Food Fun Family

Family-Favorite Ground Beef Recipes – Delicious Dishes Recipe Party #154

Lolli — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 15:40:29 +0000

We’ve had a brief spring “preview” here in Maryland, and I’m eager and excited for the weather to warm up more permanently.

But more than anything else, I’m eager for our house renovations to be done so that I can get back to cooking regularly. I’m hoping that this long break from cooking and doing dishes will make me appreciate the ability to cook even more!

This week, my fellow Delicious Dishes hostesses and I decided to feature recipes using ground beef. Ground beef is one of the easiest and most versatile starting points for dinner, and I almost always have some ground beef on hand. What about you?

Welcome to Delicious Dishes Recipe Party! In case you’re new to the party, here’s what you need to know:

Delicious Dishes is a weekly link party where bloggers can share their most delicious recipes while checking out the amazing recipes that other bloggers are sharing.

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: Chocolate Chip Bars from a Cake Mix from Walking on Sunshine Recipes

#2: Retro Salmon Patties from Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

#3: Easy and Delicious Fish Tacos from Joyful Homemaking

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved Taco Stuffed Avocados from Crystal and Comp

Lois loved Cowboy Burger Recipe from Mommy Evolution

Brett loved Homemade Sloppy Joes from Cincy Shopper

Keri Lyn loved Beef and Spinach Pasta from Joyful Homemaking
Most Clicks:

Emily loved Slow Cooker Taco Soup from Mommy Hates Cooking

Mary loved Gluten Free Sweet and Tangy Meatballs from Mommy Hates Cooking

Follow us along on our Pinterest board. We pin a ton of recipes that are shared to our linky party each week. So get your recipes ready. We can’t wait to see what’s cooking in your kitchen this week.

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up

Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup

Lolli — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 12:00:54 +0000

I got my Instant Pot a few months ago when Instant Pots went on super sale on Amazon (I’m guessing you heard about the rush of Instant Pot sales like I did).

I had never used a pressure cooker before, but I was intrigued after seeing an infomercial while eating out at a restaurant with my friend in Colorado a couple of summers ago. It was one of those infomercials that made an electric pressure cooker look like a magic-worker. They’d throw something in the pot, cook for a few minutes, and pull out perfectly cooked meats and vegetables.

I had a hard time believing that what I saw on that infomercial was really possible. But when I saw an Instant Pot on super sale, I decided to give it a try. (PS – I’m linking to the Instant Pot I bought on Amazon, and I highly recommend that you keep an eye on it in case it goes on sale again before the holidays. Or just put it on your holiday wish list for someone to buy for you!).

Guess what? It really does work magic with food! After trying it for the first time, I was completely hooked, and I’ve been using my Instant Pot at least weekly (and often more than once a week) since then. I’m now making the best stews and roasts I’ve ever made, and any time I need to make dinner in 30 minutes, I turn to my Instant Pot for something quick and delicious.

And that’s where this soup comes in.

I had stocked up on ground beef and wanted to make something unique for dinner. I love making soups during the fall and winter, but SOUP is not the first thing I think of when I’m planning on using ground beef. I found a hamburger soup recipe from Pioneer Woman and modified the ingredients as well as the directions to make it Instant Pot-friendly. It was a hit with the whole family, and I was especially happy to have perfectly-cooked vegetables in less than 30 minutes.

Here’s how to make it:

Yum

Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup

Ingredients

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, with liquid
3 cups beef broth
4 carrots, sliced into round disks
3 stalks of celery, sliced or diced
3-4 medium-large potatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp ground oregano

Instructions

Turn Instant Pot on SAUTE; add ground beef, onion, and garlic and saute until beef is cooked through. Drain off as much of the oil as possible.
Add can of stewed tomatoes with liquid, breaking up the tomatoes into small pieces. Stir in beef broth, diced vegetables, tomato paste, and seasonings.
Place lid on the Instant Pot and close the vent (seal). Press the manual button and set the time for 4 minutes. Once the timer beeps, press cancel and turn the valve from seal to vent to release the pressure. Once all of the pressure has released and the silver valve has dropped, remove the lid.
Enjoy your soup!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

https://foodfunfamily.com/instant-pot-vegetable-beef-soup/

This soup can be cooked in a stock pot if you don’t have a pressure cooker. Just allow the soup to simmer until the vegetables are tender.

