Hamburger Surprise!! :)

When we were first married and I told Mr. Amazing I was going to make "Hamburger Surprise" he got rather nervous. Usually any recipe with the word "surprise" is just another way to say "disgusting" haha. When I pulled them out of the oven and he tried one, he didn't like it. Then I added the MUST HAVE ingredient of Lawry's Season Salt. Bam! It instantly became one of his favorite meals. Which is a good thing, because I make them often!

Dough:

1 tbsp yeast

3 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

½ tsp salt

1 egg

¼ c shortening 

1 cup warm water

Inside:

Browned, seasoned hamburger to taste

Cheese slices

Put warm water, egg, sugar, salt and shortening into mixer. Start mixing and add 1 cup of flour. Mix until blended then add the yeast. Finish adding flour until the texture is just right then let it raise.

Take a small amount of dough and pull it until very thin a little bigger than your palm. Put a small scoop of cooked hamburger and a small cheddar cheese slice (like the size you’d put on a saltine cracker). Roll up into a ball. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. When hot put butter on top and sprinkle with seasoning salt.

Unstuffed Pepper Bake

This pic is before it's baked and topped with the cheese and tomato sauce so you could see what it looks like :)

I got this recipe in the mail from Smith's Food and Drug with coupons for all the ingredients a couple years ago and thought I'd give it a try. Well, from that moment on it was on "the list." So much less work that actually stuffing a pepper (any easy way out haha...), this meal tastes great and freezes beautifully! I personally prefer it with ranch dressing, but the fam will stick with sour cream any day. And tortilla chips (in my humble opinion) are a must!! It must be good when our buddy had 3 or 4 platefuls in one sitting :) 

1 lb ground beef

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 ½ cups peppers chopped

2 garlic cloves

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 can diced tomatoes

1 ½ cups rice

1 tsp Worcestershire

1 tsp Italian seasoning

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 375. Saute hamburger, onions, peppers and garlic. Stir in tomatoes, rice, Worcestershire and Italian seasoning. Remove from heat, add 1 cup cheese

Spread mixture in 13x9 pan. Top with tomato sauce and remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 20 min. Serve with tortilla chips.

Taco Salad

Ahhh, taco salad. The food that fed my pregnant self (and got me addicted to salad) for 5 months straight with my 2nd child. This one is completely versatile. Start with the basics and expand from there! The crucial part (in my opinion) is the taco bowls. You can buy the molds I think at Walmart. (My dad bought mine over 10 years ago, I think from an As Seen On TV ad haha). Anyway, just bake your shells and get started!

Basics:

Lettuce, rinsed and chopped

Meat (seasoned hamburger, chicken, steak or pork)

Shredded Cheese

Salsa

Sour cream

Green Onions, diced

Add-ins:

Guacamole

Red Onion

Black beans

Cilantro

Pico de Gallo

And anything else you like!

Layer your salad and enjoy!  

Sloppy Joes

Are you a Sloppy Joe fan? If my only introduction to these easy little babies were from the school cafeteria, I have to admit, I'd never eat them again. But thankfully my wonderful mom knew how to make good Sloppy Joes. As in, REALLY GOOD (especially to an Idaho meat and potato every night kind of girl)! With 3 ingredients! To this day I could care less for the "sloppy" part of the Joe that looks like it's from the can, all runny and making my bread soggy. But this way is perfect. And you can give it as much or as little umph as you want. And best of all, this meal is ready in less than 15 minutes!

2 lbs hamburger (or adjust the amount to whatever your family will eat)

BBQ sauce

Ketchup

Here I must say, the brand of BBQ sauce and Ketchup does make a huge difference! If you want some serious flavor, you gotta use Heinz Ketchup and a good BBQ sauce (my fav is Bullseye Carolina Flavor).

Brown your hamburger. Then add your BBQ and Ketchup. (Sorry for the vague amount here... it really is just to taste!). I would say it's 3 parts BBQ to 1 part Ketchup (for less kick and a more ketchupy flavor use 1/2 and 1/2) Start with a smaller amount of each, and stir to see if it coats the meat nicely. If not, add more. These aren't meant to be saucy so less can definitely be more with these!

World's Best Taco Soup

Mr. Amazing does not like Taco Soup. I've tried numerous variations in hopes of converting him. He has to call it Chili to choke it down haha. But when I saw this recipe from iheartnaptime.net, I knew I had to give it a shot!

Well, it didn't work haha. I told him this one had tons more good stuff in it, but when he tried it he said "it tastes like taco soup." Oh well. Can't win them all!

But the rest of us loved it, so it's a keeper! It does taste like Taco Soup, but so much heartier!!! Everyone was stuffed after 1 bowl and it made double the amount of my normal recipe! It would be super easy to make this into a freezer meal, too, either before or after cooking it!

1 lb hamburger

2 tbsp taco seasoning

1 med sweet onion

½ green bell pepper chopped

½ red bell pepper chopped

½ orange or yellow bell pepper chopped

1 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can kidney beans drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can pinto beans drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can corn

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

¼ cup salsa

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

Brown hamburger in a large pan. Add in onion and bell peppers and sauté for a few minutes. Add to slow cooker. Add in remaining ingredients and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Top with your favorite toppings and tortilla chips.

Our Fav Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Heaven in a bowl. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, tweaked it a bit according to other's opinions and voila! Perfection! Out here in Wyoming, this is a staple in our family in the winter! Double batch it for left-overs or freeze for another day. Pair it with some cornbread and you will have one happy family!

2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into pieces

2/3 cup flour

1 tsp seasoning salt

1 tsp pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

1 ½ tsp paprika

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 onion, chopped

3 ½ cups beef broth

5-6 potatoes

4 carrots sliced

2 stalks celery

1 pkg McCormicks beef stew seasoning. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in bag. Coat the meat with it. Sear meat. Transfer meat to slow cooker. Pour 2 cups beef broth into pan to deglaze then pour over beef. Add rest of broth and all other ingredients. Stir and cook for 10 hours on low.

(Note: I'm rather horrible at adding the exact amount of veggies. I just dice, throw in, and when it fills up the pot just right, I stop :) Therefore, I almost always end up using 3 cans of beef broth or whatever it takes to get it right to the top of the veggies and meat).

Mock Filet Mignon

So these are totally going on the Dang Good menu! My sweet friend Jen invited our family over for dinner and served us these little babies! Talk about good! And even better...they are easy to make and can be frozen! All my kids loved them, and I seriously can't wait to make a batch so that I can make extras for another meal. Hope you enjoy as much as we did! And thanks Jen, for yet another, Dang Good Recipe!

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (uncooked)

3/4 cup cooked rice

1 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp sugar

Enough strips of bacon for however many balls you make.

Combine everything but the bacon. Shape into balls and wrap bacon around each. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 450 for 30 min. Devour :) 

Chimichanga Heaven

A lifelong staple in our house, it really doesn't get much better than this! Grandma used to work at the Lion House in Salt Lake City, and she would make these for us every time we would visit her (I don't know if this recipe actually came from the Lion House or if it's just because she is an amazing cook and worked there that I associate it with the Lion House :). And to this day, these little babies are one of my fav meals ever. 

These chimicangas are super versatile. Of course you can freeze them. But you really can also make them any way you want! My favorite way is to use left over shredded beef or pork roast for the meat and home-canned pinto beans. Grandma cans huge batches of the beans and then just smashes them up! You can't smash up canned beans though, so if you can't can your own, you'll have to use refried beans.

1 lb hamburger (or left over shredded pork or beef roast)

2 can refried beans (or smashed up home canned pinto beans)

1 packet taco seasoning

8" tortillas

Sour cream

Green onions

Shredded cheese

Cilantro

Salsa

Anything else you like

Canola oil

Brown the hamburger. Add the refried beans to the pan and stir until creamy and heated through. Add the taco seasoning packet and mix well. Spoon the mixture into flour tortillas and fold burrito style. (At this point, you can layer the chimicangas carefully in a ziplock bag and freeze for later). In a pan, heat up 2" of oil on medium heat. Cook 2-3 chimichangas at a time. Flip over after a few minutes (or golden brown on each side) and then set on a plate layered with paper towels to soak up the excess oil. Serve immediately with your choice of toppings!

(I always double this recipe and make enough to freeze for another meal!)

Slow Cooker Baked Potato's

I'm an Idaho girl (and now Wyoming girl and wannabe cowboy) and therefore, meat and potatoes for every meal was not just a figure of speech. It was rare NOT to have some form of potato every evening at dinner. And so even though I've broadened my horizons a little bit, I'm still a potato girl at heart (preferably french fries haha ;). And these baked potatoes are so good! (I got this from recipe from crockpot365.blogspot.com).

Potatoes (Russet or Red)
Tinfoil

Scrub and dry potatoes. Poke holes in potatoes with a fork and then wrap in tinfoil. Put in slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours (depending on size of potato) or on high for 5-6 hours. Warning: the potatoes do turn yellow for whatever reason! But oh they are moist!

Serve as a side or do what I usually do and make it into a potato bar: open up potato and add butter, sour cream or ranch, seasoned cooked hamburger (We prefer Cavender's Greek Seasoning. You can buy it at Walmart, and it is soooo yummy on meat!! ), bacon crumbles, sunflower seeds, green onions, and cheese with a salad on the side!

Chuckwagon Stew

You wanna feel like a cowboy, eat Chuckwagon Stew. This is by far Hannah's fav (served with buttermilk cornbread, mmmmm). The key is to use polish sausage. Although not my favorite, my family cleans the slow cooker bowl with this one! (Recipe from allrecipes.com).

1 ½ lbs cubed meat

½ lb sausage

1 onion

2-3 tbsp minced garlic

3 potatoes, chopped

28 oz can of bbq baked beans

BBQ sauce

Brown meat, onion, sausage and garlic in pan. Meanwhile, place diced potatoes on the bottom of the crock pot. Spread meat mixture over top. Spoon baked beans evenly over the top. Add extra bbq sauce to your liking. Cook on low in crock pot for 5-6 hours.

Freezer Variations: If you wanted to have this as a prepped freezer meal, I would only suggest having the meat, onion, sausage (cooked if using breakfast sausage and sliced if using polish sausage) and garlic ready in a freezer bag. Uncooked potatoes do not freeze well (they turn brown) and well, baked beans are easy as they are already in the can! It also freezes up great as an after cooked meal! Freeze portion sizes in ziplock containers for an instant meal!

Ground Beef Enchiladas

I got these enchiladas from http://joyful-mommas-kitchen.blogspot.ca. My family liked them well enough but Jessi's family loved them so they are getting posted! It is the perfect freezer meal recipe. Goes together nicely, unthaws well and is all contained in a 9x13.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
7 oz can diced green chilies
1/4 cup taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
15 oz can refried beans
8-10 flour tortillas
15 oz can cream of mushroom soup
15 oz can cream of chicken soup
16 oz sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese (3 cheese blend)

Preheat oven to 350. Brown ground beef and onion. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Let cook down over medium heat until water is evaporated. Stir in can of green chilies and can of refried beans. Heat over medium heat until the beans are creamy in the mixture and heated through. Remove from heat. Roll up beef mixture in tortillas and place in 9x13 pan.

In a mixing bowl, mix both cans of soup and sour cream and stir until blended. Top enchiladas with this mixture and cover with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Let these set for 15 minutes before serving.

If making as a freezer meal, make sure you let the meat mixture completely cool before assembling.

Slow Cooker Southwestern Beef Wraps

Seriously good stuff going on here! The cilantro is a key must that brings out the flavor. The best is to prep as in directions and then put in freezer ziplock bag. When ready to use, thaw out the day before and then just dump it all in the slow cooker! Heck, make 2 or 3 meals all at once and freeze and you are good to go!

1 medium onion, cut into 1" wedges
2 1/2 lbs beef roast cut into 6 pieces (or be lazy like me and by stew meat :)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 green pepper, diced
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can diced green chilies
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Flour Tortillas
Sour cream
Salsa

Place onion in slow cooker. Place pieces of beef over onion wedges. Combine spices in a small bowl. Sprinkle half over beef. Turn beef over and sprinkle with the remaining half. Top with green pepper then pour tomatoes and green chilies over all.

Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours. Drain excess liquid. Remove meat from cooker and shred. Return meat to cooker. Stir in cilantro. To serve fill tortillas with beef mixture. Top with sour cream and salsa.

Tatertot Casserole

I have to admit... I didn't think this one would make the "dang good recipe" list, but boy was I wrong! Another meal from Jessi, my kids couldn't get enough! The perfect double it, freeze it recipe!

1 lb hamburger
1 onion
Brown together and put in bottom of baking dish.

Mix:
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 soup can of water
Pour over hamburger mixture

Arrange tatertots on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min. Enjoy!

Oriental Meatballs

This one is a definite winner! I can't do Chinese... ever since the midnight meeting with the round porcelain, it's been impossible. But these, these I can do! My friend Jessi made these for our family, and they were gone quicker than I could dish myself up! They also freeze beautifully.

1 pound sausage
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ginger
-Sweet and Sour Sauce (below)

Combine sausage, bread crumbs, milk, egg, soy sauce, garlic salt, onion powder, pepper and ginger. Shape into balls, using about 2 tsp mixture for each; arrange in 10x15" jelly roll pan. Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 10 minutes. Prepare Sweet-Sour Sauce; pour over meatballs. Bake until sauce is bubbly hot, 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Sweet and Sour Sauce
Combine 1/2 cup vinegar, 1 cup pineapple juice, 1 cup packed brown sugar and 1/2 tsp salt in small saucepan. Dissolve 2 tbsp cornstarch in 2 tbsp water; stir into pineapple mixture. cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and transparent.