Goulash From The Garden

I have been craving some delish hearty goulash for a very long time, and had a ton of veggies to use up before they went bad, so I decided to mix it all together into some delicious goulash.  I tried perusing the internet for goulash recipes to get an idea of where I wanted to go, but everything that I found was very boring and looked the same.  In the end I deiced to just close the computer and the cookbooks and just create my own from scratch, so here it is:

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger
Seasoning (Garlic Powder, Spicy Montreal Steak, Alpine Touch)
10 oz Ditalini dry pasta (or elbow)
24oz basil, tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 carrot (peeled and chopped)
1 ear of corn (cook, and cut the corn off the cob)
6 grape tomatoes (sliced)
4 mushrooms (chopped)
1 zucchini (peeled and chopped)
1/2 eggplant (peeled and chopped)
1 red pepper (seeded and chopped)

Directions:
Add the hamburger to a heavy bottom skillet and cook on med-high, add the seasoning.
Boil the pasta until al dente.
Once hamburger is browned add the sauce and warm. 
Now add all remaining ingredients and cook on low until all ingredients are thoroughly cooked and warmed. 
Serve with the hamburger sauce over a plate of pasta and enjoy!

Brown the seasoned hamburger

Add the sauce to the hamburger while the pasta is cooking

Add all remaining ingredients

Serve the hamburger sauce over the pasta and enjoy!

Sloppy Joes

I hadn't made any sloppy joes in about 4 months, so I figured it was about time to do some tweaking to the delicious recipe.  Here it is!

 Ingredients:

1 lb ground hamburger
Alpine Touch

2 Tbsp Butter

3 Carrots (Peeled & Minced)

3 Garlic cloves (minced)

2 Celery Stalks (Minced)

1 Tbsp Vinegar

1/2 Tbsp Crushed Red Pepper

1/2 Tbsp Thyme

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar Bourbon Grill Mate (or another great steak seasoning) 

1/2 Tbsp Parsley

3 Tbsp Brown Sugar

3 Tbsp Tomato Paste

1/2 Cup Ketchup

1/2 Cup BBQ sauce (Hickory Mesquite Smoke for a delicious smokey flavor)

Directions:

Brown the hamburger.  Drain and set aside.

In a separate pan add the Butter, minced carrots and garlic and saute' for 2-3 minutes.  Add the minced celery and cook for another minute.  Add the Vinegar and seasoning and cook for another minute or two to thoroughly season the veggies.  Add all remaining ingredients and thoroughly mix.  Add the hamburger to the mixture and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Sauce will be ready to serve.  Serve on your favorite bun, roll or bread for the best eating experience. 

Season and brown the hamburger

Add the butter, minced garlic and minced carrots to a heavy bottom skillet

Add in the minced celery and cook on medium heat

Add the spices

Add the remaining ingredients

Mix thoroughly

Add in the hamburger and stir to warm

Serve & Enjoy

Spaghetti with Zucchini

I like to add things to my spaghetti to make it unique, tonight I decided to go with a banana zucchini. I definitely recommend the addition.  You can always make your own sauce, but I was short on time and just went with a jarred sauce.  Enjoy, and don't forget to turn on the correct burner ;)

Ingredients:
10 oz pasta (I used Rotini)
1 lb hamburger
Seasoning (Alpine Touch, Garlic Powder, Thyme, Basil & Oregano)
1 Banana Zucchini (peeled & chopped)
1 jar (24 oz) of tomato based sauce (I used roasted garlic)
*Optional Shredded Cheese to top

Directions:
Add the pasta to a pot and pour water over to cover and boil.  Add the zucchini, boil until pasta is al dente.  In the meantime add the hamburger and the seasoning to a skillet and cook on med-high until browned.  Strain the pasta and add the hamburger and pasta sauce.  Stir in and simmer until warmed all the way through.  Serve with optional shredded cheese on top and enjoy!

