Cheesy Tacos, Two Ways

I'm always on the look-out for great LC substitutes for our favorite foods. With our love of Mexican food (specifically NEW Mexican food, but we'll take what we can get) I've been searching for ways to replace the tortillas that are nearly indispensable for this style of cooking. We have discovered some alternatives for tacos that have us feeling pretty excited, so I thought I'd share them here.

Method #1
What you'll need:
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Taco meat (prepared however you normally make it) *The recipe says to use 1 cup, but I think I used about 3/4 of a pound.
Toppings of choice (avocado, tomato, green onion, etc)

What to do:
Preheat oven to 400*. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, leaving enough on the sides that you will be able to lift the cheese from the pan.
Sprinkle cheese to cover the baking sheet with one layer (you may need more cheese). Bake for about 15 minutes, or until it bubbles and browns on top.
Remove from the oven and see if you can slide a spatula under all the edges. If you can you're ready to go on, if not put it back in the oven for another minute or two.
Spread taco meat and any other toppings over the cheese in a thin layer.
Remove from pan by lifting edges of parchment paper. Roll the cheese up like you would cinnamon roll dough. Slice into desired sized portions (the original recipe says to only make 3-4 slices, but we cut ours into small pinwheels and I think it would be easier to eat this way), top with sour cream, and serve.

Method #2
We discovered this method of making taco shells via Pinterest. The original site is here. These are more of your traditional taco shell.

What You Need:
Shredded Cheese
Your preferred taco fillings

What To Do:
Make a small circle of cheese on a glass plate (ceramic didn't work so well for us). Microwave for 40-60 seconds until the cheese is all melted and starting to brown.
Lift them carefully from the plate and hang them over the edge of a bowl or pan until they have cooled and hardened.
Fill with your favorite taco stuff and enjoy!

***For non-microwave directions check out this site.

Low Carb Egg Latte

When I wrote about how our family does Low-Carb I promised to post follow-up recipes ASAP. Well, here we are four months later and I'm finally getting one of them up here! Yeah me! :) 

These Egg Lattes are my go-to breakfast, especially since I discovered Jordan's Skinny Syrups at Tuesday Morning here in Carson City. They are WAY cheaper than the Toriani ones you find in the other stores around town and come in so many fun flavors!

I adapted this recipe from this one at DietDoctor, which is dairy-free. Just in case anyone's interested in seeing the original.

Balsamic Glazed Rosemary Pork Cutlets

These were SO yummy, they taste like something you'd pay good money for in a restaurant. They were also really quick and easy to make! We ate ours with baked potatoes and some fruit cocktail (fancy, I know) and they made a great dinner. I found the recipe here.

What you need:

2 tsp oil

1 TBS rosemary leaf, chopped

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 lb pork tenderloin, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 TBS honey

What you do:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. While that is warming up, sprinkle the cutlets with rosemary, salt, and pepper. 

Add the pork to the pan and cook about 3 minutes per side, or until done. Remove from pan and keep warm. 

Combine broth, vinegar, and honey, stirring with a whisk. Add to the pan. You want to scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the yummy browned bits from the meat stirred in. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 6 minutes, or until reduced to 1/3 cup and is thick as syrup. While the vinegar is cooking down, it smells pretty strong. Ethan walked in during this time and asked what the heck I was doing with all the vinegar. I told him it was dinner, and you could tell by his face that he wanted to refuse to have anything to do with whatever I was cooking, but he wisely bit his tongue. He didn't regret that decision. 

Once the sauce is reduced and thickened, return the pork to the pan and cook until heated through.

I thought I'd share my favorite trick for speeding up the cooking time for baked potatoes. It's fine to bake potatoes for an hour when you've also got meatloaf or something baking that is going to take just as long, but I hate running the oven for that long when the rest of dinner's only going to take 20 minutes. So, I heat my oven up to at least 400. Scrub the potatoes, and slice in half lengthwise. Carefully score the potato (see above picture), being careful not to cut through the peel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (also yummy to add garlic or onion powder, or whatever herbs would complement your main dish) and put a few dabs of butter on top of each potato half. 

Bake on a baking sheet until cooked through and enjoy! 

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup

If we had different colored bowls, this would look way more appetizing I'm sure, but we have yellow bowls so the yellowish green soup when in the yellow bowls.

We read a few crockpot green chile soup recipes online, but it was already dinner time so we decided to just wing it and make up our own. It hit the spot and was delicious!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups green enchilada sauce
• 1 small can green chile (we didn't actually use this since the enchilada sauce we used had a ton of green chile chunks in it)
• 2 cups chicken broth (we didn't have real broth, so we actually used 2 cups hot water and a chicken bouillon cube)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp chile powder (we have red chile powder and green chile powder so we used green chile powder but all the recipe we read called for red chile powder)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• I'm not going to lie...I just sprinkled the cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder in...I didn't measure...so those are my guestimate amounts
• 3 potatoes, peeled and chopped (we only had 3 small potatoes left in the bag...but you can put more in and it'd taste fine)
• 1 large chicken breast, cut into smallish chunks
• 1 cup minute rice
• 4 oz cream cheese
• A handful (maybe 1/3 c.) of shredded swiss cheese. (optional! I only used this because we had it. This recipe will work fine without swiss cheese)
• Shredded cheddar cheese for top
• Other garnishes could include sour cream, tortilla strips, or cilantro

Directions

1. Combine the enchilada sauce, chile, broth, seasonings, potatoes, and chicken into a saucepot over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. 
2. Boil until the potatoes are half way to tender, and add the minute rice. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through. 
3. Stir in cream cheese (and swiss if you're going to use it). 
4. Serve topped with cheese and any other garnishes you want. 

Makes 4 hearty bowls of soup. 

Potato Soup

Mostly I'm putting this up here because I sorta winged the making of this recipe and really liked the results, so I'm going to record what I did here so I can duplicate it in the future. I had a list of ingredients for my mom's potato soup recipe but no directions, so I found this recipe and kinda combined the two. We gobbled this up with slices of fresh buttered home-made bread to dunk in it and it was awesome! Talk about comfort food!

What you need:
Bacon (a few slices should do)
1/2 an onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced into bite size pieces
3-4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
salt and pepper
3 cups chicken broth (plus extra bullion for added flavor if desired)
1/2 cup milk
2 TBS flour
1/2 can evaporated milk
Grated cheese
Parsley (optional)

What you do:
Chop your bacon into small pieces and cook in a largish soup pot. When the bacon is crunchy, remove from pan onto a paper towel, and discard most of the grease (save about a tsp).
Add the onion and carrots, and cook until the onions start to soften (maybe five minutes?). Add the potatoes and salt and pepper; cook for a few more minutes.
Dump in your chicken broth and bring to a boil. Boil for something like 10 minutes, or until your potatoes are soft.
Mix the flour and milk together in a separate container and then add into the soup. Return to a boil and let cook for a few minutes. Remove from heat and stir in evaporated milk and grated cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Sprinkle in the parsley (this is mostly a garnish, I don't think it did much for the flavor), and serve up a big bowl for yourself. Garnish with a sprinkle of bacon pieces and enjoy!

Curry

Wow, somehow I managed to delete this post within seconds of posting it. So here goes take two.

This is a dish that Ethan introduced me to shortly after we got married. He bought the stuff and made it one day when I was at a night class, so I came home to dinner already made. It looked kinda weird  and it smelled even more weird. I'd never eaten anything like it before. I was pretty skeptical, but I have to say I ended up really liking it, and it's something we've had fairly often since then. I love it because it's quick, easy, and you can just kinda throw in whatever you've got laying around. It's pretty hard to mess up.

What You Need:

1 box (or bottle) curry seasoning (you can use whatever brand you want, but after some experimenting, we've decided to stick with this one)

S&B Golden Curry. It comes in a whole range of spiciness levels, so you can pick what works for you. I never had any trouble finding it in Thatcher or Rexburg, but only one of the three stores here carries it.

