Beef and Rice Casserole!!!!

So here I am. Back again to share some yumminess!!! Since the new year, I began grad school!! I know many people who have done this (ie my husband 3 times ;D) so I decided it was my time. So needless to say my spare time is nonexistence. Now most of my recipes will short quick and to the point or recipes that I can put in the Crockpot in the morning and forget about it until dinner time!! Besides grad school, baby, housework, and husband, I am trying to lose at least 50 pounds by my birthday in December. Lots going on, so let's see if I can do it!!!!
A new casserole that I found that sounded kind of gross when I first read it, butit was one of the best things I had ever tasted!!! It was called Beef and Rice Casserole.

3 cups of cooked white rice (I used long grain and cooked it in my rice cooker, gave it a neat sticky texture, but you can use the minute stuff if you want)

1 lb of ground beef

1/2 medium yellow onion, diced

1 can of tomato soup (YES TOMATO SOUP, I like Campbell's)

Garlic Salt to taste

Chili powder to taste

2-3 cups of shredded Cheddar Cheese (I like medium cheddar)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a pan, put a very lil amount of oil (just enough to sweat some onions). Sweat your onions and season with with garlic salt and chili powder. Add and brown hamburger. Then add the soup to the meat and warm.

3. In a 2 qt. casserole dish, put a layer of rice on the bottom, then meat mixture. On top of meat mixture add cheese. Repeat another layer. Top with cheese and bake for 20 minutes.

4. Serve with some yummy veggies or salad and ENJOY!!!!

Next time I make this I want to add some green bell peppers to the meat mixture. My hubby loved it so much that he had it for lunch and was upset that there was not any left when he got home.

Porcupine Meatballs

When I was growing up, my mommy dearest would make the most wonderful, amazing meatballs.  I loved them!  They were huge and full of rice and covered in a tomato-y sauce.  I thought she spent hours on these things, she had to have, they were so tasty!

I grew older (not up), moved out and kind of forgot about them.  As I was working on my own recipe book, I remembered those delectable meatballs.  I asked my mom for the recipe, thinking it would be for special occasions or weekends when I had some time to spend in the kitchen.  How did I not ask her about these sooner?  They are so easy!  Now they are a regular staple for the boys and I to enjoy.  They are still incredibly special but can be made any day of the week.

Porcupine Meat Balls

1.5-2lbs  Ground Beef or Ground Turkey
2 eggs
1c. Instant Rice (white or brown)
1/3c. Water
1 clove Minced Garlic (or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder)
Salt and Pepper

1-2 cans Tomato Sauce (depending on how much sauce you like)

Mix all ingredients (minus the Tomato Sauce) together and form into balls.  Depending on the fat content of the meat, you may need to alter the amount of water.  You want the mixture to be wet (the rice will soak up a lot of the moisture)  but it needs to be able to form into fist-ish sized balls.  Place in deep baking pan about an inch apart.

Bake at 375 for 10-20 minutes.  Once the meatballs have a decent crust on them, pour the Tomato Sauce over the meatballs and bake until done.  About 20 more minutes.

I usually serve these with more rice on the side and some yummy veggies.  So tasty!