Homemade Breakfast Bowl

I made my first ever breakfast bowl yesterday morning. I've never had one anywhere, but I know you can buy them in the grocery stores in the frozen food section (usually Jimmy Dean brand). I wasn't actually planning on having a "breakfast bowl" for breakfast, but that's how it turned out. And, I enjoyed it!

First, I took a handful of fresh ground beef that I had bought at our small grocer in town (with a real butcher!) and browned that while adding salt and pepper. There was very little grease, so when I took the meat out, I added some olive oil to the pan and put in some diced potato hash browns to cook up. When they were done, I added the meat back to the pan intending to make sure it was still hot. Meanwhile, I had scrambled a couple eggs in preparation of cooking them separately.

While the meat and potatoes were reheating in the pan, I decided that I would just pour the eggs over them and cook everything together. That's what I did. I then put everything into a bowl I had waiting and sprinkled the top with a handful of shredded cheddar while, at the same time, heated up a couple of tortillas over the open flame on the stove. I set the tortillas on top of the bowl and got the salsa out. When I took off the tortillas, the cheese had melted from the heat of the tortillas and the potato/meat/egg mixture. I then put some salsa on top of all of it and enjoyed my breakfast!


Photo credit - Some rights reserved by theimpulsivebuy (www.flickr.com/photos/theimpulsivebuy/) An amazingly raunchy and negative review of the Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowl linked on this photo. But, I didn't think to write about my bowl until after I'd eaten it. So, this particular photo does closely resemble my breakfast except I had ground beef instead of bacon and my potatoes were more finely diced.

A Pot of Chili on the Stove - or There Will Be

There are three quick meals I can make with the pound and a half of ground beef I just started browning. One is chili, one is green beans and meat and the other is meat sauce for spaghetti. I love all three of them, but don't feel like getting a second pan out to cook potatoes (green beans) or pasta (meat sauce), so it looks like chili will be the recipe du jour.

I like that I can make a huge pot of chili full of beans and meat (I know - no real Texan would call that chili, which is good since I'm a Jersey Girl) with loads of onions and peppers and tomatoes. So much goodness to be had in a single pot.

Sure, I could make biscuits to go with it - or have it over pasta similar to Cincinnati - but, I do enjoy it as it is from the pan in a bowl with some buttered bread and some cheddar cheese - maybe even a little sour cream if it's got some kick. I'm debating the "kick" as I write.

OK, debate is done and so is the chili. I used white kidney beans and black beans along with diced onions and diced bell peppers, a small can of Rotel tomatoes (mild), a large can of crushed tomatoes, a large can of diced tomatoes, three tablespoons of chili powder and a half a packet of red pepper flakes that Dominos gives when you ask for them. I only used half because they were so darned hot when I put them on the pizza!! I figured half would let me know they were there and still let me enjoy the flavor. I was right!

So, I'm now noshing on a bowl of red gold with buttered whole grain bread and a cup of coffee. Comfort food to the max!!

Originally published on Bubblews.com yesterday.

Hamburger Helper Cheesy Enchilada

I was supposed to go out to dinner the other night, but the person who was going to take me, after making a big production of where we were going to go, suddenly decided we were going to go somewhere else. Because he's done this numerous times in the past to the point of extreme annoyance, I decided not to go out at all and make something at home. I'm glad I did.

From Google images - this is how I ate mine!

I went to our trusty pantry and pulled out the box of Hamburger Helper Cheesy Enchilada. I didn't really look at it, other than the name and that it would be Mexican inspired. I assumed it would be pasta as all of them usually are. (Obviously, I failed to look closely at even the photo on the front of the box - and, yes - I am the kind of person who tries to assemble things without reading the instructions.) 

I had already decided that I would incorporate some vegetables because we had a half can of corn my daughter had opened and left in the fridge plus two small portions of limas and green beans in the freezer. That way we have more of a one pot meal than anything. When I realized this particular HH was a rice dish, I wasn't sure the veggies would work out well. I did it anyway.

The instructions said to put the rice in with the hot water and milk, so that's also when I added the three small portions of vegetables. I lowered the flame and put the lid on and let it simmer the 20 minutes required. 

Of course, being the lazy butt that I tend to be, I didn't stir during that time, so I had quite a mess on the stove and counter from the hot liquid escaping past the lid. But, the end result was wonderful!!! 

The flavoring was mild and only hinted at being Mexican-esque. The vegetables incorporated themselves quite well without altering the overall flavor. Even my daughter ate it and she's not a fan of either lima beans or rice. 

I have one more box of this flavor in the pantry. I will not hesitate to make it when I'm craving a rice dish.

V is for Vegetables in Hamburger Helper

We like Hamburger Helper in our house. We REALLY like it. My daughter LOVES it. She's made it twice just this week. But, we also add vegetables to it. It's not just meat, sauce and noodles for us. 


First Deb made Beef Noodle Helper to which she added French-style green beans. It was delicious. Today she made Philly Cheesesteak Helper and added whole kernel corn and peas. I might have liked it better without the peas, but it's still good. It's not that I don't like peas, but they added a "sweet" to it that I'd have rather not had in something called Philly Cheesesteak.


