Impossible Pie

Talk about quick and easy! I make this in a variety of ways depending on the veggies I have available. It's just a quiche -- found in virtually every Bisquick Recipe book.

IMPOSSIBLE PIE

1/2 package bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled

1 cup cheese, any type

About 1 cup frozen veggie, your choice -- broccoli is good

1 small chopped onion

2 cups milk

4 eggs

1 cup baking mix, any type -- even pancake mix will work.

1/2 tsp pepper

Grease a generously sized pie plate by spraying nonstick spray on it.

Sprinkle the bacon, cheese, and frozen veggies in the bottom of the pie plate.

Beat (in a bowl with a whisk) or blend (in a blender) the eggs, onion, milk, eggs, and pepper. Pour over top of the veggies and bacon in the pie plate.

Bake 35-40 minutes at 425 degrees until knife or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 6 servings.

Jen's notes:

1. I've stretched this easily to 8 servings.

2. Use whatever veggies you like -- stir fry, California or Italian blend, etc. Any frozen or fresh veggies will work. Also add in diced peppers or chilis if you like some spiciness.

3. Baking mix is extremely cheap to make yourself -- here's a link to a recipe for Baking Mix.

4. Try sprinkling a little cheese over the top if you like a browned, cheesy crust.

rating: 3 stars. Bug loves this.

Sloppy Joes

There is nothing like Sloppy Joes and tater tots and green beans for a quick run-out-the-door to sports practice/game dinner. This is so easy and good, nice and sweet.

SLOPPY JOES

1 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons beef bouillon or 2 cubes

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon mustard

In a skillet, brown the meat with pepper and onion. Pour off the fat.

Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered with a lid, for 15-20 minutes. Serve on buns. This makes enough for 4.

Jen's Notes:

1. Use less sugar and maybe a spicier mustard if you like your Joes a little less sweet.

2. When my green peppers start to go bad in the fridge, I dice them up and throw them in a ziplock in the freezer. That way I have them handy when I go to make this or other dishes that call for them.

3. Use BBQ sauce instead of ketchup for a nice spicy twist.

4. You can double this for a bigger family (I always do) or do the math and make enough for the whole football team or church.

5. When I've been out of buns, this also works served as an open sandwich over a piece of bread, or cornbread, with maybe a little cheese added on top!

rating: 4 stars. Liked by everyone but Rose, who thinks it's a little sweet.

Vegetable Soup

This is my Mom's recipe -- hand written on a piece of note paper from February 1993! I guess that's a kind of reminder for me as to just how long I've really be doing this . . .

VEGETABLE SOUP

Beef

onion

garlic

tomatoes

tomato or V8 juice

barley

lentils

mixed vegetables

4-5 medium potatoes

cabbage

water

seasonings

bay leaf

salt

pepper

Put it all in a pot and simmer for several hours.

Better the second day. Can be frozen and reheated.

Jen's notes:

1. Stew beef works best. But any kind will do, cut into bite-sized pieces and trimmed of fat.

2. She says "up to a whole onion chopped)

3. Minced garlic is all she notes on my recipe, but I would probably use 2 cloves chopped/minced.

4. Tomatoes can be canned or fresh; whole, diced, or crushed, and must be peeled. I usually use about 3 cans.

5. Yep, the whole can of tomato juice.

6. She says "a couple of handfuls" of barley and lentils.

7. The mixed veggies is any size bag you like, frozen.

8. The potatoes need to be cut into bite sized pieces. I never peel them.

9. She says "up to half a head of cabbage, cut-up"

10. For seasonings, she says "anything that adds flavour to soups." This means you can use fresh herbs if you have them, like basil or rosemary or sage. She also says allspice is good.

11. You add enough water to make it soupy. But remember, it will cook down, so don't feel bad if you end up adding more water later. You could also use beef broth.

rating: 3 stars. Hunk O Man loves it, the girls are pretty so-so. Great on a cold day with fresh bread or biscuits or rolls.

Inside-Out Bacon Cheeseburgers

I made these recently and they were a big hit. The trick to them is that you have to try and pick up those patty-maker thingys from Tupperware either at a garage sale, or a thrift store, or on Ebay. They make doing this go MUCH faster. I found mine at a garage sale some years ago and have been using it for all kinds of meat patties since.

INSIDE OUT BACON-CHEESEBURGERS

(from Kraft "Food & Family" magazine)

1 lb. ground beef

3 Tbsps. ranch dressing, divided

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (or use the salad bacon bits)

2 cheese slices, cut into quarters

Take your meat and put it into a bowl. Then mark it into quarters like Rachael Ray does.

Each quarter should make two patties.

Mix in 2 Tbsps. of the ranch dressing with the meat.

Shape the meat into 8 patties.

Mix the remaining 1 Tbsp. ranch dressing with the bacon. Spoon this mixture onto four of the patties. Top with two of the slices of cheese quarters.

Put another pattie on top, and seal the edges.

Makes 4 patties. Recipe can be doubled and tripled. Freeze in plastic containers and separate patties with wax paper, or in zipper-top freezer bags.

Jen's notes:

1. These are really good in the summer on the grill. Because the bacon is already cooked, you don't have to worry about the inside of the burger being raw.

2. You can put just about anything between two hamburger patties for a better burger. I'll post more of these types of recipes as time goes on.

rating: 3 stars. Great in the summertime.