Tastes like spaghetti and meatballs risotto

I was watching Rachel Ray's talk show and she made this, and immediately I wanted it! So I made it for dinner that night! It was really good! I haven't really cooked anything new lately, but I hope that I get back in the kitchen!

Ingredients
1 28-ounce can tomato sauce or puree (I used Prego because I didn't have enough plain tomato sauce, but I will use regular sauce next time)
1 quart chicken stock
2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus some for liberal drizzling
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
2 tablespoons tomato paste (didn't have any, I need to find the stuff you keep in the refrigerator)
1/2 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
A handful of fresh basil leaves, torn or thinly sliced
1/3 cup breadcrumbs, eyeball it (I used frozen meatballs because I didn't have the ingredients to make these)
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
3/4 pound ground beef, pork and veal mix
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, a small handful


Preparation
Preheat oven to 400˚F.
Place the tomato sauce and stock in medium saucepot and heat over low heat. Keep warm.

Place a medium-sized pot with rounded sides over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan EVOO. Add onions and 2 cloves of garlic and sauté a couple of minutes to soften. Add the rice and turn to coat. Toast for about 1 minute then add the tomato paste and stir a minute more, stir in wine and cook until the liquid evaporates. Begin adding a couple of ladles of the tomato-stock at a time. Each time you add the liquid, stir the risotto vigorously to develop the starches. Rice will cook 18 minutes total. (If the rice is al dente and creamy, yet you still have a ladle or 2 of liquid left, do not feel forced to use it.) In the last minute or so of cooking time, stir in the butter until it melts then add 1/2 cup cheese, a couple of handfuls. Turn off heat and stir in basil.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, moisten the breadcrumbs with milk. Add egg, meat, parsley, 1/4 cup cheese, salt and pepper to the bowl and mix to combine. Score meat into 4 sections and form 8 small balls from each section, the size of marbles. Place the balls on a baking sheet and coat them with a liberal drizzle of EVOO. Bake 5 minutes until cooked through and golden.

Serve risotto in shallow bowls topped with 8 mini meatballs per serving.

Taco Pie

My mom got another Gooseberry Patch cookbook and I got a few recipes out of it to make. This is one of them. It was so very good and will definitely stay in the rotation! Forgot to take a picture but I'll get one the next time!

1 can crescent rolls
1 pound ground beef
(called for onion but we don't eat)
1 can tomato sauce (I didn't have so I used one can tomato paste and one can water)
1 package taco seasoning
3 tbl sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese
2/3 cups Doritos--crushed and seperated

Heat oven to 350.

Seperate crescent rolls and place in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate to cover the bottom and up the sides. place 1/3 cup of the Doritos over the crescent rolls.

Brown ground beef, if necessary drain, add tomato sauce and taco seasoning, bring to a simmer over low heat, let simmer 5 mins. Pour in to pan over Doritos. Spread sour cream over meat. Top with cheese and then rest of Doritos.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. (I had browned my meat and added the tomato sauce the night before. Really needed about 5 extra minutes in oven since it was cold!)

Garlic and Honey Meatballs

These are from this recipe from allrecipes.com.
They were so good and a great addition to our Christmas party. They got rave reviews and my sister kept asking me "how I made them again!" This is how I made them!

Ingredients
About 40 frozen meatballs
3 Tbl Soy Sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup ketchup (I actually used what I had left in the bottle)
4 tsps minced garlic (I just used the jar stuff)

Place meatballs in a slow cooker, cover with remaining ingredients. Stir to coat. Place on low for 4 hours.

These were perfectly saucy, sweet and garlicky!

Hamburger Stew

This was a quick and easy was to use up some hamburger I had on hand. It's a mixture of recipes I found on Bisquick.com . It was comfort food on a plate. It will stay in our rotation of meals and will be nice to have on cold days!

1 pound hamburger browned and drained
2 jars beef gravy
1 can corn (Hubby's veggie of choice you could sub whatever you want)

2 1/4 cup bisquick
2/3 cup milk

mashed potatoes of your choice (we just made boxed)

Place hamburger back in skillet after drained, place gravy and veggies in skillet as well. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Spray a 4 qt casserole dish with Pam. Pour stew into casserole dish. Mix Bisquick and milk together. Drop by tablespoons on top of stew. Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes until biscuits are browned and stew is bubbly.

