Beef Taco Lasagna Recipe

The original recipe makes 2 dishes so you can store one in the freezer and have one for dinner that day too. I cut the recipe in 1/2 and only make one...just my preference. I've made my own modifications...but want to thank Taste of Home Cookbooks for another great recipe!

Beef Taco Lasagna
12 lasagna noodles (I do 4 layers of 3 instead of recipe guidelines)
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning (I add water and simmer down like pkg says so it adds some sauce)
2 egg whites
1 carton (15 oz) ricotta cheese
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I use what I have on hand, this time it was Colby)
1 jar (24 oz.) chunky salsa (I puree the salsa for my kids' preference, they won't eat chunky tomatoes)

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning (add water, follow pkg instructions so it adds sauce). In a small bowl, combine egg white and ricotta cheese. Drain noodles.

In a 13x9x2 baking dish, layer four noodles (I do only 3 per layer, making 4 layers so noodles don't overlap in dish), 3/4 cup ricotta cheese mixture, half of the beef mixture and 1 1/3 cups cheddar cheese. Top with 4 noodles, 3/4 cup ricotta cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups salsa and 1 1/3 cups cheese. Repeat. (If you're doing 4 layers instead like I do...them adjust your layer amounts. Bottom: 1/3 of your ricotta mixture, 1/2 of your beef, 1/4 of your cheese. Next: 1/3 of your ricotta mixture, 1/2 of your salsa, 1/4 of your cheese. Next: 1/3 of your ricotta mixture, 1/2 of your beef, 1/4 of your cheese. Top: 1/2 of your salsa, 1/4 of your cheese.)

Bake @ 350, uncovered, for 35-40 min. or until heated through. Let stand 10 min. before cutting. Yield: 8 adult size servings.

Beef Taco Lasagna

Garden Patch Bread Recipe

Today...I tried a new recipe from Better Homes and Gardens: The Complete Guide To Bread Machine Baking, in hopes of finding more ways to get veggies into my kids' bellies!

Garden Patch Bread
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup coarsely shredded carrots (I did finely shredded instead)
1/3 cup tomato juice
2 tbsp coarsely chopped green bell pepper (I diced my peppers so they were smaller, less noticeable)
2 tbsp sliced green onions (I used diced regular onions, they're clear & less noticeable)
1 tbsp margarine, butter or cooking oil (I used margarine)
3 cups bread flour (I used non-bleached all purpose flour)
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried basil, crushed
1 tsp active dry yeast or bread machine yeast

This recipe is for the 1 1/2 lb loaf (20 slices) and I made the dough in my bread machine and then once the dough was done, I lightly greased my 9x5x4 bread pan on the bottom and 1/2 in. up the sides...placed the dough in the pan, covered and let it rise one more time for about 20 min. Baked @ 350 for 45 min. Here's the result:

Garden Patch Bread

 `

Enchilada Meatballs Recipe

Enchilada Meatballs

2 cups crumbled corn bread
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese (cheddar or Colby would be fine too)

*This is a GREAT recipe to use up leftover cornbread!!*

In a large bowl, combine the corn bread, 1/2 cup enchilada sauce and salt. Crumble beef mixture over mixture; mix well. Shape into 1 in. balls. Place on a greased 15x10x1 baking pan (cookie sheet). Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 18-22 min. or until meat is no longer pink.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat tomato sauce and remaining enchilada sauce. Using a slotted spoon (allows grease to drain from meatballs), transfer meatballs into a serving dish. Top with sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Yield: approx. 4 doz.

Enchilada Meatballs

Personal Note: You can serve these as an appetizer w/ toothpicks for guests.....or what I did was serve this as a main dish for my family with homemade tortilla chips on the side! My whole family enjoyed this meal, hopefully yours will too! Thank you Taste of Home Cookbooks!

My Crock Pot Chili Recipe (Turkey or Beef)

Turkey Chili (or Beef)

1 lb. lean ground turkey (or 93% lean ground beef)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 - 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 - 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans; drained & rinsed!
3 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp pepper

Tip: if you're doubling the recipe, only use 5 tsp of chili powder and double everything else.

In a large saucepan cook ground turkey (or beef), onion, bell pepper, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain fat. In your crock pot, combine meat mixture, and all the rest of the ingredients. Cover; cook on LOW setting for 6-8 hrs. Makes about 4 main-dish servings.

Turkey Chili

Check out my recipe for cornbread too! It's under the "Recipes" tab.

