Tamale Pie

Beef Filling Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2-4 teaspoons chili powder
1 dash pepper
1 (15 ounce) can black beans or refried beans
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

Cornmeal Topping

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Directions

Cook meat, onion, and green pepper in a large skillet until meat is browned; drain fat. Stir in tomato sauce, corn, olives, garlic, seasonings, and beans; simmer, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or until thick; stir in cheese then remove from heat.

Meanwhile, stir cornmeal, salt, and cold water together in a saucepan; cook over medium-high heat (please be careful as hot cornmeal mixture may splatter) for a minute or two, stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat and stir in butter.

Turn meat filling into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish that has been lightly coated with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon cornmeal topping evenly over entire top of beef filling.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until cornmeal topping is set and beef filling is bubbly. Serve topped with salsa and sour cream.

NOTE: Family-sized portions of the cooked beef filling freeze excellently in Ziploc freezer bags - To serve: Just thaw, turn meat filling into a prepared baking dish, quickly make and spoon on a proportional amount (for a frozen half-batch to be baked in an 8x8" pan, prepare topping using 1/2 cup cornmeal and 1 1/3 cup water) of cornmeal topping, bake and enjoy!

Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
2 cups slightly cooked elbow macaroni
1/2 pound chopped Velveeta cheese
3 diced hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 onion chopped
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 small can sliced mushrooms
1 3/4 to 2 cups of milk
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup frozen vegetable mix

Directions

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a 2 quart greased dish and refrigerate over night. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

**Thoughts~A lady from our church named Maria made this for a VBS decorating night. It was yummy!**

Mix-n-Match Pasta Salad

This recipe came from my friend, Mariellen. She is fabulous, and I think this recipe is pretty darn fabulous too. I never would have thought to put some of these ingredients in my pasta salad.

16 oz pasta (you choose)
3 from list one totaling 2 lbs
1-2 from list two (1/4-1/2 cup each)
1-4 from list three
1 from list four (1 cup)

List One:
Bite size broccoli florets added to pasta one minute before draining
Bite size cauliflower florets added to pasta one minute before draining
Bite size asparagus spears added to pasta one minute before draining
¼” carrot coins added to pasta one minute before draining
Bite size green bean pieces added to pasta one minute before draining
Snow peas added to pasta one minute before draining
Sugar snap peas added to pasta one minute before draining
¼” zucchini pieces added to pasta one minute before draining
Canned artichoke hearts
Bean sprouts
¼” celery slices
Bite size pieces of cucumber
Thinly sliced fennel
Bite size pieces of avocado
Thinly sliced zucchini
Halved cherry or grape tomatoes
Bite size strips of bell pepper
Diced tomato
Thawed frozen green peas
½” thick rounds of broiled eggplant cut into bite-size pieces
Large whole mushrooms, sliced after broiling
Grilled bell pepper strips
Grilled zucchini pieces
Sauteed celery pieces
Sauteed bell pepper pieces
Canned beans
Chicken breast pieces
Turkey pieces
Ham pieces
Italian sausage pieces
Cooked lobster
Cooked and peeled shrimp
Canned tuna
Crab meat
Mild cheeses (swiss, Monterey jack, mozzarella, cheddar)

List Two:
Crumbled feta cheese
Sliced parmesan cheese
Crumbled goat cheese
Capers
Coarsely chopped pitted olives
Peperoncini
Pepperoni
Roasted peppers
Sun dried tomatoes
Crumbled bacon
Prosciutto
Smoked salmon or other smoked fish
Toasted pine nuts
Roasted cashews
Roasted or honey roasted peanuts
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds

List Three:
3 large green onions, sliced
½ red onion, chopped
2 tsp orange or lemon zest
2 T. cilantro
2 T. basil
2 T. dill
2 T. parsley
2 T. mint
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp tarragon
other herbs of your choice

List Four:
Ranch dressing
Italian dressing
Caesar dressing
Thousand island dressing
Russian dressing
French dressing
Rice wine vinegar
Lemon juice
Soy sauce and sesame oil
Other dressing of your choice

It's so easy. If you're in the mood for Asian food you might do chicken breast, broccoli, and sugar snap peas with roasted cashews or sesame seeds, green onion, and parsley and a soy and sesame oil sauce. If you're in the mood for Greek you can do ham, artichoke hearts and fennel, feta crumbles, red onion and tarragon with a yogurt and lemon sauce. You never have to have the same thing twice.

Pork Steak

Ingredients

2 tablespoons canola oil
4 pork steaks
salt and pepper
garlic powder
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced or 2 (4 1/2 ounce) cans sliced mushrooms
2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans cream of mushroom soup
1 3/4 cups water
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown steaks on each side. While browning, season steaks with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Transfer steaks to a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.

Saute the onions and mushrooms in the same skillet. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, dry soup mix, and mushroom soup; mix together until sauce forms. Pour sauce over steaks.

Cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake in preheated oven for 90 minutes.

Serves 4

**Thoughts~This is great served over rice.**

Applesauce Meatballs

Meatball Ingredients

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground beef

Sauce Ingredients

1 can (10 3/4 ounce) condensed tomato soup
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish
3 to 5 drops Worcestershire sauce
3 to 5 drops hot pepper sauce

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-1/2 inch balls. In a large skillet, gently brown meatballs over medium heat; drain. Transfer to an ungreased 2-quart baking dish.

Combine sauce ingredients; pour over meatballs. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Serve over egg noodles.

Makes 4 servings

**Thoughts~Jeff loved these!**