Adding vegetables allows Hamburger Helper to be a one pan meal instead of having to dirty another pan to cook a vegetable separately.


Do you make Hamburger Helper (or something similar)? When you do, do you change it up in any way?

It's Never Too Hot for Chili

Restaurant Widow's chili 

Yes, I said it. Despite it being the hottest summer season we've ever experienced here in South Jersey, my daughter wanted chili and set out to make a pot full using some of the fresh ground beef I had just bought. Chili is one of her favorite foods. She loved it when my mother would make chili. And, she liked my chili (which was a bit different from my mother's). But, once she began making it herself, she swears by her own. 

Of course, it is good, I have to admit. But, I don't quite know where she got her taste for adding hot sauce since that's never been part of my cooking or my mother's cooking. Even her father, of Mexican heritage, isn't too fond of spicy foods. But, my daughter likes to kick it up a notch, as Emeril might say. I don't even know which of the several hot sauces she's brought into the house she uses because I don't use it, although I might consider Tabasco sometime now that I'm familiar with it on spicy Hawaiian Pizza (thank you, Dominos!! You ROCK!)

Anyway, this time she decided to add corn to the mix. Corn is her favorite vegetable - well, second favorite. I'd have to give potatoes the edge. In a very close third position for her would be either French style green beans or broccoli (cooked beyond all recommendations). Neither of us has put corn in chili before, but I've seen some recipes call for it and I've even considered it in the past.

Deb wanted tater tots to go along with the chili, so that was my job. Toss them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven. Can't get much easier than that.

What made this even more interesting is that this was all taking place between 12:30 and 1 a.m. What can I say? We were hungry and it was a bit cooler by then (although temps never dropped below 80° all night). We both really like chili and can eat it any time of the year. We still have over a quart left over and that includes eating more today and her taking some to share with a friend. One of these times, though, I'm going to have to  make some of my somewhat less spicy chili. I like mine as much as she likes hers, although the basics of both are the same (ground beef, diced onions, diced green peppers, kidney beans, tomatoes and tomato sauce, chili powder).

I have included an image from The Restaurant Widow. She makes her chili differently than we do, but the image looks very much like what my daughter made.

Best Laid Plans

In yesterday's post, I said I would be cooking chicken today because it was going to be a cool day. Well...it WAS a cool day, but I slept half of it away. I don't know why - I just couldn't stay awake. Eventually, though, I did decide to cook and, as is often the case when I make plans in advance, I didn't cook chicken. 

I went rooting to see what we had, thinking we might have a meal "kit" on hand that I could use the chicken with, but instead I found Hamburger Helper Four Cheese Lasagna. I knew I had hamburger in the freezer, so I got a pack out and put it in the microwave to thaw. I also got a can of corn and a can of peas out to add to the dinner along with the meat, noodles and sauce packet. It was far from gourmet, but it met the need and tasted reasonably decent. I added ketchup to mine, but that's a personal thing. 


There is enough left that my daughter can take some to work for lunch and I can have some for breakfast instead of the chocolate Malt-o-Meal I've been eating. But, then, I might still have the Malt-o-Meal and have the Helper for lunch. I'll decide tomorrow.


You know, there's really nothing wrong with Hamburger Helper. It's true that all processed foods (or almost all) are high in sodium, but if you want something quick that tastes fairly decent that you can tweak here and there, it's not a bad way to go. And, there are plenty of off-brands out there that match it pretty well in quality, so it's nice to have a few tucked away for a day when you just have no creative juices flowing. It comes together quick and can be changed up with ground chicken or turkey - or even ham. I'll never turn my back on Hamburger Helper.

Meals at Midnight

That's right. You don't have to be a college student to decide to cook dinner at midnight (or just past, in our case). I just didn't feel like cooking yesterday and my daughter had a date, so she wasn't here to eat. But, when she got home from the movies, she asked if I had made anything because she was hungry (apparently, the date didn't include dinner). 


I had thawed a pound of hamburger, but when it's hot and humid, I'm not always anxious to go into the kitchen to work on a meal. So, we will "graze" rather than dine. But, by midnight, it had cooled some, so I offered to make some hamburgers (which I have been craving for a while). Or spaghetti and meat sauce. But, she wanted green beans and tomato sauce. I knew we only had a single can of tomato sauce which wouldn't be enough for this very simple, yet tasty, meal. 

She went to the pantry and pulled out that can and a can of diced tomatoes and two cans of French style green beans and I went to work. I browned the beef, then added the drained green beans followed by the tomato sauce and tomatoes. We usually serve this with fried potatoes, so I quickly cooked up some frozen French fries to go with.


I prefer this with straight tomato sauce, but it wasn't bad. My personal tastes are to use a single can of beans with their liquid plus ground beef and at least one can of tomato sauce. But, my daughter is a huge fan of French style green beans, so we got a double helping. Season to your taste - we added fresh ground salt and pepper. 


Although it was late, it was just what we both were looking for. Something a bit more substantial than tuna or peanut butter, yet reasonably healthy. Yeah, it was late, but heck - you're only young once (well, I can dream, can't I?)