Chicken Fried Rice Recipe

Chicken Fried Rice

2 egg whites
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup frozen mixed veggies
2 cups diced cooked chicken breast
3 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 cups cold cooked rice

In a small bowl, combine the egg whites, egg and 1/4 tsp salt. In a large nonstick skillet (or wok coated w/ cooking spray if you have one), cook the egg mixture over medium heat; when cooked thoroughly set aside & keep warm.

In the same pan, stir fry the onion and garlic until tender. Add vegetables; cover and cook over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes or until no longer frozen. Stir in the chicken, soy sauce and remaining salt; cook for 1 min. Add rice; stir fry for 4-5 min. or until heated through. Add eggs; heat through. Yield: 4 servings.

Personal Note: This recipe is great for re-creating a meal out of leftovers, using pre-cooked foods also helps it to be a very quick and easy meal to make if you're on a time crunch.  Anytime we have regular rice as a side dish, I always freeze the leftovers for future use. Leftover cooked rice can be used later in soups, casseroles and stir frys such as this one. Leftover cooked chicken has almost endless possibilities...use in making chicken pot pies, add in soups, use as a pizza topping, add to casseroles or again...in recipes such as this!

Be creative and USE YOUR LEFTOVERS! Your pocketbook will thank you!

Wintertime Beef Soup Recipe

Wintertime Beef Soup

1 lb. lean ground beef
4 celery ribs, diced (we use only 2)
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced (we use only 1/2 cup)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups water
2 cups reduced sodium tomato juice
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
2 tsp reduced sodium beef bouillon granules
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cans (15 oz. each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups chopped cabbage (we use only 1 cup)

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook the beef, celery, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the water, tomato juice, tomatoes, tomato sauce, bouillon, chili powder and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 min.

Stir in kidney beans; return to a boil. Stir in cabbage. Reduce heat; cover and cook 12 min. longer or until cabbage is tender. Yield: 8 servings

Personal Note: The great things about recipes is...they're not carved in stone! You can adjust them to suit your families tastes however you'd like! I'm a soup fanatic...and I really enjoy this one. It's definitely hearty and goes perfect with a cold winter day. It's what's for dinner tonight!

Breakfast Sausage Patties Recipe

Breakfast Sausage Patties

1 lb. ground turkey (typically come in 1.25 lb package, go ahead and use all of it)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp vegetable oil (or can use canola or olive oil)

In a large bowl, combine the turkey, salt, sage, thyme, nutmeg and cayenne. Shape into eight patties. In a large skillet, cook patties in oil over medium heat for approx. 5 min. each side or until juices run clear. Drain on paper towels. Yield: 4 servings

Personal Note: We typically have breakfast for dinner once a week...main reason is breakfast meals are usually lower in cost, but also helps bring a change of pace from the ol' meat & potatoes dinner routine. Tonight I'm serving this w/ fresh fruit and toast...quick and easy meal before basketball practice!

Budget Planning Process

This time of year I always start thinking about next year's family budget. Life is constantly changing, so to keep the exact same budget from year to year is impossible. Maybe new bills popped up during the year (like medical or auto repair)...maybe some of your current bills increased (credit card payments or utilities)...maybe you've added additional members to your family or the children you already have are getting bigger and have bigger appetites! Life's always changing...

For us, we've had a few changes that have affected our current budget in place and I want to make sure that for 2012, I have a budget that'll accept those changes and see where I can make cutbacks and plan ahead.

I've found that the best way to set a budget is to total the year's worth of each bill we have and divide it by 12 to find the average monthly cost. For bills that sometimes vary, sometimes you may be under budget and sometimes over budget. But if you keep that excess set aside for the months that you might be over...it won't matter because you'll essentially break even.

I break down our monthly budget into categories: fixed expenses and variable expenses. I know I can't do anything to change the fixed expenses, so if I can easily see what the variables are...I can see which categories I might be able to adjust if I need to. Examples of fixed expenses would be your mortgage, insurances, car payments, personal loan payments, etc. Examples of variable expenses would be groceries, medical bills, electricity (if you're not on set budget billing), gas/fuel, eating out, etc. If you don't already know, figure out your monthly NET income after taxes...add up your monthly expenses...subtract...are you in the black or in the red every month? Might be time to adjust how you spend your money...

I'd recommend every family set a monthly budget to follow.....if nothing else, just going through the past year's worth of expenses can sometimes be a real eye opener as to where your paycheck goes. It may surprise you!! Many of us live in denial as to how much we actually spend!

People who don't think they eat out that often, go back through your check register or credit card statements and add up every time you ate out at a restaurant, fast food, or got take-out pizza...it adds up quick!

