Tag Archives: Recipes

Taco Helper

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I was at a loss for what to make for dinner tonight but, I knew I had ground beef & a crock pot so I used a little googlefu magic to come up with some ideas. I found a bunch of recipes for things like taco soup & taco casserole but, they would take way too long to cook so what was a girl to do? Improvise! I knew I had 3 hours or less to have dinner ready for this hungry family of 3 adults and a teen so I started to get creative and this is what I ended up with.

Taco Helper:

3lbs ground beef

1 can sloppy joe mix

2 packets taco seasoning

1 box elbow pasta

Cheese (I used cubed sharp cheddar & shredded Mexican Blend)

Dried onion flakes

Garlic Powder

Turn crock pot on low & add the can of sloppy joe mix, 1 package of taco seasoning & a handful of onion flakes.

Brown ground beef in a skillet with garlic powder to taste then drain.

Add ground beef to crockpot, add 2nd packet of taco seasoning & add one can of water.

Throw some of the cheese in the crock pot & stir well cover & let cook on high.

Next cook the box of elbows until done but, just firm.

Then add pasta to crock pot until you have a good ratio of past to meat mixture. (I had some pasta left over)

Cook on high another 20 minutes or so.

Add more cheese on top and set to low and let it cook until the cheese melts.

Then you are done!

This fed all four of us with enough left over to have another dinner later in the week.

Bacon & Egg Quesadilla

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Ingredients
6 strips of bacon ($.65)
6-8 eggs ($1.05)
1 cup shredded cheese ($.84)
8 Tortillas ($1.09), use natural corn tortillas for gluten free
Salsa ($.25)
2 Pears ($1) Lots of pear sales lately!
Directions
1. Cook bacon in skillet on stove top. Remove and place on paper towel to drain excess fats. Pour most of the fat from the skillet.
2. Scramble eggs in skillet that you cooked the bacon in. This way you don’t need to add salt, as it’s already in the bacon. Might not be the healthiest, but its certainly the tastiest!
3. Place tortilla on cookie sheet, top with scrambled eggs, bacon strips and sprinkle cheese on top. Place another tortilla on top. Bake at 300 for 10 minutes, until cheese melts and tortillas are slightly crispy. Remove and slice quesadillas into quarters. Serve with salsa and sliced pears or other fresh fruit!

From: http://www.5dollardinners.com

Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

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Yield – 4 sandwiches
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – 25 minutes
Ingredients
1 lb. ground chuck ($1.99)
1 green pepper, seeded and diced ($.59)
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce ($.20)
2 tsp minced onion ($.05)
1 tsp minced garlic ($.05)
1 tsp vinegar ($.02)
1 Tbsp prepared mustard ($.01)
1 Tbsp brown sugar ($.01)
Salt and pepper
4 whole wheat buns ($.50)
4 slices provolone cheese ($.67)
Clementines, bananas – fresh fruit ($.50)
Chips ($.75)
Directions
Brown the ground beef. (If you want softer green peppers, cook them with the ground beef.) Drain and let sit.
In the same skillet, add the tomato sauce, minced onion, minced garlic, vinegar, mustard and brown sugar. Stir and let simmer over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the brown beef and (uncooked or cooked) green peppers and combine. Simmer over low heat for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until ready to serve.
Spoon the sloppy joe meat over the buns and top with slice of cheese. Let the warm sauce melt the cheese, or microwave.
Serve Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes with chips and fresh fruit.

From: http://www.5dollardinners.com/

Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

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Ingredients
1 pound dry black beans
1/2 pound diced ham
5 cups of water*
5 tsp. chicken bouillon*
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cornstarch
*You can substitute 5 c. of chicken broth for the water and bouillon.
Directions
1. Soak black beans overnight. Drain and rinse beans. Place in a pan, cover with water, and simmer on low for an hour. Drain beans again.
2. Place all ingredients except cornstarch in the slow cooker.
3. Cook on high for 4 hours. (Erin’s note here: From what I know about slow cooking beans, it won’t hurt to cook them longer…say if you’ll be at work all day. Cook them longer, then proceed with directions below.)
4. After 4 hours, use a slotted spoon to remove 1 cup of cooked beans and ham. Place them in a blender or food processor with a little bit of the broth. Puree, and return to the pot. Whisk pureed bean mixture into the broth.
5. Combine cornstarch with cold water in a small bowl. Mix. Add to the slow cooker. Mix with a whisk.
6. Let cook for an additional 30 minutes or until broth thickens a bit.

From: http://www.5dollardinners.com/

Bacon Cheeseburger Upside Down Pizza

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Serves: 8
Preparation Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 30 min
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, quartered, sliced
1 bell pepper, cut into bite-sized strips
8 slices bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled, divided
1 14.5-ounce can chunky pizza sauce
3 Italian plum tomatoes
6 slices cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

In large saucepan, brown ground beef with onion and bell pepper; drain.

Stir in 6 slices of the bacon and pizza sauce.

Spoon into ungreased 13×9-inch (3-quart) baking dish.

Sprinkle evenly with tomatoes; top with cheese slices.

In medium bowl, beat eggs slightly.

Add milk and oil; mix well.

Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off.

Add flour and salt to milk mixture; beat 2 minutes at medium speed, then pour mixture evenly over cheese slices.

Sprinkle with the remaining 2 slices crumbled bacon.

Bake at 400F degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until topping is slightly puffed and deep golden brown.

From: http://www.recipelion.com