Meatloaf Muffins with Barbeque Sauce

This is a Rachael Ray recipe that I adapted based on what I had in my kitchen.  I didn’t get a good picture of them but they turned out well!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup frozen seasoning blend (green peppers, onions, celery)
• 1 large egg plus a splash of milk, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs (I made them in the food processor with Club crackers)
• 2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
• 1 cup barbeque sauce
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• Vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Put ground beef into a big bowl. Put seasoning blend into a food processor. Pulse the processor blades to finely chop the vegetables into very small pieces then add them to the meat bowl. Add egg, beaten with milk, bread crumbs and grill seasoning to the bowl. Next, mix together the barbecue sauce, pizza sauce and the Worcestershire sauce. Pour half the sauce mixture into the bowl with the meatloaf mix. Mix the meatloaf together with your hands. Wash up. Brush a 12-muffin tin (1/2-cup each) with vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil. Use an ice cream scoop to help you fill meat into a each tin. Top each meat loaf with a spoonful of extra sauce. Bake about 20 minutes. Cut open 1 muffin to test that the middle is cooked through.

Modifed from Food Network

Sloppy Joes

I’ve been wanting to make homemade sloppy joes for a while.  Today was the day.  BUT I made the mistake of starting to make them without making sure I had all of the ingredients first.  After I browned the ground beef, I realized we had no barbeque sauce or worcestershire sauce and one or both were required for the recipes I had saved.  We always have these!  I decided to improvise (with frozen pizza in mind in case it didn’t work out).  This is what I came up with instead and Scott said it was great.  So, it’s an accidental keeper!

If I wasn’t making this for the kids, I would probably add diced green peppers and onions but I thought they’d eat them better plain.  It’s hard to say what I’ll do next time though because Scott told me not to change a thing! 🙂

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup chili sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon onion flakes
• dash of steak seasoning
• salt and pepper, to taste
• hamburger buns

Directions

Brown ground beef and drain.  Add remaining ingredients, mix well, simmer on low for about 15 minutes.  Serve on hamburger buns.

Inspired by: Taste of Home and Food Network

Hot Dog Chili

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup ketchup *
• 1 cup water *

Directions

Brown ground beef in a pot, drain and return to pot. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 2-3 hours. *You may need to add more water or ketchup depending on how long you cook the chili. The longer you cook it, the smoother it gets but you lose the liquid so I added some here and there and did not really measure it. 

 

Fall Off The Bone Short Ribs

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. beef short ribs
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup beef broth 
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/4 cup water

Directions

Brown short ribs on all sides in hot oil in a skillet. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, beef broth and onion. Simmer on low for about 4 hours or until tender. Combine flour and water and stir mixture into broth around the ribs. Boil for a couple of minutes and you have a gravy to serve with the short ribs.

Meat Lover’s Baked Rigatoni

Ingredients

• 1 lb rigatoni pasta
• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 jars (1 small and 1 large) pasta sauce
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon sweet basil
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• one small pack (about 50 slices) small pepperoni
• 20 ounces Italian blend cheese

Directions

Boil water and cook pasta al dente. Bake sausage in 400 degree oven. Cook green peppers and onions in an olive oil coated pan on medium for 5-7 minutes. Add pasta sauce, garlic, basil and red pepper flakes and simmer. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef. Drain and add to the sauce. When sausage is done, slice it thinly and add to the sauce.  In a lasagna pan, make three layers of pasta, pepperoni and cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

 

My love for the crockpot has really grown in the past year.  If I can plan a meal ahead and have the time to let it cook, I love using the crockpot.  Slow cooker recipes are so low maintenance once you’ve made the initial preparations.  I made this meal to welcome my parents who are visiting from Virginia. 

Ingredients 

 

• 1 1/2 pounds flank steak, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons onion soup mix
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic – sliced
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions 

Put everything in the crockpot, sprayed with cooking spray, and mix well. Cook on low 8-9 hours.