Do you have an Instant Pot? I’d love to hear about your favorite recipes to cook in the Instant Pot in the comments below!

Meatloaf Muffins with Ranch Style Mashed Potatoes

Lolli — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 15:13:06 +0000

I am excited to feature a guest post recipe from a fellow blogger today as I get ready to head out of town for my daughter’s wedding. Please show her some love!

Mariah is a full time children’s photographer and the owner of “Spaghetti and Mashed Potatoes”, a food blog about eating healthy and unprocessed foods without crazy ingredients, and doing it all on the average person’s income. Eating healthy and avoiding chemicals and additives does not have to be complicated or expensive, see how she does it here: spaghettiandmashedpotatoes.com

Meatloaf Muffins | Two Recipes in One!

An old classic: Meatloaf. Mom’s signature dish. Either you like it or you don’t (I, for one, love it!). Which is odd since I am not a fan of eating a lot of meat all at once. But the meat with the mashed potatoes in these recipes mixes it up just enough to make it one of our favorites!

This is also a very easy dump, mix and bake type recipe. There are no difficult steps, or weird things that you’ll have to spend tons of money on. Just simple wholesome ingredients!

For the meatloaf, I would recommend grass-fed organic beef, or at least a low fat content variety. Since you will be baking it, the fat won’t be drained out, so a low fat content will help with not having a lot of excess fat with your meal.

You can eat the meatloaf muffins as is, (with some optional ketchup on top per the comfort food rule!) or add the mashed potato topping, which you can whip up before your meatloaf is done in the oven.

The mashed potatoes can be made with any kind of potatoes, even sweet potatoes would work! I used large reds for this recipe.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Meatloaf Muffins with Ranch Style Mashed Potatoes

Author: Lolli

Serves: 12

Ingredients

Meatloaf

1 lb Ground Beef
½ Cup Whole Grain Rolled Oats
1 Egg
½ Tsp Pepper
1 Tsp Salt
½ Cup Diced Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic minced, or an equal amount of store bought minced garlic.
¼ Cup Ketchup
¼ Cup Milk

Ranch Style Mashed Potatoes

5 Medium Potatoes
¼ tsp Parsley
¼ tsp Dill
¼ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Pepper
¼ tsp Garlic Powder
¼ tsp Onion Powder
⅓ Cup Buttermilk

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix with your hands or a stand mixer. Be sure to get everything incorporated well.
Grease a cupcake pan, or place silicone cupcake liners in one. (I swear by silicone and it works exceptionally well with meat, it won’t stick!)
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for one hour. Be sure to cut one open before calling it done to be sure it’s cooked all the way through to your liking.

Ranch Style Mashed Potatoes

Put a pot of water on the stove the appropriate size for your potatoes to cook in. Let it heat up while you do step number two.
Peel and chop your potatoes, you can leave the peel on, but be sure to clean them well if you do.
Once the water is boiling add in the potatoes and cook them until they are tender, about 20 minutes.
Strain the potatoes, and put them into a stand mixer or a bowl to use a hand mixer with.
Add in the spices and buttermilk and mix well. They should fluff up a bit.
I used an ice-cream scoop to put the mashed potatoes on the meatloaf muffins, but you can use a spoon, or simply just eat them together.

Notes

For the Ketchup, since I have tried and just dislike making my own ketchup a lot, I use Hunts brand. There are no corn syrups, just a few ingredients, and it’s affordable. Even when you make ketchup at home you add sugar, it just doesn’t taste right without it!
I used whole milk, but any milk will work, including almond or soy!
An optional ingredient would be cheese, just mix it in with the rest of it before putting it into the muffin cups.

Note: The amount that this makes will vary by the amount of potatoes and the size that you use. It also depends on how much your family likes potatoes, more might be better for those who love their potatoes!

