Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

So delicious - this will definitely be added into my favorite recipe file. I added a few dashes of Tabasco sauce before turning on the slow cooker to add a little more spice. Definitely try this with the pickles and ketchup as garnish - sounds weird but adds to the flavor! I served this alongside Texas Toast and a green salad.

Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

Turkey Pesto Burgers

I'm always looking for ways to mix up turkey burgers. I added a few tablespoons of chopped sundried tomatoes to the meat mixture before grilling.

Turkey Pesto Burgers

BBQ Chicken Burgers with Spicy Lime Coleslaw

Another burger! I actually used ground turkey for these instead of chicken, but you can use either! I really liked the idea of the BBQ sauce IN the burger as well as basted on top of it. Chuck only flips burgers once, so once you flip to a cooked side, just baste once with the reserved sauce.

BBQ Chicken Burgers with Spicy Lime Coleslaw

Greek Turkey Burgers

Summertime is all about grilling at our house, and I'm always on the lookout for a new burger, preferably a turkey burger to lighten it up! This recipe was delicious! I omitted the red onion in the tzatziki sauce since I have a problem eating it raw, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.

Greek Turkey Burgers

Beef and Bean Burritos with Sour Cream Poblano Sauce

These were delicious and easy to make. If you're short on time you can even just skip making the sauce and use plain sour cream as a garnish. Chuck loved them!

Beef and Bean Burritos with Sour Cream Poblano Sauce

Spicy Turkey Sloppy Joes

Super yummy and so easy to make! A lot of flavor without any premade spice packets.

Spicy Turkey Sloppy Joes

Honey BBQ Meatloaf

A new favorite. I recommend pouring all of the reserved sauce over the meatloaf before cooking instead of saving to serve alongside.

Honey BBQ Meatloaf

Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli

Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli

Lasagna Casserole

Lasagna Casserole

Spinach and Turkey Stuffed Shells

Another fabulous weeknight pasta meal! These take a little bit longer than some other pasta bakes, only because you have to take the time to stuff each shell; but it's worth it. A creamy mix of ground turkey and healthy spinach make a delicious filling for these shells. I adjusted the amounts from the original recipe beacuse I wanted to make some for dinner and then freeze some. I also used ground turkey instead of sausage because I wanted to make these a little healthier (well, except for all the cheese!).

Otherwise, Molly's recipe was perfect and I will definitely be making them again soon!

Spinach and Turkey Stuffed Shells

slightly adapted from The Rookie Chef

makes 6-8 servings

10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

olive oil

1 or 1.25 pounds ground turkey

8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

about 25 jumbo pasta shells

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups marinara sauce

shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 x 9 dish with cooking spray, set aside.

In large skillet, brown ground turkey, drain fat and set aside. In same skillet, heat a little bot of olive oil and add onion. Saute until softened and translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add spinach and cream cheese and cook until combined. Add ground turkey back in and stir to heat thoroughly. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain and separate on a cutting board so they don't stick together. (A fabulous tip from The Rookie Chef.)

(The following directions are for preparing half of this mixture. I froze the other half - of just the stuffed shells - but if you wish to bake them all at once, just prep two dishes to bake.)

Spread some marinara sauce over the bottom of prepared baking dish. Stuff each shell with a tablespoon or two of the meat mixture. Place the shells in the baking dish and cover with another layer of sauce.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover dish, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Emeril's Turkey and Pinto Bean Chili

We've had a rainy few days here in the Northeast and yesterday I was inspired to make some chili. I had just found this recipe in the newest issue of Everyday Food and went to the supermarket in the pouring rain for all of the ingredients. :)


My favorite chili is still 6-Hour Chili but this is a good one to make if you don't have a lot of time. And the addition of the pinto beans adds more protein with not too much fat. I will say that the simmering time on this is very underestimated. I simmered the chili for about 45 minutes (the recipe suggests 20 minutes) and I still had to serve the chili with a slotted spoon to drain all of the excess liquid. But it was a delicious rainy Sunday night meal after a busy weekend!

Emeril's Turkey and Pinto Bean Chili
from Everyday Food
makes 6-8 servings

4 slices thick-cut bacon, diced small
2 medium onions (or 1 large), diced small
1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced small
1.25-1.5 pounds ground turkey
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (15.5 ounces each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream (optional)

In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until bacon is crisp, about 8 minutes. Add onions and bell pepper and cook until vegetable soften, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add ground turkey, chili powder, cumin, garlic, oregano, and cook about 6-8 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through. Continually break meat up with wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

Add tomatoes with juice, beans, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a rapid simmer. Partially cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens. (This could take anywhere from 20-45 minutes, or more.)

Serve topped with cilantro and shredded cheese and/or sour cream, if desired.

