Posts Tagged ‘main dishes’

It's been another busy week here at our house. This was the first official week of school and classes started on Wednesday. There's always lots to do and figure out the first couple of weeks before everyone gets settled into the new routine.

Nora is gaining strength and stamina and I think she will be glad to be able to get back to work and start earning money to pay off her medical bills which are beginning to trickle in. We are very thankful for the good progress she has made and for your prayers and well wishes for her recovery.

I cooked some pinto beans in the crockpot earlier this week and used some of them to make these

Easy Beans and Rice

1/2 medium onion, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 lb. kielbasa, sliced
8 oz. tomato sauce
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 cups pinto beans (or one 16 oz. can drained and rinsed)
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (see directions below)
1 bay leaf
thyme, salt, and pepper to taste

Heat oil in skillet. Saute onion, celery, and green pepper for a few minutes. Add the sausage and garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add the spices, broth, tomato sauce, and beans. Simmer for about 10 mins. Add the rice and heat through. Serve with shredded cheese, tortilla chips, and sour cream or plain yogurt. Very tasty and inexpensive. If you like things a bit spicy you could add hot sauce to taste.

My friend Sandy encouraged me to try baking brown rice in the oven. It only takes a few more minutes than on the stove top and doesn't require any stirring or pot watching. Another benefit is that is doesn't boil over! I like to bake a large batch and then freeze portions for future use. The rice reheats quickly in the microwave. Just add a small amount of water when reheating and you will have fluffy hot rice in minutes.

Brown Rice in the Oven

1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 1/2 cups water
2 tsps. oil
1/2 tsp. salt

Place all ingredients in a two quart casserole dish. Bake covered with a lid or foil for 60 minutes. Can double in a 9" x 13" dish. Use immediately or portion out and freeze for later use. I often bake this ahead on Saturday and then just reheat for Sunday dinner.

Becka

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I made stuffed shells on Saturday and realized that it was a recipe I had never posted on my blog. The shells can be made ahead and either refrigerated or frozen. In fact, I think they are actually better when they are made ahead because the filling sort of "sets up" and seems a little firmer after baking. You can freeze the shells in a single layer in a pan or on a tray and then put them in a bag in the freezer and just take out the number you need for a meal.

Here are the filled shells:

Here are the shells right out of the oven:

Stuffed Shells

1 egg
15 oz. cottage cheese (about 2 cups)
1 heaping cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 Tbsp. dried
1/2 tsp. salt
dash white pepper
20 jumbo shells, cooked and then rinsed with cold water
about 3 cups prepared spaghetti sauce

Beat egg lightly. Stir in cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan, parsley, salt, and pepper. Spoon approximately a heaping tablespoonful into each cooked shell. Arrange in a 9" x 13" baking dish. Top with sauce. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 mins. Serves 4-6.

This recipe can easily be doubled. If baking from the refrigerator or freezer you will need to increase the baking time. Store in the refrigerator or freezer without the sauce. Add the sauce and final dusting of parmesan cheese just before baking.

You can also add some cooked spinach to the filling if desired. This makes a tasty meal served with salad and garlic bread. Enjoy!

Becka

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I like to keep a few meals in the freezer for especially busy weeks. These Lasagna Rolls freeze well and are a nice change from regular lasagna. This is also a good recipe for a small family because you can just take out however many rolls that you want at a time.

Here's the recipe:
Noodle Mixture:
8 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded carrot
8-9 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (I put this in a dish cloth and wring it out)
1 egg

Sauce:
1/2 lb. ground beef
26 oz. jar of pasta sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsps. Italian seasoning
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (set aside for later)

Cook the lasagna noodles. Drain and rinse with cool water. Thoroughly drain the spinach.

Combine the cottage cheese, shredded carrot, spinach, and egg. Spread each noodle with about 1/4 cup of the spinach mixture and then roll up.

At this point you can wrap and freeze the rolls or proceed with the recipe.

