Vittles Divine

Mmmmmm.... we're heading into the time of year when it's more respectable to eat pasta for every meal. As with most marinara sauces, this is best served at least one day after it has been simmered. This recipe makes a huge party pot of yummy delicious spaghetti sauce. Any extras can be easily frozen for future use. Ingredients 2 pounds ground beef 1 medium onion, chopped 1 medium green pepper, chopped 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced 3 celery ribs, chopped 1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) Italian stewed tomatoes (I blend the contents briefly in a food processor; my kids and husband hate tomato chunks) 1 jar (26 ounces) of your favorite store-bought spaghetti sauce (we love Ragu Mama's Special Garden Sauce, but any flavorful recipe will work) 1/2 cup ketchup 1 can tomato soup 2 teaspoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon prepared mustard Hot cooked spaghetti Directions In a larg...

I made these enchiladas on Saturday and they were de lectable. Justin told me 9 times throughout the night how delicious dinner had been, more delicious than Los Hermanos or Cafe Rio (I don't know about that , but high praise, indeed!) Kinley and Tanner clamored for seconds (and thirds for Kinley), which almost never happens. Kinley actually ate as much as Justin did, oink oink, claiming that these enchiladas are officially her new favorite food. I ran a sample of the meat over to our neighbor to see if it was really as delicious as I thought and she was in wide-eyed agreement. If you try nothing else , make the beef for the best taco salad meat of your life. I modified a recipe that I found on Allrecipes.com. It may look complicated at first glance; it's not. Ingredients: 2-3 pounds beef roast (my roast was 2.5 pounds) 1 can beef broth (2 cups) 1/3 cup water 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons chili powder 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 medium onion, chopped or dic...

Nobody loves roast beef like my Justin and I don't mind bragging that I make a great one. When we have it on hand, he'll eat it on sandwiches. It also goes great with potaters, of course! My friend Bethany helped me take my old roast to the next level with the recommendation of Montreal Steak Seasoning to wake up the flavors for "a party in your mouth"! Ingredients: 2.5 - 3 pound Roast 3 cups water Montreal Steak Seasoning Directions: Place roast in crock pot with water. Season the top liberally with Montreal steak seasoning. Cook on high for 8-10 hours. Shred with fork on a cutting board or platter and serve. Tip: It's extremely, delightfully moist, but it will dry out fast if you don't serve or store immediately. The moisture will evaporate from that super-hot meat if you aren't careful. If you plan on using it for next-day sandwiches, put it in a ziploc back immediately after shredding to keep it moist. Once it cools with the moisture...

For Valentine's Day, I made a delicious baked ziti for the family. It was extremely easy and just as delicious! I see why it had such high ratings on allrecipes.com . INGREDIENTS 1 pound dry ziti or mastaccioli pasta 2 cups onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic 1 pound lean ground beef 2 (24 ounce) jars PLUS 1 cup of spaghetti sauce** 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced 16 ounces sour cream (fat-free is OK) 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded 3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese DIRECTIONS Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente; drain. In a large skillet, brown onion, garlic and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce; warm through. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a (deep!) 9x13 inch baking dish.  Make sure it's plenty deep; this is a large meal! Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti Sour Cream (I like to mix the first half of the ziti WITH the sour cream.  Easier and faster) Provolone cheese...

Philly Beef and Everything Ingredients 1 and 1/2 pounds shredded beef, cooked in a crock pot in advance . I used thin steaks, but a roast will do. 1 green pepper Entire large package of fresh mushrooms (what is that, 8 oz? 16 oz?) 1 cup diced onion 3 tbs butter 1/2 block of cream cheese (I used fat-free) 1 cup mozzarella cheese. 2 tbs worchestershire sauce 1 clove garlic salt and pepper to taste Directions Use the butter to saute green pepper, onion, mushrooms, and garlic together. Add worchestershire sauce, beef, salt, and pepper. Slowly stir in cream cheese, then mozzarella cheese. Serve immediately on toasted deli rolls. Notes: This made a SURPRISINGLY large amount of food. We had plenty of leftovers for today. I think one of the keys to success is not having too much beef in the mixture. I prefer it heavy on the toppings, lighter on the beef (strange, since I'm generally a rabid carnivore). But it seemed more flavorful that way. It turned out to be a good thing that I didn...

My friend Jamie gave a recipe for the most amazing chili. We have made it several times and we never get sick of it. It really is fan. tas. tic. This is one of my husband's very very very favorite recipes. I'll just say that regardless of how the ingredients below may sound, this is definitely chili . This is not taco soup! Ingredients 1 can chicken broth 2 lbs ground beef (you can substitute 1 of the pounds with pork) 3 cooked, shredded chicken breasts 3 cans "ranch style" beans 2 C sweet corn (frozen) 2  24-oz jars of salsa (I always use one jar of Sam's Choice (Walmart brand) "black bean and corn", and 1 jar of their "garlic and lime".** 1 additional cup salsa if your choice  1 cup brown sugar Directions Brown beef and cook chicken. Mix all other ingredients in the crock pot. Add meat, mix well, and simmer in crock pot on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. *Be sure to add wet ingredients first , m...