Shipwreck Casserole

Shipwreck Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound ground turkey
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 medium chopped onion
3 large baking potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
2 cups of sliced carrots
4 stalks of celery, sliced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can of condensed tomato soup
1 soup can of warm water
1 teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning
Cajun Seasoning
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray, such as Pam and set aside.
Brown the ground beef and turkey and salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Drain if needed and set aside.

Layer the casserole dish with onions on the bottom, then potatoes; sprinkle lightly with seasoning salt or salt and pepper. 

Top with carrots, celery and bell pepper.  Sprinkle this layer lightly with salt and pepper or seasoning salt. 

Top with the browned meat. 

Whisk together the can of soup, the can of water and Italian seasoning until well blended. 

Pour the soup and seasoning evenly over the top.  Season the top with a light dash of Cajun seasoning. 


Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for around an hour. 

Test with a knife to make sure the potatoes are done (mine weren't and required another 30 minutes).
Remove the foil lover and sprinkle the cheese over the top. 

Return the dish to the oven until the cheese is melted.

 ...and that is What's Cooking at Cathy's ~ Enjoy!

Cathy's Chili

With the cooler weather making an appearance and giving us a taste of fall. I had to make a big ol' pot of chili.  I love fall and pefer to  open the windows, put on a flannel shirt and enjoy it by making and eating fall comfort foods.

My chili recipe won't be for everyone.  If you like spicy chili then I'd suggest giving it a try.  If you don't like spicy chili, you can still give it a try, just back off the spices, adding smaller amounts at a time and tasting to suit it for your palate.

I normally just make it by using the dump and taste method.  In order for me to share it with you, I had to measure and write down the ingredients as I went along. 



Cathy's Chili

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey
1 pound lean ground beef
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 40 ounce can of Brook's Chili Beans
1 46 ounce can of Tomato Juice
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Directions:

Drizzle the 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil into  a large soup pot (or dutch oven).
Heat over medium high heat.
Add the turkey, ground beef and onions along with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.

Add 1 Tablespoon each of Chili Powder, Ground Cinnamon and Ground Cumin.  Browning the meat along with the spices helps improve the color of the ground turkey and also adds a layer of spices to the meat.
Mix well and cook the mixture until meat is cooked through.

Drain any excess grease.  If you ground beef is very lean, you shouldn't need to drain any fat.
To the meat mixture add the Chili Beans and Tomato Juice.
Stir to mix well. Lower the heat to medium low (you want the mixture to not boil).
Add the remaining seasonings 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder, 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon, 1 1/2 Tablespoons Cumin and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Mix thoroughly, scraping seasonings from sides of pot.
Reduce heat to simmer.  After 15 minutes and all ingredients are heated through, taste and adjust seasonings.

Chili is always better left over, so I often make it a day before I want to eat it.  The longer it sits before serving, the spices will continue to blend and develop.   Just be careful if you microwave a bowl otherwise you will have a mess.  I created a mess by having my bowl too full!

I prefer mine topped with shredded cheese and Frito's. 

I also have used leftovers to create chili burgers or chili dogs as well. 
You can also serve it over spaghetti or add cooked pasta.  However, I typically do not recommend putting cooked pasta directly into the chili.  The texture of the pasta gets mushy and it adds additional thickening to the chili. 

.....and that's What's Cooking at Cathy's ~ Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers is not something we ever had when I was growing up, or at least not that I can remember, but they are something that I really like and they are easy to make, taste good and are good for you!

I was having a craving for stuffed peppers and like many of the things I make, my stuffed peppers are something I just throw together and as a result they never taste quite the same way twice.  Today's recipe was no different, but now that I'm blogging to share recipes that I make, adapt or create, I keep a notepad and pen alongside the camera in the kitchen so I can easily jot down the ingredients and measurements I go.

Maybe this time I was so hungry for  stuffed peppers that the filling tasted extra good, or maybe I just hit upon a combo that is extra special.  I have to admit that I had enough filling to fill another pepper, so what to do with the leftover filling?  Hum..I must confess that I got myself a spoon and shamelessly ate the rest of the filling while standing over the kitchen sink. 

I cooked the filling and baked these peppers in my new Le Creuset 3 1/2 quart Buffet Pan.  If you have something similar, this recipe makes and bakes in one pan and clean up is a whiz!

Some recipes you find will instructions to preboil the peppers.  Personally, I like my veggies to be a bit more crispy and less wimpy, so I prefer to just let mine cook in the oven. If you prefer yours precooked, you can certainly do that in addition to steps listed below.  If you do precook the peppers, lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and reduce baking time to approximately 30 minutes.

I did not specify the color of the peppers.  I will leave that choice up to you. I personally prefer the red, yellow or orange to the green, but any color will do. You will see from the photos that I used mostly red but did have a green one thrown in for variation. 

