Shredded Beef

1 chuck roast (4-5 lbs.)
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 (14 oz) fat-free beef broth
1 large onion; sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Trim any excess fat from roast and place it in a large roasting pan.
3. Sprinkle with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
4. Press the spices into the roast with your fingers.
5. Pour can of broth around the roast taking care not to pour it over the spices.
6. Peel and thinly slice onion.  Separate rings and add them to the roast.
7. Cover the roast with foil and cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until 185 degrees. Baste meat every 30 min or so.
8. Remove beef and move to platter or shallow bowl.  Shred using two forks.  
9. Can be refrigerated or frozen for later use.

Makes about 8 cups shredded beef.

App. serving: 1/2 cup - 138 calories - 4 g. fat - 44 mg cholesterol- 22 g. protein - 1 g. carbs - trace amount dietary fiber - 235 mg sodium

Italian Meatball Sliders

From:  www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

24 frozen meatballs, thawed
2 cups marinara sauce
8 ounces sliced provolone or mozzarella
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings
24 dinner rolls or 8 hot dog buns cut in thirds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9X13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Warm the meatballs in the marinara sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Separate the dinner rolls or hot dog buns and place one saucy meatball on the bottom roll. Top with mozzarella or provolone. Place the top roll on and push down slightly. Place meatball slider in the pan and continue to assemble the rest of the sliders. 

Microwave butter in a bowl in the microwave until melted. Add garlic powder and Italian seasonings and mix well. Brush tops of buns with melted butter mixture. 

Toast in oven for 8-10 minutes or until toasted. I like mine a little more on the soft side...not so toasty.

BBQ Bacon Meatball Sliders

24 frozen meatballs
Favorite BBQ sauce
24 small slices of cheddar cheese
Bacon; cooked and cut in thirds
8 gourmet hot dog buns; cut into thirds
2 T. butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cook meatballs according to directions; place in heated bbq sauce
3. Place one meatball, a slice a cheese, and piece of bacon on each 1/3 of hot dog bun
4. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and brush tops with melted butter.
5. Toast sliders for 8-10 minutes; watch closely!!

Created recipe for 2011 Superbowl!!

Becky Higgins’ Garlic Chicken Farfalle

From: www.kevinandamanda.com

16 oz. Farfalle pasta  (add 1 T. of salt to boiling water)
1 c. heavy whipping cream
3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed OR garlic salt (I do a spoonful of crushed garlic)
1 tsp. pepper (or less, do what you think you will like)
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. bacon, crumpled (DON'T skimp!!)
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (12 oz) Lawry’s mesquite marinade with lime juice

1. Crock pot chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours.
2. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred (I pull it apart). Set this aside. 
3. About a half-hour before serving, boil the pasta in salted water.
4. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and crumpled bacon. 
5. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. 
6. In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken and stir through. 
7. Sprinkle a little bit more shredded Parmesan cheese on top.

Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken

From: www.kevinandamanda.com

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, split
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 lb bacon (or bacon bits)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, heat oil & butter over medium-high heat.
Add chicken breasts, and saute 4 to 5 minutes each side, until lightly browned.
Place browned chicken breasts in a 9×13 inch baking dish.
Cover with teriyaki sauce and dressing.
Sprinkle with cheese and top with bacon bits.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

From: www.ourbestbites.com

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough* (or make your own)
marinara/pizza sauce (click here to make your own)
2 T grated Parmesan cheese (sorry, I don’t know how to make that)
1 T olive oil or melted butter
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t dried Italian seasoning
mozzerella cheese
Pizza toppings of your choice: ie, ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it’s 400 degrees. If you make your own dough, 400 is usually a good heat as well.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it’s about 12″ by 8″. You’re going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares (bet ya didn’t see that one comin’ did ya?)

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square. Just eyeball how much. You just need to be able to enclose the toppings in the dough so keep that in mind.

When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan.

Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Keep an eye on them, check them about every 10 minutes.

Brooke's Sweet Pork

From:  Brooke Mease


Pork loin(3-4 lbs)
1 c. brown sugar
1 can red taco sauce
1 T. cumin
1 can coke

1. Cook pork in crock pot with water covering part of the pork for 6 hrs or until able to shred. 
2. Three hrs before serving drain liquid and add all ingredients. Cook for an additional 3 hours.

