Tag: ground beef

Posted in dinner, Electric Pressure Cooker, ground beef, Ingredients, Lunch, Recipes

Instant Pot Tacos

Posted on by traci

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You may noticed I’ve been on a taco kick lately. Youngest and I enjoy our tacos. Now that I’ve figured out the yummiest taco meat, I make it at least once a week.

During my weekly meal prep, I made extra of the taco meat and froze it in my Souper cubes. Yes, I got some of them and absolutely love them. This way the taco meat is ready to go if I want to eat nachos or just don’t feel like cooking.

What do I need for the recipe?

  • ground beef – I know ground beef prices are expensive. Sometimes the family packs are cheaper. Get one of those, double or triple the recipe, and then freeze for later.
  • taco seasoning – Homemade or store bought – My favorite is from a local place.
  • onion, optional – You could also add some diced up bell peppers in the taco meat.
  • salsa or fire roasted salsa style tomatoes – I found fire roasted salsa style tomatoes at my local grocery store. They add a certain flavor to the taco meat. If your store doesn’t have that type of tomatoes substitute salsa.
  • Tortillas – Flour, corn, or hard taco shells – It doesn’t matter.
  • Your favorite toppings: Cilantro, sour cream, lettuce, shredded cabbage, black beans or re-fried beans, jalapenos, tomato, cheese

Other uses for the taco meat

  • Nachos – The meat would be delicious on nachos. Yum!
  • Taco salad – Add some French, Catalina, or ranch dressing on top. Or you could skip the dressing and use salsa instead.
  • Taco fries – Doesn’t that sound delicious? Or is it just me?
  • Walking tacos – Fritos, taco meat, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes.

The Recipe

As always, click on the image for a printable version of the recipe.
Posted in dinner, Gluten Free, ground beef, Ingredients, Mexican, Recipes, Vegetarian

Taco Bake (Gluten-Free)

Posted on by traci

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Youngest and I love eating tacos. This recipe is a combination of tacos and nachos in a casserole. YUM!

You can use up those crushed tortilla chips in your cupboard/pantry for this recipe.

What you need for the recipe:
  • Ground beef
  • Onion
  • Salsa
  • Taco seasoning
  • Tortilla chips
  • Shredded cheese – Mexican blend or cheddar – You can certainly shred your own.
  • Your favorite toppings: jalepenos, cheese, cilantro, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, and tomato
Variations:

Vegetarian option: Instead of ground beef, you can either use meatless ground beef crumbles or black/ pinto beans.

In step 4: You can also add cilantro lime rice or black beans as a layer.

Recipe

Click on the photo to go to a printable recipe card.

Notes:

  • You use half of the taco seasoning in the 2 steps.
  • The layers for the taco bake are ground beef mixture, cheese, and then tortilla chips. In that order
  • It says you can feed 6. Youngest and I only got 4 servings out of the meal.
Posted in Electric Pressure Cooker, ground beef, Ingredients, Recipes

Bramble Beans in the Instant Pot

Posted on by traci
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SIMILAR Recipes

Last week, I put bramble beans on our menu but didn’t have time to meal prep. So when it came time to cook the recipe, I had to change up how I was going to cook the meal. I decided to make it in my Instant Pot instead of the crockpot. It was easy to do.

So what do you serve with the bramble beans?

A simple side dish would be either a salad or frozen/ canned veggies warmed up.

Roasted veggies

Cornbread, biscuits, or rolls – Simple and delicious

Applesauce or baked apples

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Bramble Beans

Stars of the recipe:

  • 2 – 15 oz. cans of pork and beans
  • 1 – 15 oz. can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 lb. hamburger, browned
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 c. ketchup
  • 2 Tbsp. mustard
  • 2 Tbsp. vinegar
  • 4 Tbsp. brown sugar

Steps:

  1. Turn on the Instant Pot to sauté.
  2. Place the hamburger and diced onion in the Instant Pot. Cook until the onion is transparent and the hamburger is no longer pink.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients.
  4. Manual set the Instant Pot to 15 minutes. (Make sure you have the vent is closed.)
  5. Quick release the vent once it is cooked.
  6. Enjoy!

Note: You may need to add about a quarter cup of water since you are using the Instant Pot.

Posted in Family Recipe, ground beef, Ingredients, onions, Pasta, pasta, Recipes

Johnny Marzetti – Updated

Posted on by traci

One of my mom’s favorite meals was Johnny Marzetti. When I was Googling the history of the name of Johnny Marzetti, I noticed a lot of the recipes bake it. The difference with my recipe is that I don’t. My recipe is more of an American goulash.

It was named after a restaurant in Columbus that shut down in 1972 when the owner died.

When I made it this week, I modernized or added some depth to the spaghetti sauce that I used in the dish. I added a splash of dry red wine while the sauce was simmering. So delicious!

It’s a simple pantry item dish. Here’s what you need to make the dish.

  1. ground beef – I know the price for ground beef has increased. I get the frozen ground beef at this current time because it is cheaper.
  2. spaghetti sauce – I used a simple spaghetti sauce from Aldi. Less than a dollar for the jar.
  3. dry red wine – Doesn’t need to be expensive. Or use beef broth for a deeper flavor.
  4. onions
  5. elbow macaroni – Aldi has 3 pound boxes for less than $1.50
  6. shredded cheddar cheese
  7. Spices: Dried oregano and Italian seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste
  8. optional: mushrooms and green peppers

Johnny Marzetti

Stars of the recipe:

  • 1 pound of ground beef
  • 1 small onion, chopped or 1/2 of a medium or large onion, chopped
  • 1 (24 to 26 oz) jar of spaghetti sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. dry red wine or beef broth
  • 1 lb or 2 c. dry elbow macaroni
  • 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
  • Optional: 1/4 c. white or Bella mushroom, chopped
  • Optional: 1/2 green pepper chopped

Steps:

  1. Cook the elbow macaroni according to directions. Drain and set aside.
  2. Brown the ground beef in a medium sized pot on medium heat. Drain and remove from pan. Set aside.
  3. Add the onions, mushroom (if using), and green pepper (if using) to the pan. Add some oil to the pan if needed. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
  4. Add the cooked ground beef, spaghetti sauce, and red wine to the onions. Simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes.
  5. Add the pasta and shredded cheddar cheese to the pot. Stir to combine.
  6. Enjoy with garlic bread and a salad.

You can leave the wine out if don’t want to use wine. I just used it to add some depth to the dish.

Printable Recipe

Stay kind!

Have a magical day,
Traci

Posted in easy, ground beef, Recipes

Lawnmower Tacos

Posted on by traci

The Wee One loves tacos so when I saw this recipe, I decided we needed to try this recipe.  Hubby loved it which is a great thing because he typically only likes Fritos and I used tortilla chips.

It’s called lawnmower tacos because it basically looks like a lawnmower ran over the meal.  It might not look pretty but it tastes delicious.

IMG_0276

Lawnmower Taco

adapted from Life as Mom

Lawnmower TacosDownload

Happy eating,
Traci