Crockpot Barbacoa Tacos With Fresh Pico de Gallo

Lolli — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 05:00:19 +0000

How often do you scroll through Pinterest, finding gorgeous photos of food that you want to make someday….but those recipes end up remaining “stuck” on Pinterest, never to make an appearance in your kitchen?

I have so many recipes that I want to make, thanks to Pinterest, but I tend to stick with a lot of the old favorites that I’ve been making for ages. I’ve committed to trying more of the recipes I find on Pinterest – and of course, when I find a new recipe that my family loves, I love to share it here!

I hesitated to feature this particular pin for Barbacoa for this month’s #PinterestRemakes simply because the original author, Gimme Some Oven, is one of my most-admired food bloggers. Her images are gorgeous and, frankly, her recipe did not need any improvement. But, as luck would have it (you can call it good luck or bad luck, depending on how you look at it), I was missing a few of the key ingredients for her recipe, but had enough of them to justify making it anyway.

The first ingredient that we were missing was chipotles in adobo sauce. But….I had a jar of adobo sauce in the fridge AND some dried chipotles in my cupboard. I figured that the dried chipotles would soften up during the 6-8 hours of slow cooking. I wasn’t missing the can of chopped green chiles, but I had some frozen, chopped hatch chiles and love to use them whenever I can. Hatch chiles are hard to find fresh (they have a short “in-season” time) but I almost always have some on hand in the freezer.

And the third “change” that I made to the recipe was to add the pico de gallo, which is one of my favorite things to add to a shredded meat taco. Pico de gallo is such a fresh taste, and it always enhances the flavors of meat for me.

The tacos were a hit with the entire family and we’re definitely making it again!

Slow Cooker Barbacoa Tacos with Fresh Pico de Gallo

5.0 from 2 reviews

Crockpot Barbacoa Tacos With Fresh Pico de Gallo #PinterestRemakes

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

8 hours

Total time

8 hours 10 mins

The flavors in this slow-cooked barbacoa combine perfectly with the cool, fresh taste of homemade pico de gallo.

Author: Lolli

Ingredients

BARBACOA

3 pounds chuck roast, cut into medium chunks (bigger than bite-sized)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 dried chipotle peppers, chopped
¼ cup adobo sauce
⅓ cup chopped hatch chiles OR 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 cup white onion, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ cup beef broth

PICO DE GALLO

4 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 medium white onion, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (or to taste)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Combine all barbacoa ingredients (chuck roast through beef broth) in slow cooker and toss lightly. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4 (I highly recommend planning ahead and cooking on low - the results are worth it!).
While barbacoa is cooking, prepare the pico de gallo by adding chopped tomatoes, onion, cilantro, garlic, lime, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Toss gently and refrigerate, covered, til ready to serve. I recommend preparing the pico at the beginning of the barbacoa cooking time to allow the flavors to combine.
When meat is finished cooking, shred with 2 forks (mine was so tender that I this step was very easy). Remove bay leaves and discard. Return shredded beef to crock pot with juices and turn heat to high for about 10-15 minutes.
Serve barbacoa in a soft tortilla shell with hot rice, pico de gallo, and any other toppings that suit your taste: cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

For more Pinterest Remakes, visit a few of my favorite blogs (I love the variety this month!):

Overnight Oats Recipe with Yogurt by Confessions of an Overworked Mom
DIY Serving Tray by Homemaking Hacks
Pumpkin Mini Baked Donuts Recipe with Apple Sauce by Our Family World
DIY Whipped Body Butter by My So Called Balanced Life
DIY Skin Detox Body Scrub by Oh So Savvy Mom
Apple Nachos with Peanut Butter and Chocolate by Mom Always Finds Out
Pinterest Inspired Bud Vase – A Simple DIY Craft by Three Different Directions
DIY Spring Clothespin Wreath by Simply Southern Mom
Oatmeal Energy Balls Recipe by Sweep Tight
Thumbprint Birthday Cards by Upstate Ramblings
DIY Nail Art: Easy Geometric Style by LW Vogue

Cabbage and Pineapple Slaw Burgers

Lolli — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 13:08:37 +0000

This recipe for MIRACLE WHIP Cabbage and Pineapple Slaw Burgers is brought to you by MIRACLE WHIP but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

MIRACLE WHIP and proud of it.

