Anita's Creamy Stuffed Peppers

So, it has been a long while since I last posted, but I had a request for this recipe from a college friend. I would like to start off by reminding everyone that when I create a new recipe I often don't know the exact measurements of the ingredients. So, please taste test before serving!

Alright, let's get to it!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Ground Beef (or 1/2lb. beef & 1/2lb. ground pork or pork sausage)

1/2 of a lg. onion, chopped small

1 Bell Pepper per person any color (cut tops off, clean out inside, and dice excess pepper around stems)

4-5 Mushrooms, diced

1 T Italian seasoning, dried (I used fresh herbs I chopped & used 2 T of them)

2 t Cumin Powder

2 t Chili Powder

1 T Worcestershire sauce

2 t Liquid Smoke

1 can Mexican Rotel

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 1/2 C Orzo or Stelle or any really small pasta

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown meat. Drain off the fat. Add onion, extra pepper, all seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, and Liquid Smoke. Cook for about 5 mins. Add Rotel, soup, and pasta. You may need to add a little water at this point, but not too much. (Also, I would use water instead of cream, milk, or some other dairy product, so it doesn't separate on you.) Cook the pasta for 4 mins. Line the bottom of a baking dish with some of the meat & soup mixture. Place cleaned out peppers on top of mixture. Spoon mixture into the peppers until full. Then fill in around peppers with remaining mixture. (I baked these at 350 for a couple of hours, but sometimes they didn't cook well. So, I baked them at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time, but it didn't have the soup in it.) Bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour or until peppers are soft in a covered dish. (I had pretty large peppers when I cooked these, so if you have smaller ones check them at 45 mins.) then, we uncover it, sprinkle with cheese, and put it back into the oven to melt the cheese for about 10 mins.

So, there it is. I hope the extra explanations are helpful and not disracting. :) Let me know how yours turns out, and we'll try to work out any problems you run into. Also, if your kids are like mine and they hate bell pepper don't make them a special meal. My girls refuse to eat the peppers, but they loved the mixture that we put in the pan outside the peppers. In fact, I made this the other day without the soup because I'm not tolerating creamy sauces at the moment, they were very disappointed with this meal. Usually, when I've used the soup we have no left overs of this meal.

Enjoy!

Mexican Casserole

I do not care for leftovers, but I'm always delighted to find ways to use my leftovers rather than them ending up in the trash. This is one such recipe. It only took 5 mins to prepare and 15-20 mins to warm, and no seasoning involved.

Take leftover taco meat and Spanish rice and dump into a skillet.
Add a can of beans--we used black beans.
Add a can of enchilada sauce or cream soup.
Combine and warm through which will take about 5 mins.

In a casserole dish, spray the bottom with Pam. Crumble tortilla chips. Layer meat, another can of enchilada sauce (only half of this 2nd can), cheese, and tortilla chips. Make a 2nd layer ending in cheese.

Bake in an oven of 350 degrees for 10-15 mins.

Enchilada Casserole

This is a favorite of mine when we've been out of tortillas, and I have a craving for enchiladas. The girls love it, but if it's a little spicy I just add ranch to their portions because it neutralizes the heat. Sometimes I sub chicken and a sour cream sauce which I will have to add to this collection soon. Enjoy, as always!!!

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can (about 10 ounces) red enchilada sauce
1 can (10 1/2 ounce) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10 1/4 ounce) cream of chicken soup
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chile peppers
1 cup milk
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 package (about 7 ounces) tortilla chips, coarsely crumbled
8 ounces grated Cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend
1 can (4 ounce) chopped ripe olives


Preheat oven to 375°
Brown ground beef with onion. Drain off excess fat. Add chili sauce, soups, chopped chile peppers, milk, and minced garlic; mix well.

In a greased 9x13x2-inch baking pan, layer half the coarsely crumbled tortilla chips, and then with half of the ground beef mixture. Repeat layers. Sprinkle cheddar cheese and chopped black olives over top. Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Homemade Hamberger Supreme

This is a favorite of my young girls. I feel it is a better option than box versions because some of them have MSG and other perservatives in their spice packages. If I want to be extra healthy I will sub wheat macaroni. If I want it to be spicier I will sub in Rotel tomatoes. Play with it to fit your family's taste buds and enjoy this on a family night--maybe even make it a family game night! :)

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (14.5 ounces) tomatoes
3/4 cup uncooked macaroni, cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 bay leaf
1/4 t tarragon (can sub thyme or basil)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can Cream of mushroom soup

Brown ground beef with celery, chopped onion, worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, tarragon, salt and pepper. Mix soup into beef mixture. Add to large casserole dish. Then add the tomatoes, the macaroni, and top with shredded cheese and parsley. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Broccoli Supreme

This is a family favorite. My sister-in-law's mom would make this for every holiday gathering and there were never any leftovers. I've made some changes to it for ease (I've never been able to get the bread crumbs for the top to be crumbly following her recipe) and just the fact that the garlic cheese roll is very difficult to find when you live in the middle of nowhere. :) So, since I lack the mad cooking skills to make it her way, I've made it my own. I've included her recipe with notations of my subsitutions. Oh, one last alteration that I've recently made is adding cooked chicken to make it a main dish rather than a side dish. Hopefully, you enjoy this as much as we always have.

1 stick Butter
1/2 C chopped Onion
2 stalks Celery, chopped
1 C Bread crumbs
1 roll Garlic cheese (sub cheese soup)
2 10oz. boxes Chopped Broccoli
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 small can chopped Mushrooms (sub fresh mushrooms)

Saute onions and celery in butter. Add frozen broccoli. Simmer 15 mins. Add soup, mushrooms, cheese, and 1/2 C bread crumbs. Pour into ungreased casserole dish. Spirnkle remaining crumbs over top. (Keep a small piece of cheese and mix with 1/2 C bread crumbs, add a little butter.) Bake at 350 for 30 mins. Makes 8-10 servings.

Tropical Lime Million Dollar Salad

1 C boiling water
1 6oz. pkg. Jello
1 20oz. can crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 C heavy whipping cream
2 C chopped pecans

Mix water and jello until desolved. Add 1/2 cup of pineapple juice. Chill until thickened but not set (about an hour.) Bring pineapple and reserved juices to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer for 5 mins. Cool to room temp. Mix cream cheese and jello until smooth. Add pineapple. In another bowl, whip cream until there are soft peaks. Fold together with jello mixture. Fold in nuts. Chill for at least 4 hours until set. Makes 10 servings.

Cole Slaw

This is an easy make ahead dish. It is a combination of many recipes because most homemade cole slaw are too bitter, so I also cut the vinegar back. I also did this to get a spice combination that compliments the dish more to our taste. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

3/4 C Mayo
2 T Sour cream
3 T Sugar
1 T White wine vinegar
1/3 C oil
1/8 t Onion powder
1/8 t Mustard powder
1/8 t Celery salt
dash Pepper
1 T Lemon juice
1/2 C 1/2-n-1/2
1 Head Cabbage grated
2 Carrots grated

Combine all ingredients for sauce. Add cabbage and carrots. Chill for 2 hours to overnight. Makes about 6 servings.