Yummy Beef Nacho Casserole.

I've started scheduling our meals every week.  What I will make, what I need to make it and what day I will make it.  I have it in a nice little notebook.  I make the schedule once a week.  We are on week two of this and it's going really well.  I'll share my notebook how to later. Also, I am beginning to love casseroles as much as the crockpot. Super easy stuff is how we roll in our house! 

Last night we had Beef Nacho Casserole.  I found the recipe on Recipe.com it was so yummy and super easy to make! Teagan even sprinkled the cheese on top for us!

What you need

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pound pre-sliced sweet peppers (about 1/2-inch-wide-strips
1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

2 tubes (10 ounces each) refrigerated pizza dough

1 jar (16 ounces) medium-hot salsa
3 cups shredded taco-cheese blend

1 can (2.2 ounces) sliced black olives, drained (about 1/4 cup)

3 large scallions, trimmed and sliced

 

What you do

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

 

In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add peppers, ground beef and garlic salt; cook, stirring to break up clumps of beef, until the peppers are soft and beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess fat from skillet.

Remove pizza dough from tubes. Cut the dough crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide slices, then cut each slice into quarters.

In large bowl, toss together dough pieces and salsa. Add cooked meat mixture, 2 cups of the taco-cheese blend and olives. Scrape mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup taco-cheese blend over the top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle scallions evenly over the top. Bake an additional 5 minutes.

 

What I did differently

 

I used 1 red pepper and 1 green pepper.
I just sprinkled the garlic salt, I may or may not have used a 1/2 teaspoon
I started to cut the pizza dough in nice little 1/2 inch pieces. That took too much time so Teagan and I tore them into pieces instead.  We also only used 1 pack not 2.
We didn't use the olives because nobody in our house likes them.

 

 

Let me know if you try it!! I hope you like it!!

Quick and Easy Meal.

Josh found this meal online the other day and we tried it last night because the cubed steak we'd taken out had not thawed completely yet.  Oddly enough we had the exact ingredients it called for, right down to the same brand of sauce.  
It was really good and so easy Teagan could have done half of it by herself, seriously. The only complaint I had was the lack of protein.  Next time we will be adding chicken or sausage and probably some veggies just to add some nutritional goodness.

What you'll need:
1 box penne pasta
1 (15 oz.) jar Alfredo sauce
1 (24oz.) jar Marinara sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

What you need to do:
Cook pasta according to directions and drain.
Mix the sauces together in a large bowl.
Add the mozzarella and stir to combine. Then toss in the penne and toss to coat.
Pour pasta into 9x13 baking dish and cook on 350 for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese and bake for another 5 minutes. 

*we also didn't bake it this go 'round but next time we probably will*

What kind of goodness are you going to add to this recipe?

Thanks Betty Crocker!

My sister-in-law bought us the wedding version of the infamous red Betty Crocker Cookbook for our wedding present.  I've dabbled with a few recipes in the past but here recently I've started searching for quick, easy and healthy meals for the family.  Seeing as we all get home around 6pm and the girls go to bed between 7:15pm-7:45pm.  That doesn't leave a lot of time for cooking and eating and bathing and brushing teeth and...you get the picture.
I was flipping through the cookbook the other night and found the Wild Rice & Beef Casserole.  I'll give you what the recipe calls for and then tell you how we modified it and plan on modifying it even more next time for quicker cooking. 

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef

1 package (6.2 oz) fast-cooking long-grain and wild rice mix

1 can (10.75 oz) condensed tomato soup

1/4 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)  

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 2-quart casserole with cooking spray.In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain.Meanwhile, make rice mix as directed on package—except omit butter. Stir rice mixture, soup, milk and pepper into beef. Spoon into casserole.
Cover and bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and mixture is hot.

*Here's how we altered it and plan on altering it next time*
Instead of beef we used fresh pork sausage.  I think it would have been too plain with just hamburger meat.
We didn't use Cheddar cheese.  We just used whatever was in the refrigerator.  I think it was the taco mix kind?   
Next time I will prep the night before.  Cook the meat and maybe even the rice so I can just throw it together as soon as we get in the door and it will be done 30 minutes later.  I also might throw some corn or peppers in there to get some veggies in.  The possibilities are somewhat endless!

Crock pot phenomenon.

*picture via*

I am probably the last one to jump on this bandwagon.  As a newlywed I thought a crock pot was just something I needed to put on the registry.  Every good bride did.  It was kind of symbolic that I was going to take care of a family in the future and even on crazy nights there would be something hot and nutritious to eat.  I've used our crock pot MAYBE eight times in almost five years.  Yeah, crock pot user fail. 
Since I go back to work in,well, less time then I'd like. It's going to be crazy. I have three hungry people to feed with real food.  None of us will get home until right around 6.  Teagan goes to bed at 7:30pm.  What am I going to do? I plan to use the crock pot. 
To be honest, it kind of scares me.  I'm not really sure I like the idea of leaving something cooking and plugged in while I'm nowhere near my house.  But, I've been assured it's very safe and so I'm willing to try it.  However, if I come home to my house burned down then I'm coming after those of you who provided me with safety assurance.  Just sayin'. 
All that said simply to ask for help.  What are some of your favorite crock pot recipes?  Go easy on me now.  I like simple. I am a crock pot novice after all...