Ina Garten's Ribs

Moist, fall-off-the-bone ribs smothered in a thick and sticky barbecue sauce. The mesquite chili flavor of the sauce has the perfect amount of spicy undertones. Did I mention that these ribs are made in a slow cooker? Fix it and forget it, baby.

Ree Drummond's Lasagna

I've always loved lasagna, but until now I had never really found a recipe that I loved making. You see, some lasagna recipes are very high maintenance. They require a lot of work and a lot if time and that is just not my thing.

This recipes takes a little bit of time (mostly just waiting time), but not a lot of work. It's also very tasty. Probably my favorite part about this recipe is that it calls for Kraft parmesan cheese--- you know, the powdery white stuff that comes in a green plastic container. Normally I don't really like that stuff, I usually use fresh parm, but the powdery kraft cheese just really works for me in this instance. YUMMO.

Thanks to Ree Drummond {The Pioneer Woman} I've found my go-to lasagna recipe. Oh yeaaaaaah, and we even made some with horizontally sliced zucchini instead of noodles. It was also oober delish.

The Best Lasagna. Ever.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 pound hot breakfast sausage *the ground kind, not in casing

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained

2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

4 tablespoons dried parsley, divided

2 tablespoons dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

1 (24 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese- about 3 cups

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup Kraft grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling on top

18 slices mozzarella cheese *found in any grocery store by the pre-packaged sliced sandwich cheeses

12 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

Brown ground beef, sausage, and garlic together in a large pan. Once the meat is cooked drain off half of the fat. Then add in the whole tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, and the salt. Stir in the fresh ground black pepper to taste. Simmer mixture on medium low heat for 45 minutes (it does make a difference). Stir occasionally.

While you are waitin' for the sauce to finish simmering, cook and drain your noodles if you haven't already. This is also a good time to grab a small bowl and mix the cottage cheese, eggs, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley together. Set aside.

Once the sauce is ready, it's time to assemble the lasagna. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Lay four lasagna noodles in the bottom of the pan. I do three lengthwise right next to each other and one horizontally at the top. Spread 1/3 of the cottage cheese mixture over these noodles. Lay 6 slices of the mozzarella cheese over the cottage cheese. Top this layer with 1/3 of the meaty sauce. Repeat two more times ending with the last third of meat sauce.

Sprinkle a generous amount of Kraft parmesan cheese over the top of the lasagna. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the edges are bubbly.

According to Ree you can make this up to two days ahead of time and refrigerate it until you are ready to bake it. It also freezes well. I recommend visiting her post on this lasagna because she has step by step photos on how to make it!

Recipe Yield: 12 servings
Recipe Source: The Pioneer Woman; Ree Drummond

Mini Mexican Pizzas

I'm experiencing some pretty severe writer's block right now. Also, it is almost midnight (since I write these posts the night before they go live) and I have been cleaning my house for the past three hours.

What I am trying to say is I'm tired right now and to be honest there aren't many words I could use that would do these little pizzas justice. They are wonderful and addicting. I could have eaten all twelve, but I had to share them with my husband. Bummer.

These are my new favorite appetizer. P.S. They'd be perfect for football parties.

Mini Mexican Pizzas

3-4 large whole wheat tortillas

1 cup lean ground beef, cooked

1/2 cup refried beans (homemade or store bought)

1/2 cup salsa (homemade or store bought)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded cheese, I used half monterey jack/half cheddar

1 small can sliced black olives 

optional toppings: shredded lettuce, sour cream, salsa, diced tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Using a 3-4" round cookie cutter, the top of a drinking glass, or the top of an empty metal can, cut twelve circles out of the tortillas.

Spray a 12-count muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Press each tortilla circle into a muffin tin using your fingers.

Mix together cooked ground beef, refried beans, salsa, chili powder, cumin and salt together in a bowl. Scoop 2 tablespoons of filling on top of each tortilla round in the muffin pan. Sprinkle cheese over each mini pizza. Place olives on top of cheese.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are crispy. Remove from oven. Using a table knife loosen the edges of each pizza from the pan and scoop them out with a fork. Serve immediately with desired toppings.

Recipe Source: The Taste Tester, adapted from Dashing Dish

Shared here: Pin Me Fridays @ Diana Rambles

Big Batch Chili

We are going to keep it super sweet and simple today. Saying that I have a million things to do would be the understatement of the century, big time. So here it goes.