It’s officially summer break now that the kids are out of school, which means we’re spending long hours at the pool most days. When I spend those long, hot hours at the pool the last thing I want to do is come home to cook in a hot kitchen. That’s why I like to find summer-time-friendly meals like these tangy-sweet slaw burgers that I can cook on the grill in the backyard. Dinner is ready quickly, and my kitchen stays cool.

Summer is also a perfect time for firing up the grill for a crowd. I know that the sides that we serve at our cook outs are just as important as the main dishes…and this recipe handles both! We’ve taken a standard side dish, kicked it up a notch…and then added it to the main dish. This coleslaw is the perfect compliment to a hot burger. And burgers and summer and BBQs were all meant to go together, don’t you think?

I was blown away by how easy this coleslaw came together. I just threw it together while the burgers were on the grill. In just 30 minutes I had a perfect summer BBQ meal…and a whole lot of smiling faces as I served dinner.

MIRACLE WHIP CABBAGE AND PINEAPPLE SLAW BURGERS

5.0 from 1 reviews

Cabbage and Pineapple Slaw Burgers

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

Author: Lolli

Serves: 8

Ingredients

2 lb. lean ground beef
2 tsp. garlic powder
¾ cup MIRACLE WHIP Dressing
1 pkg. (14 oz) cabbage slaw blend
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, (drained)
¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
2 tsp. Sriracha sauce (hot chili sauce)
8 hamburger buns

Instructions

HEAT grill to medium heat.
MIX meat, garlic powder and ¼ cup dressing just until blended; shape into 8 (1/2-inch-thick) patties. Grill 5 to 6 min. on each side or until done (160ºF).
COMBINE remaining dressing with all remaining ingredients except buns.
FILL buns with burgers and coleslaw.

Check out how easy this recipe is to make in this cute video:

BBQ party tip: Want to avoid BBQ party-crashers (I’m talking about those pesky bugs that love your BBQ foods as much as you do!)? Serve up your potato salad, coleslaw, fruit salads, and other side dishes in single serving jars with lids. Your sides will be portioned out for easy serving AND they’ll be stylish as a fun bonus. Want to wow your guests even more? Place those filled jars in a wide bucket or bowl full of ice to keep your sides nice and cool for the entire get together!

For more ideas on delicious crowd-pleasing salads, dips and sandwiches for your summer time BBQs, visit MiracleWhip.com.

Greek-Style Gourmet Burgers in 15 Minutes #15MinuteSuppers

Lolli — Fri, 23 May 2014 12:00:18 +0000

Did you know that May is National Burger Month?

May is the perfect time of year to celebrate this most iconic American summer-time food, isn’t it? With Memorial Day just days away, and with it the unofficial beginning of summer, the rest of the 15 Minute Supper bloggers and I thought it would be perfect to commemorate National Burger Month with a collection of gourmet burgers that can be made in 15 minutes or less.

When I was given the challenge of creating a gourmet burger, the first thing that came to my mind was a Greek burger with tzatziki sauce. I had never had one before, but I instinctually knew that it would be good. I LOVE Greek flavors (this isn’t the first time I’ve made a Greek-inspired 15 Minute Suppers – you should try my Gyro-style Greek Wraps).

And, OH BOY, was it good!

If I had a little extra time, I would mix the burger spices in to ground beef and form my own patties, but frozen patties are so quick and easy that this becomes a recipe for even the busiest of nights and not just special occasions.

The ciabatta rolls were a lucky guess….and really made these burgers gourmet for me. I wanted something that was a little more fancy than a regular hamburger bun, and the ciabatta rolls did the trick. The only complaint was that my burgers were not quite big enough to fill the buns. Next time, I’ll go for larger patties!

