Cheese-stuffed Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 jar (26-28 oz.) Ragu chunky garden style sauce, divided

1 large egg, slightly beaten

1/4 c. plain dry bread crumbs

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz.), divided

1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl combine beef, 2/3 c. sauce, breadcrumbs, and egg. Season if desired with salt and pepper. In a 13 x 9 baking or roasting pan shape into a 12 x 8 rectangle.

2. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 c. cheese and parsley down the center leaving 3/4 inch border. Roll starting at long end, jellyroll style. Press ends together and seal.

3. Bake uncovered 45 min. Pour remaining sauce over meatloaf. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c. cheese. Bake an additional 15. min. or until sauce is heated through and cheese melts.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Taco Soup

We've had lots of different taco soups, and I've played with different recipes. This one is Brian's all time favorite. I usually make corn bread as a side dish with this soup.

1 lb. hamburger, brown, drain, add salt and pepper
1 onion

Add: 1 quart tomatoes
1 can corn with juice
1 can kidney beans with juice
1 small can tomato sauce
1 pkg. Taco seasoning

Simmer for 15 minutes. I always serve with Fritos, grated cheese, and a dob of sour cream. You could also serve with avocados, but Brian and I don't really like them.

Shattered Crystal Ball Jello

October is a month of lots and lots of P.A.R.T.I.E.S. All of my husband's family was born in October, as well as my oldest daughter and my mom. So consequently we get together a lot in October, for food and fun and presents!

I was looking through my pictures of all of our parties this morning, and noticed that Isabel had taken a picture of this jello. My kids all loved it (my youngest in particular is a big fan of jello, so we make it a lot)! When I saw this picture, I figured I better put the recipe on here so next year when I go to make it I can find the recipe.

It would be fun at Christmastime with red and green jello, and I suppose it can be made anytime of year with whatever color jello you want.

Recipe comes from Taste of Home magazine last year.

Ingredients:

2 pkgs. (3 oz. each) lime gelatin

6 cups boiling water, divided

2 pkgs. (3 oz. each) orange gelatin

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1/3 cup cold water

1 1/2 c. white grape juice

1 carton (12 0z.) frozen whipped topping, thawed

1. In a bowl, dissolve the lime gelatin in 3 cups boiling water. Pour into an 8 in. square dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. In another bowl, dissolve orange gelatin in remaining boiling water. Pour into another 8 in. square dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until very firm.

2. In a small saucepan, sprinkle unflavored gelatin over cold water; let stand for 1 minutes. Add grape juice. Heat over low heat, stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved. Pour into a large bowl; refrigerate for 45 minutes or until slightly thickened. Fold in whipped topping.

3. Cut green gelatin into 1/2 in. cubes and orange gelatin into 1 in. cubes. Set aside 8-10 cubes of each color for garnish. Place 2 cups whipped topping mixture in a bowl; fold in remaining green cubes. Spread into a 13 in. x 9 in. dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Fold remaining orange cubes into remaining whipped topping mixture; spread over bottom layer. Sprinkle with reserved green and orange gelatin cubes. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. Cut into squares.

Ham Rolls

This is one of our family favorites. We always have them at family parties, Thanksgiving, and get-togethers. There are only 3 ingredients, so they are very easy to make. I like to make these ahead, put them in a tupperware in the freezer, and then I can pull them out and slice them quickly.

Ham Rolls

2-3 packages ham (thickly slicked rectangles)

2 packages cream cheese, softened

2-3 bunches of green onions

Lay ham out on cutting board, spread layer of cream cheese over ham, put green onion down center and roll lengthwise (so it makes a long skinny roll). Put in covered container and refrigerate overnight.) Slice into 1/2 inch sections and serve. Yummy!

Crunchy Corn Medley

I LOVE this dish. It tastes really fresh and healthy, and it's not too much work to make. Plus it keeps well in the fridge and you can eat it all week. It's got a tangy flavor because of the vinaigrette dressing.

2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can white or shoe peg corn, drained
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 jar diced pimientos, drained (I usually leave these out)
8 green onions, thinly sliced
2 celery ribs
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large bowl combine the first eight ingredients. In a small bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, oil, salt and pepper; whisk until sugar is dissolved. Pour over corn mixture; mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Stir just before serving; serve with a slotted spoon.

Fresh Peach Pie

I got this from one of my new neighbors.  It's delicious!

Fresh Peach Pie

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

3 Tbs. cornstarch

1/2 cube butter

yellow food coloring

1 tsp. vanilla

Cook the water, sugar, cornstarch, and butter over medium heat until thick and bubby. Cook to room temperature (I put it in the fridge to hurry it up while I baked my pie crust) and then add the food coloring and vanilla.

Layer peeled and sliced peaches in the bottom of a baked pie crust (about 3 peaches). Cover with filling and top with remaining peaches (probably about 3 more). Chill 1 hour and serve with whipped cream. Filling makes enough for one pie. Recipe doubles well.

Sweet Strawberry Bread

I saw this recipe for strawberry bread on the sisters cafe blog, and think it sounds like such a fun thing to have at a brunch, baby shower, etc.

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

4 eggs

1 c. canola oil

2 c. fresh strawberries, cut small

Mix flour, soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Add eggs, sugar, oil. Mix until moist, carefully add strawberries. Batter will be thick. Spoon into greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cool in pans 10 minutes then remove. I made 2 small bread loaves, but I think you could probably make 1 regular sized bread loaf with this amount of batter. (It really is more of a batter consistency than a bread dough. It reminded me of making banana bread.)

Either my oven cooks really hot or their cooktime is a little off, because I took mine out at 45 minutes and feel like it was over cooked. I think I'll take mine out at 30 minutes next time.

We just bought a new house a month ago and I'm trying to get used to new ovens. These definitely cook differently than my old one.