1lb cubed meat ( use the pork roast chunks I keep on hand, but you could also use raw pork, beef, chicken, shrimp, lamb, or anything else you have handy, although I'm not sure what else one WOULD have handy)
1 onion, diced
2 cups water, unless you're using a pre-made sauce in which case you don't need water (start with a little less than this and add more if you decide you want it)
A little oil or butter for stir-frying
Veggies, we use carrots and bell peppers, but you could also but celery or anything else you've got laying around.
Rice (start this cooking when you start your curry and they should be done around the same time)
If you're doing this with already cooked meat it's pretty simple, here's What to Do:

Stir fry your veggies until they are crisp/tender (meaning they're mostly soft, but still have some crispness left in them, you don't want mush). Add the meat and water (or sauce if using a bottled variety, if you are than you are done now) and bring to boil.

Waiting for my water to boil. 

Now turn your pan down so it will simmer, break your bar of curry seasoning into pieces, and stir in your curry seasoning. Stir until it dissolves and then simmer for a few minutes to let it thicken. Start with about half the bar and then taste it to see what you think. I don't normally put in the whole bar, it's just a little too strong. I think I leave out one of the pieces.
Serve over warm rice or noodles and you're ready to go.

For cooking this with raw meat:
Stir fry your meat and veggies until your onions are just starting to brown. Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until meat is done. Break apart your curry seasoning and add to skillet. Simmer a few minutes to thicken and then serve over rice.

More Baby Finger Foods

Well, maybe I'm the only one out there who is desperate for baby food ideas, but just in case, here's a few more things Erik likes to eat. 

 ENGLISH MUFFIN PIZZA
What you need:
English muffin (preferably whole wheat), sliced in half
Spaghetti Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Pepperoni (or lunch meat, or whatever you want to top your pizza with)
What you do: Spread the sauce on the english muffin, then sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the top of that. Top your pizza with whatever you've chosen, but make sure it's cut up into small enough pieces for you baby to handle. Place on a baking sheet and put in the broiler until the cheese melts. Cut into bite size pieces for a smaller baby, or leave whole for an older one, and serve.

 BAKED POTATO
What you need:
1 potato (I've been using sweet potatoes for this, but you could use regular ones as well)
What you do: You can just bake your potato like you would do for any old baked potato, but if you're like me you never plan that far in advance. So, I slice my potato into ~1/2 inch slices, spray them with cooking spray or brush them with butter(or oil, or whatever), and then bake them at 350 until they are soft enough for Erik to chew (15-20 mins). Once they've cooled enough to eat, I cube them up and they're ready to go. These store well in the fridge and taste yummy the next day

 ITALIAN TOFU TREATS
What you need:
Firm tofu, cubed
spaghetti sauce
bread crumbs (either pre-seasoned, or you can mix in some garlic and onion powders, basil, oregano, parsley, etc...)
What you do:
Roll the tofu in the spaghetti sauce, then in the bread crumbs. Bake at 350 until they are warm and crunchy.

Taco Bowls

One of my favorite things to get when we got out for Mexican food is taco salad(I know, not the most authentic thing), but only when it come in a taco bowl. I wanted to make tacos the other day, but decided I was feeling more adventurous than just boring old taco shells. So I started looking around online, and realized that the taco bowls are super easy to make, and are not deep fried, so they're healthy, right?

What you need:
Flour tortillas (you could use whole wheat if you really want to be healthy)
Non-stick spray or veggie oil
An oven safe bowl, about the size you want your taco bowls to be.
Whatever you want to fill your taco bowls with. We used taco meat, lettuce, tomato, salsa, sour cream, cheese, and a corn and black bean salsa (guess what my post for next week will be). Guacamole would be yummy too!

What you do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray both sides of your tortilla with the non-stick spray. If this sounds weird or you don't have any spray, you can just brush the tortillas with a light coat of oil. 
Place a tortilla into the bowl, arranging it how you want the finished product to be. Bake for 5(ish) minutes, or until the edges start to get brown and crisp. The bottom may not seem totally hard yet, but it hardens as it cools. 
Stuff your tortilla bowl with whatever yummy stuff you want and dig in!

Baby Finger Foods: Tofu Two Ways

I know this isn't quite the stuff we normally post on here, but I figured it was useful for me and might come in handy for someone else too. I actually have plans to do several more posts like this one as I get more ideas.  

Erik has decided that the only food he wants to eat is stuff he can put in his own mouth. He is done being spoon fed, which means I've had to get really creative. Finding things that he can chew with no teeth, but that will still fill him up and give him the nutrition he needs has been challenging. I started to look around online for ideas, and that's when I discovered tofu. Tofu is packed with protein and nutrients, but is very soft, so it can be easily mashed between a baby's gums. It has almost no flavor of it's own, but will take on the flavors of other things very easily. This makes it the perfect baby food, that you can use for any meal.

For breakfast: Cold Cereal Tofu 

What you need:

Firm tofu, cut into bite size pieces

A handful of baby's favorite cold cereal, we used whole grain Cheerios, crushed in a small re-seal-able bag.

What to do:

Toss the tofu in the bag of crumbs, give it a good shake, and then you're ready to go. You now have cheerio flavored tofu bites. Slightly crunchy on the outside, but smooth and creamy on the inside. Add some diced fruit (in this case strawberries and blueberries) and you've got a perfect way to start the day!  

 Now for tofu dinner: Crunchy Tofu Nuggets

You will need:
firm tofu, cut into bite size pieces
flour (about 2-3 TBS maybe more, depending on how much tofu you've got)
salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, or anything else you want to use to season the flour
Your baby's favorite crackers, I used gold fish, crushed up
milk (maybe 2 TBS?)
What you do:
Mix whatever seasonings you've chosen into your flour. Roll the tofu bites into the flour to coat.
Dip the bites into the milk, just long enough to moisten them, not long enough to soak the flour off.
Roll in the cracker crumbs, and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until nice and crunchy on the outside. Add some veggies and you've got a meal.


You don't think this sounds yummy? Well, let's see what the baby thinks...

Skillet Calzone

This is a super yummy, super easy recipe that I found in a Betty Crocker cook book. I've tweaked it a little bit, but this is pretty much what the original recipe says.

What you need:
8 slices french bread
cooking spray (or veg. oil)
2 TBS grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb ground beef.
1 small green pepper
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (would be yummy with Italian style)
Your favorite spaghetti sauce
Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese to top with

What you do:
1. Set oven to broil. Place bread slices on ungreased cookie sheet. Spray bread with cooking spray (or brush with oil). Toast in broiler until golden brown. Turn the slices of bread over on the pan and spray (or brush with oil). Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top and toast again until just starting to brown.
2. Meanwhile, in 10 inch skillet, cook beef, bell pepper, and garlic over medium-high heat 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in tomatoes and sauce. Cook 1-2 minutes until hot.
3. Top the bread slices with beef mixture; sprinkle with cheeses. Toast in the broiler just long enough to melt the cheese.
Enjoy!

Vicki's Chicken and Grapes with Creamy Mustard Sauce and Couscous

Okay, so I know that name is a little long, but I didn't make it up. I got this recipe from a Rachel Ray 30 minutes meals cookbook (I think it's in the one I gave you Kate), and I finally got around to trying it. I'd never had couscous before, so it was fun to try something new. Just so you know, couscous is VERY easy to make, so don't let it scare you!

What you need:
3 TBS all-purpose flour
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 TBS butter
1.25-1.5 lbs chicken tenders (I only had chicken breasts, so I just sliced them into smaller pieces)
salt and pepper
1/3 c white wine (I substitute chicken broth whenever wine is called for)
1 c. half and half (I used evaporated milk)
1/4 c grainy stone ground mustard (I used regular Dijon)
1 c seedless red grapes, halved
2 c chicken broth
2 c couscous
drizzle of EVOO

What you do:
Put the 2 c. chicken broth in a pan with the drizzle of EVOO and bring to a boil while you do the following:
Place flour in a shallow bowl. Place lg. skillet over med-high heat; add 1 TBS EVOO and butter. Dredge chicken in flour; season with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet and cook until browned, 7-8 minutes. Add wine and deglaze (this means stir all the brown crispy bits up off the bottom of the pan) as wine comes to a bubble; cook liquid down 30 seconds to 1 min. Combine half and half and mustard and pour mixture over chicken.
Add grapes to the skillet with the chicken and mustard sauce, and shake to coat chicken and grapes in sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3-5 minutes more.
Add the couscous to the pan with the boiling chicken broth. Stir briefly and then remove from heat and cover with a lid. Let sit for 5 minutes. 
When the time is up on the couscous, fluff it with a fork before serving with plenty of the mustard sauce. YUM!

