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Making Dinner Easy
Make-Ahead
Seasoned Ground Beef, Crescent-Topped Burger
Bake, Tomato-Vegetable Stroganoff, Quick
Italian Soup, Slow-Roasted Pork With Salsa
and Cheesy Pork Quesadillas
 (Family Features) - Busy lifestyles make it difficult
for families to spend time together on a regular basis - but parents
overwhelmingly agree dinnertime is the best time to nurture and
nourish their kids. A recent survey found that 78 percent of respondents
feel eating dinner together as a family is important, but the majority
(55 percent) said they are only able to have dinner together as
a family four times - or less - each week.
Simple ideas to get dinner on the table are the key to making dinnertime
together a habit. Try this simple idea - cook once; eat twice. By
cooking the meat and turning it into two or three great meals, you
can cut down on kitchen time and have plenty of room for more family
time. For more ideas and shortcuts for dinnertime planning, preparation
and cleanup a great resource is DinnerMadeEasy.com.
Bring one of these great complete dinner ideas to your family dinner
table tonight! It's easy as 1 + 2 + 3 = a great meal.
Make-Ahead Seasoned Ground Beef
Cook a batch of ground beef now, then package to use for
quick
meals later.
Makes 10 cups
5 pounds
lean ground beef
1 package (1.25 ounces) Old El Paso taco seasoning mix
- Sprinkle
taco seasoning mix evenly over ground beef; pat lightly.
Cut beef in half. Heat 4-quart saucepan over medium- high
heat about 2 minutes. Cook half of beef about 10 minutes,
breaking up and stirring frequently, until thoroughly
cooked; drain. Repeat with remaining beef.
- Divide
Seasoned Ground Beef into DixieWare containers for future
meals. Use 3 cups to make Crescent-Topped Burger Bake,
2 cups to make Quick Italian Soup and 2 cups to make Tomato-Vegetable
Stroganoff. Label containers and freeze up to 3 months.
Note:
One pound of browned, drained ground beef equals approximately
2 cups cooked ground beef.
Note:
Taco seasoning used to season the beef will not overpower
the flavor of individual recipes. |
Day 1
Crescent-Topped Burger
Bake
Makes 8 servings
3 cups Make-Ahead Seasoned Ground Beef (see recipe)
3 cups frozen diced hash brown potatoes
1 bag (1 pound) Green Giant frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 jars (12 ounces each) beef gravy
1 can (8 ounces) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
- Heat oven to 375°F. Mix thawed Seasoned Ground Beef,
potatoes, vegetables, onion and gravy in 12-inch skillet. Heat
to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 8 to 10 minutes or
until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
- Spoon hot beef mixture into ungreased 2 1/2- to 3-quart shallow
casserole. Separate dough into 8 triangles. Place over hot mixture
with points in center and wide ends around outer edge of casserole.
Bake 14 to 17 minutes or until crescents are golden brown and
mixture is bubbly around edge.
Serve with frozen broccoli florets, prepared as directed on bag.
Day 2
Tomato-Vegetable Stroganoff
Makes 6 servings
2 cups Make-Ahead Seasoned Ground Beef (see recipe)
1 package (6.5 ounces) Hamburger Helper stroganoff dinner mix
1 cup frozen broccoli cuts
1 can (19 ounces) Progresso tomato basil soup
1 cup hot water
1 cup milk
- Mix thawed Seasoned Ground Beef, Sauce Mix, broccoli, soup,
hot water and milk in 10-inch skillet. Heat to boiling; stir
in uncooked Pasta.
- Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve with Bisquick Complete cheese-garlic biscuits, prepared
as directed on pouch.
Day 3
Quick Italian Soup
Makes 6 servings
2 cups Make-Ahead Seasoned Ground Beef (see recipe)
1 package (6.4 ounces) Hamburger Helper lasagna skillet-dinner mix
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
5 cups hot water
1 small zucchini, chopped
- Mix thawed Seasoned Ground Beef, Sauce Mix, undrained tomatoes,
corn, onion, cheese and hot water in 4-quart saucepan. Heat
to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; cover and simmer
10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in uncooked pasta and zucchini. Cover and cook 10 minutes.
If desired, sprinkle each serving with additional cheese.
Serve with refrigerated breadsticks, prepared as directed on
can.
Day 4
Slow-Roasted Pork With Salsa
Makes 8 servings
1 boneless pork butt or shoulder roast (4 pounds)
1/3 cup Old El Paso Thick 'n Chunky salsa
- Trim fat from pork; place in 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Top
with salsa. Cover; cook on Low setting for 8 to 10 hours.
- About 5 minutes before serving, remove pork from cooker. Discard
liquid in cooker. Reserve one-third of roast. Cut remaining
roast into slices to serve now. Serve with additional salsa,
if desired.
- Shred reserved pork with two forks; place in plastic storage
container. Cover and label for Cheesy Pork Quesadillas then
refrigerate.
Serve with Spanish rice and your favorite pouch cookie mix, prepared
as directed.
Day 5
Cheesy Pork Quesadillas
Makes 4 sandwiches
2 cups shredded cooked Slow-Roasted
Pork With Salsa (see Day 4 recipe)
3/4 cup thick-and-chunky salsa
4 flour tortillas for burritos
1/4 cup sour cream
4 slices Monterey Jack cheese
- Heat pork with 1/4 cup salsa in medium saucepan over medium-high
heat, stirring occasionally.
- Spread half of each tortilla with sour cream; top with 1/2-cup
pork mixture and 1 tablespoon salsa. Cut cheese slices in half.
Top salsa with 2 half-slices cheese each. Fold tortilla over
filling.
- Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray. Cook 2 quesadillas
at a time over medium-high heat about 3 minutes or until golden
brown and filling is heated, turning once. Cut into wedges;
serve with remaining salsa.
Serve with canned Mexican corn and Betty Crocker pouch fudge
brownies, prepared as directed.
- Don't feel like chopping onions? Look for frozen chopped onions
in bags where you find frozen vegetables.
- For quick cleanup after the meal, use new microwave-safe Dixie
Stoneware. These sturdy plates and bowls look like real dinnerware
but are disposable. Pair with paper napkins and cleanup will
be a breeze.
- A plastic knife will cut brownies without tearing the edge.
And for fast and simple cleanup, line your brownie pan with
aluminum foil.
SOURCE: Dinner Made Easy
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