Give this recipe a try.  I hope you like it as much as I do!

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

5 Bell Peppers, any color
1 Tablespoon Garlic Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium Onion, chopped
1.25 lbs. lean ground Turkey
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon medium Chili Powder
1 cup shredded Carrot
1 box of frozen shoe peg corn (or 2 ears of fresh cut corn)
1/4 cup Taco Sauce (your favorite)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Wash and cut bell peppers in half, top to bottom so you have 2 halves to fill later.
3. Remove the seeds and membranes and rinse to remove all the seeds.
4. Heat a heavy oven proof skillet over medium heat.  Drizzle in the garlic infused extra virgin olive oil.
5. Add the onions, ground turkey, salt, cumin and chili powder and stir, cooking until turkey is done. Continue to cook until all liquid (water) has evaporated.
6. Chop one of the 5 bell peppers and add it to the turkey along with the carrots, corn and taco sauce.
7. Mix over medium heat just to warm everything through.
8. Remove stuffing mixture to another bowl.
9. Spoon stuffing into each bell pepper half and arrange them in the heavy ovenproof skillet or a separate casserole dish, repeating until all of the peppers are full.
10. Put an extra teaspoon of taco sauce on the top of each pepper (my sauce has a squirt top, so I just squirt some on).
11. Top with shredded cheese.
12. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Taco Casserole

Taco Casserole is easy and yummy.  Someone gave me this recipe, and I have adapted it to my liking.  I was craving this yesterday but didn't have all the ingredients I needed.  The recipe does make quite a bit, so if you are like me and don't need a 9x13 pan, you can always cut the recipe in half and make it in a 9x9.   

I altered this from the original recipe to make it a little bit lighter on calories and fat.  I used 95% lean ground beef and ground turkey rather than the original 2 pounds of hamburger.  I also substitute fat free sour cream and low fat cheese and it tastes just fine.  

Taco Casserole

Ingredients:

2 package Crescent Rolls
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb. ground turkey
2 packages taco seasoning 
1 16 oz. bottle of either taco sauce or salsa
16 oz. sour cream
4 cups shredded taco cheese
1 13 oz. bag of Tostitos

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


In a large non-stick skillet, brown the ground beef and ground turkey. 
Drain it and add to the seasoning and taco sauce or salsa.  Stir thoroughly.
Simmer for 15 minutes. You want the meat to be coated and relatively dry.

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with non stick cooking spray.  Line the pan with the crescent rolls.  Be sure to press the seams together.
I had two triangles left over, so I popped them in the oven while I was assembling the casserole.
Top with the meat mixture.

Spread on the sour cream.
Top with the cheese.






Crush the Tostitos in the bag and sprinkle on top of the cheese.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes.

Serve with a tosssed salad and you have a meal and it is hard to not go back for seconds!

Cathy's Vegetable Soup

Most of us think of soup as a winter dish.  However, with the modern convenience of air conditioning, soup is really appropriate all year round. 

I love soups and make them often.  It makes preparing supper a breeze after a long day at work and because it makes so much, I enjoy the leftovers packed for my lunch.

This soup is quick, easy and healthy. I threw it together one afternoon when I didn't know what to fix for dinner. 

This recipe and chili are the soups I most frequently prepare.
You can easily adjust this to use ingredients what you have on hand.  I typically use both ground beef and ground turkey, but you can also use all ground beef if you prefer. 
Like my chili, I always just make this, never following a written recipe (not that I'd necessarily follow it precisely if I had one).  Today, while making the soup, I decided to measure and write down the ingredients and directions so I could share it with you.

I missed adding beef soup base to my shopping list so I had to use beef broth today. It isn't necessary to use soup base but it adds a richer flavor to the soup that I prefer.

Like many soups, this one gets better with age, so get out your biggest soup pot and make it a day ahead so the flavors have a chance to fully develop.

Cathy's Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 cups shredded carrots (I buy them pre-shredded)
6 cups shredded cabbage (1/2 a medium sized head)
3 15 oz. cans of pinto beans
1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce
8 cups of beef soup base
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

Directions:

1. Add the olive oil to a large stock pot.  Place over medium heat. 
2. Add the ground turkey, ground beef, chopped onion, salt and pepper to the pot and cook, crumbling meat until it is browned.
3. Drain any fat from the pan.
4. Add carrots, pinto beans, tomato sauce and beef broth to the pan, stirring to mix ingredients.
5. Add fennel seed and thyme and shredded cabbage.
6. Stir to mix well.
7. Reduce heat to low and simmer until cabbage and carrots are cooked.
8. Sample and adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve with a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan and crusty loaf of bread.