I have an awesome chili recipe for you today and a recipe for the best cornbread I have ever eaten. The chili recipe makes a freaking ginormous batch. We froze three quart size bags, had enough to eat two very-full-bowls each (that's four bowls total), and had enough leftover to make these chili cheese dogs.

In short, this recipe title is not lying. It is a huge huge huge batch of chili. It is easy to make ahead of time because 95% of the work is done by your crock pot. It also freezes well, a double make ahead bonus.

Sloppy Joes

I love sloppy joes, but I only eat them probably once a year. David, on the other hand, hates sloppy joes and would probably be very happy if he never had to eat them. I got a random craving for them this week, and so I decided that I would try to convert him. It turns out that he did actually like these. I am not sure what made the difference, except that I am his wife. But I also know that he is honest with me when it comes to cooking.
He told me the reason why he has never liked sloppy joes before is because the meat is too sweet, and that this recipe did not taste overly sweet to him. So, I would say that this recipe is a success. Secretly, I served tater tots on the side, because I knew he would give me an honest opinion if I did.

Sloppy Joes

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup barbecue sauce

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp prepared mustard

2 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 small onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 lb ground beef

Mix ketchup, barbecue sauce, worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, salt, and pepper together in a liquid measuring cup.  Set aside. Brown ground beef with onion, garlic, and green pepper in saucepan over medium high heat. Once meat is cooked through, add the sauce mixture. Cover, turn heat to low, and cook stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Serve on hamburger bun. Feeds 6.

recipe source: A Taste Tester Original

Smokey Crock Pot Chili

I have played around with multiple chili recipes of my own throughout the past few years of my life. This is by far the best chili that I have ever made or eaten. I kid you not. It will be the best chili you ever eat too. It makes great leftovers and freezes well. The unique smokey flavor is what makes this chili amazing. It is great on baked potatoes, chili dogs, frito pies and/or any other recipe you'd use chili in. Plus the crock pot does most of the work for you, so I'd say this recipe is a winner. I urge you to make this chili. You will be pleasantly surprised and pleased with the outcome.

Smokey Crock Pot Chili

1/2 medium onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
3 slices bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 (15 oz) cans crushed tomatoes in puree
2 (10 oz) cans rotel tomatoes*
2 (15 oz) cans can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp chili powder**
2 tsp. cumin**
1 tsp. salt**
1/2 Tbsp. liquid smoke (or more if you'd like)***

Brown ground beef with onion, garlic, and bacon. Immediately transfer to crockpot, draining fat from meat as you scoop it into the crockpot (this is very important unless you want a lot of fat swimming on top of your chili). Add remaining ingredients and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Makes 8 (1 Cup) servings. Top individual servings with sour cream and cheese.

Recipe Source: A Taste Tester Original

Serve with a big garden salad.

EASY DINNER IDEAS FOR LEFTOVER CHILI

#1 Potato Bar
Wash one potato per person. Wrap in foil and place in large crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4. Reheat Chili and serve over crock-pot baked potatoes with your favorite toppings. (We like green onions, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese).

#2 Chili Dogs
Cook hotdogs and toast hot dog buns. Reheat chili. Serve chili over hot dogs in buns. Top with other favorite toppings (we like diced onion and cheddar cheese).

#3 Frito Pies
Cut miniature bags of Fritos open. Reheat extra chili. Spoon desired amount of chili into bags and top with favorite toppings (we like grated cheese, sour cream, green onions, pico de gallo, and shredded lettuce).

The Best Sunday Dinner

Confession. When I was typing the title of this blog I accidentally typed "The Best Sunday Sinner"... haha. I guess my finger slipped and hit the 's' instead of the 'd'. But hey, it is the best sunday dinner, even for sinners.
We had some people over for dinner on Sunday night. I had seen this recipe floating around on pinterest for a while now, and we had most of the ingredients on hand so I decided to give it a go. It was delicious.

3 Packet Pot Roast

1 (3 lb) roast
1 beef a jus seasoning packet
1 italian dressing seasoning packet
1 onion soup mix packet
5 medium potatoes, cut into thirds
1 lb baby carrots
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup water

Put all ingredients in a crock pot, and cook on low for 6-8 hours (depending on if your roast was thawed or frozen).

I made a simple gravy with the drippings from the crock pot and a slurry made with cornstarch and cold water.

Recipe Source: Several sources found on pinterest