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant has always weirded me out a little bit, I don't know why. This past year I finally broke down and tried it, and so far I like it...in the one recipe I've had it in. This is a really yummy and easy recipe. Cameron told me just now "Anytime you suggest this I think, ew, but then it always tastes really good and hits the spot when you make it." Give it a try! 

We got an eggplant in this past week's Bountiful Basket and decided to just stick to what we know and do this recipe. We'll try a new eggplant recipe someday, but for now, we love this one. 

Ingredients:

1 eggplant

3 eggs

about 1 c. of Parmesan cheese

marinara pasta sauce

extra spices as desired (I used onion powder, garlic powder, and cajun seasoning this time around)

How to make it:

1. Usually I peel the eggplant (with a knife), but I forgot to this time and it didn't make a difference in the taste. 

2. Slice the eggplant into 1/2" thick slices (like you were slicing up a cucumber, so not lengthwise). 

3. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam (or grease it however you normally grease your pans). 

4. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them (just so they are all mixed up). 

5. Pour the Parmesan onto a plate and if you want add a few shakes of any extra spices you want. It's great with spices, it's great withough. 

6. Dip each piece of eggplant in the egg, then coat with the parmesan on both sides. Place on the cookie sheet. Don't overlap the eggplant pieces on the pan. They can touch, but you don't want them overlapping or they won't cook quite the same. 

8. Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes (or until the parmesan starts turning goldenish), then remove from oven, flip over each piece. 

9. Spoon the marinara sauce over each piece, then return the pan to the oven and bake for another 5 or so minutes (until the sauce has warmed up). 

10. Take out and enjoy!

This makes 2 good size plates full.  

Chili Chip Casserole

What you need:
1lb ground beef (When it's just Ethan and I, I go cheap and just use 1/2 a pound)
diced onion
1 can ranch beans
1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
Taco Seasoning
Tortilla chips (if I've got any crumbs from the bottom of a bag, or a bag that's been left open and gone stale, I use those for this)
Grated Cheese
Toppings:
Salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, ranch dressing, whatever else sounds good to you...

What you do:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown your hamburger in a large skillet with the diced onion. Drain the grease. Stir in the cans of beans and tomatoes. Add taco seasoning until it tastes yummy.
Grease a 9x13 pan and spread a layer of slightly crushed tortilla chips on the bottom. On top of the chips, spread a layer of the meat mixture. Add a layer of grated cheese. Repeat each of the layers one more time, then finish with a layer of crushed chips and grated cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melty and everything is warm all the way through.
Serve with whatever toppings you like (I know the ranch dressing sounds weird, but it's Ethan's favorite, he also puts on some salsa and hot sauce at the same time as the ranch).

Kung Pao Pork and Noodles

I found this recipe in one of my cook books and decided to try it out. I used some of my Pork Roast meat from my freezer, but you could use whatever.

What you need:

1 TBS vegetable oil

1 bag (1 lb) broccoli slaw mix (you can use regular cole slaw if you want but you miss out on the great texture the broccoli gives)

1 lb pork boneless loin, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 med. red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup spicy Szechuan stir fry sauce (I didn't want spicy so I went with regular stir fry sauce)

1 TBS honey

1 pkg (6-7oz) rice stick noodles

2 tsps sesame or vegetable oil

2 TBS salted peanuts

What to do:

1.Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add vegetable oil; rotate skillet to coat bottom. Add slaw mix; stir-fry 2-3 minutes or until crispy/tender. Remove broccoli slaw from skillet; keep warm.

