Taco Casserole

• 1 lb. Ground beef
• 1 (15 oz) pkg. Cornbread mix
• 1 (20 oz) can Refried Beans
• 1 pkg Taco Seasoning
• 2 T.Water
• 1 c. Shredded  Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brown ground beef until no longer pink, and then drain.  Mix the cornbread batter according to the directions on the package, and then set aside.  Mix refried beans, taco seasoning and water together in a medium bowl, and then spread beans on the bottom of a 9 x 13 in baking dish. Add a layer of the ground beef and top with cheese.  Pour cornbread batter over the cheese and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until cornbread is done and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Garnish each serving with toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, onion, sour cream etc), or serve plain.

Enchilada Casserole

• 1 lb.Ground Turkey
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1 T. +1/3 c. Canola Oil, divided
• 1/3 c. Flour
• 2 T. Chili Powder
• 1/4 t. Salt
• 1/4 t. Pepper
• 2 c. Water
• 12 (7 in) corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 c. Salsa
• 1 1/2 c. Shredded cheese

In a skillet over medium heat, cook turkey and onion in 1 tablesppon oil until meat is no longer pink; drain. Sprinkle with flour, chili powder, calt nd pepper.  Add water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and cook 8-10 minutes. In another skillet, fry tortillas in remaining oil about 20 seconds total, turning one time.

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Cut 9 of the tortillas in half and place the cut edges of 1 tortilla against the short side of a greased 9x13 in baking dish.  Overlap remaining tortilla halves until bottom of dish is covered.  Spoon 2 c. meat mixture over tortillas and layer 1/2 c salsa over meat. Sprinkle with 1/2 c.cheese. Repeat layers and top with remaining tortillas, meat mixture, salsa and cheese. Bake uncovered,20 minutes; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes more or until cheese has melted.

Best Steak Marinade Of Your Life

Want a steak tastier than any you've ever had before? Follow this marinade recipe and be amazed. 

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• 1/3 c. Soy Sauce
• 1/2 c. Olive Oil
• 1/3 c. Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/4 c. Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 1/4 T. Garlic Powder
• 1 1/2 T. Dried Basil
• 1 T. Dried Parsley Flakes
• 1/2 t. Ground Black Pepper

Mix ingredients in a small bowl. Poke holes on both sides of steak using a fork. Place steaks in a glass casserole dish and pour marinade over top.  Cover and place in the refrigerator and let sit for 15-24 hours. Grill to your liking.

Baked Tacos

We are taco lovers in this house. Instead of our typical soft tacos that we eat so often we switched things up a little and had baked tacos. This recipe got approval all around the table.

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•  2 lbs. Ground Beef
• 4 t. Dried Minced Onion
• 3 t. Chili Powder
• 1 t. Cornstarch
• 1 t. Garlic Powder
• 1/2 t. Ground Cumin
• 1/2 t. Dried Oregano
• 1/8 t. Cayenne Pepper
• 1 (8 oz.) can Tomato Sauce
• 1 (16 oz) can Refried Beans
• 2 c. Shredded Colby-Jack Cheese
• 18-20 Hard Taco Shells

 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl combine dried minced onion, chili powder, cornstarch, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Mix well and set aside.

In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain off any excess liquid. Add refried beans, tomato sauce, and prepared taco seasoning. Mix well.

Spoon the taco meat mixture into the taco shells and place into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, standing up.  Sprinkle cheese over the top of the taco meat in each shell. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese has melted and the tacos are heated through. Remove from the oven and top with any optional condiments (lettuce, tomato, salsa, guacamole, etc.)

Black Bean Taco Soup- Freezer Meal

Yes, another taco soup recipe. But this one is a freezer meal! It's a goodie too!

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• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1 medium Onion, chopped
• 1 pkg. Mild Taco Seasoning Mix
• 1 (16 oz) bag frozen Corn
• 1 (16oz) can Black beans drained and rinsed
• 2 (14 oz) cans Stewed Tomatoes
• 1 (4 oz) can diced Green Chilis

Brown meat and onion, drain. Let meat cool for a minute, then dump into a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag.

