Sort of revised, written out like a recipe this time.
Description:
One of our family favorites, it’s quick, cheap, and yummy. And it can be done with or without meat.
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (optional)
1 small onion, diced
Package of 18 corn tortillas
1 can of enchilada sauce
1 can of refried beans
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Brown the ground beef, if using, with the onion. Drain.
Spray a 9×13″ baking pan with nonstick spray. Cover the bottom with a layer of corn tortillas (using 6 – it may help to tear some in half). Cover lightly with the sauce. Spread 1/2 the meat over the top, and follow with about 1/3 of the cheese.
Put down another layer of the corn tortillas. Spoon the refried beans over them, and spread as well as you can. Pour about 1/2 the remaining sauce over, and and then the remaining meat, and half the remaining cheese.
Follow with the final layer of corn tortillas, and the remaining sauce and the remaining cheese.
Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
This is how I make goulash these days:
Description:
One of the favorite dinners in our household, and it makes lots for not a lot of money. Not a lot of work, either.
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
2 cloves garlic
1 package medium shell pasta
2 16oz. cans diced tomatoes
About 4 tablespoons paprika
1 can corn
Salt & pepper
Directions:
Boil the pasta. While it’s cooking, brown the ground beef with the garlic in a really large skillet. Drain, if necessary, and add the diced tomatoes and the paprika. Let it simmer while the pasta finishes cooking.
While the pasta drains, add the corn to the meat mixture. Add the pasta and stir. Let sit on the heat for a few minutes, and serve.
I made what I think is the best goulash I’ve ever made the other night. I used my usual recipe, except I didn’t use the tomato sauce, and when I added the tomatoes to deglaze the pan, I let them reduce for awhile. And I used about double the paprika than usual. It was SO good. We all stuffed ourselves almost sick.
Tonight I made rigatoni with italian sausage and salad. It was quite yummy.
My mom used to make hamburger gravy when I was a kid. Frequently, she made it with white gravy, which I didn’t like so much. But when she made it with brown gravy, I loved it. I don’t like it over noodles, though – it’s delicious over mashed potatoes.
Hamburger Gravy
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion
1 packet of brown gravy mix (I use the big canisters of it from Sam’s Club)
Chop the onions roughly and cook the onions and hamburger in a large skillet until the meat is browned and the onions are soft. Mix the gravy mix and water in a separate container and pour into the skillet. Stir and cook until the gravy is thickened.
Serve over mashed potatoes.
Last night, I made dinner for a friend.
The menu:
Chicken Piccata
Pasta with butter and parmesan
Brussel sprouts with butter sauce
Boston Cream Cake
Chicken Piccata:
Olive oil
Butter
4 chicken breast fillets
Flour
Salt & Pepper
Garlic Powder (I know, I know)
3 lemons
Chicken broth
Capers
Pour a little olive oil into a skillet and add about 3 tbs butter. Get it heating up. Pound the chicken. On a plate, mix a good handful of flour with some salt, pepper and garlic powder. Coat the chicken in flour and put in the hot skillet. It should be hot enough to sizzle.
Cook the chicken for about 3 minutes per side, and remove to a plate and keep warm.
Add about 1/2 cup chicken broth to the pan and deglaze. Mix the juice of two lemons with a bit of the flour mixture and pour into the pan, whisking the whole while. Slice the remaining lemon and put that in the pan, saving out a couple of slices for garnish, if you wish.
Stir and heat until the sauce is thick. Add the chicken back to the pan. Add a handful of capers.
Yum.
For the pasta, I just cooked some store-bought fresh pasta and when it was done, drained it and added a big chunk of butter and some fresh grated parmesan cheese, along with some salt and pepper.
The brussel sprouts came frozen. The cake came from the bakery.
It was a yummy dinner.
- 3/4 pound vermicelli
- 3 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped fine
- 3 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped fine
- 1/4 c. olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon peel, grated
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
- 3/4 cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese
While vermicelli is boiling according to package directions, mix the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Drain vermicelli and mix into bowl. Serve with a green salad and bread.
Just the thing on a winter evening…
Peel about 8 good sized russet potatoes and cut them into 2″ chunks. Boil them until done in chicken broth. Smash them, in the pan, with a ricer. Make sure you don’t completely mash them, though – you want some chunks. In the microwave, melt 1/2 cup butter and add 1/4 flour to it, mixing well. Add that to the potatoes, and stir it in well. Pour in about a half gallon of milk. Simmer until thick and the flour taste is gone. Add some minced garlic, salt and pepper. Add some cheese and/or cooked bacon, if you like. Serve with rolls or crackers.
I brown a pound of hamburger and a couple of cloves of garlic while the rice is cooking (about 3 cups of rice before cooking). After draining the meat, I add the rice and a can or two of tomato sauce and a can of diced tomatoes. I add a can of diced green chiles, about a tablespoon of chili powder, about a teaspoon of cumin. Lately I’ve been adding a drained can of corn, which my family seems to really like. Add salt and pepper to taste. I like it with some cheddar or monterey jack cheese shredded on top, when I have some. Serve with a salad.
This makes a large amount – you may want to scale it down.
Takes about 10-20 minutes.
Ingredients:
3 c. instant rice
3 c. water
1 T. margarine
3/4 t. salt
1 lb. keilbasa or beef sausage (or turkey for “lite”), sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 sm. cans tomato sauce
2 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
2 cans kidney beans (not drained)
In a large pan with a tight-fitting lid, bring the water to a boil. Add margarine and salt. Add rice, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes. (Or follow directions on your brand of rice to make 6 cups).
While waiting, sautee sliced sausage with garlic till slightly browned.
When rice is done, add tomato sauce and seasonings. Mix well, then stir in beans, sausage, and garlic. Heat through and serve with tabasco and bread or cornbread.
I also like to add a can of diced tomatoes, but my family doesn’t like it as much that way).
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