Weight Watchers Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

This recipe can be found on Food.com.
Super good, and super easy!  This is a great weeknight meal.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground round

1 (15 ounce) can chunky Italian-style tomatoes

cooking spray (Pam)

1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated pizza dough

6 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Cook meat in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring until it crumbles. Drain, if necessary, and return to skillet. Add tomatoes, and cook until heated through. While meat cooks, coat a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Unroll pizza crust dough, and press into bottom and halfway up sides of the baking dish. Top the pizza crust with meat mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 12 minutes. Top with cheese, and bake 5 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese melts. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 servings. 

Each serving is 6 Weight Watcher's points. 

Serve with a salad mixed field greens and a fat-free or low-fat vinaigrette.

Simple Stuffed Peppers

Very easy recipe, adapted from the Betty Crocker cookbook.  30-45 minutes from start to finish!

Ingredients:
6 medium green peppers, tops cut off, seeds removed, washed
1 lb hamburger
1 C Minute rice
Salt
Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Garlic powder
1-2 C favorite pasta sauce (we use Prego)
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*.

Brown hamburger with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic powder (to taste) in a large pan with deep sides, until well mixed and cooked.  Drain.  While the hamburger browns, prepare the rice according to the package directions.  When the hamburger is done cooking and the rice is fluffy, add rice to hamburger, and add about 1 1/2 C of pasta sauce to hamburg/rice mix.  Combine.  Stir in a handful of shredded cheese and mix well.

Spray a deep-side 9 x13 pan with cooking spray.  Place prepared peppers in baking pan and scoop the hamburger mix evenly into the peppers.  Top with remaining pasta sauce, and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.  Place in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese browns and everything is warmed through, but the pepper is still crisp.

Jeremy & Laura's Pan-Fried Steak and Potatoes

Ingredients:
4 6-oz steaks (we just used 2, it was fine)
2 tbsp oil
6 tbsp crushed black peppercorns (we used 3)
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp Cognac (we used Scotch, a web site said you can substitute this with Scotch, whiskey, or regular brandy)
1/4 c white wine
1/2 c heavy cream

Directions:
Rub the steaks on both sides with the oil and press the crushed peppercorns into the meat. Melt the butter in a large frying pan and cook the steaks for 2-4 minutes on each side, depending on how you like your steak.

Add the cognac and flambe (we didn't do this, the cast iron skilled sizzled the alcohol right off, no flames needed!) by lighting the frying pan with your gas flame or a match (stand back when you this and keep a pan lid handy for emergencies).

Put the steaks on a warm plate. Add the wine to the pan and boil, stirring, for 1 minute to deglaze the pan. Add cream and stir for 1-2 minutes. Season and pour over the steaks.

Note: The peppercorns are quite strong.  If you don't like really spicy foods, regular pepper would work just as well.

Baked potatoes:
Preheat oven to 350, put racks in middle and bottom slots. Place pan or foil on bottom rack to catch drippings.

Wash and dry potatoes, and then stick them with a fork a few times so they don't explode. Then coat them in canola oil and sprinkle them with your choice of salt.  Place directly on middle rack and bake for an hour, or until the skin is crispy and the insides are cooked.

The sauce from the steaks is DELICIOUS on the potatoes.

Delicious Beef Stew

This batch of stew is made with venison stew meat

Unbelievably delicious and hearty!
Adapted from Paula Deen's beef stew recipe.
Ingredients:

2 pounds cubed trimmed sirloin (or venison)

2 TBSP olive oil

2 C water

3 TBSP beef bouillon cubes, crushed into powder

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

Garlic powder

Crushed dried bay leaves

Onion powder

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Dash of ground allspice or ground cloves

3 large carrots, sliced

3 ribs chopped celery

3 medium red potatoes, cubed

2 TBSP cornstarch

Directions:

Heat olive oil in stock pot.  Add meat, salt, pepper, and garlic powder (all to taste) and mix together.  Brown meat.  While meat is cooking, mix water and bouillon powder together well.  Add water mix to browned beef, and add Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, onion powder, paprika, and allspice to mix (again, to taste).  Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1-1/2 hours.  Add more water as necessary.  Add veggies, simmer another 45 minutes or until veggies are tender and potatoes can be pierced with a fork.  In a small bowl, mix ¼ cup of cold water with 2 TBSP cornstarch until dissolved.  Scoop a small amount of hot liquid from the pot and stir it into the cornstarch, then add mixture to the stew.  Allow to simmer until desired thickness. 

Simple Salisbury Steak

Incredibly easy and fast.  The hamburger stays very tender and doesn't dry out while cooking.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

2 TBSP water

1/3 C. dry bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

1 small onion, finely chopped (approx. 1/4 cup)--I leave the onions out

1 TBSP vegetable oil

1 can (10 3/4 oz. Campbell's beef gravy

Additional spices, to taste (I add garlic and herb, salt and pepper)

Directions:

Thoroughly mix beef, bread crumbs, water, egg, and onion in a medium bowl.  Shape mixture into 1/2-inch thick patties (approx. 4).  Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet on high heat.  Add patties until well browned on each side.  Pour off any fat.  Add the gravy to the skillet and continue to cook patties until well done and no longer pink in the center, approximately 10 minutes more.