Unstuffed Pepper Bake

1 lb. ground beef (or ground turkey)

1/3 c. onion, chopped

1 1/2 c. peppers (red, yellow, green. orange - whatever colors you choose), chopped (about 2 peppers)

2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/2 t. garlic powder)

1/2 t. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 c. instant rice

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

1 15-oz. can tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 375. Saute ground beef, onions, peppers and garlic for 10 minutes or until meat is browned and vegetables are tender. Drain off any excess fat and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, Worcestershire sauce and Italian seasoning. Remove from heat; stir in 1 cup of cheese. Spread mixture evenly into a 9" x 13" baking dish and top with tomato sauce and remaining cheese. Bake uncovered 20 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

If you like stuffed peppers, this is a great meal. Easier than stuffing the peppers, but the same great taste. You could make it up in advance and then just pop it in the oven to bake for dinner the next day!

Easy Skillet Pasta

1 lb. ground beef (or ground turkey)

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

2 c. water

12 lasagna noodles, broken into bite-sized pieces

1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Brown the meat along with green pepper, onion and garlic in a large saucepan; drain any excess grease. Add spaghetti sauce and water, bring to a boil. Stir in pasta, cover. Cook on medium-low heat 10-15 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and sprinkle cheese overtop; cover. Let stand 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

This is an easy, delicious dinner. It makes about 6 servings or dinner for 4 and leftovers the next day. Last time I made this I didn't have enough lasagna noodles so I used a box of spaghetti noodles broken in pieces instead, could have also used rigatoni or penne probably - very yummy and different enough from plain old spaghetti.

Taco Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
2 frozen pie crusts, deep dish
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 16oz. can refried beans
1/3 c. taco sauce
24 tortilla chips, crushed
lettuce
tomato
sour cream

Preheat oven to 400. Pre-heat cookie sheet to 400 also. Thaw pie crusts 10 minutes. Prick bottom and sides of crusts with fork. Bake crusts on cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce to 350. Brown ground beef and onion, drain fat. Add taco seasoning mix according to package directions. In small bowl, combine beans and taco sauce. Layer 1/2 of bean mixture in bottom of each crust. Top with 1/4 of meat, 1/4 of cheese and 1/2 the crushed tortilla chips. Using the remaining 1/4 of the meat and 1/4 of the cheese, repeat layers of the meat and cheese. Bake on cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes. Slice into pie wedges and serve with taco toppings like lettuce, diced tomatoes and sour cream.

I love the flavor of the crust with all of the taco ingredients. For our family, after I assemble the pies, I usually bake just one pie for dinner and freeze the other. Then we can have a good, home-cooked meal anytime.   

Braided Spaghetti Bread

Ingredients:

2 loaves frozen bread dough
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb. spaghetti
1 lb. mozzarella, cubed
1 egg
parmesan cheese
parsley
garlic powder
Thaw bread dough according to package directions. Brown ground beef and onion, add sauce and set aside. Boil pasta according to package directions and drain. Combine pasta and sauce mixture. Place each thawed bread dough loaf onto a separate cookie sheet and spread and press them out making them into large rectangles. Sprinkle garlic powder or garlic salt on the dough for some extra garlic flavor. Place pasta and sauce along center of dough, dividing half onto each loaf. Place 1/2 of the mozzarella cubes on top of each. Using a sharp knife, make cuts in the dough about 1" apart, coming within 1/2" of the filling down the center. Fold the bottom and top edges over and pinch to seal. Braid the dough cuts over top of the spaghetti and cheese, left over right until all dough is folded over top. Beat egg and brush loaves with it. Sprinkle with parmesan, parlsey and garlic powder. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 30-35 minutes. Slice and serve.

I found this recipe on Pinterest. It originally came from the website for the company that makes the frozen bread dough but of course I altered it and made it my own. Their recipe just makes one loaf so the first time I made this, we ate every bit of it and wished for more. One might be enough if you served a salad with it or some italian green beans. We just go for 2 loaves now and have some leftovers too. Make sure you pick a spaghetti sauce that you like and would serve normally as regular spaghetti. We like one with a fresh basil flavor. You could make these loaves up the night before and store in the fridge until dinnertime. I think they would make a great dish for company too since you can make them up in advance and just put them in the oven when you're ready to eat. The mozzarella chunks melt and the cheese oozes out through the braid. I made this tonight and it is baking in the oven right now and smells delicious.

Spaghetti Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. spaghetti
1 28oz. jar spaghetti sauce
3 eggs
2 Tblsp. margarine
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 Tblsp. parsley
1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350. Boil spaghetti according to package directions. Brown meat with chopped onion, drain. Add jar of spaghetti sauce to the meat. Put sauce in bottom of 2qt casserole dish and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and add margarine, parsley, parmesan and mozzarella, stir to mix. Add cooked, drained pasta to the egg and cheese mixture, stirring to coat. Carefully put pasta into casserole on top of the sauce. Cover and bake for 20-30 minutes.

We love this recipe - my sister Shari shared it with me years ago. Her version doesn't include onion. Also, instead of a casserole dish she cooks her spaghetti pie in a large skillet and inverts it onto a serving plate and serves it in pie slices. Either way you prepare it, it is delicious. You can use your favorite spaghetti sauce, whatever brand or flavor you prefer. Personally I like a sauce with mushrooms or a chunky garden sauce. I've made the pie up the night before and stuck it in the fridge so it would be ready to bake for dinner the next day so it's another great meal for busy evenings.

Miracle Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
lasagna noodles, uncooked
1 15oz. container of cottage cheese (or ricotta cheese if you prefer)
2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375. Brown ground beef and onion. Add sauce. In a 2 quart baking dish (I use a 9"x13" glass pan), spread 1 cup of the sauce mixture. Top with 3 or 4 uncooked noodles. On top of the uncooked noodles, spread the cottage cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella, the grated parmesan cheese, and another cup of the sauce mixture. Top with 3 or 4 more uncooked noodles and the remaining sauce. Cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and top with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and let stand 5 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.

You can make this up ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator overnight even, until you're ready to bake it. The noodles soften during cooking - you don't even need to buy the kind that are specially made to be used that way. This rivals any lasagna I've ever had - it has great flavor, it's filling and makes the house smell wonderful. Serve with salad and garlic bread, it works great when you're having dinner guests.

My Mom's Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground beef
7 slices bread, torn/crumbled into small pieces
1 large onion, diced
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbles, diced onion, eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly - your bare hands work best. Divide in half and put into 2 loaf pans. Pat/pack loaf firmly. Bake 1 hour.

The first few times I made this when I was growing up, instead of using loaf pans I divided the meatloaf mixture into the cups of a muffin tin, shortening the baking time to just 20-30 minutes. This isn't your typical meatloaf with tomato sauce or gravy, though my daughter eats it with ketchup. The onion-y flavor is so hearty and a family favorite. This is my husband's favorite meal I make!