Mock Pasta E Fagioli (from Olive Garden)

I know it's still summer, but these cool evenings made me think of soup!  I'm actually remembering to post it on the blog, too!  Looking forward to being back on a schedule.

-3 tsp. oil
-2 pounds ground beef
-14 ounces carrots, chopped
-14 ounces celery, chopped
-12 ounces onion, chopped
-48 ounces tomatoes; canned, diced
-2 cups cooked red kidney beans
-2 cups cooked white kidney beans
-88 ounces beef stock
-3 tsp. oregano
-2 and 1/2 tsp. pepper
-1 and 1/2 tsp. hot sauce
-48 ounces spaghetti sauce
- 8 ounces dry pasta

Directions:  Saute beef in oil in large 10 qt. pot until beef starts to brown.  Add onions, carrots, celery, and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Drain and rinse beans and add to the pot.  Also add beef stock, oregano, pepper, hot sauce and spaghetti sauce (and pasta).  Simmer until veggies are tender, about 45 minutes.  Makes about 9 quarts of soup! 

From freezer:  Reheat soup in crockpot or on stove.  Add pasta shells and cook until tender.  Garnish with Parmesan cheese. 

Healthier Sloppy Joes II from AllRecipes.com

Back to school!  Football... Soccer... Swimming... Youth Group... Dance...Homework.  Whatever starts in the fall in your house, I thought that this month we could all use an easy "go-to" meal for nights that sitting down for dinner just isn't going to happen.  These sloppy joe's have some extra veggies in them so I don't feel quite as guilty about the fast food.  The meat is frozen in small cubes or mini muffin tins (depending on which batch you got), so you can just pull out as many as you need, heat them in the microwave and move on to the next thing.  Probably 2 cubes for a regular size bun, 1 cube for a slider. The meat already has 2 thumbs up from my kids... and no one even noticed the extra veggies :-)

The recipe came from here.
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green (and red) bell pepper
2 carrots finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
salt & pepper to taste

Brown meat with onions, peppers, carrots, & garlic.  Drain.  Mix ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar then add to meat.  Mix well.  Let simmer until sauce thickens (about 30 min).

On serving day: Take out as many individual servings as you need.  Thaw & heat in the microwave or on the stove top.  Throw on a bun and hit the road!

August Swap Details

We'll have 6 this month! Here are the category assignments:

Beef: Elizabeth
Chicken: Robin
Pasta: Elisha
Other: Josie
Grill/Soup: Suzanne
Breakfast: Tanya

We will swap at Elisha's house on Thursday, August 16th at 4:30. If that time doesn't work, just have the food to her house before that and we'll swap for you! See you all then (or sometime around then!).

Sweet and Spicy Stir Fry

I found this recipe on another freezer swap site. You can see it here. It was super easy and tasty! (Check out the blog too! Great recipes!)

Ingredients:
Carrots
Sugar Snap Peas
Broccoli
Chicken
Sauce: vinegar, crushed red pepper, apricot jam and ginger

Directions for cooking:
Put 2 T. oil in skillet and chicken from bag. Cook until no longer pink. Set chicken aside. Put in Veggies from bag and stir fry about 2 minutes until warmed and add chicken again. Pour sauce from bag over chicken and veggies and stir fry about 3-4 minutes more. Serve over rice.
Serves 6

Twice Baked Potatoes

So, The Pioneer Woman inspired these yummy twice baked potatoes. You can see her post here. We did just as she suggested and used sour cream, butter, bacon and cheddar cheese in them. All you need to do to serve them is unwrap them, put them on a baking sheet and bake for 15-30 min. at 350 (so they're warm all the way through).
Enjoy!

Italian Beef Hoagies... Part 'due'

I remembered enjoying these Hoagies the first time they were in the swap.  You can find the recipe here.  I made one alteration and that is that I used 1/2 packet of Onion-Mushroom Soup Mix rather than a whole packet of Onion Soup Mix per recipe.  I think the results are tasty.

On serving day, thaw meat completely.  Reheat in skillet over medium heat.  Serve on hoagie buns (provided) and top with a slice of Provolone cheese (also provided).  Enjoy!

This seemed like the perfect meal for this busy baseball season in our lives... a quick sandwich with protein before the big game!

Sweet & Saucy Chicken

Something tasty for the grill. This is one of our favorite recipes. It marinates as it thaws out and is SO yummy! Our favorite is to serve it with corn on the cob! Summer is nearly here! ;)