Look, I made stuff!

I made taco salad! I feel so accomplished. Dinner, 0. Cat, 1. I mean, really, all I did was throw shit together.
But it was semi-healthy and cheap-ish. And I made it. Did I mention that?...  

Taco Salad
Ingredients: 
3/4 lb ground beef (I used organic 90% lean) 
1/2 tsp garlic powder 
1/2 tsp garlic salt 
1 tsp chili powder 
1 tsp cumin 
1/4 tsp oregano (these measurements are probably off, I just shake stuff in the pan) 
1/2 beefsteak tomato, chopped 
1/2 avocado, diced 
1/2 can niblet corn 
1/2 c black beans, rinsed 
salsa 

 Directions: I browned and chopped the beef (hellooooo pampered chef most useful tool evah), then added the spices and a couple spoonfuls of water. I added the black beans and corn while the stove was still on to warm them up, then mixed in the tomato and avocado after I took the pan off of the heat. 

Served on top of lettuce with ranch dressing and Newman's Own Mild salsa. So. Freaking. Awesome.

You're going to have to deal with the picture, because I ate it before I could photograph it. So you get leftovers, enjoy internets!

Verdict:

Faux Hamburger Helper

This recipe is from Eating Well by way of the Food Network, I'm not sure how I got my hands on it but I decided to make some for my friend who is...busy. Since I had off on Monday, I told her I'd bring lunch.

Hamburger Buddy
EatingWell.com by way of Food Network

Very finely chopping onion, mushrooms and carrots in the food processor is not only fast—it makes the vegetables hard to detect for picky eaters. They also form the base for the sauce of this ground beef skillet supper. Make it a meal: Serve with a green salad.

Makes 6 servings, about 1 1/3 cups each

ACTIVE TIME: 40 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes
EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

3 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces (I used 3 carrots)
10 ounces white mushrooms, large ones cut in half (I used 3 lg)
1 large onion, cut into 2-inch pieces (I used half, can you tell I am a fan of some veggies and not others?)
1 pound 90%-lean ground beef
2 teaspoons dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups water
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth, divided
8 ounces whole-wheat elbow noodles (2 cups) (I used Chiocciole in keeping with my pasta quest)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or chives for garnish

1. Fit a food processor with the steel blade attachment. With the motor running, drop garlic through the feed tube and process until minced, then add carrots and mushrooms and process until finely chopped. Turn it off, add onion, and pulse until roughly chopped.
2. Cook beef in a large straight-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped vegetables, thyme, salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables start to soften and the mushrooms release their juices, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Stir in water, 1 1/2 cups broth, noodles and Worcestershire sauce; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Whisk flour with the remaining 1/4 cup broth in a small bowl until smooth; stir into the hamburger mixture. Stir in the sour cream. Simmer, stirring often, until the sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley (or chives), if desired.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 326 calories; 10 g fat (4 g sat, 3 g mono); 54 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbohydrate; 23 g protein; 4 g fiber; 431 mg sodium; 644 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (70% daily value), Zinc (33% dv), Iron (20% dv), Potassium (18% dv).
2 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 2 medium-fat meats

Verdict:

3 Teapots because it was good, but I didn't have enough time to make it good! (I added too much thyme, didn't let it cook as long as I should have for the type of pasta I used)

Grandma's Lasagna

After the hubs raved about her lasagna, I had to get the recipe. She told me (over the phone) that it is Mrs. Anderson's recipe, whatever that means - no offense Mrs. A but I'm not sure if you're a person or a magazine or what!

It's so good, but a single recipe of this won't fit in your usual 9x13 pan, so you may want to do something smaller. I didn't cook the noodles, so I added a cup of water. If doubling, add two cups if you don't cook the noodles.

Grandma's Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (or whatever meat you have on hand - she said something about bison because Grandpa is a hunter)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 6oz can mushrooms
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 3/4 cups tomato juice
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
6oz pack lasagna noodles (I had to weigh mine and ended up using about 9, but if you like just cook them and see how many fit!)
1 cup each mild cheddar, swiss, and mozzarella

Directions
cook lasagna noodles per directions on box. brown the beef and onions in saute pan on stove. add ingredients through parsley and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. add a layer of sauce to your cooking dish first, then noodles, sauce again, then cheese. continue layers until all ingredients are used. bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. if you like, broil at the end so the cheese bubbles, browns, and crisps.

For however much speculation is involved in this recipe, it's really wonderful. You can make it your own by how much you make, layer, or adjust. It's a favorite with my husband now.

Halloween!!! (Chili)

OK, I'm finally getting to it. For Hday this year we had a work party where we brought in dishes. We had contests for the tastiest and scariest food. Since we don't have a ton of cooks, I usually bring a main dish. This time, chili. I decided to use the recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker's blog. She makes it look so easy!

Being that my schedule was like this:
Tuesday: work, then work
Wednesday: recipe exchange dinner, prep pumpkin muffins, bake pumpkin muffins
Thursday: work, work, pumpkin muffins, frost pumpkin muffins, prep chili
Friday: (morning) brown meat for chili, throw stuff in crock pot, carry 30lbs of stuff to work, work, scurry home, carve my pumpkins, decorate house, hand out candy (and maybe eat some dinner)

I decided to assemble said chili the night before, cutting veg and opening can and dumping everything into a crock pot (which mom bought me the day before, I was complaining, and she got me a crock pot. I heart mom) which worked beautifully. I browned the meat the morning of, mixed, set on high, and it was great by noon. Hubs LOVED this. I didn't tell him it came from the crock pot. He wouldn't eat it.

Chili
(Adapted from Recipezaar) ~ via Brown Eyed Baker's blog

2 lbs ground beef
1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans (with liquid)
2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans (with liquid) Cat used black beans because the hubs likes.
1 medium onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced Did not use, it's so uneconomical to buy a whole freaking thing of celery just for one stalk.
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups water

1. Brown ground beef in a large pot (or a pan, so that you can shove everything in a crock pot) over medium heat.

2. Drain off the fat.

3. Combine the beef plus all the remaining ingredients, and bring to a simmer over low heat.

4. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 to 3 hours.


Yay for Chili!! Sadly, all was eaten before I could get a picture. Just pretend.