Italian Pepper Steak

This is an Italian Pepper Steak recipe from p. 297 of The Better Homes and Gardens New Book Book. I have no idea what year it was published, as it was a gift for my wedding shower and it has been well used these past 7 years. It is not my favorite cookbook though I think it is a good asset to have on hand. I originally made this recipe for my husband during the first year we were married. Usually I serve it with mashed potatoes, but this time we had boiled finger potatoes with butter, salt, pepper and sour cream.

Getting the Most From Your Roast- Tortellini Beef Soup

I had some leftovers and I wanted to clear a few things out of the pantry and freezer. So here is how to turn your leftover roast into a soup.

On hand, I had the pan drippings, with the fat skimmed off from the roast, which was a brisket cooked with tomatoes, onions and wine. I would have made this on the stove, however, I had to run some errands so I used the crock pot.

Into the pot on high went cold, cubed roast, 2 carrots peeled and sliced, 6 cubes of beef bullion, about 2 cups of leftover boxed vegetable broth, the pan drippings and about 2-4 cups of water.

When the carrots were cooked, I added a can of Northern Beans that had been living in the cupboard for some time, a can of stewed tomatoes, the last of a bag of frozen corn, and some frozen tortellini.

I added a little extra balsalmic vinegar, and served it with grated Romano cheese. There was enough soup left over for lunch for two days.

Meatballs

I made these for meatball subs and for some sauce. Its nice to have spaghetti and meatballs for lunch and this recipe makes a whole lot.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 1 c bread crumbs, regular or Italian
• 1 green pepper
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 medium to large onion
• 2 tbsp worcestershire
• 1/4 c grated romano
• 1 egg

Directions:

• In a food processor, combine garlic, green pepper, and onion, pulse until minced
• In a large bowl, combine above mixture with meats, egg, worcestershire, bread crumbs, and cheese
• Roll into balls and place on baking tray
• Bake at 325 for 30-45 minutes

Meat Loaf-- My family's way

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bulk Italian sausage
• 2-3 lbs ground beef
• 1 c. Italian bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 medium onion
• 1 large green pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 2 tbsp worcestershire
• 1/4 grated parmesean or romano cheese
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce

Steps:

1. In food processor, add garlic, green pepper, onion, pulse until minced
2. Add all ingredients EXCEPT tomato sauce in a large bowl and mix well
3. Shape into loaf in along pan and pour tomato sauce over the mixture
4. Bake, covered on 325 for about 1 hour or until loaf is firm or thermometer registers 160 in center

Sometimes we serve this with mashed potatoes and spoon the pan sauce over them.

Thankyou Grandma, for passing this one down.

Bacon Mushroom Burger Baked Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1lb pasta
• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 lb bacon, cooked, drained and chopped
• 6-8 button mushrooms,
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper chopped
• 2 tbsp McCormick's Montreal Seasoning
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder

Directions:

1. Cook ground beef while you cook the bacon, draining both of excess fat
2. Boil pasta to al dente
3. Sautee peppers for 3-5 minutes, add mushrooms and onions until all are soft
4. In a large bowl mix ground beef, bacon, onions,peppers, mushrooms, 1 can of stewed tomatoes and seasonings
5. Layer mixture in an overn safe bowl with cheese
6. Cook for 1 hour on 300, or until cheese is bubbly

Steak Subs (and waffle fries)

I did not make the waffle fries, they are Alexia. We bought a huge bag at Costco, they are delicious.

Steak Subs:

• 1- 1/2 lbs of steak, sliced thin
• 1/2 green 1/2 red pepper, sliced
• 1 medium onion or 1/2 one large onion, sliced
• 5-10 button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp worcestershire
• 1 tsp onion powder
• provolone or american cheese
• sub buns (or rolls, if you call them that in your neck of the woods)
• olive oil

Directions:

1. In large skillet, add steak and peppers with 1 tbsp olive oil, sautee over medium heat for 5 minutes.
2. add onions, mushrooms, seasonings and worcestershire
3. cook until steak and vegetables reach desired doneness, if you find that you have trouble timing this, try cooking the steak and the vegetables in a separate skillet
4. assemble subs with cheese, place under broiler until cheese melts, if desired

Oh-boy-you-have-to-make-this Beef Brisket

I bought this beef brisket from Costco and used this amazing recipe. I cannot tell you how good it was. Well, actually, yes I can...

I only deviated in that, I did not have Merlot, so I used Cabernet. I also added some taters, precious. Otherwise I followed this recipe to the letter, and let me tell you... using onions as a roasting rack-- ingenious! I'm not normally an onion person but they were delicious. There was a lot of liquid left in the pan, so I strained it and popped it in the freezer to use as beef stock later.

Make this! You will not be disappointed!

Chunky Beef Stew

Ingredients:

• 4lbs beef top round roast, cubed
• water
• 4-6 red potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 lb green beans
• 3-4 carrots, sliced and peeled
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 lb of pasta
• 1 large onion
• 2 stalks of celery
• 8 cubes beef bullion
• 4 bay leaves
• pepper

Directions:

1. Add beef, onion, celery, and bay leaves to pot, covering with cold water
2. cook on low heat for 2 hours or until beef is cooked through, stirring occasionally
3. strain any fat or grease off of the top, remove onions, celery and bay leaves
4. add bullion, pepper,carrots and potatoes, cook on low-medium for 1 hour
5. add pasta, corn and green beans
6. cook until pasta, green beans and potatoes and carrots a done
7. add salt cautiously, if needed and pepper to taste, sometimes I even add more bullion instead of salt, if needed
   Serve with dinner rolls

Normally I make this recipe with soup bones as well, but I forgot them. This is a great recipe because you can add any of your favorite vegetables, or even beans. Overall, this is a pretty wallet-friendly recipe, and you can eat the leftovers for lunch or serve them with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich for dinner the next night.

Chunky Beef Stew

Ingredients:

• 4lbs beef top round roast, cubed
• water
• 4-6 red potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 lb green beans
• 3-4 carrots, sliced and peeled
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 lb of pasta
• 1 large onion
• 2 stalks of celery
• 8 cubes beef bullion
• 4 bay leaves
• pepper

Directions:

1. Add beef, onion, celery, and bay leaves to pot, covering with cold water
2. cook on low heat for 2 hours or until beef is cooked through, stirring occasionally
3. strain any fat or grease off of the top, remove onions, celery and bay leaves
4. add bullion, pepper,carrots and potatoes, cook on low-medium for 1 hour
5. add pasta, corn and green beans
6. cook until pasta, green beans and potatoes and carrots a done
7. add salt cautiously, if needed and pepper to taste, sometimes I even add more bullion instead of salt, if needed
   Serve with dinner rolls

Normally I make this recipe with soup bones as well, but I forgot them. This is a great recipe because you can add any of your favorite vegetables, or even beans. Overall, this is a pretty wallet-friendly recipe, and you can eat the leftovers for lunch or serve them with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich for dinner the next night.