Ground Beef | Eat at Home

Wimpys aka Sloppy Joes

December 19, 2011 by Tiffany

When I was growing up, my family always called sandwiches like this Wimpys. I’m not sure how old I was when I figured out that everyone else calls the Sloppy Joes.

When I made these, my intention was to just use a can of Manwich. But I couldn’t find it anywhere in the grocery. I looked in all the logical places, but no Manwich.

So, I decided to make some homemade. This recipe is adapted from Simply Recipes. Her recipe has ketchup and carrots. I used chili sauce and red peppers. Mine also has more meat, but I liked her base of seasonings although I skipped a few of the herbs and spices. Change this up for your tastes and pantry.

Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]

Filed under: Main Dish, Sandwich Tagged with chili sauce, ground beef, hot sandwich recipe, sandwiches, sloppy joes, tomato sauce, weeknight dinner1 Comment

Velma’s Chili from Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader

April 8, 2011 by Tiffany

Have you read the Mitford series books by Jan Karon? Father Tim and Cynthia feel like old friends and so do all the other characters that populate the small town of Mitford.

On my last library trip, I spotted the Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader. It’s full of recipes mentioned in the books (Orange Marmalade Cake, anyone?) and also lots of excerpts. Food and stories is a hard combination to beat.

One recipe that caught my attention was Velma’s Chili. I did make a few changes to it. For one, I used half the meat it called for. Two pounds of meat for 6-8 servings sounded like too much. I doubled it and made a few other alterations as well. Here’s what you’ll need to make my version: [Read more...]

Filed under: Crockpot, Main Dish, Soup Tagged with celery, chili, chili powder, garlic, ground beef, kidney beans, Mitford series, onion, red wine, tomato sauce, tomatoes7 Comments

Beef and Bean Topped Potatoes

March 4, 2011 by Tiffany

This is a quick meal, except for the potato baking. But even that can be done in the microwave if you’re really pressed for time.

And there are a couple things you can do to make it even faster. Keep cooked ground beef in the freezer so it’s ready to go for recipes like this. You can also keep cooked bacon and onion in the freezer.

Or you can slow it down by putting the topping in the slow cooker until you’re ready for dinner.

Another bonus, this recipe is versatile. Vary the ingredients for what you have in your pantry. I don’t think you can mess this one up. Nearly anything goes.

Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]

Filed under: Crockpot, Main Dish Tagged with bacon, baked potatoes, beans, cheddar, green chilis, ground beef, onion, tomatoes6 Comments

Freezer Meatballs – extra large batch

February 8, 2011 by Tiffany

88 meatballs. That’s a lot of meatballs to stash away in the freezer.

It boggles my mind, but somehow we have managed to eat all 88 meatballs and we didn’t even have company to help. Did I mention it only took us 3 weeks to polish them off? Yikes!

I used them for spaghetti/tortellini meals twice. And I had two recipes to try out that used meatballs. One of them didn’t turn out quite the way I’d hoped the first time, so I tried it again. My kids have revolted now. I don’t think I can feed them another meatball dish for a while.

But, I still think it’s a great idea to have homemade meatballs in the freezer. They taste much better than the store-bought kind and they are better for you too. You can use them for spaghetti, of course. But they’re also good in Sweet and Sour Meatballs over Rice and Meatball Subs.

Before we get to the recipe, I want to remind you about Virtual Freezer Cooking Day on February 19. On that Saturday, I’ll be in my kitchen cooking freezer foods and I’ll be checking in on Facebook frequently to hear what you’re cooking in your kitchens. Here are the details of the event. Be sure to RSVP. There will be prizes and giveaways involved!

Back to today’s recipe: Somehow I failed to take a picture of the finished meatballs. The ingredient photo is at the top of the post.

Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]

Filed under: frozen food, Main Dish Tagged with bread crumbs, eggs, freezer food, ground beef, onion, panko, worcestershire sauce10 Comments

Bramble Beans

December 21, 2010 by Tiffany

A friend gave me this recipe years ago. I make it every once in a while and we like it. The only reason I haven’t shared it with you before is that it isn’t very photogenic. Some of my past attempts to photograph it have been dismal.

One reason I like this dish is that it can be cooked on the stove top or in the oven. I’ve never tried it, but I bet it would work in the slow cooker too.

Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]

Filed under: Main Dish Tagged with baked beans, brown sugar, ground beef, ketchup, kidney beans, mustard, onion, pork and beans, vinegar10 Comments

Beef and Black Bean Taco Bake

April 9, 2010 by Tiffany

This is a beef spin on the Black Bean and Corn Chicken Taco Bake. I was trying to come up with a dinner idea the other day and had all the ingredients except chicken. But I had cooked ground beef in the freezer, so decided to give it a try. It turned out really well. Just as easy as the chicken version and just as tasty. [Read more...]

Filed under: Casserole, Main Dish Tagged with black beans, cheese, ground beef, Mexican, salsa, tortillas26 Comments

Cooking Meat to Freeze for Later

January 9, 2010 by Tiffany

I know that picture has nothing to do with meat or cooking, but it does show what freezing looks like That was our Mickey head antenna topper last year during the ice storm.

The forecast is for snow here. I’m writing this post a few days early, so by the time you read this we could have several inches of snow. My kids have their fingers crossed!

Now, onto cooking. One of the questions I get asked often is how I cook meat for freezing. I use a lot of chicken and I like to cook it up and keep it in the freezer for casseroles and soups. It really speeds things up when I pull fully cooked chicken from the freezer. [Read more...]

Filed under: tips Tagged with Chicken, cooking tips, freeze, ground beef, hamburger, sausage10 Comments

Mel’s Diner Chili

December 10, 2009 by Tiffany

chili done

A few weeks ago I helped with a chili cook-off at church. I’m not a big chili fan, so the thought of bringing a pot of chili was a bit scary. I went on a search for great chili recipes and one of my readers who follows me on twitter saw my request. Judy emailed me this recipe for Mel’s Diner Chili.

I didn’t end up having to take the chili to the cook-off because lots of other people signed up (I took the Chipotle Apple Pecan Cake instead). But since I had the ingredients and because the chili has such a great story – and I’m a sucker for a great story – I made the chili for dinner at home. Yum!

Here’s Judy’s email with the original recipe and the story: [Read more...]

Filed under: Crockpot, frozen food, Main Dish, Soup Tagged with chili seasoning, garlic, ground beef, onion, tomatoes10 Comments

Cottage Pie

July 28, 2009 by Tiffany

cottage-pie-done-plate

While browsing through Disney recipes at allears.net a few weeks ago, I discovered this gem. A lot of the Disney recipes are complicated and not something that you’d want to create in your kitchen on an ordinary week night. But this recipe from the Rose and Crown restaurant in England in EPCOT stands out from the crowd. It has week night supper written all over it, especially after a few adaptations. Put on Illuminations music, pretend you’ve snagged a water front table at Rose and Crown for the excellent fireworks show and eat up. Tuesday night doesn’t get any better

[Read more...]

Filed under: Main Dish Tagged with Disney food, gravy, ground beef, potatoes12 Comments

Nachos

October 31, 2008 by Tiffany

nachos-plate

A few years ago we were lucky to get to go to Walt Disney World on their free dining plan. We ate at the Whispering Canyon Cafe in the Wilderness Lodge one day for lunch and ordered Nachos. They were wonderful. Meaty, cheesy, just the right amount of spice. I set about to create a version to make at home and this is what I came up with. Not only are they delish, they are also easy and quick.

[Read more...]