Taco Soup

I have joined a "freezer cooking" group. This last month we had 4 people in our group but next month it has been increased to 6 people. This means we make 1 meal for the number of people in our group. So, I had to make 4 of the same meals and freeze them. Then, I take 3 of them to our get together and I get 3 other freezer meals to feed the family. Since we had 1 drop out of our group, I took my meal and I got 2 other meals today: chicken and noodles and chicken manicotti. I can't wait to try them! Well, I decided to make Taco Soup. I had a couple of different recipes, but after talking to my sister, Jill, I decided to use hers. We had it today and it is SUPER good!! I will definitely make this again! So, thanks Jill! Here's the recipe:

Taco Soup
by Jill Nelson


1 lb cooked ground beef
1 cup grated or matchstick carrots (these cook faster than sliced carrots)
2 cans cream of potato soup
1 can beef broth
1 pkg taco seasoning
2 cans beans, drained (Jill uses pinto and I used 1 pinto & 1 kidney)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1-2 cans corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 cans water if necessary


Mix all ingredients together and simmer for 30 minutes. Top with grated cheese and serve with tortilla chips.

Glazed Mini Meatloaves

I saw this recipe on my friend Stacy's food blog. She originally found it on My Kitchen Cafe. I really haven't been a fan of meatloaf. I decided to try this last night and my family loved it. I will definitely make this again. The only thing different that I would do is double the glaze. The glaze is really good and I think I will make more for the leftovers. I did make a little more than the recipe since we have 6 people in the family. If I don't want leftovers, I will make the recipe. If Gary eats the rest of them, then next time I'll do like I did this time.

Glazed Mini Meatloaves
found on My Kitchen Cafe
adapted from The Best 30-Minute Recipes
Recipe makes 4-5 mini meatloaves


Meatloaves:
17-20 saltine crackers, crushed fine
1/4 cup whole milk (I used 2% because I didn't want to buy whole for this recipe)
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley (I used 3 Tbsp of dried)
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 lbs ground meat
2 tsp oil


Glaze: (I will double the next time)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tsp cider vinegar (I used white wine vinegar - thought I had the cider but didn't)


Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Stir cracker crumbs, milk, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, egg, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Add ground meat and combine until uniform. Shape mixture into oval loaves. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until the oil is rippling. Add meatloaves (without letting them touch sides) and brown well on one side, 3-5 minutes. Carefully flip loaves over and tidy up the edges using a spatula (I didn't need to do this - mine held their shape). Brown on this side for another 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, mix glaze ingredients together until smooth. Transfer mini meatloaves to a foil-lined baking pan and spoon the glaze over the top of each meatloaf. Bake for 18-20 minutes (mine took about 30 minutes since I had more on the pan) or until the center of the loaf registers 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer (or cut one open and see if it's done). Enjoy!

Oven Baked Pasta

I found this recipe on the blog My Kitchen Cafe. I changed a few things to make it more enjoyable for my family. (I added ground beef and used more cheese.) The family loved it and a few of them even got up to get seconds. That's always a plus!

Oven Baked Pasta (Originally Baked Ziti)
by My Kitchen Cafe adapted from Cook's Illustrated

1 lb ground meat
16 oz cottage cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
1 lb pasta (preferably ziti or penne; I used bowtie since it's all I had)
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves, finely minced (about 5 teaspoons)
1 (28-oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5-oz) can crushed tomatoes (my kids don't like chunks!)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil (if fresh is used, add it to the sauce at the end after it's taken off the heat)
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream (if you substitute it with whole milk, increase the cornstarch to 2 teaspoons and the cooking time by 1 to 2 minutes)
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated or cut into 1/4-inch cubes (my family likes cheese so I added more)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, brown the ground meat; remove meat from pan. In a medium bowl, whisk the cottage cheese, eggs and 1 cup of the parmesan cheese together; set aside. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot over high heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook, stirring occasionally until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through (the pasta will finish cooking in the oven.) Drain pasta and leave in colander. Do not wash the pot.

While the pasta is cooking, heat oil and garlic, in the skillet used to brown the meat, over medium heat until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, basil and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Take it off the heat (this is where you would add the fresh basil) and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the browned ground meat.

Stir cornstarch into heavy cream and transfer mixture to the now empty pasta pot. Set the pot over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pot from heat and add cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup tomato sauce mixture, and 3/4 cup mozzarella, then stir to combine. Add pasta and stir to coat thoroughly with sauce.

Transfer mixture to a 9x13-inch baking dish and spread remaining tomato sauce evenly over pasta. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses over the top. Cover the baking dish with foil that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove foil and continue to cook until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 10 minutes. Serve.