Favorite Recipes – part 2

Hamburger Helper Soup – I originally got the recipe from a box of Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni. I haven’t tried this with any of the other flavors, but I imagine they could be used with some minor changes

1 lb hamburger, cooked and drained

½ c. chopped onion (or onion salt)

1 box Hamb. Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni

4 c. water

Salt, pepper, other seasonings to taste

1 (16 oz) can whole tomatoes with liquid

1 (16 oz) can veg-all with liquid

*I pre-cook the macaroni for faster prep

Mix all ingredients together in dutch oven and heat to boiling. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Goes really well with grilled cheese sandwiches.

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Taco Salad – I got this recipe from Marv’s mom. My absolute favorite in the summer.

1 lb hamburger, cooked and drained

Onion or onion salt

1 c. water

1 pkg taco mix

1 can pinto beans drained (again, use any bean, any size can you want)

1 head shredded lettuce or bagged mix of salad greens

Grated cheese

1 pkg crushed chips (tortilla, fritos, whatever)

On stove or in microwave, heat cooked hamburger, taco mix, water and beans. Add to the rest of ingredients in large bowl and mix well.

Stuff on the side to add individually: salsa, chopped tomatoes, black and/or green olives, chopped hardboiled egg. I always have a lot of little pkgs of Taco Bell sauce also. Heated soft tortillas are good with this, too. And if you MUST, you can add sour cream or dressing, but you won’t find any of that stuff in MY house…

theend

Favorite Recipes – part 1

Over 43 years, I have collected a ton of recipes from magazines, cookbooks, TV shows. Every once in a while I will go through them and discard the ones I know I will never make or didn’t particularly like. I’m down to a core of basic things that have lasted through the winnowing process. Here are two of them.

Chili – I used to love all different brands of canned chili, but most of them don’t set well with me anymore. The only chili I like now is a stand-by that I’ve made for years. My friend Paula makes an awesome Texas-style that I love too. Here’s mine. Feel free to adapt. I know I don’t season it as hot as most people like.

1 lb hamburger, cooked and drained

1 small onion (I use onion salt instead)

1 can whole tomatoes (whatever size you like. I love lots of tomatoes in my chili) Break up tomatoes and include the juice

2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce

2 (16 oz) cans kidney beans, drained (I’ve also used pinto, navy, whatever I have in the pantry)

Salt and chili powder to taste

Serve with cheese on top

Crackers or heated up soft tortillas

I used to put this all together in the crockpot and cook on high for a couple of hours. Now I just put it in the microwave. So much faster.

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Tiny Meat Loaves – We both love meatloaf, but I hate heating up the oven for 1 ½ hours. Then there’s the matter of the grease. I’ve gone through 3 of the pans that have the inner one with holes placed inside the bigger pan. Over time the bottom pan gets really icky. And the center isn’t always fully cooked when the outside is crispy. I came up with the idea of taking the same ingredients and making what is basically 2 meatloaf burgers and putting them on the broiler pan where the grease drips through. They’re fully cooked in about 40 minutes at 375°

1 lb hamburger

1 egg

10 saltines, crushed

Seasoning

Divide in two

Cover in catsup

I guess you could double this if the broiler is big enough. The secret is flattening the patties so they cook all the way through

Things I’m Surprised I Like Now

As a kid, I was VERY picky about food. There were certain things I would NOT eat, no matter what. No dessert? Fine! Not gonna eat them peas!!! And I pretty much got away with it. There were other things served with the meal that I would eat. I will eat peas now, and beans. But I will STILL not eat sauerkraut or coleslaw. And don’t even mention liver!!!

Over time, my tastes have changed. Things I wouldn’t put near my mouth before, I gladly consume. Here are some of them.

Tuna

I’ve never liked the smell of fish, nor any that tasted fishy. Still don’t. For church potlucks, my mom would always make tuna casserole. Very simple. Cooked noodles, tuna from a can, butter and parmesan sprinkled over it all. Wouldn’t touch it. One time, coming home from church, I was sitting in the back seat with the leftover pan of casserole in my lap. For some reason I took a bit with my fingers and ate it. It was good! I ate a bit more. It didn’t taste fishy at all! Probably because my mom got the solid white tuna packed in water, not oil. After that, I loved tuna casserole and even the occasional tuna sandwich. But it has to be the kind packed in water and it had to be solid white tune.

Catsup or mustard

Never had them in any way, shape or form. Didn’t like tomatoes at all, either. Don’t remember the first time I had catsup on French fries, but once I did, I never looked back. And of course it MUST be spread on top of a meatloaf…

Don’t remember the first time I had mustard, either. Somewhere along the line I found that it was good on hotdogs, corndogs, ham sandwiches etc. But it has to be spread VERY thinly. Just a hint.

Chow Mein

Chung King was the brand of chow mein that was served when I was growing up. Nope. Nope. Nope. My mom would add hamburger to it. Still wouldn’t eat it. Don’t know when I started, but I really came to love it. Now it’s La Choy brand that I eat. I add either hamburger or a can of chicken, a can or two of mushrooms and rice. Sometimes I might add a can of water chestnuts. Makes it very hearty and will last at least 3 meals for me, as Marv won’t come near it.

“Real” fish

As stated before, I hate fishy tasting fish. I’d eat fish sticks, but even then, some would taste fishy. Yuk. Sometimes we’d have real fish and it wouldn’t taste bad, but I hated having to worry about choking on the bones. I was absolutely phobic about it. I’d take my piece of fish and smash it on my plate to make sure there weren’t any bones. I’m still not fond of it. The best fish I ever had was H. Salt Fish & Chips. There was one here in Oroville, and I truly mourned when it went out of business.