Baked Pasta with Turkey Meat Sauce

My father-in-law so nicely comes once a week to watch Abbie so that I can go to a late afternoon class at the gym. Since the class is so late in the day, by the time I get home, it's a rush to get dinner on the table. Baked pastas are perfect for these evenings because I can prep all the way up to the baking stage while Abbie naps earlier in the day, then I just pop it in the oven when I get home from the gym.

This recipe caught my eye because I had a lot of these ingredients already on hand. The original recipe calls for only 3/4 pound of ground turkey and I thought I would stretch the meal a little by using the regular package of 1.25 pounds turkey. Well, the outcome was a little dry, since I used the same amount of sauce and cheese to cover more meat. So I am going to recommend you follow all the amounts of the original recipe for a nice, quick weeknight dinner. :)

Baked Pasta with Turkey Meat Sauce

Cranberry Turkey Burgers

Yes, this recipe is a little out of season, I admit. My mom actually recommended it to me after looking through the October/November issue of Taste of Home magazine that I had passed onto her. This recipe didn't originally catch my eye since I am not a fan of fruit in my main entree but my mom tried it and loved it so I agreed to give it a shot. And I am glad I did! The cranberry sauce just adds a nice sweetness to the burger, and the stuffing mix makes it incredibly moist and gives it a lot of flavor. The original recipe suggests topping it with gravy, but I opted for a thick slice of sharp Vermont cheddar instead.

A simple recipe with great results - these are definitely part of my regular burger rotation now! I served these with sweet potato fries and spicy garlic roasted broccoli.

Cranberry Turkey Burgers

slightly adapted from Taste of Home, October/November 2010 issue

Makes 4 servings

1 pounds ground turkey (packages in my supermarket come in 1.25 pounds, adjust other ingredients to match however much turkey you have)

1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce

1 cup stuffing mix, dry

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

4 slices sharp cheddar

4 hamburger buns

In large bowl, mix together turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, and thyme. Form into 4 patties. Grill over medium-high heat, about 6-7 minutes a side or until cooked through. Top with cheddar cheese to melt and serve immediately on buns.

Lighthouse Lasagna

My good friend Lauren is a busy mom of two little guys who works full-time and always seems to get dinner on the table for everyone. She is my hero! She posted this recipe on her blog recently and I thought, if Lauren can do it, then so can I! And I'm glad I did because it was really good. It kind of reminded me of this recipe with the scallions and cream cheese and pasta, but was also different enough that I will definitely be making both again.


Of course I wanted to make two pans of this so I could freeze one so I found myself stretching some of the ingredients and decided I would add more next time. I adjusted the amounts below so that you can make two pans as well. Chuck and I both enjoyed this a lot, the first time AND out of the freezer!

Lighthouse Lasagna
amounts adjusted from Lauren's Kitchen
Makes 10-12 servings

1 - 1 1/4 pounds ground meat
1 small can tomato paste
14 ounces tomato sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
pinch of Kosher salt
12 ounces egg noodles
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups sour cream
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two 8x8 baking dishes or one 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.

Saute the meat in a large skillet over medium heat until lightly browned, breaking it up to crumble as it cooks. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, sugar, and salt. Fill the tomato paste can with water and add it to the skillet. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15 to 20 minutes.

Cook the egg noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles, then return them to the pot and add the butter, stirring until melted.

In a small bowl, mix the sour cream, cream cheese, and scallions. Spread a little sauce and meat mixture in the bottom of (each) dish. Top with a layer of noodles, then spread half the sour cream mixture and half of the meat sauce (a quarter of each if you are using two baking dishes). Repeat the layers and top with shredded mozzarella.

Bake 35-40 minutes until lasagna mixture is bubbly and cheese is lightly browned.

Tex Mex Corn Chip Chili

I find myself constantly saving new chili recipes to try then never getting around to making them because of the long ingredient lists. This recipe from the Rachael Ray magazine looked easy enough to make on a weeknight, with almost no chopping, and 3 cans of beans and tomatoes contributing a lot of the flavor. Chuck even said that he likes this better than my regular 6-Hour Chili, and while I don't necessarily agree with him, this one came close.

I used ground turkey instead of ground beef with great results, and I simmered it for about 45 minutes to thicken the sauce before adding the cilantro and cheese; but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly as it states. And if you aren't serving the whole pot of chili right away, I probably wouldn't add all the cheese it calls for, instead just add more cheese as you reheat it. This was delicious with sour cream and we dipped our corn chips instead of serving the chili over them. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Tex-Mex Corn Chip Chili

Pasta Fagioli Soup

Mmmm, the first slow cooker meal of the season, and it also happens to be a soup! Perfect comfort food while I am awaiting the changing leaves and pumpkin picking with Abbie. This recipe is actually a little reminiscent of the last soup I blogged, but easier to make and tastier in my opinion.

Fairly easy to prep, with browning the ground beef and chopping the onion the only real work you have to do. The cayenne pepper gives it a little kick and the broth is nice and rich with the beef and tomato taste. Add some Parmesan cheese to give it a nice salty bite and enjoy this while watching the leaves fall!