Creamy Turkey and Biscuits Recipe

This was our "mosh posh" meal last night.....I substituted ground turkey for the cubed turkey because that's what I had on hand; it worked out just fine. Everyone in my family liked it, so it's a keeper! Always a fan of Taste of Home Cookbooks...

Creamy Turkey and Biscuits

1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1/3 cup chopped onion
3 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 cup biscuit/baking mix (Bisquick)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
2 cups cubed cooked turkey (or ground turkey)
1 cup frozen peas
1 tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

If you don't already have cooked turkey, start by doing that...quick and easy way is in a fryin' pan until no longer pink/juices are clear. Set aside. In a large saucepan, saute green pepper and onion in butter until tender. Stir in biscuit mix until blended (makes a sort of rue). Gradually add milk and soup; stir until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 min. Stir in turkey and peas. Transfer to a greased 13x9x2 baking dish. Separate biscuits and arrange over the top. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 425 for 17-20 min. or until golden brown. Yield: 4-6 servings



Creamy Turkey and Biscuits



Cornbread Recipes

Cornbread

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1 cup fat free milk
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp oil

Grease bottom of a 9x9x2 square baking dish; set aside. In a medium size bowl stir together the dry ingredients; then add in the rest of the moist ingredients. Mix well but not too much! Poor batter into prepared baking dish. Bake, uncovered, @ 425 for 20 min. or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 9 servings.

Regular Cornbread shown in pic

Confetti Cornbread

Add : 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
          1/4 cup shredded carrot
          1/4 cup shredded zucchini
Prepare batter as shown above for regular cornbread, except also add in the cheddar cheese, carrot and zucchini to the batter before baking.


Personal Note: The recipe for the cornbread is my own personal recipe that I developed after many attempts in tweaking the Better Homes & Gardens recipe. I perfected it to our liking a handful of years ago and my family really enjoys it...it's moist and has a mildly sweet flavor.

2 Week Dinner Plan

Saturday December 3rd - Friday December 9th

Saturday - Bringing Sandwiches, Chips & Apple Slices with us to our family fun Christmas outing

Sunday - *Sweet & Sour Chops with Rice (make extra rice for Friday's meal)

Monday - *Italian Wedding Soup with Biscuits

Tuesday - *Breakfast Sausage Patties with Toast & Fruit

Wednesday - *Wintertime Beef Soup with Side Salad & *Garlic Bread

Thursday - Chicken Caesar Salad with *Smoked Cheddar Loaf (cook extra chicken for Friday's meal)

Friday - *Chicken Fried Rice

Special Treats of the Week: *Chocolate Dipped Phyllo Sticks, Rice Krispie Treats, *Granola Cereal Bars

Saturday December 10th - Friday December 16th

Saturday - *Homemade Turkey Chili with *Cornbread (save leftover cornbread for Sunday's meal)

Sunday - *Enchilada Meatballs with Homemade Nachos

Monday - Bacon & Eggs with *Homemade Bagels

Tuesday - Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwiches with Applesauce

Wednesday - *Beef Taco Lasagna (make extra taco meat for Friday's meal)

Thursday - *Coney Island Dogs with Homemade Fries

Friday - Taco Salad with Crispy Tortilla Strips

Special Treats of the Week: *Hazelnut Toffee, *Pumpkin Pie

* Denotes use of cookbook recipe

I will try and share as many recipes as I can...if you see something that sounds good to you, comment on the post and let me know what recipe you're wanting and I'll be sure to get it posted!

Zucchini Bread Recipe

Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1 cup shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Grease bottom and 1/2 way up sides of 8x4x2 baking pan (loaf pan); set aside. In a medium bowl mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. In a small mixing bowl mix together sugar, zucchini, oil and egg. Add zucchini mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. (Batter will be lumpy)

Pour batter into prepared pan, be sure to scrape sides of mixing bowl so you don't miss any! Sprinkle top of batter with chopped nuts. Bake, uncovered, @ 350 in oven for 55-60 min. or until toothpick inserted near middle comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Once completely cool, cover with Saran wrap until ready to serve. Makes 1 loaf, but recipe can easily be doubled to make 2 loaves!


Fresh from my oven today! One with nuts & one without.

 I grow zucchini in my garden, so thinkin' ahead to the fall & winter months...I make sure to freeze lots of shredded zucchini in 1 or 2 cup quantities so it's ready to go for fresh zucchini bread later on!

Makin' Mashed Potatoes

These next few recipes are dedicated to my husband's friend who was lucky enough to be one of the FEW men that actually end up getting custody of their kids...heard your mashed potato story last night, bless your heart for trying! Hope this helps you......the amounts are based on what I make for our family of 5. You can adjust the recipes when making them for larger family gatherings.