Cafe Rio Chicken

From:  Brooke Mease


1 package italian dressing (make according to directions on back)
1 T. chilli powder
1 T. cumin
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
about 3-4 pieces of chicken breasts

Cook all together in crock pot on low for 3 hours then shred and cook one more hour.

Tanya's Chili

From:  Tanya Purcell

1 T. olive oil

1 lb. Ground beef (or chopped steak)

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ green bell pepper

½ red bell pepper

½ cup celery (optional, if you don't have it on hand)

1 small can (4 oz) chopped green chilies

1 can beef broth

2 cans (14 ½ oz) diced tomatoes

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

1 can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed

1 can white beans, drained, rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 T. chili powder

½ T. ground cumin

¼ tsp. Ground cayenne powder

(2 tsp Worcestershire sauce-added during last 30 minutes)

1. In a large pot, saute the ground beef with the 1 T. of olive oil until browned. 
2.  Add the onions, garlic and bell peppers, green chilies (& celery if you want it) and saute for another 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
3. Add the chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, tomatoes, broth and beans. 
4.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about one hour. 
5.  Add 2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce and remove cover and simmer for another 30 minutes or until you reach desire thickness.

*Hey Jaime girl, I put this all together from several different recipes and finally created my own. I have used it several years now and I have received compliments on it, so I hope you like it. There are so many different chili recipes. Some have way too much meat, others way too many kidney beans. I like this one because of the variety of different beans instead of just kidney beans and I like adding more vegetables to make it healthier. I read that rinsing the canned beans reduces the likelihood of bad gas:) That is always a plus! I hope you like it. I have made it without celery sometimes and without one of the bell peppers and it still turns out yummy. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes and it even tastes better the next day. The Worcestershire sauce really adds the perfect taste at the end. I wouldn't skip that. -Tanya:)

Four Cheese Pasta with Bacon

1 box (1 lb.) cavatappi
6 slices bacon; diced
1 T. unsalted butter
3 T. flour
2 cups 2% milk
1/2 tsp. onion flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese; shredded
1 cup shredded colby-jack (4oz)
1 cup shredded mozzarella (4 oz)
8 slices American cheese (6 oz)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat 3-quart broiler safe baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling; add pasta and cook for 8 minutes; drain
3. Cook bacon over medium heat until crisp; 6 minutes.  Transfer to paper towels.  Pour off drippings, returning 2 T. to pan. Add butter
4. Whisk in flour until smooth.  Slowly whisk in milk.  
5. Stir in onion flakes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
6. In a large bowl toss together cheddar, mozzerella, and colby-jack cheeses.
7. Remove milk mixture from heat; whisk in american cheese and 1 1/4 cup of cheese mixture.  
8. Mix bacon and remaining cheese together; set aside.
9. In pasta pot, combine pasta and cheese sauce.  Pour half into prepared dish.  Sprinkle with generous cup of bacon-cheese mixture.  Repeat layering.
10. Bake for 20 minutes.  Increase temperature to broil and broil for 3 minutes until lightly browned.  

Servings:  10 cups

404 calories, 21 g. fat, 20 g. protein, 33 g. carbs, 2 g fiber, 616 mg sodium, 63 mg cholesterol

Teriyaki Meatballs

From: Marianne Stoker

Note: I double the meat to make 24 meatballs or just buy meatballs from Costco

Meatballs:
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
2 T. milk
1 T. finely chopped onion
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt

Sauce:
2 T. cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic; minced
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 1/4 cups beef broth

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Combine beef, bread crumbs, milk, onion, egg and salt; mix thoroughly but lightly.
Shape into 12 meatballs (remember to double if you have a larger family or using as an appetizer)
Place in a baking dish, bake for 25-30 minutes or until browned

SAUCE:
In sauce pan, blend together cornstarch, soy sauce, sugar, garlic and ginger.
Gradually stir in beef broth.
Cook over medium low heat until thickened.

Add meatballs to sauce and serve!

Serve with rice and stir-fry vegetables or leave in crockpot for an appetizer.

Serves 6

Dinner In a Pumpkin

From:  Tanya Purcell (2009)

Perfect meal to warm everyone up before heading out on Halloween night!!

