Sloppy Joe's

I do not know too many people that love sloppy joe's, and I always used to cringe when I saw sloppy joe's on the menu during elementary school- but that was because they were not my mom's sloppy joe's! I could eat them all day long- and I think you would agree! And the best part...it is under 30 minutes to make. :)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can of Chicken Gumbo Soup
• 1 can of water
• 1 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 Tbsp mustard

 Directions:

1. Chop medium onion.

2. Heat a skillet on high and add ground beef. Season to taste (salt, pepper, garlic salt or powder). Cook until brown and drain.

3. Add onions and mix. Continue cooking on high for approximately 3 minutes.

4. Add the chicken gumbo soup. Also fill the soup cup with water and add to the mixture. Mix well.

5. Add ketchup and mustard and mix well. Lower temperature to medium/low and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes.

6. Toast hamburger buns in toaster and top with sloppy joe mixture. Enjoy!

Simple Salisbury Steak

Simple Salisbury Steak

Anything under 5 ingredients is a great dinner in my books! This one is so easy to throw together after a long day at work- and it is likely you will always have the ingredients on hand. The flavor of the meat is delicious and it makes for a yummy leftover as well!

  
Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 medium yellow onions
• 2 packets brown gravy
• Heavy cream or half and half (OPTIONAL)

• Seasonings- Salt, pepper, garlic salt, basil leaves

1. Form ground beef into thick, oblong shaped patties.

2. Add patties to a deep pan and season both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. (If you do not have garlic salt, you can substitute garlic powder and add a little extra salt.)
Cook on high, browning both sides of the patties.

3. Thinly slice the yellow onions into rings and separate.

4. In a saucepan, cook gravy per the packets instructions- usually one cup of water per packet. We also added 1 to 2 Tablespoons of heavy cream to thicken the gravy.

5. When meat is mostly cooked through, go ahead and add the onions to the pan. Cook on high about 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

6.  Turn to medium/low heat and add the gravy sauce- mix together.

7. Turn to very low heat, and add some basil leaves to the mixture. Cover pan and simmer for 15 minutes.

This meal is delicious when served with mashed potatoes! Enjoy!!

Crockpot Spaghetti

This is the only spaghetti sauce I actually like- you will never eat canned spaghetti sauce again! And it is super easy- just cook up a few ingredients in a saucepan, dump it into the crockpot, and cook up some noodles when it's time for dinner. 

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• Half of a chopped medium yellow onion
• 1 pound ground beef
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 pkg. McCormick Italian Style Dry Spaghetti Mix (Has to be this kind!)
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) petite diced peeled tomatoes
• 1 can (4 oz.) mushrooms
• 4 bay leaves
• Salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste
• Italian seasoning (Thyme, oregano, rosemary)
  

1. Heat a skillet to medium/high- add olive oil and saute chopped onion for a couple minutes. Add in ground beef. Season to your liking (salt, pepper, garlic salt). Drain.

2. Grate in the garlic cloves.

3. Add McCormick dry mix seasoning, and 1 Tbsp of butter.

4. Add tomato sauce, peeled/diced tomatoes, and mushrooms. Mix together.

5. Add about a Tbsp. of Italian Seasoning mix (a blend of thyme, oregano, rosemary, etc.) Pour mixture into crockpot.

6. Add 4 bay leaves to mixture. You can also add vegetables to the mixture- we added a handful of spinach. Cook on low for 3-6 hours.

7. Remember to remove the bay leaves before eating.

8. When cooking the noodles, take 1/3 cup of the water and add to the spaghetti sauce- this helps the sauce stick to the noodles.

9. Serve up spaghetti with some Parmesan or Mizithra cheese and enjoy!