Campers Casserole

Campers Casserole is simple to bring together and I could totally imagine it being cooked in a dutch-oven over a campfire.  Since I was home, I used my trusty casserole dish.  You may want to salt & pepper this dish to your taste.  My husband and son enjoyed this dinner with ketchup on top.  It was very filling and I enjoyed trying this new recipe.  But I'll be honest, it needed an extra spice, maybe oregano or cumin or maybe a green bell pepper?

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 1 pound extra lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
• 1 can (14oz) or 2 cups kidney beans or pinto, drained and rinsed
• 1 bigger can (28oz) diced tomatoes, pureed or use tomato sauce
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

HEAT OVEN 350ºF.

In a large pan or dutch oven over medium heat, brown the beef, onion and garlic.  Season with chili powder.  Stir in cooked rice then transfer mix to a greased 13-inch by 9-inch casserole dish.

Add one layer of beans then pour on pureed tomatoes. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes.  Uncover, sprinkle with cheese.  Return to oven and bake, uncovered for 10 minutes or so, until cheese is melted.  Serves 4 to 6 campers.

Tex-Mex Sloppy Joes

I'll bet you've never eaten a Tex-Mex Sloppy Joe before?  Me either.
It's pretty good!

The kids didn't know what to think of this sandwich at first.  After I made them, I mean, I asked them to try it, they were pleasantly surprised.  My picky eater wasn't crazy about the tomatoes, but I knew that would happen.  The slice of Monterey Jack cheese really makes it for the kiddos.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 1/2 pound extra lean ground beef
• 2 to 3 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon mild chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup diced tomatoes, I used canned
• 1/2 cup cooked black beans
• Monterey Jack cheese slices
• whole wheat buns or bread, toasted

Over medium heat, cook beef and onions until the meat is cooked through.  Add chili powder, cumin and tomatoes, then simmer covered for 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Add in black beans and warm thorough.

Toast your buns *snicker* and fill with meat filling, top with a cheese slice.
You're ready to eat!

This made a great hot lunch with a healthy side salad.

No Heartburn Beef Chili

No Heartburn Beef Chili is tomato based with only 1 teaspoon of chili powder to the whole mix.  It's perfect for folks not in the mood for their meal to talk back to them.  It's also very mild, good for kids or those who don't care for spicy foods.

This recipe was inspired by my friend and fellow food blogger, Kitchen Girl Jo at The Adventures of Kitchen Girl. She made a delicious Chicken Chili that left me craving chili for dinner.  Kitchen Girl Jo is a work at home Mom of 3 kids. Just like us, she has days that are so busy and hectic that she doesn't have time to spend in the kitchen.  Her Chicken Chili is one of her many standby recipes that is quick & easy and gets dinner on the table with a minimum of fuss.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES TO MAKE
NO HEARTBURN BEEF CHILI

• 1 1/2 pounds LEAN ground beef
• 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoons rubbed sage
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 3/4 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups water

• grated cheese or sour cream (optional)

Use a large pot or dutch oven to brown the beef with the oregano, salt, sage and pepper, over medium heat.  When the meat is cooked and there's no pink, add in the chopped onion, bell pepper.  Cook until vegetables have softened, 7 to 10 minutes.  Add in the red wine vinegar, cook down for 5 minutes.

Next, add in the chopped garlic and the tomatos with their juices.  Use approximately 3/4 of the can of tomato paste, just eye it.  Stir together until the paste is well mixed.  Finally add 2 1/2 cups water, bring to a boil, then REDUCE heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.  If the chili looks too thick for your liking, then add in the remaining 1/2 cup water.

We really enjoyed this chili and it made enough extra servings that Charlie could take some to work for his lunches.  He was very happy about that!

Do you have any simple chili recipes that you'd like to share with other SDR readers? We're all busy cooks looking for those standby recipes that our families will come to call their favorites.  We could work together and come up with a great collection.  That would be AWESOME! Just write your simple chili recipe with instructions in the comment box below.

Totally Simple Beef Stew Provencale

When you want a hearty meal for the beef lovers in your family, this is sure to please them.  It takes a little time to get it to the table, but this is NOT a complicated meal to prepare.

I don't normally cook with wine or alcohol.  Honestly, the two times I've attempted to cook with wine, the meal turned out disastrous.  I know now what I was doing wrong and I have it SPOT ON in this Beef Stew Provencale.

A while back, I made Chicken Cacciatore that called for red wine vinegar.  The directions said to simmer the vinegar for 3 minutes before going onto the next step.  I thought, "maybe I should cook the wine down like I did the vinegar and see how that works."  THAT WAS IT!!!