Dump the remaining ingredients into the bag, mix together, and zip bag close and freeze.

When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours. Cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 2-3 1/2 hours.

Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream and guacamole.

Taco Soup

• 1 lb. Hamburger
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 can corn
• 1 can Kidney beans
• 1 onion
• 1 pkg. Taco Seasoning
• 2 c. Water

In a large pot, cook the hamburger and the onion until brown. Drain off the grease.  Stir in the taco seasoning. Mix in the remaining ingredient.  Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips, cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

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This is probably the easiest soup you will ever make and it is so good! It makes a pretty big pot so luckily, this soup is even better the next day!

Sour Cream Chili Bake

• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1 15 oz. can of Pinto Beans
• 1 10 oz. can of Enchilada sauce
• 1 c. Shredded Sharp American Cheese
• 1 T. instant minced Onion
• 16 oz. pkg. Corn Chips
• 1 c. Low Fat Sour Cream
• 1/2 c shredded cheese
• 1 small can Tomato Sauce

In a large skillet brown ground beef and drain.  Stir in drained kidney beans, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce, 1 c. of  sharp cheese, and onion.  Set aside 1 c. of corn chips; coarsely crush remaining chips.  Stir crushed chips into the meat mixtures. Put mixture into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.  Bake covered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Spoon sour cream atop casserole.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 c. cheese on top.  Crush the 1 c. of chips that were set aside and sprinkle around the edges of the casserole.  Bake uncovered for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted.

Taco Casserole

• 1 lb. Hamburger
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1/2 jar Taco sauce
• 1/2 c. Salsa
• 4 oz. Mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 jar Nacho Cheese
• 1 small chopped Green Pepper
• 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 9x13 inch pan.  Brown hamburger, pepper, and onions.  Add soups, taco sauce and salsa.   Heat until boiling.  Line bottom of baking pan with chips, crush slightly.  Add layer of meat mixture, nacho cheese, more chips, meat, cheese, etc until gone. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake for 15 minutes.

Crunch Wrap Supreme

The husband was craving Taco Bell last night so we whipped up a homemade crunch wrap supreme to ease his crave with a healthier alternative.

• Large flour tortillas
• Hamburger, browned
• Taco Seasoning
• Refried beans
• Corn tostadas or tortilla chips
• Sour cream
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Cheese, shredded

 Start off by browning hamburger in a medium sized pan over medium-high heat.  Add taco seasoning according to package directions, then set aside.

In the center of a large tortilla spread a layer of refried beans, and sour cream. Top with browned hamburger.

Top hamburger with corn tostada or tortilla chips.

On top of tostada place lettuce, cheese and tomatoes.

Then fold the tortilla around the toppings.

Place open side down in a already warmed skillet {medium-low heat}and brown the tortilla. Keep a close watch; it goes fast. Flip the crunch wrap and brown the other side.

The last step: eat up.

These are easy and a great substitute for a Taco Bell run. Do I dare say they taste even better than the originals??

Baked Stew

• 2-3 Medium Sized Potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 Large Carrots, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 Onion, chopped
• 1 lb. Lean Beef Stew Meat (cut into bite sized pieces)
• 1 1oz. pkg. Dry Onion Soup Mix
• 1/2 t. Paprika
• 1 can Cream of Celery Soup
• 1/2 c. Ketchup

In a large plastic bag combine dry onion soup mix, paprika and meat. Shake the bag coating all of the meat with the seasoning.  Place in a lightly greased 9x13 in. baking pan.

Top meat evenly with chopped, carrots, potatoes, and onion.

In a small bowl mix cream of celery soup and ketchup. Pour all over meat and vegetables.  Cover tightly with tin foil and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours.

Taco Bake

• 1 lb. hamburger
• 1 8oz. can tamato sauce
• 1 pkg. Taco Seasoning
• 1 pkg. Crescent Rolls
• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 8 oz. container sour cream
• Nacho Cheese Doritos

In a large skillet, brown hamburger. Then add tomato sauce, taco seasoning and a little bit of water. Let simmer about 5 minutes. 

