Cheeseburger Meatloaf and Sauce

• I have a couple meatloaf recipes that I love and this is one of them. I got it off Food network! I love Paula Dean :) I serve it with garlic red mashed potatoes and some kind of veggie. So yummy, and if my kids eat it, I know it's a good!
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• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon House Seasoning (garlic powder, black pepper, and salt mix)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup grated Cheddar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup crushed crackers (recommended: Ritz)
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (recommended: Lawry's)
• 2 slices white bread
• Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all ingredients together, except the bread slices and Sauce. Shape into a loaf. Line a 1 1/2-quart loaf pan with the bread slices. Place meatloaf on top. Bake loaf for 45 minutes. The bread absorbs the grease and should be discarded after loaf is removed from oven.

Sauce:

• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar
• Chopped onions, optional
• 1 bunch fresh parsley leaves, chopped, optional

Heat the soup and milk over medium heat; add the cheese. Add the chopped onions and parsley to the sauce, if desired. Pour Sauce over the meatloaf or pass at the table.

Spicy Honey Chicken

THIS was a HUGE hit...probably the best recipe I made all month. My boys were LICKING their plates. I've had a bunch of friends make it afterwards and they all loved it too. Just posting it on here again makes me want to be sure to include it on our February menu! We did ours on our indoor grill pan. It was smokey in the house, but it was SOOOO worth it!

I'm cutting and copying the recipe straight from this website...http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/06/spicy-honey-chicken.html


Spicy Honey Chicken
2 t vegetable oil

Rub:
2 t granulated garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powderfor extra heat, increase chipotle or add ground red pepper

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (Yes, Thighs!!)everyone is always asking me if they can use breasts for this. Sure you can, but I'm tellin'ya right now it's better with thighs.

Glaze:
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.
Use kitchen shears (or a pair of clean scissors) to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken a few minutes on each side, until cooked through.
While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it's not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.
I'm gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It's sugar, and it's gonna drip. But the smelly smoke is worth it for a minute or two. Just leave your grill on for a few minutes after the chicken is done to burn off any excess glaze. It's totally worth it once you taste this stuff.
If you don't have a bbq, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler. Just be sure to open a window in case you burn your glaze!

Chicken Brushetta

This was REALLY good. I used that Texas Toast from the freezer section, and it was good, but I think it would have been better to use some big french rolls and toast them myself in the broiler. And probably a little better for you....but it was a HIT with everyone. It even made enough to have another night! I froze the leftovers.
http://www.frugalmenumamas.com/?p=585

Chicken Brushetta

1 lb chicken (I use tenderloins)
Italian Dressing

1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic
Fresh basil, as much or as little as you like

1 frozen garlic bread (Texas Toast)

-Cube chicken (I just leave the tenderloins whole) and place in freezer bag with ½ cup Italian Dressing.(maranade overnight or for a few hours)

-Saute onions in olive oil. Add garlic. Stir in tomatoes. Take off of heat and cool slightly. Add basil.

To prepare:
Prepare garlic bread according to directions on box.

Saute chicken until no longer pink. Stir in tomato mixture. Serve chicken and tomato over the garlic bread or on the side.

Ham and Potato Pockets

This month I challenged myself to use what I had in my pantry and not be wasteful. I had made some ham for New Years, and we had a lot left over. I didn't want to make bean and ham soup, so I came across this recipe. It was great. Different and fun. I think that you could easily make it with jack cheese (instead of swiss) and italian dressing (instead of ranch.)

It was good the first night, but it was great for leftovers the next day!
http://onceamonthmom.com/ham-potato-pockets/

Ingredients
3/4 lb cooked ham, diced
1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
1/2 cup ranch dressing
2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 Tablespoons margarine
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cans refrigerator crescent rolls

Directions:
Place 2 cups of frozen hash brown potatoes in microwaveable safe bowl and defrost for approximately 3 minutes.
In a small skillet, cook onions and hash brown potatoes in butter until warmed and slightly browned. Add garlic powder.
In a separate small bowl, mix together ham, Swiss cheese and ranch dressing.
On a cookie sheets spread out refrigerated crescent dough and pinch together triangle perforations to make 4 squares (if you using the non-perforated dough cut into 4 large squares).
Place 1/4 cup of potato mixture and 1/4 cup of ham mixture into the center of the crescent squares.
Fold over dough and seal with a fork.
Place in 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned.

Freezing Instructions

Let cool and then flash freeze (or place each in a small zipper sandwich bag) and place in a gallon size freezer bag. Freeze. To Serve: Place in microwave for 2-4 minutes OR in oven for 10-15 minutes until heated through.

Pizza Pasta Bake

I opted to use pizza toppings that we all like, but I’m sure you could substitute your favorites.
I got this recipe from http://stolenmomentscooking.com/pizza-pasta-bake/

It was a hit at our house...next time I'd use more pepperoni.

Pizza Pasta Bake
1 lb. penne rigate or mostacolli, fully cooked and drained
1 c. ricotta cheese
3 c. marinara sauce (homemade or from a jar)
30 slices pepperoni (or more)
1/2 c. sliced mushrooms (I used canned, but only because that’s what I had on hand)
1/2 c. sliced black olives
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese


1. Combine hot pasta with ricotta cheese and stir until cheese is melted and smooth. Pour into a 13×9 casserole dish.
2. Pour marinara sauce over pasta. Top with pepperoni, mushrooms and olives. Add shredded mozzarella cheese on top.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until warmed through and cheese is melted.

Banana Sour Cream Muffins

Breakfast is a tough thing to get my kids to eat when we are in a big rush in the morning. This is a FANTASTIC recipe that freezes really well. I made 120 muffins(mini) at the beginning of the month, and we're on our last bag...my boys just eat them up for breakfast. I made half the batch have chocolate chips and the other half not. Make sure you dust the pans with cinnamon sugar--it really makes the muffins taste great!

Ingredients
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
3 cups white sugar
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
12 oz chocolate chips (optional, but oh so tasty!)

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans(or muffin tins). In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans.
Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Easy Taco Soup

I credit http://www.onceamonthmom.com for this one! It was really good and a real hit with the kids! It makes enough to have one time for dinner(family of 4) and enough to put in the freezer for a second night. It's called Taco Soup, but it reminds me a lot of chili too...I guess it depends how you doctor it up!


Ingredients:
2 lbs Ground Beef
1 medium Onion, chopped
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 package Ranch Dressing Mix
15.5 ounces Canned Whole Kernel Corn
1 can (15.5oz) Canned Diced Tomatoes
1 can (15.5oz) Canned Ro-tel Tomatoes with Green Chilis
3 cans (15.5oz) Ranch Style Texas Beans
2 cups Water

Directions:
Brown ground beef and onion. Drain. Add meat and remaining ingredients to crockpot. Cook on low for 4 hours. Serve.
For added flavor serve over tortilla chips and offer sour cream and shredded cheese.

Servings:
12

Freezing Instructions:
After fully cooked, place soup in medium or large plastic ware or gallon size zipper freezer bags. Make sure to leave at least 1/4 inch space above the liquid as it does expand during freezing.