Boil the pasta and brown the hamburger

Add the zucchini to the pasta and continue to boil

Strain the pasta and pour in the spaghetti sauce and the browned hamburger

Serve with shredded cheese sprinkled on top and enjoy!

Homemade BBQ Sloppy Joes

I have been craving sloppy joes for about two weeks now, so it was finally time to whip some up using a variation of my tried and true delicious Sloppy Joe recipe!  I suggest using a BBQ sauce that is NOT sweet, or if you do to use less brown sugar otherwise it can turn out tasting waay too sweet.... 

Ingredients:

1 lb ground hamburger

2 Tbsp Butter

3 Carrots (Peeled & Minced)

2 Garlic cloves (Minced)

2 Celery Stalks (Minced)

1 Tbsp Vinegar

1/2 Tbsp Crushed Red Pepper

1/2 Tbsp Thyme
1/2 Tbsp Fresh Basil (Minced)

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar Bourbon Grill Mate (or another great steak seasoning)

3 Tbsp Brown Sugar

3 Tbsp Tomato Paste

1/2 Cup Ketchup

1/2 Cup BBQ sauce (the type of sauce you choose will affect the flavor more than anything else)

Directions:

Brown the hamburger.  Drain and set aside.

In a separate pan add the Butter, minced carrots and garlic and saute' for 2-3 minutes.  Add the minced celery and cook for another minute.  Add the Vinegar and seasoning and cook for another minute or two to thoroughly season the veggies.  Add all remaining ingredients and thoroughly mix.  Add the hamburger to the mixture and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Sauce will be ready to serve.  Serve on your favorite bun, roll or bread for the best eating experience.

Brown the hamburger

Set hamburger aside and melt the butter in a separate pan

Add the minced carrots and garlic to saute' for a minute or two

Add in the celery and saute' for an extra minute

Add the vinegar and spices

Add all remaining ingredients and mix together

Add in the hamburger and simmer for 10-15 minutes

Serve & Enjoy!

Superbowl Chili & Pizza Bicuits

I was lucky enough to have a lot of family in town for Super Bowl Sunday which gave me the opportunity to cook.  I made some slow Cooker Super Bowl Chili and some Pizza Biscuits!  Here are both of the recipes in case you would like to try making some on your own!  Enjoy, it turned out delicious!

Slow Cooker Super Bowl Chili

Ingredients:

2 lb Ground Hamburger
Seasoning (Garlic Powder, Mediterranean Spiced Sea Salt, Crushed Red Pepper, Basil, Thyme)
1 12oz can Tomato Paste
2 14.5 oz cans Diced Basil Oregano Tomatoes
1 15 oz can Black Beans
1 15 oz can Great Northern Beans

1 Zucchini (peeled & chopped)
5 Radishes (diced)
3 Celery Stalks (chopped)
3 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1/4 Cup Fresh Parsley (Chopped)
1 Cup Chicken Stock
Shredded Cheese to top

Directions:
Put the ground hamburger into the slow cooker and turn the heat up to high.  Generously season the meat. Add the tomato paste and then fill the can of paste with water and add to the slow cooker.  Add both cans of diced tomatoes and both kinds of beans. Stir to mix.  Add the vegetables and stir to mix thoroughly.  Top with the chicken stock and make sure that everything is stirred to mix.  Cook on high for about 3 hours.  Be sure to stir periodically.  Turn the slow cooker down to low and continue to cook for another hour or two.  If you have more time you can keep on low or warm for several hours until you are ready to eat.  Serve and top with shredded cheese and a dash of basil.  Enjoy! 

