Project 4: Family Favorites

Here are three recent favorites.

Beef Taco Skillet (recipe from Campbell’s Soup)

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Makes: 4 Servings (about 1 cup each)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell’s Condensed Tomato Soup (Regular or Health Request)
• 1/2 cup Pace Picante Sauce (salsa)
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 flour tortillas (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat.
2. Stir the soup, picante sauce, water and tortillas in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir the beef mixture. Top with the cheese.

Recipe Tips:

1. Flavor variation: for Creamy Mexican Fiesta Skillet, stir in 1/2 cup sour cream with the soup.
2. Flavor variation: for Ranchero-Style Skillet, use corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas and shredded Mexican cheese blend instead of Cheddar.
3. Serving suggestion: Serve with a mixed green salad with Italian salad dressing and corn on the cob. For dessert serve a store-bought flan.

Spinach & Sausage Rigatoni

(From my friend Holly)

This is by far my newest, most favorite meal!!! It is soooooooo good!! This is great for busy nights (like when Paul has to be at Youth by 6:30p) because it’s really quick. As promised, Katie, here is the recipe! Enjoy!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb Rigatoni Pasta (or any pasta really)
1 lb Kielbasa Sausage, halved and sliced
2 tsp Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 c. chicken broth
5 oz fresh spinach (I use much more since it reduces so much)
4 tbsp Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2. Meanwhile, coat large skillet w/ nonstick cooking spray. Add sausage; cook until brown, stirring regularly, about 7 minutes or so.
3. Add oil and garlic (take a big sniff, it smells delicious!) and cook about 30 seconds.
4. Stir in broth, then add spinach
5. Cover and cook 2-3 more minutes, until spinach is wilted.
6. Stir to combine, add parmesan cheese and toss mixture into pasta.

NOTE: For a soupier dish, reserve about 1/2 c. of the pasta water and stir into the sausage mixture.

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:

4-6 Boneless Chicken Breasts (mine were still frozen!)

1/2 Bottle Barbecue Sauce (I like trying different kinds of BBQ sauce

1 20 oz. can Pineapple Chunks, drained

Directions:

Spray the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray for an easy cleanup!  Place frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot and cover with sauce.  Empty can of drained pineapple chunks on top.  Cook on High for 2-3 hours or Low for 4-6 hours.  Shred chicken with two forks while still in the crock pot so the chicken will be well coated with sauce.  Serve over rice.

Why we like them...

The taco skillet is simple to make but still tastes great! And it’s easier to make and serve than making tacos.

The Spinach dish, we mix it up! We change the meat and the pasta to whatever we are in the mood for or have in the house, and use a full bag of spinach.

The Hawaiian BBQ is so yummy! You can leave it whole or break it up and serve it with pasta, rice, or on rolls.