Knowing how many potatoes to use: 1/2 of a large baking (russet) potato per person or 1-2 average sized red potatoes per person.....whatever that total is, I add a couple more servings for sending leftovers in my husband's lunch or for extra hungry tummies that want seconds at dinner.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
7-8 red potatoes
2 garlic cloves minced or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp butter
Splash of milk
2 tsp dried parsley

Fill a large saucepan 3/4 full with water, bring to a boil. While the water's heating up, wash the potatoes thoroughly (do not peel). Quarter the potatoes, add to boiling water. Boil potatoes for approx. 15 min. or until a fork pierces the potato easily. Drain the water. If your pans are coated with Teflon be sure to transfer the potatoes into a large bowl before mashing so you don't ruin your pans! Add the garlic, butter, milk and parsley to potatoes, mash with either an electric handheld mixer or non-electric potato masher. Return to pan to keep warm until ready to serve.

Mashed Potatoes
3-4 large baking (russet) potatoes
2 tbsp butter
Splash of milk

Fill a large saucepan 3/4 full with water, bring to a boil. While the water's heating up, peel potatoes & rinse with water. Cut potatoes in 1/2, then quarter each 1/2 (8 sections total); add to boiling water. Boil potatoes for approx. 15-20 min. (depending on how big the sections are), test with a fork poke. Drain the water. Again, if using Teflon coated pans, transfer to a large bowl before mashing potatoes. Add the butter and milk, mash with an electric handheld mixer or non-electric potato masher. Return to pan to keep warm until ready to serve.

Different Flavor Options for Regular Mashed Potatoes
You can always change up the flavor of your mashed potatoes to better accompany your main dish.

Example #1 - If your main dish is Italian, you can add 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/4 tsp dried oregano & 1/8 tsp garlic powder or 1 garlic clove minced.

Example #2 - If your main dish is a red meat such as pot roast, you can add 1 tbsp dried minced onion to the pan while potatoes are boiling and a pinch of salt & pepper.

Example # 3 - Mix up the flavor simply by making a gravy to top your potatoes before serving (easy to use gravy packets are available at the store); whether your main dish is turkey, chicken or roast you can find different flavors of gravy to match your main dish.

ENJOY!

Homemade Applesauce (Crock Pot Recipe)

Homemade Applesauce

10-12 medium sized apples
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Quarter, core & peel apples; put in crock pot. Add water, sugar and cinnamon; stir apples gently to coat. Cover with lid. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hrs. Once done, puree with handheld or stationery food processor (or use a blender). Serve either warm or chill in fridge. Store in container with lid in fridge.

Personal Note:
It is a little time consuming to make homemade applesauce, but the satisfaction comes from the thanks I get from my family when I make it. They love it. To make it inexpensive, watch for the pre-bagged apples to go on sale (ex: 5 lbs for $3.99 makes them $0.80 a lb) and use them solely for making batches of applesauce, apple bread or apple pies. They're usually too squishy to eat sliced, that's why they're cheaper than the displayed bulk apples. There's also the satisfaction of knowing when you make something from scratch, you're cutting out a ton of preservatives AND everything tastes better made with love!

Banana Snack Cake Recipe

Banana Snack Cake

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour (or you can try 1/2 regular & 1/2 whole wheat, it's different, but still good)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup buttermilk (I keep powdered buttermilk on hand, it's cheaper and lasts longer!)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I omit because my family doesn't like nuts in breads)

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening & sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture and add buttermilk a little at a time until well mixed. (stir in nuts optional) Pour into a greased  13x9x2 baking pan. (I sprinkle the top of the batter w/ cinnamon before putting in oven.) Bake @ 350 for 25-30 min. or until toothpick near middle comes out clean.

There is a recipe w/ it for making frosting, but we choose not to add frosting to it...makes it too sweet for us!

Personal Note:
Many of the recipes I use come from my Taste of Home Cookbooks and often times I end up changing them up to make them my own and to my family's taste preference.....this one however, I didn't hardly change. It's great the way it is. This recipe is near and dear to my heart, but I don't make it very often. It brings up many happy memories spending time with my stepdaughter when she was little....BUT, life changed and so it's hard to do now. She'll be 14 next month, wonder if she remembers making this all the time and it being her favorite?