Add the hamburger to the slow cooker and season the meat

The beans and tomatoes I used

Add the tomato paste, tomatoes and beans to the slow cooker

Add the veggies & parsley

Add the chicken stock and stir

Serve with cheese sprinkled over top and a dash of basil

 Pizza Biscuits

Ingredients:
1 Cannister of Refrigerated Biscuits
3-4 Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
Pizza Sauce
Basil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Lay the biscuits out on an ungreased cookie sheet just like you would for making biscuits normally.  Cut the cheese sticks into 3 or 4 pieces and press them down into the middle of the biscuits.  Spoon pizza sauce over top of the cheese.  Just enough to cover, but not so much that it is dripping onto the pan.  Add a dash of basil to the top.  Bake in the oven for about 8-11 minutes until the biscuits have risen and the cheese is melted.  Allow 5 minutes to cool, serve and enjoy!  You may serve with extra sauce if you want to dip them.

All the ingredients you will need

Place the biscuits on the cookie sheet

Press the cheese into the middle of the biscuits

Spoon pizza sauce on top of the cheese

Cook and enjoy :)

Italian Meatloaf with Mozzarella

I wanted to change this up a bit by adding Mozzarella and Gouda to my Italian Meatloaf recipe.  Mozzarella takes longer to melt but the taste goes together marvelously! 

Ingredients:
3 Eggs
1 Cup Breadcrumbs (Tightly Packed)
Seasoning (Alpine Touch, Garlic Powder, Mediterranean Oregano, Mediterranean Basil, a couple of dashes of red pepper flakes)
1 1/2 lb Ground Beef
1/2 lb Ground Italian Sausage
1 Cup Mozzarella (grated)
1/2 Cup Gouda (grated) (or another smoked cheese)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine the eggs, bread crumbs and seasoning.  Mix thoroughly.  Crumple the meat over the mixture and mix all together.   Press half of the meat mixture into a loaf pan.  Sprinkle 3/4 of the cheese over the top of the meat.  Pat the remaining meat mixture on top of the cheese.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes.  Turn off the oven.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and let sit in the warm oven for about 10 minutes to melt the cheese.  Remove the meat loaf from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes.  Serve & Enjoy!

Combine the eggs, breadcrumbs and seasoning in a large mixing bowl

Add the hamburger and sausage and mix thoroughly

Add half of the meat mixture into the meatloaf pan

Top with 3/4 of the Cheese

Pat the remaining meatloaf on top of the cheese and place in oven

Top with remaining cheese and return to oven

Deviled Eggs help add to the tastiness if you want to whip some up with your meatloaf is cooking

Cheesy and delicious

Serve & Enjoy!

Italian Chili Recipe

This is a fairly easy and painless way to make chili.  Although I love chili with sausage in it, it can get a little too greasy so I prefer to use half sausage and half hamburger to keep the Italian flavor but reduce on the grease.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Ground Sausage
1/2 lb Ground Hamburger
Seasoning (Garlic Powder, Mediterranean Spiced Sea Salt, Crushed Red Pepper, Crushed Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme)
1 6oz can Tomato Paste
2 14.5 oz cans Diced Tomatoes
1 15 oz can Black Beans
1 15 oz can Kidney Beans
1 Red Pepper (Seeded & Diced)
1 Zucchini (peeled & chopped)
1 Banana Squash (peeled & chopped)
2 Garlic Cloves (minced)
Shredded Cheese to top

Directions:
Put the ground hamburger and sausage in a skillet to cook on medium heat and season.  Cook until thoroughly browned and strain the grease.
In a big pot add the tomato paste and then fill the can of paste with water and add to the pot.  Add both cans of diced tomatoes and both kinds of beans.  Cook on med-high heat.  Add the vegetables and cook until thoroughly warmed turned to simmer.  Add the meat when browned and mix thoroughly, sprinkling with additional spices, cook on simmer for about 5 minutes.  Serve and top with shredded cheese.  Enjoy! 

Brown the sausage and hamburger

Seasonings I used

Add the tomatoes, paste and beans and mix

The beans and tomatoes I used

Add the veggies

Add the meat

Sprinkle some additional seasoning

Top with cheese and enjoy!

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