Ready for the recipe?? There are 3 parts to making this easy gourmet burger: Spicing and grilling the burgers, making the tzatziki sauce, and topping the hamburger. And, yes, as long as you stay on task and follow the instruction order, you really CAN make 4 gourmet Greek burgers in just 15 minutes!

4.7 from 3 reviews

Greek-Style Gourmet Burgers in 15 Minutes #15MinuteSuppers

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

Author: Lolli

Ingredients

Burgers:
4 frozen burger patties
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons minced onion
2 teaspoons Oregano
2 teaspoons garlic
½ teaspoon pepper
Tzatziki sauce:
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
½ teaspoon garlic, chopped or dried
3 mini cucumbers, peeled
2 teaspoons dried dill
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Toppings:
Ciabatta rolls
Feta cheese
Sliced tomatoes
Lettuce
Grilled/sauteed onions

Instructions

Mix the spices in a small bowl. Generously sprinkle and rub the spices on both sides of each burger patty. Grill each burger until cooked through (timing will depend on your grilling method and heat. I use an indoor electric grill that cook both sides at once, so it's super fast).
When burgers cooking, make the tzatziki sauce by placing all sauce ingredients in a food processor and blending gently (it only takes a few pulses - you don't want the sauce to be soupy).
When burgers are cooked, sprinkle each patty with feta cheese and allow cheese to melt slightly.
Toast ciabatta rolls (I placed the rolls, cut-side-down, on the grill after taking the burgers off).
Generously spread each side of a sliced ciabatta roll with tzatziki sauce and then top with burger, tomatoes, lettuce, and anything else you might enjoy!

A few shots of the preparation:

I grilled my burgers on an electric grill (like a panini press) and topped with feta cheese while still hot.

Toasting or grilling the ciabatta rolls pushed the buns to the next level. Yum!

Assemble all ingredients

Generously spread each side of the bun with tzatziki sauce

Add all the toppings and you’ve got yourself a gourmet burger, Greek-style!

Need more quick 15 minute recipe ideas? Check out these other great #15MinuteSuppers!

Follow 15 Minute Suppers on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
and look for the #15MinuteSuppers hashtag too!

Green Chile Stuffed Burgers from Around My Family Table
Spicy Hot Wing Burger from Cute as a Fox
Greek-style Gourmet Burgers from Better in Bulk
Pimento Cheese Burger from Jen’s Journey
Spicy Green Chile Cowboy Burger from Liz on Call
Sprouts & Avocado Burger from Upstate Ramblings
Parmesan Crusted Chicken Burgers from Famished Fish, Finicky Shark
Goat Cheese Stuffed Black Bean Burgers from East Valley Mom Guide
Southwestern Bacon Cheeseburgers with Guacamole from Mom Endeavors

BLOGGERS: Would you like to join us at #15MinuteSuppers? We’d love to have you! Please check out the 15 Minute Suppers website or ask to join the Facebook group (for bloggers) to participate on Fridays…we’d love to have you join us.

Irish Stew with Irish Soda Bread {Crock Pot}

Lolli — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 13:00:59 +0000

I love a good stew. And this is a good stew.

I was determined to try a somewhat traditional Irish recipe to celebrate my Irish roots (because St. Patrick’s Day should not ONLY be celebrated with green desserts and green candy. Ha!). I was somewhat disappointed that every recipe I found that was considered Irish had some sort of beer in it. Since I am not an alcohol drinker, I figured I’d attempt a stew recipe without beer. I used what I had on hand, of course. I’ve cooked meats in Coca-Cola before, and I almost always have Coke Zero on hand, so a can of Coke was the obvious alternate. Note: I did leave the red cooking wine in the recipe since I do keep some cooking wine in the back of my shelf for the occasional recipe.

My untraditional addition to the traditional Irish stew was pure perfection…but the real star of this dinner was the Irish soda bread. If you’ve ever made Irish soda bread, you’ll know that it isn’t pretty. It’s far from being pretty, but it makes up for it’s looks in the way it tastes. I don’t know if I will ever eat a stew without a nice chunk of soda bread on the side for dipping.

