal Asian fare, I bought some Hoisin sauce.  This sauce can be bought at the grocery store in the Asian food section, and while it isn’t a part of my “Average Pantry” it is an ingredient that is easy to find and a departure from soy sauce, teryaki, and other sauces that are common staples to those of us who aren’t stir fry experts.  While this isn’t a new favorite, it was a yummy dish that all of us (even Cee) enjoyed.

Green and Orange Stir-Fry (the name is for the colors, not flavors)

Meat

• 1 lb chicken or stir fry cut flank steak (I used chicken)
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, minced fine
• 1/2 tsp powdered ginger

Sauce

• 1/3 c. Hoisin sauce
• 1/3 c. water
• 1 Tbs. corn starch

Stir Fry

• 2 small heads of broccoli, cut to bite sized pieces
• 2 c. shoe-string carrots
• 2 celery stalks, cut down the center, then chopped
• 1 small zucchini, cubed
• 2 Tbs water

Mix meat ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to cook (an hour or more).  Prepare sauce and set aside.  Cook meat until browned in a med-high skillet then remove to a clean dish.  Add vegetables to hot pan, sauteing for about 3 minutes.  Add 2 tbs water to veggies, cover and simmer until tender (stirring if needed).  Add meat to veggies, coat with sauce and continue to cook until warmed through and the meat/veggies are cooked as much as desired.

Serve over rice or Asian noodles.

Kim’s notes:  As long as you stick to the theme of green and orange, you can really use any veggies that you want.  I used what I had on hand, but some green or orange peppers might add a nice touch too if you like them.

You also may have noticed a sneaker veggie in the pictures.  After preparing the rice, I ripped up several handfuls of baby spinach and stirred them into the rice.  They wilted down perfectly, then took on the flavor of the sauce – a great idea for hesitant spinach eaters.

Lasagna Mix Up

This recipe is a major crowd pleaser that I’ve taken from my mom. I bring it to gatherings, pot lucks, and people that need dinners and it always gets great reviews. This one is a staple around our house and is great for Italian flavor without breaking the bank on special ingredients.

Lasagna Mix Up

• 1 lb. lean hamburger
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
• 2 c. shredded moz. cheese
• 2c. uncooked pasta (I usually use penne, bow ties, elbow, corkscrew, or a combination)

Cook pasta according to package instructions to an al dente firmness. Meanwhile, brown hamburger meat and drain excess fat. In a 13×9 in baking dish combine the spaghetti sauce and cream of mushroom soup until well blended together. Add hamburger and 1 cup of the shredded cheese and stir until evenly dispursed. Drain pasta and add to the sauce/meat mixture a little at a time until the dish is full and everything is well coated in sauce. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until edges are bubbly and the cheese is melted.

Happy Cooking!

Manhattan Meatballs

When the movers packed us up for the move to TX they forgot to look in the drawer under the oven where I keep all of my pots and pans. The day before our journey, I found the pots and my sweet big brother offered to ship them out to us.

Going without any pots for a couple of weeks meant that I had to get creative with some recipes and the results were delicious and pretty fun. The first was *No Fry* Manhattan Meatballs. I don’t know where this dish got its name, but it’s a sweet and tangy BBQ dish over rice.

*No Fry* Manhattan Meatballs
1 lb ground beef (get the leanest meat possible since you don’t get to drain it)
1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 c. soft bread crumbs
2 eggs
2 Tbs fresh parsley (I substituted about 3/4 Tbs dried)
2 tsp salt
10 oz apricot preserves
1/2 c. BBQ sauce

In a large bowl combine beef, crumbs, onion, eggs, parsley, and salt. Form into balls and place on a greased baking sheet. Combine preserves and BBQ sauce in separate bowl. Brown the meatballs in the oven at 350 degrees (this doesn’t take too long, 5-10 minutes, just keep an eye on them). Place the browned meatballs in a casserole dish and cover with the sauce mix. Put back in the oven and cook for another 40 minutes or until cooked through. Serve meatballs with sauce over rice.