The Incredible Meatloaf

We became aware of this recipe from a member of our What's for Dinner group on Facebook. Not only does that group make us hungry looking at all the fantastic meals, but it also gives us recipes to try. This one sounded good, was easy to make, and was so, so tasty.  --Mark

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (turkey)

1 box of Stove Top stuffing

1 egg

1 C water

1 1/2 T Worcestershire sauce

*salt and pepper to taste

*1/2 diced onioin

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a loaf pan.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and place in pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

Notes

We doubled the recipe and used the Pepperidge Farm brand stuffing. 

Shepherd's Pie

If you're a ground beef and potato kind of person this is a very good recipe. It's nothing but your ordinary shepherd's pie, but it's good. --Mark

Ingredients:

onion

butter

salt

mashed potatoes

2 T diced green pepper

corn

vegetable beef soup

1/2 lb ground beef

Instructions:

Brown meat and onion. Season with salt. Add soup and other ingredients. Simmer. Top with potatoes. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Add shredded cheese at the end if desired.

Sloppy Jose

This is a recipe Stacy got from a coworker at that temp job in college. It's a nice twist on the Sloppy Joe, and being a spicy food junkie, I probably prefer the Jose. --Mark

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 onion

1 can chicken gumbo soup

1/2 cup ketchup

2 T prepared mustard

salt

Instructions:

Brown meat and onion. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about 1/2 hour. Add water if too thick.

Bisquick Cheeseburger Pie

This pie is one of those recipes off the side of the box, but it is really good. You can top it with your favorite hamburger toppings and it comes out very well. --Mark

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup shredded cheese

1/2 Bisquick mix

1 cup skim milk

2 eggs

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400. Grease a pie plate. Cook ground meat and onions. Drain. Add salt. Spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese. Stir remaining ingredients and pour over the meat. Bake for 25 minutes.

Pot Roast

We're not big beef eaters, but when we did roasts more often we almost always used this simple but delicious recipe. It is out of this world. --Mark

Ingredients:

1 pot roast

1 can golden mushroom soup

1 packet dry onion soup mix

Instructions:

Pour soups over roast. Wrap the roast in aluminum foil and roast at 300 for 4 1/2 hours.

Notes:

We've used the same ingredients in the crock pot with great success. It's also good for a pork roast. I had a hard time finding golden mushroom soup last time at the store so we used a mushroom gravy mix and that worked well.

Sloppy Joes

This one one of the Friday night specials--a quick, hot meal waiting on the stove for whoever was home whenever. They're pretty good on a week night, too. --Mark

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 onion, diced

1 can tomato sauce (15 oz.)

1 T brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp mustard

Instructions:

Brown meat and onions. Drain. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until heated through. Serve over hamburger buns.

Notes:

You can use just one 15-oz. can of tomato sauce and 1/4 cup barbecue sauce for all of the ingredients.

Stuffed Peppers

This is one of those forgotten recipes that when you make it you wonder why you always forget about it. Well worth the time if you are a pepper fan. --Mark

Ingredients:

ground turkey

rice

tomato sauce

onion

green peppers

Instructions:

Brown meat and onion. Season to taste. Boil rice. Mix meat and rice with tomato sauce, reserving a small portion of sauce. Cut the tops off of the peppers and clean out the seeds. Boil until soft. Stuff with meat and rice mixture. pour a little tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish and place the peppers in the dish. Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes.

Enchilada Casserole (Beef Enchiladas)

We don't eat a whole lot of beef at all, so we substitute ground turkey in this one. It's kind of a "sweet" recipe from the soup. I got this one from Katie Dahl, my college friend and roommate. --Stacy

Ingredients:

Ground turkey
Onion
Grated cheese

Sauce:
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 can tomato soup (for less sweetness, you could use tomato sauce)
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Instructions:

Fry ground turkey and onion. Mix all sauce ingredients together. Coat tortillas with sauce on both sides. In the middle of each tortilla, put meat and grated cheese. Fold in half and place in greased baking dish. Pour rest of sauce over top and top with grated cheese. Place in 375° oven until cheese is melted and enchiladas are hot, about 10-15 minutes.

