Where's the Beef? Beef Sauce

Otherwise know as....MAGIC MEAT. Why? Because this meat filling can be adapted for three different meals.

Meat Filling:

Serving size: this amount of recipe makes enough for 3 recipes. The sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months.

1 T olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 gloves garlic, minced
3 pounds lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 t dried basil
1 t dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce

Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 3 minutes, until soft. Add, beef and cook 5-7 minutes, until browned all over, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Stir in basil, oregano and red pepper flakes.

Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce & bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low & simmer 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat & set aside. Cool & freeze.


Sloppy Joes:

1 1/2 cups of beef sauce
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T chili powder
2 t dried basil
1/8 t cayenne pepper
4 Kaiser rolls, halved

Spoon meat sauce into a large saucepan. Add corn, green pepper, ketchup, Dijon, chili powder, basil & cayenne pepper & bring mixture to a simmer. Cook 5-7 minutes, until green pepper is soft & mixture is heated through. Spoon mixture onto rolls and serve hot.


Beef Taco with Mango Salsa

2 cups meat sauce
2 t chili powder
1 t ground cumin
2 cups diced fresh mango
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 T minced red onion
2 T chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 T fresh lime juice
Salt & pepper
8 Taco shells
1 cup shredded Romaine lettuce
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 cups sour cream

Spoon meat sauce into a large skillet and add chili powder & cumin. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine mango, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, and lime juice. Season, to taste, with salt & pepper.

Can substitute you own salsa.

Lasagna:

4 cups ricotta cheese
8 ounces grated mozzarella cheese, divided
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine ricotta, half of the mozzarella, egg and black pepper. Mix well.

Pour 1 cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 lasagna pan. Arrange 4 uncooked lasagna noodles on top of sauce, overlapping noodles slightly to cover the bottom. Spoon half of the cheese mixture over noodles. Top with 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and 4 more noodles. Top second layer of noodles with remaining cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and 4 more noodles. Top noodles with 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes, until top is golden & bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Recipe from Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller.