Slow Cooker Picadillo

A few years ago, I tried a stove top Picadillo recipe.  It was the green olives that tempted me. 

I LOVED it!  Even if the green olives would not have been in the recipe, I would have still enjoyed the meal.  Sadly, like usual for me, I misplaced the recipe.

Today, I merged two different recipes to try to recreate the Picadillo taste.  Sadly, although it was an okay taste, it wasn't the "I CRAVE THIS!" recipe I'd been hoping to locate.  I felt this needed more seasoning, to include salt as it seemed to be missing something . . . . I might also decide, should I make this again, to increase the amount of chopped olives to closer to a full cup,

I am posting what I did now so that I can compare it as I continue my search for that crave-worthy winner of a recipe.

Slow Cooker Picadillo

1 lb ground beef
26 oz crushed tomatoes
10 oz tomato sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
16 green olives, finely chopped
1 tsp olive brine
1 green pepper, finely chopped
15 oz black beans (I used some I had soaked overnight)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

In skillet, brown burger.  Place burger and all other ingredients in slow cooker.  Stir well.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.  Serve by itself or over brown rice.

Pressure Cooker Deconstructed Lasanga Soup

Thank goodness for Pinterest!  We might just starve to death without it!  I mean, I just don't know where else to get recipes - surely not from the piles of recipe books in the kitchen nor from the bag I tote with me to dance class full of all sticky-noted magazines indicating which recipes I want/need to make that upcoming week.

Sarcasm aside, I love being able to pop on my Pinterest pages and find a good recipe right away that matches my mood - and energy level.  This past week . . . it was an odd one.  I couldn't remember what day it was, and kept thinking  had had Monday off when I had actually worked.  It might be the snow days and two hour delays for the girls' schools that kept me off schedule in my head.  Whatever it was, I was beat by the end of the week. 

I knew that I needed to feed the girls something more than just cereal - especially as all of the good cereal is gone and we're down to the "if we don't eat this, I'm not buying any more cereal!" cereals.  Seriously - these girls are odd.  They DO NOT like Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal!  Who would've thought I'd be telling the to finish THAT cereal off after they ate all of the Cheerios!

But, back to the post.  I wanted soup, again, so I popped on my Under Pressure! Pinterest Page.  This time, I found one with loads of meat!  I knew it would be a big hit!

Meet Deconstructed Lasagna Soup!

Again, this is one that will go into rotation!  I am thinking of making an emergency binder as my fatigue seems to be hitting more and more frequently.  This is a quick, simple and delicious recipe that everyone enjoyed.

My additions and thoughts for this soup -
~ ADD MORE WATER!  I followed the recipe and it was good.  REALLY GOOD.  But if I want a soup, more water will be needed.  This turned out to be Pressure Cooker Lasanga for us!  SERIOUSLY!  AND it was still very good as a Lasagna!  but, if I want soup, more water!
~ noodles.  I added 1 cup of flat, broken lasagna noodles.  I think this might have been some of the soup vs lasagna issue.  I will try for another type of pasta, or just add 1/2 cup pasta next time.
~ cheese.  I must remember Miss Picky does not like ricotta.  So, she ended up not putting a cheese ball in her "soup" and just sprinkled with Parmesan.  The other two girls, they loved the mozzarella and ricotta balls and thought it was soooo neat watching the cheese melt all through the lasagna.  I made the cheese balls with 16 oz ricotta and about 2 handfuls of mozzarella cheese.  Just enough for everything to stick together.  I included granulated garlic (more is better in my book, but add to your own liking), 1-2 T Italian Seasoning and mixed it all in a pyrex bowl. 
~ Chopped Green Pepper - yes, I added a veggie!

Really, it doesn't matter if this turns out as a Pasta Dish or a Soup, I will be making Deconstructed Lasagna Soup in my Pressure Cooker again!

Farmhouse Veggie Burger

DH's Amish friend had some yummy looking Eggplant at his produce stand.  So, we grabbed two of them along with the piles of peppers and tomatoes.  Then, it was time for me to find some way to "prepare" it . . . a way that everyone would enjoy.

I found it in my Natural Living Magazine.  The date of magazine is unknown, Miss Mia and Aisey have destroyed the magazine with their paper airplanes.  But, it does say this is from Farm Cafe in Portland, OR.

Farmhouse Veggie Burger

1 T olive oil
2 whole eggplant, peeled and diced in 1-inch pieces
2 scallions, chopped
1 T parsley, minced
1 cup medium cheddar, shredded
1 cup breadcrumbs
3/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
3 T olive oil

Over low heat in large nonstick pan, heat the olive oil and saute the eggplant until gray and very soft, about 15 minutes.  (Okay, this was soooo not the case for me.  I started out with stove at about 2 and i wasn't cooking at all.  I finally got frustrated as dinner wasn't going to be ready prior to the girls bedtime, so I turned it up to about medium heat and it still took approx another 1/2 hour for the eggplant to gray and turn soft).

Mix together the eggplant and the remaining ingredients except oil and chill for 30 minutes in refrigerator.

Form into 6 patties about an inch thick.  (This made burgers that were way too think and big for me . . . so I made 'em smaller and ended up with around 9 patties.  In all honesty, I could have made them a little thinner and ended up with 12 good sized patties . . . but I don't like HUGE burgers).

In a saute pan, heat Olive oil until shimmering hot, fry each side of patty until dark brown, about 5 minutes each side.  Serve with caramelized onions, spicy brown mustard, roasted red peppers and salad mix.

~ We liked them and will make them again.  I love it - I had all of the ingredients except the eggplant.  The eggplant ended up being 2 for $1.  Therefore, the entire meal plus all the burgers we froze . . . $1.00!  Beats store bought veggie burger prices!  YAH!

Shepherd's Pie

This is one of those recipes where everyone has their favorite way.  What follows is our favorite way of making a simple and yummy comfort food

Shepherd's Pie

1 pound burger
1 onion, diced
1 bag mixed vegetables, thawed
1 cup water
1 T flour
1 package brown gravy mix
2 T hot sauce
4 cups mashed potatoes
1/4 cup cheddar cheese

In skillet, brown burger and onion.  Drain fat and rinse burger onion mix under cool water.  Place back in skillet.  Add flour, brown gravy mix, water and hot sauce.  Stir frequently until warm.

At same time as burger is cooking, place vegetables in microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on high 6 minutes.

Layer burger in bottom of 2 qt casserole.  Place mixed vegetables over burger layer. 

Mix mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese together.  Place over vegetable layer in casserole.

Bake at 375 oven for 20 minutes or until potatoes start to brown.