Notes:

Doubling this recipe is enough for 12 tortillas.

Prime Rib

We're not big beef eaters, but a good prime rib is hard to resist. Not that we eat prime rib all that often either. Serve it with some delicious Yorkshire pudding, though, and that's magic on a dinner table. --Mark

Ingredients:

One rib roast
Garlic, sliced
Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Slit the roast in multiple locations. Insert garlic into slits. Season with salt and pepper. Place on a roasting rack in a roasting pan and cover. Roast for 60 minutes and then turn off the heat. Leave in oven for 90 minutes. Do not open the oven!

Notes:

If using a meat thermometer, cook to an internal temperature of 155 degrees. Crushed garlic works well, too.

Portuguese Steaks

We are infrequent beef eaters, but this exception is well worth it. To complete the ambience we put on Portuguese Fado music and drink Portuguese soda called Sumol. Portuguese steak night is a family favorite for sure. --Mark

Ingredients:

Steaks (cube steaks work best)
Vinha de Alhos (Portuguese Marinade)
Molho de Vilão (Portuguese Gravy for Steak or Chops)

Instructions:

Marinate the steaks in the vinha de alhos for several hours. Grill or pan fry. Make the molho de vilão to serve with the steaks.

Notes:

These are super tasty, so serve with bread for the delicious gravy it naturally makes. For a true Portuguese feast, lay the steak on a bed of rice boiled with chicken bouillon. Top the steak with a slice of red pepper and a fried egg. Serve with a simple salad of shredded lettuce and Kalamata olives, and steak fries.

Crockpot Stew (Beef or Chicken)

This is a recipe from my old college roommate Melissa. You can make it as a beef stew or a chicken stew. The choice is yours! -- Stacy

Ingredients:

Stew Beef (or chicken chunks)
3 Potatoes
Carrots
3 stalks celery, cut
1/2 cup beef broth (or chicken broth)
Salt
1 can cream of mushroom or celery soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Instructions:

Place all in crockpot on low for 8 hours.

Notes:

This recipe can either be a chicken or beef recipe. Use chicken or beef broth accordingly. Serve with homemade rolls.

Portuguese Stew Beef (Carne Guizada)

This is a classic Portuguese meal and we make it fairly often with chicken (Portuguese Stewed Chicken). Like so many Portuguese meals, it is even better on day 2. The first rule of Portuguese cooking also applies: don't measure the ingredients--just put in what looks good. --Mark

Ingredients:

Stew beef (or roast cut in pieces)
Onions
Crushed red pepper
Crushed garlic
Salt
1 small can tomato sauce
Red cooking wine
2 T olive oil
Potatoes
Portuguese sausage (chouriço) (optional)

Instructions:

Sauté onion, garlic, and crushed red pepper in oil. Add cooking wine and simmer for a few minutes. Add meat. Cover meat with tomato sauce and mix well. Add enough water to cover the meat, cover, and simmer on low-medium heat. Continue adding water as needed. When meat is almost done, add bite-sized potatoes and chouriço. Add water enough to cover the potatoes. Cook until done.

Notes:

Using plenty of garlic and onion is key to a great flavor so experiment with this. Test frequently and add salt as necessary. If you are using some sort of sausage then you will want to use a little less salt. Be sure to enjoy this with a great bread. If you can get Portuguese rolls they are the best, but a crusty Italian or French bread is good, too.

Quick Stroganoff

When we used to do a dinner co-op, this was a frequently requested recipe. It is easy and as the title suggests, quick to make. -- Mark

Ingredients:

¼ cups butter
½ cup minced onion
1 lb ground beef or turkey
2 T flour
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. paprika
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
Noodles or rice

Instructions:

Brown the meat with the onion. Add all of the ingredients except for the soup and sour cream and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add the soup and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream. Serve over rice or noodles.

Notes:

We enjoy this recipe over broad egg noodles the best. We've recently started using local "dumplings," which resemble a fat egg noodle. These are quite good, too. Be sure to hold out the soup and sour cream until called for. We will usually add a half package of frozen spinach with the soup and it adds a great flavor and texture while also providing you with a nice serving of veggies.