Unfortunately, the cookbook that gave me the list of ingredients for this meal DID NOT make any mention of reducing the wine.  If I had not gone rogue, I would have had another disappointing meal in a pan.  What's up with cookbooks that leave out important directions?

Anyhoo.  Let's get cooking.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, lean London broil steak, 1 inch thick
• flour, salt & pepper for coating meat
• healthy oil

• 1 cup dry red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 6 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 large onion, cut into fourths
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley

Cut the steak into bite size pieces, about 1 inch cubes.  Toss into a bowl with a few tablespoons of flour, seasoned with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat.  Cook meat, turning once, until browned.  Don't crowd the pan. You may have to work in batches.  Remove the browned meat to a plate.

Pour off remaining oil and discard.  Add one cup red wine to pan and return to heat to simmer.  Scraping & stirring in the brown bits from the bottom of the pan (this is a great way clean the pan), keep simmering wine until it has reduce to half the amount of liquid.

Add the meat back, pour in the water, toss and coat the meat with the sauce.  Heat liquid to boiling; REDUCE HEAT.  Cover and simmer 1 hour.

Add carrots, onions and dried parsley.  Cover and simmer until beef and carrots are tender, about 40 minutes.  I served this with mashed potatoes, sweet peas and dinner rolls.

This makes enough to feed 2 adults & 2 kids for dinner, and 2 adults for lunch.

Homecooked Burgers and Happy Meals

Even if you don't own an outdoor grill, don't let it stop you from having a good burger. I made up a great tasting batch of burgers using a grill pan and a heavy cast iron skillet. The burger shown above had a chunk of goat cheese in the center...ooh baby was it GOOD!

HERE'S ALL YOU NEED TO DO

• 1 pound of lean ground beef
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• goat cheese for filling
• cheddar or American cheese slices
• a small bag of frozen crinkle fries

Preheat oven according to the directions on the crinkle fries bag.
Heat up a large grill pan, sprayed with high heat non-stick spray, on medium high.

In a medium bowl, mix the seasonings, not the goat cheese, into the ground beef, then shape into large thin patties. I've learned to make the patties an inch larger than the diameter of the bun. The patties always shrink up to just the right size.

Place patties on hot grill pan then reduce heat to medium or medium low. You'll get some smoke & popping at first so stand back. To get good even cooking and grill marks, set a cast iron skillet on top of the patties and cooked for 4 to 6 minutes on each side.

While you're waiting for that second side to cook, start baking the crinkle fries. Finished patties can be put in a small roasting pan, covered with foil and kept hot in the oven until it's time to eat.

For the grown ups, put a large spoonful of goat cheese in the center of a patty, and give it a sprinkle of fresh ground red pepper flakes then top it with another patty. Press the edges together so the cheese doesn't ooze out while cooking.

With the cheese filled patties, cook them on medium low heat and cover with the cast iron skillet turned upside down over them. Make sense? Use the skillet like a lid cover and not a pressing tool.

After cooking them for 5 minutes on each side, press down on the patty with a spatula to make sure the juices run clear. I don't know about you, but we like our burgers fully cooked around my house.

The fries should be finished by now, so take them out and set aside. On the kid's patties, lay on a cheese slice to start melting while the bread was toasting.

Toasted whole wheat sandwich bread slices work just fine in place of burger buns.  Set out your favorite condiments, pickles and such and you're ready to eat!

My kids love this simple home cooked happy meal. Come to think of it, I've NEVER had to bribe them with a toy to make them eat it all.
Hmm, that's interesting. Good food doesn't need a toy.

Barbecue Sandwiches

We had roast for Sunday lunch, yesterday. It was goood! I'll write about it tomorrow.

Today, I simmered up my own barbecue sauce and chopped up the leftover roast to make tangy and sweet sandwiches for dinner tonight. I had to make a sandwich, so I could show you how yummy they look. (mouth full...I gan't wait fer thinner!)

HERE'S WHAT I DID

• 3 cups of chopped roast, approx.
• 3/4 cup ketchup or catsup
• 1/3 cup root beer soda
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup onion, thinly sliced slivers
• 4 hamburger buns, toasting optional

In a medium sauce pan over medium low heat, simmer all the ingredients together until the onion is cooked tender, 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, remove any fat from leftover roast, then chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Add meat into sauce pan, stir to coat evenly.

You can easily make this ahead of time. Simply store barbecue meat in airtight container and refrigerate. When you're ready to eat, reheat on medium low heat or microwave on 80% power until hot. Divide barbecue meat among buns and serve immediately.

I'm serving these tasty sandwiches with a side of chips, bread-n-butter pickles and there's leftover chocolate pie in the frig.
Mmm, I can't wait!