Pasta Fagioli Soup

from Taste of Home: Casseroles, Slow Cookers, and Soups

Makes 6-8 servings

1 can Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

1 medium onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped (I omitted)

2 (10.5-ounce) cans beef broth

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, broken apart

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon marjoram

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1 teaspoon dried basil

3 cups dried pasta, cooked (I used elbows)

Combine all ingredients but pasta in a 4 to 7-quart slow cooker. Cook on Low for 8-10 hours or High for 4-5 hours. At the end of cooking time, add the cooked pasta and serve immediately.

Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Matt's Turkey Burgers

My friend Nicole's husband, Matt is a great cook. So when he was waxing poetic about his turkey burgers I knew I had to get the recipe! This is a delicious change from my regular turkey burgers - the mayo and Dijon add a creaminess and bind the burgers together without an egg or bread crumbs; and the other spices all work together to create a great flavor. Matt recommends serving them with crumbled blue cheese melted on top (which we did) and grilled red onion. Yum!

We liked these so much we had them twice in one week! The first time I served them with sweet potato fries and sesame spinach salad and the second time I served them with cole slaw and sauteed zucchini and tomatoes.

Matt's Turkey Burgers
from Matt of Ingredients for a Wonderful Life
Makes 4 burgers

1 package lean ground turkey (about 1.25-1.33 pounds)
2 tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
splash of soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder (I used chili powder)
2 teaspoons salt (I would recommend 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients and form into 4 patties. Grill over medium heat, about 4-5 minutes each side, flipping only once until meat is no longer pink in the middle.

BBQ Meatloaf

So hungry people + a late dinner time + comfort food = some really ugly pictures, so there are none for this post. Sorry! But this was so delicious and easy to prepare I just had to share it with you.

I saw this on my friend Nicole's blog while I was making my weekly meal plan and immediately added it to the list. I have been making my same version of turkey meatloaf for awhile now and was in the mood to try something new. This was great - a tasty make-your-own BBQ sauce really adds a lot to the old favorite!

BBQ Meatloaf
slightly adapted from Ingredients for a Wonderful Life
Makes 4-6 servings

1.25-1.5 pounds ground beef or turkey
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 medium onion, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat an 11x7 baking dish with cooking spray.

Mix together the beef or turkey, bread crumbs, onion, egg, salt, pepper, and 1/2 c. of the tomato sauce. Form mixture into a loaf and place into prepared baking dish.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the rest of the tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour the sauce over the meatloaf.

Bake for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes or so with the pan juices.

Tostadas

Another great, easy recipe from my slow cooker book. The only quibble I have with this one is that you are basically making taco meat before you put everything into the slow cooker, so you need to find time for that. As I was putting this all together, I wondered how 3 hours of cooking would make this even taste any differently, but it really turned out pretty good. The beans and the cheese soup add another layer of taste and texture to the meat.

I couldn't find tostada, or taco shells, at the supermarket the day I went, but I had some corn tortillas in the freezer. As you can see, I placed two in a small ramekin, then baked at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes to crisp them up. They were alright in a jam but I would still recommend buying the shells. And if you can't find the nacho cheese soup (I couldn't), cheddar cheese soup works just fine.

Tostadas

from Cook Once, Eat Twice Slow Cooker Recipes

Makes 10 servings

2 pounds lean ground beef

2 (1.25-ounce) envelopes taco seasoning mix

1 (16-ounce) can refried beans

1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed fiesta nacho cheese soup

1 (10 count) package tostada shells

toppings such as shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese, sour cream, etc.

Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat until browned. Drain off fat, add taco seasoning and cook according to package directions.

Transfer meat to 3 1/2-4 quart slow cooker. Stir in beans and soup.

Cover and cook on low heat setting for 3 to 4 hours or high heat setting for 1 1/2-2 hours. Serve on tostada shells and top with ingredients on choice.

Hamburger, Macaroni, and Bean Soup

As you can see by the picture, my attempt at this didn't really result in a soup. I made a big mistake and put the whole pound box of macaroni into the soup instead of just one cup. But I added some more ingredients and it ended up delicious anyway! It was more of a pasta, beef, and bean dish with a light tomato sauce coating everything.

I gave you the original recipe below, but put my changes for the thicker pasta dish in parentheses in case you want to try that version instead. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve with some crusty bread!

Hamburger, Macaroni, and Bean Soup

slightly adapted from The Big Book of Soups & Stews

Makes 6 servings (a lot more)

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 teaspoon oil, if needed

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

6 cups beef stock or broth (8 cups)

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce (2 cans)

1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni (1 pound)

In a large pot over medium heat, combine meat, onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook, breaking up meat, until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add oil if needed to keep from sticking.

Add remaining ingredients and increase heat to high; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until macaroni is tender and flavors are blended, 15-20 minutes.