Beef and Soba Salad

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 bunch asparagus, grilled and cut into 1 inch pieces
8 oz soba noodles, cooked, drained and cooled
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 lb steak grilled
2 bunches scallions sliced

Toss asparagus with the cooked soba noodles. In a separate bowl, whisk together ginger, garlic, soy sauce, honey, and mustard. Pour the dressing over the soba noodles and toss well to combine. Top with seasoned beef and scallions.
Note: I usually go ahead and saute the asparagus in a skillet with 1 Tbsp butter as opposed to grilling it. In addition, I like to use thin-sliced steak strips, seasoned and cooked medium-rare in a skillet. That makes this a quick dinner when you don't have time to grill.
Also, spaghetti can be substituted for the soba noodles.

Kids Love It Meatloaf

1 onion, finely chopped
2 lbs ground beef
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp black pepper
3 Tbsp bottled chili sauce
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Mix together onion and ground beef. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, salt, mustard, worcestershire sauce, pepper and chili sauce. Pour eggs over mixtures. Very gently toss mixture with 2 forks until ingredietns are well mixed. Don't toss too much or meatloaf will be tough. Mound the meat mixture in the center of a greased roasting pan. Pat into a compact loaf. Spread additional chili sauce over the top. Bake at 350 for approximately 1 hour.

Skillet Tacos

1 package sausage links
1 green onion, chopped
2 red potatoes, petite diced
12 eggs, beaten
Optional
1 red pepper, finely chopped
3 cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

In a nonstick skillet, cook sausage links until browned. Remove from skillet. Add 1-2 Tbsp oil to skillet and cook potatoes until golden and tender. Dice sausage while potatoes are cooking. Return sausage to skillet along with onion, pepper, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook 1-2 minutes over medium heat. Add beaten eggs to sausage mixture and cook through. Serve in flour tortillas with cheese and salsa.
Note: I prefer to cook the eggs (soft scramble) in a separate skillet and then add them to the sausage mixture.

Meatballs (for Spaghetti and Meatballs)

1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
2 4oz links sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground sirloin

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mixing just until combined. With wet hands, shape into 32 meatballs. Place meatballs on a broiler pan. Broil 15 minutes or until done. Serve meatballs on top of spaghetti with favorite sauce and mozzarella cheese. Meatballs can also be served smothered in barbecue sauce as an appetizer.

Williams Sonoma Kids Pizza

2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water (105-115)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp vegetable oil
6 ozs mozzarella cheese
1 cup pizza sauce
pizza toppings of choice

In a large bowl (or bread mixer) combine water, yeast and sugar. Let stand 5-10 minutes until foam forms. Add oil, flour and salt and stir until rough, shaggy dough forms. Knead dough for 10 minutes or until smooth and no longer sticky. Gather dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl and let rise 45 minutes or until double in size. Sprinkle baking sheet or pizza peel with cornmeal. Using hands, gently stretch dough into a 14 inch round on a lightly floured surface. Carefully lift and place on baking sheet or pizza peel. Allow to stand 5 minutes. Brush edge with olive oil. Spread with sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Arrange toppings over cheese. Bake on bottom rack of a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is brown. If using a pizza stone, preheat oven and baking stone to 450-500 for 45 minutes to one hour prior to baking pizza. Slide pizza off pizza peel onto stone and bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. Allow to cool slightly, then slice and serve immediately.
Our favorite toppings are meatlovers using Italian sausage, browned and crumbled; pepperoni and Canadian Bacon. Amy loves plain cheese. Mom loves a vegetarian pizza with peppers, onions, tomato and basil. If adding tomatoes to the pizza, bake the pizza for 5-10 minutes first and then add tomatoes for the last 5 minutes so the dough does not become too soggy.

Mom's Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

One day when the boys were small we were watching TV and came across a camping cooking show where they made this Macaroni and Cheese. We decided to try it on our next camping trip and it was a huge hit with everyone!

1 lb elbow macaroni
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 cups mozzarella cheese (some cheddar or monterey jack cheese may be added if a yellow colored cheese sauce is required for picky eaters)
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 ham steak

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain. Saute onion in butter until tender but not brown. Stir in flour, salt and pepper to taste. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. Add cheese. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Brown ham steak in a skillet. Dice. Add to cheese sauce. Pour cheese sauce over noodles and stir until well combined. Serve immediately.
Yield: 6-8 servings.

Austin Crispy Steak Tacos with Salsa Verde

I discovered this recipe watching the Rachel Ray Show while waiting for the car to be serviced at the local dealership. It looked so good, I had to come home and try it. Dad loved it! Then he groaned when he learned where I got the recipe and then finally had to admit that he loves Rachel Ray!

1 2lb flank steak, cut into 4 pieces
2 meium onions, 1 peeled and quartered, 1 finely chopped and divided
2 bay leaves
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced or finely chopped
4 cloves minced garlic, divided
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (or more to taste!)
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
6 tomatillos, husks removed and quartered
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp honey
1 avocado, pitted
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
2-3 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (more or less to taste)

Place flank steak into a medium pot with the quartered onion and bay leaves. Cover with cold water and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes or until meat is very tender. Remove meat from pot and discard water and veggies.
Shred the steak with a fork (or by hand) and transfer to a medium bowl. Add red onion, 2 cloves garlic, and first jalapeno peppers to bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Combine and set aside.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add the shredded meat and veggie mixture tot he pan, spreading it out to cover the entire bottom. Cook until crispy on the bottom. Flip mixture over and cook on the other side until crispy, about 5 minutes per side. (I find it impossible to flip the mixture so I just stir it and turn as much of the steak as possible.)
While the meat is cooking, place a medium pot over medium-high heat with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add the remaining chopped onion, garlic, tomatillos, cumin and second jalapeno peppers to pan. Cook until the veggies are tender and the tomatillos have begun to release their liquieds, about 8 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor. Add the honey, avocado and cilantro and pulse to puree.
Serve on warmed tortillas with some mozzarella cheese.

Hearty Lasagna

3/4 lb ground beef
vegetable cooking spray
1 cup finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup parsley, divided
2 (14 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes
1 (14 oz) can Italian style stewed tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups non-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 (15 oz) container nonfat Ricotta Cheese
1 egg white, lightly beaten
9-12 cooked lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded Provolone cheese (you can substitute mozzarella or use a combination of Italian cheeses that melt well)

Brown meat in a large sauce pan, stirring to crumble. Drain and set aside. Wipe pan with a paper towel. Coat with cooking spray. Add the onion and garlic and saute 5 minutes. Return beef to the pan. At this point, you can substitute your favorite canned/bottled spaghetti sauce to save time. Add 2 Tbsp parsley and next 7 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Uncover, simmer 20 minutes and remove from heat.
While sauce is simmering, combine cottage cheese and next three ingredients in medium bowl. Stir well and set aside.
Spread 3/4 cup tomato mixture in bottom of a 9x13 pan coated with cooking spray. Cover with 3-4 lasagna noodles. Top with half of cottage cheese mixture, 2/3 cup Provolone and 2 cups of tomato mixture. Repeat layers and then top last layer with remaining 3-4 noodles. Spread remaining tomato mixture over noodles. Cover and bake at 350 for one hour. Uncover. Sprinkle with remaining Provolone and bake 10 minutes or until cheesy is melted. When pressed for time, I have simply added the Provolone on top immediately and baked uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until heated through.