Our Homemade Pizza Recipe

Pizza Sauce (Double Batch) - Use 1/2 now and freeze 1/2 for use later
2 - 8oz. can Tomato Sauce
1 - 14.5 oz. can Diced Tomatoes, undrained
2 tbsp Dried Basil
2 tsp Dried Oregano
2 tsp Sugar
4 Garlice Cloves, minced
1 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Pepper

Before you begin, puree the tomatoes (do not drain). In a small saucepan, combine tomato sauce, pureed tomatoes and the remaining ingredients. Simmer on the stovetop, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Pour 15 oz. into a freezer container and save for future use. Set aside the remaining 15 oz. for immediate use. See below for dough recipe...

Pizza Dough Recipe
3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 pkg Active Dry Yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp from jar)
1/4 tsp Garlic Salt
1 cup Warm Water (120 to 130 degrees
2 tbsp Olive Oil

What I do is while the sauce is cooking, I make the dough... In a large mixing bowl combine 1 1/4 cups flour, yeast and garlic salt. Add water and oil. Beat w/ electric mixer on low for 30 seconds, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Stir in the remaining flour. Knead the dough four about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic texture. Divide in half, cover and let rise for 10 min. (Just in time for the sauce to be ready)

Toppings
This is the fun part! You can let your kids pick the toppings, or moms you can bring back to life some leftovers from dinners earlier in the week...proteins, veggies, cheese...whatever you want!

Preheat oven to 425. Roll out one dough ball into either a rectangle or square depending on your pan of choice. We use a cookie sheet because we don't have pizza pans so we go for the rectangle shape. Place on greased pan, repeat for 2nd pan (makes 2 pizzas). Prick w/ fork all around dough so you don't end up w/ bubbles. Bake about 10 min. or until starting to get golden brown. Bring out of oven and spread sauce evenly on both pizzas, put your toppings on and bake again for about another 10-12 min. or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Our kids have come to love helping make our homemade pizza...it's our own recipe developed from tweeking what we liked and wanted to change from other recipes we've tried. My daughter is almost 2 and she stands on a chair in the kitchen and helps make the sauce before I put it on the stove...my boys (6 & 10) alternate who gets to help roll out dough and who helps put on toppings. It makes it that much more special and another way to spend time together.



Turkey Pepperoni



Leftover Beef Barbecue

 


So, from my kitchen to yours...I hope you try it out! Let me know how it goes!

Beef Barbecue (Crock Pot Recipe)

Beef Barbecue

1 Boneless Chuck Roast (3 lbs)
Dash salt & pepper
1 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/3 cup chopped green or sweet red pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp brown sugar
12 sandwich rolls, split

Sprinkle the roast w/ salt & pepper (to your taste), Brown the roast on all sides, place in crock pot set on LOW. In a bowl, combine the next 6 ingredients to make a thick sauce.....pour over the roast and & cover w/ the lid. Cook for 6-8 hrs or until meat is tender. Remove roast and thinly slice; return meat to crock pot and stir gently. Let cook another 20-30 min. If you see fat, skim from sauce. Serve beef w/ sauce on rolls. Yield: 12 servings.

Sausage Potato Soup

Sausage Potato Soup

1/2 lb fully cooked kielbasa or polish sausage, diced
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups frozen corn
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 celery rib, sliced
1/4 cup sliced carrot
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp minced fresh parsley

In a large saucepan, brown sausage; drain. Set sausage aside. In the same pan, combine potatoes, corn, broth, celery, carrot and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 min. or until veggies are tender. Add milk, cheese, parsley and sausage. Cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted and soup is heated through. Yield: 6 servings

Serve with a side salad, some fresh bread & butter or rolls and you have a complete meal! It's a hearty soup, loaded with veggies and budget friendly...so it's a win win!

Meatloaf Recipe

When I was growing up, one of the recipes that I learned from my Mom was for Meatloaf...and she learned it from my Grandma. The recipe was never written down and passed on to me, I merely watched it being made in my Mom's kitchen countless times because it was one of my Dad's favorite recipes...so we had it often. And as an adult, I continued the tradition and have been making that same recipe (with minor tweeks) for my family for many years. It makes a hearty main course and also gets in some extra veggies which is always a bonus!

Mom's Meatloaf
2 lbs of 93% lean hamburger
1 can of Campbell's Old Fashioned Vegetable Soup (no substitutions!), drained
1 egg
15 crushed saltine crackers (I use unsalted)
Splash of milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all but the last ingredient, put in an ungreased 2 quart baking dish (like a 13x9x2) and shape into an rounded rectangle or oval about 2 inches thick. Sprinkle black pepper (to taste)all around on top. Bake uncovered for about 1 1/2 hrs or until juices are clear and there's no pink.

From my kitchen to yours, I hope you try the recipe and enjoy! Let me know if you do...I'd love to hear if you liked it!