Meanwhile make mashed potatoes.

Serve stew over mashed potatoes with the biscuits along side.

My mom's lasagna

My mom has been making this lasagna for as long as I can remember. It's the best lasagna I have ever tried (it even beat out my grandmas). I made 2 of these one to leave at home for my hubby to have a hot dinner while I am at the In-Laws for the weekend where I am taking the other one. Sorry for not taking a picture I promise to next time I make it! Okay I remembered to get pictures while I made it this time, however I still don't have one of the complete product, but with as much as I make it I'm sure I'll be able to get it!

1 clove garlic
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
Brown together and drain.

Stir in 1 32oz jar Prego, 6 oz tomato paste
Simmer for 20 minutes




Cook lasagna noodles (this is the first time I am trying the no-boil noodles, I'll update how it goes)

Cheese mixture: 2 tbl parsley flakes
1/2 to 3/4 cup cottage cheese
8 oz mozzerella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Layer noodles, meat sauce and cheese mixture ending with cheese mixture in 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly. Let sit 10 mins. before serving.

Fiesta Platter

This is another Gooseberry Patch Speedy Suppers recipe. This will be our new fave recipe for Nachos, they were AWESOME!

1 lb gound beef
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 can tomatoes with chili's
1 can chili with no beans
16 oz Velvetta (I uses the Mexican)
sour cream, salsa, black olives

Brown ground beef. Add packet of taco seasoning. Add cans of tomatoes and chili. Once heated through add Velvetta. Once melted serve over tortilla chips with your chosing of toppings (sour cream, avocado, black olives, salsa)

Beef pot pie

16 oz frozen potato, pepper and onion mixture
2 T water
1/2 t dried thyme
12 oz jar mushroom or beef gravy
1 1b roast beef cubed
2 8 oz refrigerated crescent rolls

Combine potato mixture, water and thyme in skillet. Cook over medium heat until veggies are thawed, about 3 mins. Stir in gravy; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add beef; mix well. Seperate cresent rolls into 8 triangles per each tube. Put one tube on the bottom of a 9X9 dish. Pour potato and beef mixture over it. Place the other tube of crescent rolls over mixture. Bake at 375 for 17 to 19 mins or until rolls are golden.

Depending on what kind of meat you use in this recipe you may want to cook the meat beforehand for a few minutes.

Mom's Best Enchiladas

These are the best enchiladas in the world. My mom made them when I was growing up, I was craving them so I got the recipe off her. This is how I made it!

1 lb ground beef-browned
10 tortillas (flour, like 10 inches)
1 Tbl Crisco
1 Tbl flour
1/2 package Williams chili seasoning
2 cups chicken broth
1 can black beans (rinsed)
1 lb shredded cheddar cheese

Mix the ground beef and black beans together. Heat the Crisco in a skillet over med heat, when clear mix in flour and chili seasoning. Add chicken broth. Stirring occassionally let heat until thin gravy consistency.

Now to make them. Spray a 9x13 pan with pam. Take one tortilla and dip then turn over in the gravy, now put a spoonfull of beef mixture on the tortilla and cover with a handful of cheese. Do this with the 10 tortillas. Roll them like a burrito and line in the 9x13 pan. (it is easiest to dip then put the tortilla directly in the pan, then roll). Cover with remaining sauce and cheese.

I put mine in the fridge while we ran some errands and then heated up when we were ready for dinner. It took 30 mins on 350 degrees. This can also be made casserole style with layering the ingredients instead of rolling them.

If I can get our darn camera to work tonight I will take a picture when I get home!

Kevin's Chili

This is basically the recipe on the back of the Williams Chili seasoning packet. However we add extra beans and some sugar. This is the best thing my hubby makes!


2 lbs hamburger (or venison) meat
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 can chili beans
1 can red beans
1 packet Williams chili seasoning
2 tbl sugar
1 8 oz water

Brown hamburger meat, drain. Add in all ingredients. Bring to simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes or until you are ready to eat!