In a 9x13 inch casserole dish press crescent rolls in bottom of pan and flatten making a crust.

Layer on top of crust, hamburger mixture, sour cream,  and cheese. Top with about 3/4 of a bag of crushed Doritos. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Oriental Beef Stir-fry

• 1 lb. sirloin steak, cut 1 in. thick
• 1 16 oz. pkg. frozen oriental style veggies
• 2 3 oz. pkgs. low fat beef flavored ramen noodles, crumbled
• 1/2 c. low sodium Teriyaki sauce
• 1 1/2 c. water

 Cut beef across the grain into 1/8 in. thick strips.  Coat a large non-stick skillet or wok with cooking spray.  Heat over medium-high heat.  Stir-fry steak strips until no longer pink, about 3-4 minutes.  Remove to warm platter.

To same skillet, add water, teriyaki sauce, crumbled ramen noodles and contents of one seasoning package.  Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes or until noodles soften.

Add frozen vegetables, cover and cook until vegetables are heated through and noodles are tender.

Stir in cooked beef and heat thoroughly.  Serve immediately over rice.

{This is one of my absolute favorite recipes! I picked it up in my high school foods class and have been making it every since.  I always look forward to the left overs the next day for lunch.  It's so simple and is so tasty, not to mention not too bad for you either.}

Spaghetti Pie

If you asked anyone close to me they know I don't like Spaghetti. At all. I know I'm weird. BUT, I loved Spaghetti Pie. So delish, so much flavor, and so simple!

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 c. Picante Sauce
• 1 c. Prego Traditional Sauce
• 1/3 of a 16 oz. package spaghetti, cooked and drained (about 3 cups)
• 1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 1 T. Butter, melted
• 1 c. Ricotta cheese
• 2 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese (about 1/2 c.)

Cook the beef in a 10 inch skillet over medium high heat until meat is well browned, stirring frequently to break up the meat.  Pour off the fat.  Stir the picante sauce and pasta sauce into the skillet and cook until it is hot and bubbly.
Stir together the spaghetti, Parmesan cheese, egg and butter in a medium bowl.  Spread the mixture on the bottom and up the side of a greased 10 inch pie plate {this is the "crust" of the pie}.  Spread the ricotta cheese on top of the spaghetti "crust". Top with the beef mixture.
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until it is hot and bubbling.  Sprinkle top with the mozzarella cheese.  Let stand 3-5 minutes before serving. Cut into wedges to serve.

Taco Stuffed Shells

• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1 pkg. Taco Seasoning
• 14 oz. pkg. Cream Cheese
• 15 large Pasta Shells
• 1 c. Salsa
• 1 c. Taco Sauce
• 1 c. Colby Jack Cheese {shredded}
• 1 c. Pepper Jack Cheese {shredded}
• 1 c. Crushed Tortilla Chips {crushed}

1. In a frying pan cook ground beef and add taco seasoning and prepare according to the package directions. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until melted. Blend well. Set aside and allow to fully cool.  While burger is cooking, cook pasta shells, drain, and toss well with butter.

2. Pour salsa in bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.

3. Stuff each shell with meat mixture.  Place the stuffed shells in the baking dish and cover shells with the taco sauce.

4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.

5. After 30 minutes, uncover, and sprinkle crushed chips and shredded cheeses on top.  Cook for about 15 minutes more.  Serve with sour cream and your other favorite taco toppings.

This is my own rendition of a recipe I found on Pinterest.  It is simple, full of lots of flavor and a fun way to jazz up those taco nights!

Beefy Enchilada Skillet

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 jar (16oz.) Pace Picante Sauce or Thick & Chunky Salsa
• 8 corn tortillas (6 in.) cut into 1 inch squares
• 4 oz. Shredded Cheddar Cheese (about 1 cup)
• Sour Cream

Cook the beef in a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often to break up the meat. Pour off any fat

Stir in the picante sauce, tortillas, and half of the cheese in the skillet and heat to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until it's hot and bubbling.

Top with the remaining cheese.  Serve with sour cream