Cranberry Merlot Meatballs

This is one of my new favorite crock pot meals! I can make it in a snap and it tastes rather fancy and elegant. If I use frozen meatballs, it only takes a minute to throw it all together and cooks on high in only about 3 hours. We love it served over mashed potatoes but is also a lovely appetizer!

Whisk together:

1 can jellied cranberry sauce

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup merlot (or any red wine or cranberry juice)

2 teaspoons stone ground mustard (or any other hot mustard)

Pour over 30-40 meatballs.

Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours, or until meatballs are hot.

Serve over mashed potatoes or as an appetizer.

Beef N Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie

This is my idea of convenience food! Mostly thanks to instant mashed potatoes! The baby red roasted garlic & parmesan ones are perfect for this recipe and all ready to go in about 8 minutes!

Having already browned hamburger frozen in the freezer makes it even faster and easier!

1 pound ground beef, browned

1/2 onion, chopped

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

salt and pepper, to taste

2 packets of instant mashed potatoes, prepared

http://www.idahoan.com

After the beef is cooked add the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Sauté just until they are tender. Add seasonings.

Pour the beef mixture into a greased glass baking dish.

Spread with mashed potatoes.

Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes. Super fast and super easy dinner!

Thai Tacos

These tacos are seasoned with a Thai inspired sauce and can be served on pita bread or tortillas. Easy to make and tasty to eat, they are an ideal meal for a busy summer day!

1 pound hamburger

1 or 2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons minced ginger

3 cloves chopped garlic

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

3 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter

2 Tablespoons lime juice

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

Brown hamburger in large skillet until well done. Add peppers, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook until peppers are tender.

Whisk together remaining ingredients. Stir into hamburger and remove from heat.

Serve in pita bread or flour tortillas. Garnish with lettuce or shredded cabbage. Serve with wedges of fresh lime to squeeze on top of tacos.

Asian Beef and Noodles

This is such an easy dish, it hardly even counts as cooking. It’s my version of Hamburger Helper, only cheaper, and in my opinion, better. :o)

1 pound ground beef

2 packages of ramen noodles

1 bag frozen stir-fry veggies

1/4 tsp ginger

2 tbsp sliced green onion

Brown ground beef in large skillet and season with flavor packets from ramen noodles.

Add 2 cups water, crushed ramen noodles, veggies, and ginger. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Cover and simmer 3-5 minutes.

Garnish with green onion and serve.

just before putting the cover on the skillet

 

all done in only 4 minutes!

Thai Tacos

I love this spicy peanut sauce with hamburger. It is an easy, quick to prepare meal that we all like. I serve it with tortilla chips and melon on the side.

1 1/2 pounds hamburger

2 medium sliced red bell peppers

2 Tbsp minced ginger

3 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

2 Tbsp lime juice

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp sesame oil

Brown and drain hamburger. Add peppers, ginger, garlic, and crushed red pepper to skillet. Cook until peppers are crisp-tender.

Mix peanut butter, cilantro, lime juice, soy sauce and sesame oil with whisk to make a sauce. Stir into beef mixture. Remove from heat.

Stuff meat mixture into pita halves and garnish with lettuce just before serving.

Waikiki Sauce

This sauce was orginally made for meatballs and was my favorite supper for years. But this sweet sauce is good on cooked sliced sausages, chicken, or meatballs. Serve over white rice. I use the extra pineapple chunks to make a fruit salad with mandarin oranges and fresh pear, banana or apple (or all 3) to serve as a side.

This makes a quick easy supper.

1 can pineapple chunks, drained and reserve juice in bowl

Add to juice:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp corn starch

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (opt.) , use more or less to taste

Mix well with whisk. Pour over cooked meat, chopped green pepper and pineapple chunks in skillet and cook until thick and bubbly.