After studying and comparing several recipes, I made one last change: I threw it all in my crock pot so that it could slow cook all day.

Irish Beef Stew with Irish Soda Bread

5.0 from 3 reviews

Irish Stew with Irish Soda Bread

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

7 hours

Total time

7 hours 30 mins

This Irish Stew deviates from traditional Irish Stew with the substitution of Coke for the beer and beef instead of lamb, but it still has the wonderful flavors and aroma of a good, hearty Irish stew!

Author: Lolli

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1½ to 2 pounds stew meat, cubed
Salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
6 cups beef broth
1 cup red wine
1 can Coke
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon dried thyme
1 Tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
3 bay leaves
2 Tablespoons olive oil
5 teaspoons minced garlic
5-6 large potatoes, cubed
1 medium onion, cut into medium chunks
3-4 large carrots, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley

Instructions

Salt and pepper stewing meat. Brown in olive oil over medium-high heat in a large sauce pan for about 2-3 minutes an each side, just until the sides are browned but middle is still red.
Add meat to the slow cooker. Pour wine, Coke, broth, and next 5 ingredients (tomato paste through bay leaves) on top of meat.
In same saucepan, add another 2 Tablespoons olive oil and saute vegetables (garlic, potatoes, onions, and carrots) for 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
Add sauteed veggies to slow cooker and stir. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Before serving, remove bay leaves, add fresh parsley and add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with Irish Soda Bread (see notes).

Notes

Easy Irish Soda Bread

Makes one large, round loaf.
Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a cookie sheet.

Mix together:
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened

Stir in:
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg

Knead dough on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Form a ball and place on greased cookie sheet. With a sharp knife, cut an X into the top of the loaf. Brush with 2 Tablespoons melted butter combined with 3 Tablespoons buttermilk.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Brush loaf with butter/buttermilk mixture a few times during baking.

To serve, break off chunks of loaf and use to dip in stew.

Irish Soda Bread recipe found on AllRecipes.com

Now let’s see what you’ve been cooking!

I’m teaming up once again with From Val’s Kitchen and This Mama Loves for our weekly recipe linky. Since mine is a year-end favorite recipe round up, I would LOVE to see your favorite dishes from the past year.

Please post the direct link to your recipe (not your blog URL) and the name of your recipe below. Then be sure to visit again next Monday for a new recipe and another chance to link up!

Gyro-Style Greek Wraps #15MinuteSuppers

Lolli — Fri, 17 Jan 2014 13:00:25 +0000

At the beginning of the year, I wrote out a meal plan for the first two weeks of the year…which means that sometime last week I ran out of meals. I hadn’t had a chance to make my Greek Chicken Wraps with Tzatziki Sauce and Tapenade because Necco had used the last of my chicken to make our favorite chicken nuggets recipe (I can’t complain when the kids cook for me!). But I had all of the other ingredients for the Greek wraps and was frankly in the mood for them.

I decided to try to create a wrap with ground beef – I figured there must be a quick way to duplicate that amazing Gyro meat flavor, even if I didn’t have traditional Gyro meat. I found a recipe for Ground Beef Gyro Meatballs and kind of based my ground beef mixture on that recipe.

What I created was better than I could have ever imagined. After we finished off the first batch of “gyro” meat, I made another batch of it and have been eating this for lunch all week long.

Note about the Tzatziki sauce listed in the recipe below: Although I have a different Tzatziki Sauce recipe, the one that I found on Kalyn’s Kitchen was much more like a dressing and SO delicious. I will be making her Tzatziki Sauce over and over again – it’s perfect for these wraps OR for a delicious Greek salad. But of course, you can always just buy some Tzatziki sauce that’s already made.

