cooking tips

Watermelon Cutting for People Who Hate Cutting Watermelon

June 20, 2013 by Tiffany King 3 Comments

I’m pretty sure I’ve confessed before that I’m very lazy in the kitchen. If it can be done easier, I’m all for it.

This is my tip for cutting watermelon in a hurry. You can have an entire melon ready to serve in about 5 minutes with this trick.

Just cut the melon in half. Then use an ice cream scoop or even a large, metal spoon to scoop out melon balls. Actually, they won’t be perfect balls. So if you’re needing a melon that looks fantastically beautiful, this isn’t the method to use. I can’t even help you with that method, because I don’t often worry about beautiful food.

But if you just need your watermelon cut up so a bunch of hungry kids can dig in, this is your method! Give it a try!

3 Ingredient Main Dish Recipes – aka Super Simple Suppers

May 29, 2013 by Tiffany King 2 Comments

I love keeping things simple in my home. Especially, when it comes to weeknight dinner prep. One way to cut down on cooking time and to streamline dinner prep is to use just a few, basic ingredients in your recipes. It’s not always possible, but there are many main dishes that can be made with as few as just 3 ingredients!
If you are worried that cutting down on ingredients means cutting down on flavor, never fear! These recipes may be incredibly simple, but the flavors they carry are delicious and family approved. I consider them some of our favorites!

(Click here to see a post where I share more dinner recipes that use just 5 ingredients or less!)

For these, I didn’t count salt and pepper as ingredients. That was too nit-picky. I also counted the rice in the first recipe as a side, not an ingredient for the dish.

If you need dinner in a hurry, or have limited ingredients to work with, check these out and let me know which one is your favorite!

Three Ingredient Main Dish Recipes

Slow Cooker Beef Teriyaki with Pineapple

BBQ Ham Steak on the Grill – Really any kind of meat you put on the grill could count as a 3 ingredient or less main dish, as long as you keep the rub or sauce simple.

Chicken Tacos

Honey Mustard Chicken in the Crockpot

Honey Mustard Grilled Pork Chops

Pesto and Crushed Tomato Shells

Pesto Tomato Ravioli

Slow Cooker BBQ Peach Pulled Pork

Tangy Sweet Pork Chops in the Slow Cooker

Teriyaki BBQ Chicken Legs in the Slow Cooker

Toasted Apple and Brie Sandwiches on Cinnamon Swirl Bread – most any type of grilled cheese sandwich would count for a 3 ingredient meal.

Tony’s Tilapia

Potato Soup

10 Graduation Party Menus Plus Desserts and Snacks!

April 23, 2013 by Tiffany King 13 Comments

It’s that time of year when our graduates take the stage with caps and gowns and march off to get their diplomas and take on the world! Graduating is a great milestone and it’s something that should be celebrated.

But planning a graduation party menu can feel a bit overwhelming. Feeding a crowd can be a lot of work, and picking a menu that pleases everyone isn’t always easy. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! [Read more…] about 10 Graduation Party Menus Plus Desserts and Snacks!

10 Ways to Cook Ground Beef – No Recipe Required

March 13, 2013 by Tiffany King 5 Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve added a post to this series. In the past, we’ve covered:

Sometimes, you just don’t feel like dragging out a cookbook or even looking something up on the computer. For those days, try one of these easy ideas.

I love to have ground beef browned out and stored in the freezer. It makes it really easy to pull together a meal. If you’d like to cook it in bulk, try using your crockpot to cook ground beef.

1. Hamburgers

There are a million ways to top a burger. And you can choose to cook them on the outdoor grill, a George Foreman type grill or in a skillet. Easy and classic.

2. Tacos

Season the cooked ground beef with your favorite homemade or store-bought seasoning. Stuff in your favorite shells. Top with your favorite toppings. Chances are, this meal is a staple in your house.

3. Add to Spaghetti Sauce

This is a quick way to beef up your favorite spaghetti sauce.

4. Meatloaf

Another classic with a million ways to fix it. Try this method:

1 egg per pound of meat
1/2 cup tomato product (ketchup, BBQ sauce, chili sauce etc) per pound
1/2 cup bread crumbs per pound
onions (and peppers and/or celery if you want), diced
salt and pepper

5. BBQ Sandwiches

Stir your favorite barbecue sauce into a pound of cooked ground beef. Serve it on buns.

6. Quesadillas

Add cheese, tomatoes, salsa etc. Fill soft tortillas and toast in a skillet.

7. Gravy Topped Potatoes

Add a jar of beef gravy to one pound of browned hamburger. Top baked potatoes for a hearty meal.

8. Cheeseburger Baked Potatoes

Add your favorite grated cheese or Velveeta to a pound of cooked hamburger. Top baked potatoes. Add diced tomatoes and bacon bits too.

9. Top a Pizza

I usually think of pepperoni or sausage for topping pizza, but ground beef is tasty too.

10. Poor Man’s Steak

Add 1/2 cup bread or cracker crumbs, salt and pepper to a pound of raw hamburger. Pat into patties and fry in skillet. Pour 1 can cream of mushroom soup mixed with 1/3 can of water over the patties. Heat and serve.

What’s your favorite way to use ground beef?

Freezer Cooking – Ground Beef in the Crock Pot

February 12, 2013 by KimM 19 Comments

One thing I like to do to help cut down on meal prep time is have pre-cooked meats in the freezer. I will usually buy chicken, ground turkey, and ground beef in bulk. I often use my crock pot to cook my chicken, that I will shred and freeze for use in recipes/casseroles/soup. However, I have always cooked my ground beef and turkey on the stove top, usually only a pound or two at a time. It never occurred to me that I could use my slow cooker, until I saw it on Pinterest! (Pin source) One of the many reasons I am addicted to pinning 🙂

This is not a recipe per se, just a shortcut for cooking in bulk. The above picture is 3 lbs of 90/10 lean ground beef, with seasonings (salt, pepper, McCormick Grill Mates Hamburger Seasoning, and dried onion) and about half of a large chopped onion. You could easily add taco seasoning, Italian seasonings, or leave it plain. My crock pot could have held much more ground beef too, but this is what I had on hand. I cooked this on high for 4 hours (this may vary depending on your cooker and the amount of beef used, and if it was fresh or frozen), giving it a stir once an hour. You may not need to stir it that often, but it will need to be stirred on occasion and the clumps broken up. After the meat was cooked, I drained the meat (which was pretty lean and didn’t produce a lot of grease) and allowed it too cool. Then I divided it into 3 equal amounts (since I used 3 lbs.) and placed it in freezer bags. SO much simpler than standing over a stove top!

I hope you find this little tip as helpful as I did. {Looking for ideas to use all that ground beef? Check out Eat at Home Ingredient Spotlight: Ground Beef!}

KimM is a contributing writer for Eat at Home. See more from her at her blog Makin’ it Mo’Betta, and follow along on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter!