Meat Sauce over French Bread (which is a title I had to make up since it's a recipe I made up)

I posted a recipe for freezable meat sauce awhile ago & mentioned (as another dinner option) you could serve this meat sauce over french bread & topped with mozzarella cheese. We made it tonight & I wanted to share the results! :)

Paired with a salad it's a yummy, super-quick meal.



Defrost meat sauce. (I used 2 cups for 1/2 french loaf above.)

Heat meat sauce through in microwave or stovetop while hollowing out french loaf.

This is where I went wrong tonight! I cut the loaf in half before hollowing it out. Bad idea - it totally fell apart when we tried to cut it.

Use a whole loaf, just cut off the top third & then hollow out about an inch down. Leave at least half the french bread loaf intact at the bottom for stability.

Partially hollow out loaf of french bread.

Spoon meat sauce into hollowed-out bread & mound it up a bit.




Top with slices of mozzarella cheese (or grated).

Bake 15 minutes at 400*. Serve immediately.

(FYI - Above you see 1/2 french bread with just pizza sauce & cheese for my picky eaters)

Here's the original meat sauce recipe:


I have this meat sauce in my freezer all the time. When I make it, I make 1-2 extra batches & freeze them flat in Ziploc bags. Just pull one out of the freezer in the morning & serve that night for dinner. Love the convenience! Love the taste too! :)

FREEZABLE MEAT SAUCE
1 pound ground turkey (I've never tried ground beef)
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped onion (for a mild onion, use 1/2 cup - for a stronger onion, use 1/4 cup)
1 T fresh minced garlic
salt & pepper to taste
1 can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained & rinsed
4 cups spaghetti sauce (your favorite)
1/4 cup water

Brown ground turkey in a large skillet. Halfway through browning, add chopped onion. Cook until turkey is thoroughly browned & onion is translucent.

Stir in garlic & beans. Add salt & pepper sparingly. (just a few shakes is plenty - or none at all)

Pour in spaghetti sauce & stir to mix well. Only add water if sauce looks too thick - never more than 1/4 cup. Bring to soft boil.

Cover & reduce heat.
Simmer for 15 minutes and serve!


TO FREEZE:
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Spoon into gallon-size Ziploc bag. Push out all the air, seal & lay flat in freezer. On a cookie sheet is great, but on top of something flat like a pizza or pie box is good too.
Once frozen, you can stand it upright & it takes up less than an inch of space.

FOR VEGGIE OPTION:I've used portabella mushrooms, sliced or roughly chopped, instead of the ground turkey. I'm not a mushroom fan, but it was really good!

Chicken Enchiladas

********This comes from Jenna's blog*******
http://myfavoriterecipes-rejoice.blogspot.com/2009/01/creamy-enchiladas.html

**Our family tried these enchilada's from Jenna's blog page (a fellow author to this blog) and we all quite enjoyed them. I do have to say that if I made them again, I may possibly try adding some green chiles to the chicken mixture, although we liked them just the way they were.

Creamy Enchiladas
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion diced up (I did not add this because I don't love onions)
1 clove garlic crushed
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. sugar
3 cups heavy cream
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
12-18 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups monterey jack grated cheese

--Saute onion in 2 Tbsp. oil until translucent. Stir in garlic, tomato sauce, salt, sugar and chicken. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. In a large saucepan heat cream. Dissolve bouillon in cream; set aside. Dip tortillas, one at a time, in oil turning once for a few seconds to soften; drain on paper towel. Dip tortilla in cream mixture; place on flat surface. Put 3 Tbsp. chicken mixture and roll up. **I also added cheese before I wrapped it up. That was not part of the original recipe. Place rolled tortilla seam side down in 9x13 baking dish. Pour any remaining sauce over enchiladas. Cover with grated cheese. Bake @ 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Chicken with Cornbread dumplings

This recipe came from the Raleys/Bel-Air/Nob-Hill magazine. I never heard of Raleys until I moved to Northern California.....but anyways, this meal was a welcome change. It was something I have never made and never would have eve thought of doing. It was not a meal that I thought was fabulous, but it was good and everyone liked it.

Chicken with cornbread Dumplings

3-1.2 oz packets Knorr Roasted Chicken Gravy Mix
4 cups water
2 stalks celery-sliced
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 tsp Spice Island Fines Herbs (parsley, chives, chervil, tarragon)
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken meat (I just cooked chicken in chicken broth)
2 1/2 cups C&W petite peas, corn, petite carrots and snap peas
1 (6.5oz) pouch cornbread mix (I used a box of jiffy cornbread mix)
1/3 cup milk
2 TB melted butter
1 egg
1/4 cup minced green onion

Whisk together gravy mix and water in a stockpot and bring to a boil. Add celery, onion and herbs. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes stirring frequently.

Add chicken and vegetable blend. Meanwhile prepare cornbread batter with milk, butter and egg. Stir in green onions and let sit 5 minutes.

Bring chicken mixture back to a boil, drop cornbread mixture in large spoonfuls on top of boiling soup. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes over medium heat. Cover and reduce to simmer and cook another 10 minutes.

Southwest Tortilla Soup

**I have never made this soup without someone wanting the recipe. Most kids do not like tomatoes, but every child I know eats this soup.** Thanks Jennifer M. for the recipe!

Southwest Tortilla Soup

2-3 cans chicken broth

3-4 chicken breasts

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles (I do not like ro-tel at all, not even the mild. They tend to be too spicy.)

2-3 TB taco seasoning

1 can white beans drained

1 can black beans drained

grated cheese

tortilla chips- crumbled

Cook chicken in chicken broth, and shred. Add both cans of tomatoes, taco seasoning, and both cans of beans. Bring to a boil. Done.

Serve soup in a bowl with grated cheese on top and crushed tortilla chips.

Beefy Fettucine

Beefy Fettucine
1 lb stew meat chunks
2 cans reduced sodium beef broth
onion salt
cornstarch mixed with water
fettucine noodles

In a skillet brown the stew chunks while seasoning with onion salt. Add 2 cans beef broth. Bring to a boil, cover with lid and reduce heat to a simmer for about an hour or until the beef chunks become soft enough to shred. Return to high heat after meat has been shred and add cornstarch mixture to thicken to gravy consistency.

While the meat is cooking boil the fettucine noodles and cook according to pkg directions.

Serve noodles on plate with beef mixture on top.

**You could use leftover roast, or you could buy the canned Hereford beef chunks to make this recipe in a snap**

Taco Cups

**This recipe came from Sandra Lee Semi-homemade**

Taco Cups

1/2lb ground beef

2Tb taco seasoning

1 12oz can refrigerated flaky butter biscuits, Pillsbury

grated cheddar cheese

sour cream

salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place a biscuit in each muffin opening patting the biscuit dough carefully up the sides.

In a skillet brown ground beef, drain, and add taco seasoning with a small amount of water. Cook about 5 minutes.

Spoon meat mixture in each muffin and top with cheese.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Serve with sour cream and salsa.