Category: Main Dishes

Main Course Recipes

Hot Dog Wrap-Ups

This recipe comes from an old Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cookbook. We used to love making them when we were growing up. Emily and I still get hungry for them and make them for lunch occasionally.

2 T. butter or margarine, softened
4 slices bread
4 slices American cheese
4 hot dogs

Spread softened butter or margarine on one side of each piece of bread with a table knife. Put buttered-side down on a baking sheet. Put a slice of cheese on each bread slice. Put a hot dog diagonally across each slice of cheese. With adult’s help, turn on the oven to 375°. It will start to get hot. Fold the 2 opposite corners of the bread over each hot dog. Push 2 wooden picks through the bread and into the hot dog to keep the corners around it. With adult’s help, put the baking sheet into the oven. Bake until bottoms are golden brown. This will take about 10 minutes. With adult’s help, remove the baking sheet. Turn off the oven. Use pancake turner to put hot dogs on plates.

Makes 4 sandwiches.

Tags Hot Dogs

Beef Cookbook Main Dishes

Pop-up Pizza

SAUCE:
1 1/2 lbs. hamburger
1 C. green pepper, chopped
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 C. water
1 – 15 oz. can tomato sauce
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
1 C. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash of salt
1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 env. Lawry’s spaghetti sauce mix

CRUST:
1 C. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. flour
2 eggs
1 T. oil
1/2 C. Parmesan cheese

Brown beef; drain. Combine all of the sauce ingredients, except cheese, and simmer for 10 minutes. Place in a 9×13″ pan. Add cheese. Prepare cheese. Prepare crust by combining milk, oil and eggs. Add flour and salt; beat. Pour over meat and cheese.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 400° for 25 to 30 minutes.

Tags Pizza

Breads & Rolls Cookbook Main Dishes

Frozen Pizza Bread

Actually, it should be Pizza Bread from frozen bread!

Frozen bread dough
1 stick butter
Italian seasoning
Pepperoni slices
Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Thaw bread dough (I usually make 2 loaves so you may decrease ingredients accordingly). Roll dough out on floured countertop until it’s about 1/2″ thick. In saucepan, melt butter and add Italian seasoning (about 1 tablespoon). Brush on top of bread dough. Layer with pepperoni and cheese. Roll jelly roll style and seal ends and seam. I brush the seam with butter/seasoning, then pinch it to keep the cheese from oozing out while baking. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes at 350°, or until the bread is golden. After baking, brush top with butter/seasoning.

Tags Bread, Pizza, Roll

Beef Cookbook Main Dishes

Upside Down Pizza

1 lb. hamburger
1 can pizza sauce
1/4 C. sour cream
1 C. mozzarella cheese
1 tube crescent rolls

Cook hamburger; drain. Combine hamburger, sauce, sour cream and cheese in a 9×9″ baking dish. Top with unrolled (uncooked) crescent rolls. Bake 30 minutes at 350º.

Beef Cookbook Main Dishes

Famous Spanish Rice

One day when the Lenz children were staying at Aunt Jeanette’s, they experienced this wonderful dish! To this day all of the Lenz children (Dan, Cara, Liza and Ryan) will not forgive Aunt Jeanette for feeding them this recipe. I believe it was also on this day that they learned what the long fingernail on the little finger is good for! Maybe this was why the recipe did not turn out I wonder? (This is not the recipe Aunt Jeanette used, so I am sure it will be much better.)

1 C. regular rice, uncooked
1 qt. canned tomatoes
1 1/2 C. milk
1 large onion, chopped
1/3 C. sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. raw ground beef

Place all ingredients in a roaster pan. Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours at 350º, stirring occasionally.

Cookbook Main Dishes

Calzones

1/3 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed, for each calzone
Pizza sauce
Pizza toppings
Mozzarella cheese

Roll bread dough out into approximately 9″ circle. Top half of dough with pizza sauce, toppings and cheese. Fold other half over toppings and pinch edges to close. Bake on cookie sheet at 350º for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Beef Cookbook Main Dishes

Texas Beans and Beef

2 lbs. ground beef
2 pkgs. taco seasoning
1/2 C. water
2 cans pinto beans
1 small bottle taco sauce, hot or mild based on your preference
4 tsp. margarine, melted
1 1/2 C. chopped, canned tomatoes, or 1-8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 C. onion, chopped
16 green olives, or to taste
1 – 8 oz. pkg. Cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine beef, seasoning and water. Cook until thick. Spread into a 9×13″ pan. Mix beans, 3 tablespoons taco sauce and margarine, and spread on tomatoes and onions. Add olives. Pour remaining taco sauce over olive layer. Cover with cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Use tortilla chips to dip or serve over lettuce with crushed tortilla chips.

Beef Cookbook Main Dishes

Taco Crescent Pie

This is a recipe I got from Jefferson neighbor: Sandy Eaton. She swears it’s great. I can’t remember ever making it, but it does sound good.

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 C. water
1 – 8 oz. tube crescent dinner rolls
1 C. sour cream
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1/3 C. sliced stuffed green olives
2 C. corn chips, crushed
1 C. Cheddar cheese, shredded
Lettuce, shredded
Tomato, chopped
Taco sauce

Brown and drain beef. Stir in seasoning mix, water and olives. Simmer 5 minutes. In 9″ or 10″ pie plate, form crust with rolls. Sprinkle 1 cup corn chips over bottom of crust. Spoon meat mixture over chips. Spread sour cream over meat and top with cheese. Sprinkle on remaining corn chips. Bake at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve in triangles, top as tacos.

Makes 6 servings.

Beef Cookbook Main Dishes

Super Beefy Enchiladas

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
8 oz. Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 C. onion, chopped
1 can tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can green chile enchilada sauce, or mild if you prefer
1 pkg. flour tortillas, any size

Brown ground beef. Add 1/2 cup cheese and onion. Set aside. Combine soups and enchilada sauce. To fill tortillas, place 3 tablespoons beef and 1 teaspoon soup mixture in the middle and roll. Lay the filled tortillas in a 9×13″ baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over rolled tortillas. Place remaining cheese over top. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.

VARIATION: Before adding beef to tortilla, spread thin layer of refried beans.

Beef Cookbook Main Dishes

Light and Lazy Lasagna

12 lasagna noodles
2 C. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 C. Parmesan cheese, grated

FILLING:
1 – 15 oz. carton non-fat ricotta cheese
1 C. non-fat cottage cheese
1/4 C. Parmesan cheese, grated
2 T. fresh parsley, finely chopped, or 2 tsp. dried

SAUCE:
8 oz. 95% lean ground beef
2 – 1 lb. cans unsalted tomato sauce
1 – 1 lb. can unsalted tomatoes, crushed
2 T. tomato paste
2 C. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. crushed fresh garlic
2 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

To make the sauce, place the ground meat in a 4-quart pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring to crumble, until the meat is no longer pink. Drain fat. Add all of the remaining sauce ingredients to the browned meat, increase the heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Set aside.

To make the filling, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir to mix well. Set aside.

To assemble the lasagna, coat a 9×13″ pan with cooking spray. Spoon 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of the pan. Lay 4 of the uncooked noodles over the bottom of the pan, arranging 3 of the noodles lengthwise and 1 of the noodles crosswise. Allow a little space between the noodles for expansion. Top the noodles with half of the filling mixture, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and 1 1/2 cups of the sauce. Repeat the noodles, filling, mozzarella cheese and sauce layers.

Finally, top with the remaining noodles, sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350º for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes, or until the edges are bubbly and the top is browned. Remove the dish from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Yields 10 servings.