1 hour prep time
1 1/2 to 2 hours cook time

1 medium pumpkin (or squash)
1 onion; chopped
1 garlic clove; minced
2 T. vegetable oil
1 lb. ground beef
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. brown sugar
1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms; finely chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup (10 3/4 oz)
3 cups cooked rice

**Optional:  2 T. brown sugar and 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice mixed together**

1. Before starting the recipe, cut off the top of the pumpkin and thoroughly clean out the pulp and seeds.
2. Optional, but highly recommended....rub the inside of the pumpkin really well  with the brown sugar-spice mix
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
4. In large skillet, saute onions in vegetable oil until tender.
5. Add and brown ground beef
6. Add soy sauce, mushrooms, brown sugar and soup
7. Simmer for 10 minutes; stirring occasionally
8. Add cooked rice
9. Spoon mixture into cleaned out pumpkin shell
10. Replace pumpkin top and place entire pumpkin, with filling, on a baking sheet into the oven.
11. Bake for 1 1/2-2 hours or until the inside of pumpkin is tender enough to eat.
12. Put entire pumpkin on table, remove lid and serve!!!

Make sure you scoop out some of the pumpkin while you are serving too!!  Great and fun way to get a serving of vegetables!!

Sloppy Joes

1 T. vegetable oil
1 green bell pepper; chopped
1 red bell pepper; chopped
2 garlic cloves; chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
3 T. tomato paste
1 c. BBQ sauce
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. hot sauce (recommend Tabasco sauce)
Hamburger buns

1. Heat oil in large skillet with straight sides.
2. Add bell peppers and garlic.  Saute until tender; about 3 minutes.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add ground beef to vegetables.  Stir and cook for about 8 minutes, until the meat is no longer pink and fully cooked.
5. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, bbq sauce, worcestershire, and hot sauce into the skillet; stir and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
6. Serve on toasted hamburger buns.

Serves: 6

Juicy Loosey

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (best if you use a lower %)
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. black pepper
4 slices American cheese (NOT cheddar)
4 buns
Favorite condiments and toppings

1. Place beef, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and pepper in bowl; mix well.
2. Portion into 8 thin patties
3. Fold cheese slices in half twice so you have a stack of cheese slices. Place 1 stack of cheese on top of 4 of the patties.
4. Top with another patty and seal edges together real tight.
5. Cook on grill; do not puncture patties, the cheese will all cook out!

Miracle Lasagna

From:  Tanya Purcell (2009)

1 (45 oz) jar prepared spaghetti sauce with meat
**(I add my own 1 lb. hamburger cooked with 1 medium onion and 1 minced garlic clove)**
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 (16 oz) container cottage cheese
3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1. In 2 qt. baking dish, spread 1 c. sauce
2. Top with 3 uncooked noodles, 1/2 cottage cheese, 1 c. mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and 1 c. sauce.
3. Top with remaining noodles and layer again.
4. Cover and make at 375 degrees for 1 hour.  
5. Remove cover, top with remaining cheese and cook until cheese is completely melted.
6. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting

Baked Beef

From:  Tanya Purcell (2009)

3 lb. stew meat; cut into very small pieces
2 cans golden mushroom soup
3/4 can water
1/2 pkg. dry onion soup mix
Fresh mushrooms; saute (optional)
** I also add 1 cup mini carrots**

Cooked Rice; enough for your family
Chow mien noodles (optional)

1. Brown stew meat on top of stove for just a few minutes.  
2. Combine soups and water, then mix in meat, carrots and mushrooms
3. Bake in 375 degree oven for 1 1/2-2 hours to make sure the meat is well done.
4. Serve over cooked rice.  Can top with chow mien noodles.

Sweet Pork Burritos or Salads (Costa Vida Style)

Tried these, LOVE them, and they are so much cheaper than a trip to the restaurant! It makes a TON (like 12-15 burritos) so you can freeze some for later too. Also, it ends up being between $1.50-$2.00 per burrito verses $6.99 in the restaurant! These are very similar to the real thing, which would have been nice to have this recipe in TX since they don't have a Costa Vida or Cafe Rio in San Antonio!!

To make a Sweet Pork Burrito...

Add the following to your tortilla

1. Black or Pinto Beans (we just bought Bush's Black Beans in a can)
2. Cilantro Lime Rice (recipe below)
3. Sweet Pork (recipe below)
4. Green Chile Enchilada sauce (just buy a can from the store)
5. Mozzarella Cheese (We used the Mexican Blend Cheese from Kraft)

Smother with additional sauce and cheese if desired.

Put it in the oven or microwave to melt the cheese.

And on the side (if you want to):

Green Leaf Lettuce

Pico de Gallo

SWEET PORK MEAT:

4 lb. pork roast (make sure it's the butt/rump roast)

I made the roast the day before to cut back on time the day of making these

2 cups brown sugar

1 (12-14 oz.) jar salsa

1 can Coke (12 oz.)

Place roast in crock pot, fill half way with water and cook for 6-8 hours on high

Discard water and shred meat; return to the crock pot

Combine sugar, salsa, and coke in a separate bowl.

Add mixture to the meat in the crock pot.

Cook an additional 3 hours. Stir occasionally.

CILANTRO LIME RICE:

2 cups rice

4 cups water

1/2 cup lime juice

chopped cilantro (use about 1/4 of the bunch)

Add everything to a pot and cook according to package directions

***SALAD***SALAD***SALAD***SALAD***

Do everything you did above, except instead of making a burrito, add it to some green leaf lettuce and make the following dressing...

TOMATILLO RANCH DRESSING

In a blender combine:

1 Buttermilk Ranch Mix packet

2 cups mayo

2 cups buttermilk (or 1 cup sour cream and 1 cup milk)

2 tomatillos

1 jalapeno, seeded

1/2 - 1 bunch cilantro

1 Tbs lime juice

1 clove garlic, crushed

(I didn't add garlic and it still tasted YUMMY!!)

Chicken Parmagian

From: Christine Nelson

Here is my very easy chicken parmigian recipe.

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
Oil (veggie, olive, whatever you have!)
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmigian Cheese
PREGO Traditional Spaghetti sauce (okay, so you can use whatever kind of sauce you like, but this is my favorite)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

First take the four chicken breasts and tenderize it.

Next mix the egg and milk in a bowl big enough to fit each chicken in. In the other bowl poor a shallow layer of bread crumbs. Heat on medium a good amount of oil in your skillet (you want the oil to come half way up the chicken breast).

Now you are ready to fry! Dip each chicken breast in the egg/milk mixture, then the bread crumbs (both sides, get it nice and covered) then into the pan. I cook mine about 7 minutes on each side. After that place the chicken in a 9*13 baking pan and cover with Mozzarella cheese. Repeat with each breast until they are all done.

Now, cover the chicken breast (that already has melted mozzarella on it) with your spaghetti sauce, making sure to cover the whole thing. The add more mozzarella cheese and some parmigian cheese. Bake for 30 minutes (or until heated through and cheese is melted).

Yum, yum yum....
.

Reuben Sandwiches

1 bag of rye bread
½ lb. pastrami
½ lb. corned beef (or use one pound of one kind of meat)
Swiss cheese
Miracle Whip
Thousand Island
Sauerkraut

1. Heat a large skillet or electric fry pan.
2. For each sandwich spread miracle whip and thousand island on bread.
3. Top with Swiss cheese, meat and sauerkraut.
4. Butter outside of bread and place in pan.
5. Heat through or until cheese is melted.

Makes est. 4 sandwiches

Sunday Baked Ham

1 (6 ½ -7lb) low sodium, smoked, fully-cooked ham (Do NOT use spiral cut! or it won't turn out)
40 whole cloves (yeah, it's a lot of cloves but it tastes so yummy!)
Vegetable spray
¼ c. firmly packed brown sugar
¼ c. honey
3 Tbs. unsweetened pineapple juice
½ tsp. dry mustard

Trim fat and rind from ham. Score outside in diamond pattern and stud with cloves.
Place ham on a rack coated with cooking spray and place rack in roasting pan.

Combine sugar and remaining 3 ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir well bringing it to a boil. Cook 1 minute more then remove from heat; let cool.

Brush over ham and bake at 425º for 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to 325º and bake 1 additional hour, basting ham with sugar mixture every 15 minutes.

Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing

I got this recipe from our friends Jason & Dayna Bangerter who use to be our upstairs neighbors in our Provo, UT. apartment. It is SO yummy!! I can't wait to make it this year for Christmas.