Studio711.com – Ben Martens

The in-laws got me a Dutch oven stand for my birthday and I was excited to give it a shot. The problem is that in my condo, the only place I have to do this is on the deck. Charcoal fires are against the rules but I thought I could get away with it… until I lit the charcoal and realized that that whole complex was going to smell like a campfire and the smoke from my balcony was a dead giveaway. I doused the flames and made dinner on the stove in a regular pot. I do think this would make a good Dutch oven recipe and you can find all the details on this website.

Even though I had to give up my Dutch oven dreaming for the day, it turned out delicious anyway!

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 large yellow onion; diced
• 1 large green bell pepper; diced
• 2 cloves garlic; minced
• 1 1/2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms; sliced
• 3 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup olives; sliced
• 2 cans tomato soup
• 2 1/2 soup cans water
• 2 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. salt
• 12 oz. bag pasta shells

Brown ground beef using 2 Tbs. olive oil in large pot. When beef has been browned, drain and then add onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, and garlic. Saute until vegetables are tender. Add corn, olives, tomato soup, hot water, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt. Stir to mix well. Bring contents to a boil then stir in pasta shells.

Place lid on pot and cook for 25 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over top and cook for an additional 10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serves: 6-8

I served it with some pumpkin bread that I made earlier in the day. Whip cream always tastes good on that, and it tastes even better when you make a design with the whip cream.

Mom sent me this recipe from Taste of Home. It’s a slow cooker soup recipe and it’s delicious!

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 envelope reduced-sodium taco seasoning
• 1 can (32 ounces) V8 juice
• 1 jar (16 ounces) salsa
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn, thawed
• 6 tablespoons reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 6 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

In a large nonstick skillet, sauté chicken in oil until no longer pink. Add water and taco seasoning; simmer, uncovered, until chicken is well coated. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Stir in the V8 juice, salsa, beans and corn. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through. Serve with cheese, sour cream and cilantro. Yield: 6 servings.

We left the beans out and increased the corn and chicken. I was a bit leery about the V8 but it all turned out delicious!

What is in those magic packets of taco seasoning that you get in the store? It’s probably stuff that you already have in your spice cabinet. I’ve started making my own and I love it because I can tweak the balance to be just what I want. I make up enough for three or four times and keep it in the cabinet. Here’s the basic recipe but you should adjust it to your liking.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

via AllRecipes.com

The slow cooker hasn’t been out of the cupboard for a while, but for some reason, cooler weather makes me want to fire it up. I found a recipe for beef stroganoff and decided to give it a shot. One of the reasons I love the slow cooker is because you simply dump everything in and wait for it to finish. This recipe turned out to be a bit more work than that but it was pretty good. This one is from the Taste of Home magazine.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs beef top sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 envelope (1.5 oz) beef stroganoff seasoning for the slow cooker
• 1 lb sliced baby Portobello mushrooms (that seemed like a lot so I only used have and it seemed about right to us)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 cup port wine or beef broth
• 2 tsp. ground mustard
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1.5 cups (12oz) sour cream
• Hot cooked egg noodles
• Minced fresh parsley, optional

In a large skillet, brown meet in oil. Add water and seasoning mix, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Transfer meat and drippings to a 3-qt slow cooker.

In the same skillet, sauté mushrooms and onion in butter until tender. Combine the wine, mustard and sugar; stir into the mushroom mixture. Add to slow cooker; stir to combine.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. Stir in sour cream. Serve with noodles. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.

I whipped up some Mexican Lasagna a few nights ago and it was fantastic! I’ve made similar dishes before, but this time, the flour tortillas were really moist and almost had the texture of normal lasagna noodles. This recipe comes from the Taste of Home magazine.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 can (14-1/2 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained (I ran them through the food processor)
• 1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
• 1 to 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 egg beaten
• 1-1/2 cups (12 oz)  4% cottage cheese
• 3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 8 flour tortillas (8 in) cut in half
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, enchilada sauce and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine egg and cottage cheese; set aside. Spread a third of the meat sauce into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Layer with half of the cheese blend, tortillas, cottage cheese mixture and remaining meat sauce. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.