Jen's Easy Veggie Soup

Easy Vegetable Soup
1 - 1.5 lbs ground hamburger
2 cans tomato sauce
1 can crushed (or diced) tomatoes
1 bag frozen mixed veggies (carrots, corn, green beans)
Chili powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
Garlic, to taste


Fry hamburger meat and drain. Add tomato sauce and tomatoes. Add chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper -- I usually sprinkle the whole top of the mixture with chili powder, then stir, and add the other seasonings. Heat through.

Variations

• Why use hamburger meat? Use ground turkey or sausage. Go meatless. It your super easy soup, eat it how you like it.
• Use fresh or canned veggies, or add veggies to the frozen. Without draining, add a can of corn or green beans. Fresh or canned potatoes are yummy, too. And I absolutely love to add 1/2 a head of cabbage to my soup.
  
• Use Rotel tomatoes instead of regular diced tomatoes for some real kick.
• Instead of tomato sauce, try tomato juice. Chicken or veggie broth is also good.
  
• Serve with cornbread! Jiffy cornbread is always my quick and easy go-to when I make veggie soup!
  

This makes a lot of soup. If you don't plan on eating leftovers the next day, this freezes really well. If you added potatoes, the texture may become grainy after freezing and reheating, however.

Love it? Hate it? Got your own variation? Post your thoughts.

Southern Baked Beans

Jen's Baked Beans

I should warn you know that Baked Beans are an example of my family's cooking at its most ingenious. I told you all in my first post that if it wasn't easy and fast that I didn't want to do it.

Main Ingredients:
2 cans Pork and Beans

Throw Ins:
Ground hamburger, cooked
Cooked ham or bacon
Couple big squirts of ketchup
Big squirt of mustard
Medium squirt of steak sauce
1/2 cup or so of BBQ sauce
palmful of brown sugar
onion, finely chopped


Just like the fruit salad, this is SUPER EASY! It's nothing but Variations.

Step 1: Open the Pork and Beans, pour into a pot or Dutch Oven
Step 2: Add whatever throw in ingredients you have on hand that you like
Step 3: Bake all ingredients at 350 for an hour OR let simmer on medium-low until ready to eat!

Hamburger with Gravy

Hamburger with Gravy
1 - 1.5 lbs of ground hamburger (or ground chuck)
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
Worcester's Sauce
Garlic salt (or Garlic powder), to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Fry hamburger, like if you were frying for spaghetti or taco meat. After meat is fully cooked and drained, add soup. If soup is too thick, add a splash of milk to thin. Season with Garlic, salt, and pepper. Add Worcester's sauce, about 1 turn around the pan. Stir everything together and heat until warmed through.

Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or toasted bread.  Turn it into Beef Stroganoff by serving over wide Egg Noodles.

Variations

• I got this idea from my favorite homemade burgers. You don't have to crumble the hamburger meat. Crumbling the meat is just faster. This recipe is just as great if you add the salt, garlic, and Worcester to the meat and then form into patties. Serve with gravy on thick, toasted buns.
  
• Going for burgers instead of the meat with gravy? Add some steak fries on the side.
  
• Brown Gravy is a yummy substitution. Try frying some onions with garlic and butter, then adding the meat and then the brown gravy. Heaven!
• Mushroom Gravy could also be used instead of cream of mushroom soup.
  
• Many soups have MSG. Look for a soup that doesn't include this ingredient, like Healthy Choice soups. Just remember to add salt and pepper for your tastes.

This meal really takes about 10 minutes, especially if you are using box mashed potatoes or toasted bread. Serve with broccoli, carrots, or a salad to add some crunch and color.

Without significant sides, this only serves 2-3 people. With sides, you can comfortably feed 4 or more.

Got your own quick hamburger dinners? Share your comments and recipes below.

Super Easy Chili

Mom's Easy Chili
1 - 1.5 lbs ground hamburger
1 can kidney beans
2 cans tomato sauce
1 can crushed (or diced) tomatoes
Chili powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
rice, optional
sour cream, optional
cheese, optional

Fry hamburger meat and drain. Drain beans and add to meat. Add tomato sauce and tomatoes. Add chili powder -- I usually sprinkle the whole top of the mixture with chili powder, then stir, and repeat. Heat through. Serve with rice, sour cream, and cheese.

Variations

• Why use hamburger meat? Use ground turkey or sausage. Go meatless. It your super easy chili, eat it how you like it.
• Kidney beans are traditional but in no way the only chili bean. Pinto beans work well. Ranch style beans (pre-seasoned pinto beans) add a little extra something. Use a combination of beans or no beans at all.
• Feel free to throw whatever is in your pantry into your chili. Got some leftover fried potatoes? Need to use up some plain macaroni? Really love corn?
  
• Use Rotel tomatoes instead of regular diced tomatoes for some real kick.
• Leave out one or both cans of tomato sauce for a thicker chili.
• Serve your chili over mashed potatoes instead of rice to switch it up a bit.
  

I really like this recipe because it's really easy and really fast. Chili is so easy to change up that it is a staple food in the winter AND it really tastes better the second day, so there's always a reason to make extra.

Love it? Hate it? Got your own variation? Post your thoughts.