15 Minute Gyro-style Greek Wraps

5.0 from 1 reviews

Gyro-Style Greek Wraps

Save Print

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

Author: Better in Bulk

Ingredients

1 small onion, cut into chunks
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 pound lean ground beef
[br]
Soft flour tortillas
Pitted kalamata olives
Feta cheese
Iceburg lettuce, chopped
Fresh spinach
Cucumber, seeded and chopped
Tzatziki sauce

Instructions

Place onion pieces and spices in a small food processor and chop until you've got a spicy-oniony paste. (if you don't have a small food processor, then finely chop the onion and mix with the spices in a small bowl).
Mix ground beef and onion-spice mixture thoroughly and then brown in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
While meat is heating, prepare Tzatziki sauce if needed and get all other wraps fixings ready.
Fill each flour tortilla with a spoonful or two of the cooked meat and top with desired toppings. Wrap in aluminum foil to make it easier to eat (or if you're like my kids, eat it like a salad all spread out on a plate!).

Need more quick suppers? Check out these other great #15MinuteSuppers!

Follow 15 Minute Suppers on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
and look for the #15MinuteSuppers hashtag too!

Veggie Fried Rice from Around My Family Table
Gyro-style Greek Wraps from Better in Bulk
Mandarin Orange Chicken from Confessions of an Overworked Mom
15 Minute Tortellini Soup with Tomato & Peppers from Sunshine and Sippy Cups
Tortilla Crusted Tilapia from Lizzie Jane Baby
Tuna Burgers from Just 2 Sisters
Spicy Pepperoni Pizza Cups from Sweeties Freebies
Steak and Brussel Sprouts Stirfry from Jen’s Journey
Buttery Thyme Noodles from A Nation of Moms
Shrimp Fajita Omelette from Turning the Clock Back

Head over to our #15MinuteSuppers Pinterest Board to see all the past recipes and more delicious goodness!

Would you like to join us at #15MinuteSuppers? We’d love to have you! Please check out the 15 Minute Suppers website or ask to join the Facebook group to participate on Fridays…we’d love to have you join us.

Kosher 3 Bean Chili Dogs {Summer 2013 Wrap Up} #99SummerDays

Lolli — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 16:34:00 +0000

This post has been sponsored by Hebrew National via Glam Media, but all thoughts, opinions and fun summer activities are my own.

It’s hard to believe that this summer is almost over. When the kids got out of school in mid June – just like every year – it felt like we had ages and ages of time to fill before they headed back to school. And yet, here we are again.

In less than a week I head off on my yearly end-of-summer trip to visit my mom, leaving my husband and 4 of the kids behind until a day and a half before school is back in session. That means that the next few days are the last summer days I’ll have at home. It makes me stop and think about what we’ve been able to do during our summer break.

Some of our summer 2013 highlights are:

Weekly dollar movies at the local Regal
A trip to Hershey Park
3 on a 4-day hike dressed like Pioneers
Meeting Channing Tatum and Hugh Jackman
Swimming at the neighborhood pool
Replacing our air conditioning unit (yay for AC!)
Boy scout camp for Twizzler
Cub scout day camp for AJ
Girl’s camp for Necco
First job as a camp counselor (KitKat)
KitKat’s driver’s license
Our family trip to Boston, Gloucester, and New Hampshire
My upcoming trip to Zion’s and Southern Utah’s Shakespearean Festival

And I have to admit, FOOD was another highlight of my summer. Despite the fact that cooking in the summer heat is usually one of my least favorite things, I found some pretty amazing new meals (and treats) that my family loves. One of those new favorites? Kosher 3 Bean Chili Dogs with Hebrew National Hot Dogs.

I have always been a fan of chili but I use chili from a can more often than not…when I cooked this 3 Bean Chili, my 12 year old son Twizzler made a shocking statement.

“Mom, can you replace all of that canned chili with this chili?” It took me a few seconds to realize that he meant that he liked this new recipe so much he wanted me to make it EVERYtime instead of opening a can. Can you blame him?

I loved that this chili used basic ingredients and was full of both flavor and COLOR. It was so pretty on top of my Hebrew National hot dog!

Kosher 3 Bean Chili Dogs

5.0 from 1 reviews

Kosher 3 Bean Chili Dogs {Summer 2013 Wrap Up} #99SummerDays

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Lolli

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 pounds kosher ground beef
¼ cup chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can Great Northern beans, drained
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, with liquid
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 cup water, or more as needed

Instructions

Heat oil in a large skillet and add onion, pepper and garlic; heat, stirring, until the onion starts to become translucent. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Cook the ground beef in the skillet until browned; drain.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine tomatoes with juices, onions mixture and spices and stir to combine.
Add the onion-tomato mix, water and the beans to the skillet with the meat and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until all ingredients are heated through and flavors have combined. Add more water to adjust for desired thickness.
Serve chili over Hebrew National hot dogs and a bun.

Notes

This chili is SPICY, so adjust the spices to your taste...you might want to ad the chili powder and Cayenne pepper a little at a time.

Why I love Hebrew National: Hebrew National hot dogs are not only tasty, but they are 100% beef, with no artificial colors or fillers or weird by-products that I can’t identify. As a mother whose 12 year old son would happily eat a package of hot dogs per day during the summer, I can comfortably say that feel good keeping Hebrew National hot dogs in my fridge. If YOU hop over to Hebrew National’s Facebook page and let them know why YOU love Hebrew National, you could win free franks. What are you waiting for?

Hebrew National tastes great because, for more than 100 years, we’ve adhered to the highest quality standards. Hebrew National Franks are made with premium cuts of 100% pure kosher beef, and contain no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, no by-products, and no fillers. Premium taste and high quality every time, for any occasion. That’s our guarantee. Learn about even more reasons to love Hebrew National, and tell us why you love them, too! www.facebook.com/HebrewNational

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Hebrew National via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Hebrew National.

Note: This recipe is modified from a recipe I found on All Things Kelly, which is packed with amazing Kosher recipes.

Our Recipe for the Perfect Grilled Steak – Just “Cross Your Fingers!”

Lolli — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:00:06 +0000

I asked my husband to share the story of how we learned how to grill the most delicious meats on the block.

“It doesn’t take a master chef to grill a good steak.” ~CandyMan

When Lolli and I got married, neither one of us was an amazing chef. I had worked in Richmond’s LeMaire restaurant in the Jefferson Hotel with a great head chef, but I never touched the grill.

We spent the first few years of marriage eating a lot of dry hamburgers, flavorless steaks and many other meat-challenged meals looking for the elusive magic recipe or grilling technique.

As luck would have it, shortly after moving into our current house, we became friends with someone who is not a chef, not professionally trained in France, not even a restaurant worker. He is simply a man from Argentina who knows his meats and his grill, and he shared with us the simple truths of fool-proof, great grilling.

Our friend taught us the “secret” of dry rub grilling. He had his own special blend of spices, and as soon as we could, we tried it on our own grill.

The secret: To make meat taste great, all you need is seasoned salt and any kind of spice you like.

The first time we tried this on our own, we mixed up some seasoned salt, Italian Seasoning, Montreal Steak seasoning, and a few other random spices (garlic, freshly ground pepper, etc). We didn’t know if it would be as good as our friend’s cooking, so we called our spice mixture “Cross Your Fingers.”

It ended up being a perfect blend, but we didn’t write down a recipe for it.

I pull out a piece of foil, then take my ribs, chicken, steak, or whatever I am grilling and place it on the foil. Then I baste the meat lightly in vegetable oil and sprinkle it with salt and spices.

I flip the meat over and baste the other side and sprinkle it again with seasoned salt and whatever spices I am using. I close up the foil so that the meat is completely wrapped and sealed. I then put the sealed foil on the grill and cook until it is about half way done. Then, I pull it out of the foil and throw it right on the grill to just singe it with the flames a little bit (Lolli’s favorite step).

Since that time, we have seen over and over again that all you need to do is baste your meat, lightly sprinkle with seasoned salt and then add your choice of spices. Cross your fingers or not, you’ll get a fantastic flavor every time.

And the best part about grilling for us (besides the savory meats)? Sharing the food with our friends, of course!

These are just some of the reasons why Grilling is my Happiness. Besides all of the tasty food, tell me what you love about grilling. One of my lucky readers who answers below will win a $25 Sears Gift Card!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sears. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.