Salisbury Steak From a Packet!!

Today is the Ultimate Recipe Swap over at Life as Mom! She's asked for recipes that use 5 ingredients or less, and I thought I would highlight an old recipe that never fails me!!

This is my all time favorite dinner, no joke. Which is also why I am linking up with It's a Keeper which is being guest hosted over at B & the boy!! I could probably live off of this meal and nothing else! It's funny to realize that now, because growing up my mom made it about once a week and I got so sick of it that I never wanted to eat it! To go straight to the recipe, click here!

The great thing about this recipe is that it takes so little to make something so tasty! Here is what you need:

American Chop Suey

This recipe is a great standby for me because I always have all of the ingredients on hand and it always goes over really well with my boys.

Here is what you need:

• 1lb ground turkey (or beef)
• Small chopped onion
• Chopped medium bell pepper
• Sprinkle garlic powder
• Sprinkle paprika 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup of cheese
• 1 can tomato poaste
• 1 can diced or crushed tomatoes (15oz)
• 2 cups cooked macaroni

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf in the Crockpot

It's been a long time since I've had a post but this turned out SO WONDERFUL that I just had to share it with everyone.... I've tried meatloaf again, and I've finally found success!! So exciting, this is only the 3rd meatloaf recipe I've ever tried and it's a keeper. It's also probably very bad for you, even with my edits. :)

For this recipe I basically combined the crockpot meatloaf and potatoes recipe I found over at Melissa's blog way back at the beginning of December and a Paula Dean recipe I had been dying to try.

Here is what you'll need:

Mexican Penne

You know what works for me? Making meals ahead when I know life will be crazy!

For those of you who read my blog on a semi-regular basis, you may have noticed I've been MIA for awhile now... I'm in the midst of finals (law school) and haven't found much time to sleep let alone blog, but I am taking a break tonight from the insanity to introduce you all to my favorite make-ahead (or make right now!) meal!

I made this about a week and a half ago, I knew I'd be too busy to cook (I haven't cooked since last Wednesday!) and I knew my boys would be hungry, so I made a few easy to throw together meals and threw them in the freezer, this is their second favorite - Shepherd's Pie being their first!

This recipe is for one casserole, but I made it into two because otherwise there are too many leftovers.

So here is what you need:

Shepherd's Pie

I first started making this about 4 months ago and it quickly became a regular! This is easily my stepson's favorite meal that I cook! The great thing about it is I can make it earlier in the morning and stick it in the fridge for later, or in this case, double it and freeze one for next week (finals are looming, I will not be cooking!)

So here is what you need, keep in mind I doubled this, so if you are only making one - cut it in half:

Crockpot Beef Stew

It's Crock Pot Wednesday over at Dining with Debbie, and Slow Cooking Thursday over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom!

I didn't have any crockpot meals planned, but I did have beef stew on the menu... I've never made it in the crockpot, but I figured why not give it a try?

It turned out great, better than usual!! Click here for the printable version.

Here is what I used:

Nachos

You can't go wrong with these nachos!! My family and I used to eat at this tiny little Mexican restaurant on the corner, we started going right when they opened, they served everything on paper plates and had plastic silverware, but the food.... oh my! I've never been able to find anything like it again.

Before they closed down, my mom begged the owner to tell her how to make the shredded beef he used in his Nachos, Chimichangas, and Burritos. He laughed and told her, "just throw it in a slow cooker with some salsa and jalapeños all day, it'll fall apart!"

And so she did. And now I do too! And soon, I bet you will as well.

So here is what you need:

Meatloaf?

I'd really like to enjoy meatloaf. Really, I would. I just don't. When my mom used to make meatloaf as a child, I would have hot dogs or a frozen dinner instead, I hated it and refused to eat it. (And I was an incredibly spoiled only child).

So, I haven't tried a bite of meatloaf since I was probably 8 or 9 years old. My old college roommates loved it, and on nights when they cooked it, they reinforced my spoiled nature by making me a chicken breast instead. But, I ate meatloaf last night.

Chili Made EASY!

For the first recipe, one of my favorite meals... Chili!!!

This is so easy and so good you will smack yourself for not making it sooner. You can print this out minus my comments and pictures here.

Here is our friend the packet: