The Nifty Foodie

My husband and I are always trying to find new ideas for dinner, especially with ground meat. My husband has mentioned how much he loves sloppy joes, so I thought, let’s try this! Easy peasy dinner, right?

My husband told me he was going to make them while I went on an errand, and wow! My husband can totally cook! This was delicious!

Sloppy Joes
inspired from Allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1.25 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 0.5 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon honey dijon mustard
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup bbq sauce
• 3 teaspoons brown sugar
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• cajun seasoning to taste (Tony Chachere’s is what we used)

Directions

1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, green pepper and garlic powder; drain off liquids.
2. Stir in the mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

The Skinny – per serving, serves 6 (not including bread calories)

Calories 291.1
Fat 19.8g
Fiber 0.6g

On our honeymoon, my fabulous DH brought me to the outlets in Orlando, where there was a Le Creuset outlet. I was overwhelmed by the beautiful cookware there, but I was on a mission – to get a 5 quart dutch oven in a pretty, fun color!

And did I? Yes, yes I did! I bought a dijon colored one for just over $100, because I purchased a “second quality” oven and also had a 40% off coupon given to me by the lady working there. Second quality still has the lifetime warranty, and it’s called second quality because of purely just cosmetic flaws. I don’t personally see flaws, so I was super stoked to buy it!

I promised DH I would break this bad boy in with a pot roast, and I found the perfect recipe on Cooking Light online. This recipe did not disappoint at all.

I made a few adaptations, which are noted in red.

Classic Pot Roast
Source: Cooking Light

Ingredients:

• 1  teaspoon  olive oil
• 1  (3-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed (We used rump roast..it was on sale!)
• 1  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  cups  coarsely chopped onion
• 1  cup  dry red wine
• 4  thyme sprigs
• 3  garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 head of garlic
• 1  (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
• 1  bay leaf
• 4  large carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
• 2  pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 pound whole mushrooms, cleaned
• Fresh thyme leaves (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chuck roast with salt and pepper. Cut small slits in the roast and put cloves of garlic in for flavor. Add roast to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove roast from pan. Add onion to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender.
2. Return browned roast to pan. Add the red wine, thyme sprigs, chopped garlic, beef broth, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a simmer. Cover pan and bake at 350° for 1 1/2 hours or until the roast is almost tender.
3. Add carrots, mushrooms and potatoes to pan. Cover and bake an additional 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf from pan; discard. Shred meat with 2 forks. Serve roast with vegetable mixture and cooking liquid. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.

I like to peruse The Nest a lot. I read forums about cooking (of course), gardening, financial matters and fitness. I found this blog on the health & fitness forum and I’m SO glad I did. Amanda of Random Ramblings posted this great recipe that I just had to try. It’s W/W friendly and involves PIZZA. I’m there!

Baked Pizza Casserole
Source: adapted from Random Ramblings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean beef
• 1 can chunky italian tomato sauce
• 1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese  (We used 1 1/2 cups…I love cheese!)
• 1 refrigerated roll of pizza dough
• 1/2 tsp. each of oregano, marjoram and basil
• 1 tsp. each of salt and pepper

Directions:

2. Brown meat in a pot and add spices during the cooking time. Add tomato sauce and stir together.
3. Put meat mixture into pan. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Add cheese and cook another 5 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Spray a 9×13 pan (or use parchment like I did) and spread dough onto bottom. Make sure it goes up the side a little to catch the toppings when you put them in the pan.

Serves: 6   POINTS* value: 8 (since I added extra cheese!)

Again, here is a recipe I made way back when in the planning days. We had some ground beef thawing in the fridge, and we weren’t in the mood for burgers. So, I came across this recipe and decided that we should give it a try.

These were very juicy and flavorful salisbury steaks. I would definitely make these again!

Salisbury Steaks
Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together 1/3 cup condensed French onion soup with ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, salt and black pepper. Shape into 6 oval patties.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown both sides of patties. Pour off excess fat.
3. In a small bowl, blend flour and remaining soup until smooth. Mix in ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder. Pour over meat in skillet. Cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I LOVE watching Throwdown. I really enjoy watching family based businesses flourish, and enjoy when they take on Bobby Flay (and most of the time, win!!!).

So, Joey and I have a love for meatloaf. We decided to try the Colluci Bros. recipe featured on Throwdown, and we were NOT disappointed!! We made homemade mashed yukon gold potatoes as well, and this made for a great addition to the meatloaf!

Meatloaf
Source: Food Network, courtesy of Colluci Bros.

Ingredients:

• Salad oil
• 1 carrot, small to medium dice
• 2 stalks celery, small to medium dice
• 1 medium onion, small to medium dice
• 2 pounds ground beef (we used 1 lb. beef, 1 lb. turkey)
• 2 eggs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Dash hot sauce (We used Louisiana loved Tabasco)
• Dash Worcestershire sauce
• 3 slices bread (we used whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs
• Ketchup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 375 degrees F.
2. In a medium-sized saute pan, put 2 dribbles of salad oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, and onions and saute, about 5 minutes. Put aside and let cool.
3. In large bowl put the carrot mixture, ground beef and remaining ingredients, except for the bread, the bread crumbs and ketchup. Soak the bread in cold water, then squeeze water out (like a sponge) and drain it. Add to the ground beef and mix. (A stand mixer is may help make it easier). Add the bread crumbs and mix.
4. Roll into firm loaf, spread ketchup over the top, and place into preheated oven for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, or until cooked through. Take out and serve hot.