To prepare the sauce:
Brown the ground beef and garlic. Stir in the sauce and Italian seasoning. Simmer briefly. Place part of the sauce in a baking dish (9" x 13" for full batch.) Place the rolls on top of the sauce with the ruffled edges to the side (just the opposite of how you would place cinnamon rolls in a pan.) Pour the reserved sauce on top of the rolls.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 mins. at 350 degrees or until hot and bubbly. (If cooking from frozen increase baking time to about 45 mins.) Remove foil and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 5 mins. Let stand 5 mins. and serve.

I keep cooked ground beef in the freezer so it makes it easy to put together the sauce and have this in the oven pretty quickly. You could also eliminate the ground beef if you wanted a meatless meal.

Do you have a favorite freezer meal you like to keep on hand?

Becka

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Do you like Sauerkraut? It seems it's one of those foods that you either like or dislike. Rob and I both like it but I don't make it very often for just the two of us. I made some tonight when we had friends over for supper who also like it. I got this recipe nearly 30 years ago from the Detroit Free Press when we lived up in MI. It seems like sauerkraut is a required dish at nearly every social event up there. I think the potatoes and the brown sugar help to temper the "sourness" of the sauerkraut in this dish. It's my favorite way to eat the stuff.

Be sure to use the sauerkraut in the pouch like this in the picture rather than the canned kind.

Stuffed Sauerkraut Casserole
4 oz. bacon, cut into small dice
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tbsps. brown sugar
1 pouch of refrigerated sauerkraut
2 cloves garlic, minced
caraway seeds to taste (optional, but good)
about 6 red potatoes, boiled and sliced about 1/4 " thick
1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced (I use turkey sausage)

In a large skillet brown the bacon. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp. of the bacon grease. Add the onion and brown sugar and cook until golden brown. Add kraut, garlic, and caraway.
In a large greased casserole or Crockpot alternately layer kraut, potatoes, and meat. Repeat layers.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 mins. or in Crockpot on low for 3-4 hours. Makes 8-10 servings.

I always have trouble deciding what to serve with sauerkraut. This time I served applesauce and biscuits.

What side dishes do you serve when you make sauerkraut?

Becka

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Many years ago one of my DH's students who was from Wisconsin gave us his mother's recipe for Bierocks. He told us these were very popular up there and they even served them in his school cafeteria. We tried it and have enjoyed these often. Bierocks are basically a turnover with a filling made from ground beef and cabbage.

Here is the basic recipe:
One batch pizza dough (see previous pizza post)
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cups chopped or shredded cabbage (my daughter, Megan, uses coleslaw mix with good results)
1/4 cup finely chopped or shredded carrot (optional)
salt, peppper, and garlic powder to taste

Cook the ground beef until it is nearly done. Add the onion and cook until transparent and the meat is no longer pink. Drain well. Add the cabbage and carrot, cover and cook until vegetables are wilted and fairly tender. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I often cook the meat and cabbage the day before I want to make the bierocks. This filling must be cool before you put it in the dough. So, plan ahead.

When you want to make the bierocks make the pizza dough and divide it into 8-10 pieces. Roll each piece into a circle with a rolling pin. The circles should be about as large as a dessert plate.

Place some of the filling on one half of the dough and then fold the dough over the filling, stretching if necessary to cover the filling. Seal the edges with a little gizmo like this if you have one, or you can use a fork or just crimp the edges with your fingertips. If you have leftover filling you can freeze it and put it in your next batch of vegetable soup.

Place the bierocks on a greased baking sheet and brush them with a little oil. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 mins. Serve with cheese sauce or catsup. These freeze well if you don't eat them all right away.

Here's a basic cheese sauce recipe:
2 Tbsps. margarine or butter
2 Tbsps. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cubed or shredded cheese
Melt margarine in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and salt and cook for about one minute. Stir in the milk and cook until mixture comes to a boil, stirring frequently. Add cheese and continue cooking until cheese is melted.

Have you ever heard of bierocks? I hope you will give them a try.

Becka

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