2. Start a pot of water boiling for the noodles. Add pork to same skillet you cooked the slaw in; stir-fry over medium high heat 5-6 minutes or until brown. Stir in bell pepper and water. Cover and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pork is tender. Stir in stir-fry sauce and honey; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 1-2 minutes.

3. Add noodles to the boiling water. Boil 3 minutes; drain. In large bowl, toss noodles and sesame oil. Divide noodles among 4 individual serving bowls. Top with broccoli slaw and pork mixture. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Sweet and Sour Pork

This is another one of the dishes that I make with my Pork Roast. It's quick and easy and yummy.

What you need:

1 bag cooked pork meat (see Pork Roast post)

1 bell pepper, chopped into bite size pieces

pineapple chunks (however many you think looks like enough)

1 onion, diced

1 can/bottle sweet and sour sauce(whatever you can find at the store)

cooked rice

What you do:

Saute your onion and pepper in a little bit of oil. You don't want your veggies totally mushy, but you don't want them raw either. You decide how crunchy you want them to be. Toss in the rest of your ingredients and cook until hot all the way through. Serve on top of your rice and enjoy!

Green Chili Burritos

Another of my pork roast meat recipes. Again, super yummy and super fast.

What you need:

1 bag pork roast meat (see Pork Roast post)

1 can green chili, or if you're lucky enough to have it some fresh roasted green chili would be awesome!

2 potatoes

veggie oil

red chili powder

oregano

pinch of cumin

chopped onion or onion powder

minced garlic or garlic powder

flour tortillas

cheese, salsa, sour cream, and any other condiments you think sound good.

What to do:

Peel your potatoes and dice them into small cubes. Start these frying in a little bit of veggie oil. Stir every couple of minutes to prevent burning. Cook until golden brown and crispy.

Meanwhile, thaw your meat enough to get it out of its bag and into a pot. You might need to add a little water to help it thaw the rest of the way. Season to taste with the chili powder, cumin, onion, and garlic. You want the chili powder for flavor, but it will add heat so watch out. It's also easy to get too much oregano, so start with 1/2 a tsp or so and add more if you need it.

A minute or two before your potatoes are done, add the green chili to the meat and let it heat up, adjusting the seasoning if needed. When your potatoes are done, stir them into the meat and you're ready to go.

Pile up the meat and potatoes on a warm tortilla, sprinkle with grated cheese and add any salsa or other toppings that you want. Enjoy!

BBQ Pork Sandwich

This is one of the meals that I make with my pork roast meat(see Pork Roast post). It's super quick and super easy and great for evenings when you just don't feel like cooking. What you Need:

1 bag of cooked pork meat(see Pork Roast post)
BBQ sauce
buns or bread
Mayo, cheese, or anything else you want to dress this up with.

What to do:
I get my pork out of the freezer and thaw it in the microwave. Once it's thawed enough, I use a couple of forks and shred the meat pulled pork style. If you don't care if it's shredded, you could thaw your meat just enough to get it out of the bag and continue from here, letting it thaw during the rest of the cooking process. Put your meat into a saucepan or even a crockpot if you've planned that far ahead, and dump your favorite BBQ sauce over it. Stir it all up and heat it up good. Slap it on a bun and viola!, you have dinner.

Salisbury Steak

This was a fantastic recipe! We LOVED it. It was super easy and it only took 1/2 a pound of ground beef to make two large "steaks". And....it's super super cheap. Yummy in my tummy and in my piggy bank!

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/4 c. milk

1/4 c. dry bread crumbs

1 envelope brown gravy mix, divided

1 tsp dried minced onion (I think I might have put in 1 T by accident now that I think about it)

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup water

1 T mustard

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, whisk the egg and milk.

2. Mix in bread crumbs, 1 T gravy mix, and onion.

3. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.

4. Shape into two patties about 3/4 in. thick.

5. Broil 3-4 inches from the heat for about 6-7 minutes on each side or until meat is no longer pink.

6. While the patties are broiling, place the remaining gravy mix in a small saucepan; stir in the water and mustard. Bring to a boil and cook and stir until thickened. Serve over patties.