Fix-It and Forget-It

You can call it Sloppy Joe, or you can call it Barbecued Spoonburgers. Just don’t call us late for dinner when this is on the menu! Continue Reading...

Do you ever have days when a simple question like, “What’s for dinner?” throws you into a tailspin? Continue Reading...

As the name suggests, this hearty soup is quick, easy, and very, very good. Our recipe tester’s comment: “I’m definitely making this at home.” Now that’s a compliment worth having, because she’s prepared a lot of recipes in her time.

The recipe also makes plenty. Plan to serve this to a crowd of hungry leaf-rakers, if you’re lucky enough to be hosting such a crowd in your back yard. Or lure a bunch of energetic friends with an offer of dinner, and pass out the rakes when they arrive. Just be sure to have steaming bowls of soup and mugs of cider on hand when the work is done.

With any luck, this may become an annual tradition!

Quick and Easy Italian Vegetable Beef Soup
Fix-It and Forget-It, Revised & Updated, page 36
Makes 8-10 servings
Prep. Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow-cooker size: 6-qt.

1 lb. ground beef, or turkey, browned and drained
3 carrots, sliced
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
15-oz. can diced Italian tomatoes, or 2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
6-oz. can Italian-flavored tomato paste
4 ½ cups water
1 quart beef broth

1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Cover. Cook on High 6-8 hours, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Don’t be fooled by the name. This cornbread is hearty enough to serve as the main course of a Mexican-themed meal. Continue Reading...

This recipe can be personalized in a million ways. Use ground turkey or chicken instead of the beef. Leave out the green pepper and double the corn. Substitute cooked macaroni for the noodles. Throw in some canned beans. Continue Reading...

You’ll never guess this hearty chili calls for just five ingredients. Continue Reading...

In the children’s book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, the weather comes three times a day and always brings something good to eat. Continue Reading...

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we can’t wait to spend the day with our family and friends. We’re looking forward to lots of laughter and maybe a pick-up game of football in the backyard, and, of course, an unforgettable feast.

Still, Thanksgiving is not really stress-free, especially when we’re hosting. We’re often scurrying around the kitchen working on last-minute food prep at the exact moment the doorbell rings and guests start strolling into the house.

In recent years, we’ve discovered that serving an appetizer as people arrive is an easy way to keep our hungry guests happy. They can satisfy their growling stomachs with a pre-meal snack while we get the last dish on the table.

We like to make these meatballs from scratch, especially for a special occasion like Thanksgiving. But if assembling your own meatballs feels like too much of a hassle, buy pre-made meatballs instead. Just place them in the slow cooker, top them with this delicious cranberry sauce, and cook for 2 hours on Low.

When the Cranberry Meatballs are finished, we turn the slow cooker on warm and serve them straight from the crock. While everyone is busy snacking on these meatballs, we have time to baste the turkey, mash the potatoes, cut the pie, set the table...
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Merle, Phyllis’ husband, grills all year round here in Pennsylvania despite snow, sleet, and hail.

Some of us aren’t that die-hard.

But even if you don’t use your grill when the cold winds begin to blow, that doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself of a good burger.

Sure, you can fry burgers on the stovetop or cook them under the broiler, but when our grill goes into hibernation for the winter, we also pull out our trusty slow cooker and the recipe for Big Juicy Burgers. Then we call the kids into the kitchen because, well, this recipe is so simple, the kids can make it with very little supervision. (And they love doing it because they can use their hands to mix up the hamburger patties.)

Usually the kids make the hamburger patties the night before, let them refrigerate overnight, and then pop them in the slow cooker in the morning before school. When the burgers are ready, the kids put them on the table beside their favorite toppings and dinner is served.

It sure beats standing in the cold to flip a burger. (Unless you like the cold and snow, of course.) And boy, are those burgers big and juicy!
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Stuffed Peppers was one of those recipes we kept avoiding. Not because they didn’t sound delicious, but because coring peppers seemed like a chore and we weren’t sure we had time to delicately spoon the meat mixture into each pepper shell.

It turns out that this recipe is rather easy, especially when coring the peppers with the handy-dandy Pepper Corer that we picked up at The Good Cooking Store. And the pepper shells are not as fragile as they appear. Using a spoon to fill each pepper is a cinch—so simple, in fact, we may hand this duty over to the kids next time.

But the best part about this recipe is that it makes you look like a champ in the kitchen. We’ll be the first to admit that stuffed anything is completely impressive—not to mention delicious. The combination of Spanish rice and ground beef makes a hearty filling for these peppers, and we like that the pepper adds an extra dose of vegetables to our diet.

Serve it with soup and an enticing dessert. We like Stuffed Peppers with Hamburger Vegetable Soup and Fudgy Peanut Butter Cake.
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