Sloppy Joe's - also known in central PA as Hamburger Barbecue

It took me a while to get used to people in Pennsylvania calling this dish "barbecue". I grew up in eastern NC, which has its very own unique style of barbecue. Having lived in Arizona, I knew there were varying definitions of barbecue. But, it still took some getting used to, nonetheless.

I got this great recipe from my sweet friend Nancy!

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced

3/4 c. ketchup
2 T. sugar
2 t. Worcestershire
1 T. apple cider vinegar
1 t. prepared mustard

Brown ground beef with the onion, drain fat. Mix together sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer. Add ground beef mixture and heat through.

I like to put it in a crock pot and let it continue to simmer for a while.

To make as a freezer meal, you can do a variety of things: package 1 lb. raw ground beef in a ziploc and label it as "sloppy joe meat"; brown ground beef with onion, drain and cool, then package in ziploc and label; prepare the recipe as stated, let cool, and package in ziploc.

Awesome Shepherd's Pie

I follow this recipe loosely. (translation: I don't chop fresh veggies, I use a bag of frozen mixed veggies; I don't measure the worcestershire sauce, I like it a lot; and I use instant mashed potatoes!) It's still VERY good!

I found it here: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_shepherds_pie/

Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
• 1 onion chopped
• 1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Method

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.

5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.

7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Serves four.

To make as a freezer meal, I fix the ground beef part and then freeze that in a ziploc. Since I use instant mashed potatoes and almost always have them in the pantry, I don't bother to make the entire thing in a dish. I thaw the ground beef mixture, put it in a dish, top with instant mashed potatoes, and bake.

Pizza Meatloaf

I have to admit that every time I have this dish prepared in my freezer, for some reason I think "I guess we'll have that meatloaf for dinner". Then, I prepare it and we all love it to pieces. I don't know what I have a ho-hum attitude about it. Maybe there's just something about the name meatloaf. The loaf part makes me think of some processed, bland, nastiness.

However, this meatloaf is far from bland and always gets rave reviews around our house. Even my picky eater who dislikes ground beef will eat her helping with little fuss. I usually serve this dish with mashed potatoes and a green veggie. This week we had asparagus (rolled in olive oil and sprinkled with salt & pepper, then roasted in the oven at 375 degrees for about 12-15 minutes). That same pickier eater also devoured the asparagus, claiming "I love these things!" It was a good dinner that night.
One more thing to note: This recipe makes two dinner portions. Half of this recipe feeds our family (2 adults, 3 young children) with 2 portions left over for the next day.

INGREDIENTS

1 envelope onion soup mix
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 lb bulk breakfast sausage
3 eggs
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Divide the mixture into two batches. Place each batch in a quart size freezer bag.

To cook, thaw the meat completely. Place in a loaf pan. Top with 1/4 - 1/2 cup pasta sauce. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Top with 1/2 - 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and cook 5 additional minutes. Let stand before serving.