Shepherds Pie

I got this recipe over ten years ago from the mother of one of this kids I used to watch. It's one of my favorite because if you just change a few things (soup, cheese, potatoes) it can be a whole different meal!!

2 lbs ground beef

1 can cream of celery soup

1 package frozen corn

1 package mashed potatoes (sour cream and chives works well)

1 bag shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350, brown ground beef and drain. Add cream of celery soup and mix together. Make mashed potatoes according to package directions. Take 9x13 pan and layer ingredients, meat mixture, corn, mashed potatoes and cheese. Place in oven and cook 25-30 minutes. 

We always eat off this dish twice. A little side note, the recipe says to put the mashed potatoes on top of the corn, I know that's how shepherds pie is supposed to be but I think it's hard to spread the mashed potatoes over corn so I put the mashed potatoes on top of the meat and then add the corn and cheese. BOTH ways work so just layer how you want :)

Also as I said in the beginning it's so easy to change a few things to make a different dish. Use cream of cheese soup and taco seasoning for a Mexican spin. Try using tomato soup and mozzarella cheese for an Italian taste. Play around and I bet you will find something you love!

Breakfast Casserole

Thanks to my cousin Monica for sending me this recipe!

1 pound package of Purnell's smoked breakfast sausage

about 3 cups shredded potatoes (frozen and thawed)
1 package cream cheese softened
1 can cream of whatever soup
a bag of velveeta crumbles
1 cup of French's fried onions
kosher salt
cracked pepper
garlic powder
diced medium sweet (or yellow or white) onion

preheat oven to 375
brown and drain the breakfast sausage, add in the shredded potatoes and diced onion, and stir around browning for about 5 minutes. Spray a casserole or baking dish with PAM (or spray of your choice). When potato, sausage, onion mixture is brownish, stir in the rest of the ingredients reserving French's fried onion fort the top. Bake covered about 25 minutes...remove top and let fried onion brown if needed.

Cheesy Ranch and Bacon Burger Pasta

I love Hamburger Helper and even the new Velveeta Helpers but I feel like it's not a lot and I always want to add more to it. So I created my own and it turned out WAY better with leftovers, which is like gold in my house!

1 lbs ground beef
16 oz Velveeta queso blanco
1 lbs box of pasta (I used rotini but you could use shells or bow tie)
1 can of corn
1 pkg of ranch seasoning mix
1.5 ounces of bacon bits
hamburger seasoning (I used McCormick's)
milk

Make pasta based on the boxes directions. While the pasta is cooking brown ground beef, adding the hamburger seasoning as it cooks. Once the ground beef is done drain off any fat, add corn, bacon bits and ranch seasoning, set aside. Once pasta is done, drain and leave in strainer. Using the same pot add the velveeta (chunked into pieces) to the pot, as it melts add milk to desired thickness. Add pasta and stir to coat then add the meat mixture, stirring again. Eat and enjoy!!

This feed 3 of us twice, which is always wonderful :):)

Ham and Potato Soup

This was lots of fun to make and turned out really well. It was even BETTER next day!

1 1/2 lbs ham
6 medium potatoes
2 cans of chicken broth
2 cans of cream of celery soup
1 can of corn (leave in the juice)
1 can cream of corn
1 pkg shredded colby jack cheese
3 tbs butter
3 tbs flour
milk

Cut ham and potatoes into bite size chunks, add to crock pot. In a separate mixing bowl add chicken broth, soup and both cans of corn. Mix well then add to the crockpot. In a small saucepan melt butter, add flour to create a roux, add milk to desired thickness then add to crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours, half hour before it's done add the bag of shredded colby jack. ENJOY!

This feed my husband, daughter and myself 3 times so it's great for leftovers or to feed LOTS of people :)

First things first

I love to share recipes so I thought it would be fun to put together a blog of stuff I 'threw together' with what I just happened to have on hand or only having to buy just a few things. One thing I want to say is that I don't measure seasonings, I kind of just add to taste. So if you are trying one of my dishes just add a little at a time! I hope you enjoy and keep in mind that if you want to tweak the recipe go for it! Make it healthier with a lighter cut of meat, use low fat or fat free ingredients, add more veggies, add less veggies. Make it your own, that's half the fun!