Cornbread Casserole

From some random message board

Serves 12

• 1 can corn (undrained)
• 1 large can diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 1 can jalapeno pinto beans (undrained) - I have no idea what these are so I used spicy chili beans
• 1 lb lean ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp red pepper
• 2 packages cornbread mix (I used Jiffy's - I think it called for eggs and milk)

Brown meat, onion, garlic and spices. Mix with canned corn, tomatoes and beans and pour into a casserole dish. Mix cornbread and pour over top of casserole. Bake @ 400 degrees cornbread is done. (It took a long time - I think it was about 40 minutes.)

My Review: How can you complain about anything that includes cornbread as an ingredient? It was easy to make, reheats well and is tasty to boot! Next time I make it, I would probably add diced jalapeno peppers for a little more kick or I'd do one small can of diced tomatoes and one small can of tomatoes with green chilies.

Roast Beef with Coffee Gravy

from Closet Cooking (click here to see the recipe with photos)

• 3-5 pound chuck roast
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 onions (sliced)
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 cups coffee
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tablespoon flour mixed into 1 tablespoon water
• salt and pepper to taste
• *"new" potatoes - my addition
• * carrots cut into 1-inch pieces - my addition

Season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the beef and brown on all sides and set aside.Add the onion to the pan and saute until tender, about 3-5 minutes.

Add the beef stock and deglaze the pan. Add the beef back to the pan along with the coffee, balsamic vinegar, bay leaves and thyme and bring to a simmer.

Cover and transfer to a preheated 325F over and bake until fork tender, about 3-5 hours.Set the beef aside, cover and let cool. Strain the solids from the gravy and skim off the fat. Add the flour and water mixture and simmer until it thickens, a few minutes. Season the gravy with salt and pepper. *I added carrots and potatoes in the last hour of cooking.

My Review: Yum! This was delicious! I've never made a pot roast before. I'm not sure why - because it was incredibly easy. I did have some problems with the gravy. I've never made gravy before and it was kind of hard to do. It turned out to be more like broth with clumps of flour that I couldn't get unclumped. It still tasted OK, though.

Sloppy Joes

From For the Love of Cooking (Click here to see the official recipe with photos)

With my adjustments the recipe serves 5 (girl portions) at 281 calories, 16 g fat, 1 g fiber

1 1/2 lbs of lean ground beef (I used 96/4) -- I only used 1 lb of ground sirloin. I figured I didn't need all that beef

1 small sweet yellow onion, diced

1/4 orange bell pepper, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp dried mustard - substituted with regular mustard

1/2 tsp paprika - oops! I forgot this! Maybe that's why I thought it needed more kick

1 cup of ketchup

1 tsp brown sugar

2 tbsp water

Salt and pepper to taste - oops! I forgot this!

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook for 3-4 minutes, making sure to break it up into crumbles. Add the onion, celery, garlic and bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes or until soft. Drain any grease then add ketchup, brown sugar and water. Stir and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Review: This was OK. I like my sloppy joes saucier and spicier. If I were to make these again, I'd remember the paprika and add red pepper flakes (my favorite ingredient). I'd also add more ketchup - or maybe some tomato sauce. I'd also cook the vegetables for a little longer. Mine were crunchy!

Meatloaf

Recipe by For the Love of Cooking.net

Click here for the original recipe with photos!

1 lb lean ground beef (I used ground sirloin - 90/10)

1/2 sweet yellow onion

1/2 lb mushrooms chopped (I'm lazy so I used a food processor. The mushroom pieces were so tiny they blended with the ground beef)

1-2 cloves of garlic minced

3 tbsp Parmesan cheese (I used the stuff in the green can - I'm a gourmet, baby!)

1 egg (I used egg substitute since I had some left over from my bread)

1/2 cup non fat milk

10-12 saltine crackers (I love saltines so I used 12)

2 tbsp Italian bread crumbs (I just used regular bread crumbs)

Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp sage

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients well, then form a loaf in the loaf pan.

Sauce:

1 cup of ketchup

3 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp mustard powder (I substituted with 2 T regular mustard - I like things spicier)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine ingredients. Add more sugar, mustard or nutmeg to taste. Make sure to save the extra sauce for serving. Completely cover the top of the meatloaf with the sauce before baking.

Bake for 80-90 minutes. Let sit 5-10 minutes before slicing. (I dumped the extra sauce on top after it was done cooking.)

Review: This smelled wonderful and was absolutely delicious. It had an interesting sweet and spicy flavor. The meat was really tender - I think the mushrooms did the trick. This recipe was also boy-approved.