A simple but delicious hearty beef soup with wheat berries
Yield: 

about 4 quarts
Ingredients: 

2 cups wheat berries
3 quarts of water, approx.
1 1/2 pounds inexpensive beef roast or steak
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
2 teaspoons salt (or more, depending on your preference)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions: 

1. Soak wheat berries in 4 cups of the water for 12-24 hours.

2. Trim fat from meat and dice into bite-sized pieces.

3. In a large stock pot, brown meat with onion and garlic. When meat
is browned, add the celery and part of the water (maybe about 6 cups),
so that the meat is completely covered.

4. Cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Stir, cover again, reduce heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes.

5. Add the wheat berries (including the water in which they have been
soaking), cover, and bring back up to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer,
covered, for about 2 1/2 hours. The wheat is fully cooked when the
berries are soft, chewy, and split.

6. Add an additional 2-4 cups of water to make the broth/soup the desired strength. We like less broth, but if you prefer a more watery soup, you might want to add a little more water. 🙂 Season with salt and pepper.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A simple, delicious homemade lasagna recipe
Yield: 

12 servings
Ingredients: 

1 egg, beaten
12 ounces (3 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 cups (16 ounces) cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 tablespoon dried parsley (or 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley)
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups spaghetti sauce*
3 tablespoons water*
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
Instructions: 

1.
In a mixing bowl, combine egg, 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, the
cottage cheese, 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, and the parsley. Stir
until well-blended.

2. Brown meat with garlic and onion. Drain grease and return to
skillet. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and water, mixing thoroughly.

3. Spread 1 cup of the sauce mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13
baking dish. Top with a layer of three lasagna noodles, one-third of the
cheese mixture, and 1 cup of the sauce. Repeat layers twice.

4. Top with remaining three lasagna noodles (if lasagna is getting
too “tall” for your dish, press the lasagna noodles down to flatten it a
little) and the rest of the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups of
mozzarella cheese and the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese on top.
Cover with greased foil.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover dish and bake an additional 25 minutes, until top is browned and noodles are tender. Remove from oven and let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A flavorful, colorful lamb burger served with tomato, cucumber, onion, and feta
Yield: 

4 servings
Ingredients: 

Burger ingredients:

1 pound ground lamb
1 tablespoon dried mint leaves (or 2T fresh chopped)
1 tablespoon dried cilantro (or 2T fresh chopped)
1 tablespoon dried oregano (or 2T fresh chopped)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons red wine
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon molasses
1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice*
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes**
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

For serving:

4 pita bread rounds (or use hamburger buns)
Mayonnaise or dressing of your choice
Thinly sliced cucumber
Thinly sliced tomatoes
Thinly sliced onions
Lettuce, optional
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
Instructions: 

1.
In a large bowl, combine the lamb with the seasonings and mix well.
Shape into 4 patties (or cover and refrigerate until needed, up to 24
hours).

2. Preheat grill on medium. Brush grill grate with oil. Grill burgers
~5 minutes on each side (our Weber Q grill takes 4 minutes on each
side).

3. Heat the pita pockets or buns briefly on the grill (we spread a little butter on the buns first).

4. Serve burgers with the mayonnaise, cucumber slices, tomatoes,
onions, and lettuce or feta (if desired) in the pita pockets or on the
buns.

Additional Notes: 

*I didn’t have allspice, so I tossed in a sprinkling of black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.

**This sounds like a lot of crushed red pepper, but the burgers really aren’t what I would consider “hot”, so feel free to add more if you want some heat! I like 1 teaspoon instead of 1/2 for a spicy burger. 🙂

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A cheesy, creamy layer of spaghetti squash topped with a flavorful spaghetti sauce with meat for a delicious baked casserole!
Yield: 

16 servings
Ingredients: 

2 medium-large spaghetti squashes (about 6 [packed] cups of cooked squash all together)
2 tablespoons butter
1 small-medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
8 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
8 ounces (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 ounces (1/4 cup) shredded cheddar cheese, optional
8-12 ounces (about 1 1/4 to 2 cups) cooked ground beef
4 cups spaghetti sauce (can use a 26 ounce jar or a quart of homemade)
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions: 

1.
In a large stock pot, put about 2-3 inches of water. Cover and bring to
a boil. Wash outside of squash, cut squash in half and place in the
stock pot of boiling water, flesh side down. Cover and boil for 15-20
minutes, until squash is tender.

2. Drain squash. Holding halves with a potholder, use a fork to scoop out the stringy “spaghetti”. Set aside.

3. In a large stock pot or saute pan, melt butter. Add onions,
garlic, and bell peppers and saute until tender. Add squash and cook and
stir until heated through.

4. In a separate saucepan on low heat, melt the cream cheese. Add the
sour cream, salt, pepper, and parsley flakes, stirring to make a smooth
white sauce.

5. Stir the white sauce into the cooked squash mixture.

6. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Spread the white squash mixture
evenly over the bottom of the pan. Spread about 1 1/2 cups of the
shredded mozzarella cheese over the squash.

7. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, spaghetti sauce,
sugar, and Italian seasoning. Spread over the layer of shredded cheese.
Top with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese (if
using). Sprinkle with dried basil or oregano flakes for garnish if
desired.

8. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees (325 for glass dish) for 30-40 minutes, until casserole is hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly (10-15 minutes) before serving.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A hearty and flavorful barley soup with beef, onions, and celery
Yield: 

5 quarts
Ingredients: 

2 pounds beef roast
1 large onion, chopped
6 celery ribs, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 3/4 cups barley (dry/uncooked measurement)
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
beef bouillon, optional
3 1/2 quarts water, approximately
Instructions: 

1.
Trim fat from meat and dice into 1-inch cubes. Saute meat with garlic
in a large (6-quart) stock pot. Brown on medium-high heat, stirring
often.

2. When meat is browned, add part of the water (enough to cover the
meat) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for an
hour.

3. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 1 hour. If soup becomes too thick, add additional water according to your preference.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A
grilled cheese sandwich with a twist: between crisp buttery slices of
rye bread, you’ll find Swiss cheese, sauteed beef and onions, and some
green pepper!
Yield: 

4 large sandwiches
Ingredients: 

3/4 pound thinly sliced roast beef*, torn into large chunks (2-3″ in diameter)
1 small-medium onion, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1 large green bell pepper, sliced into 8 rings
8 slices of provolone or Swiss cheese
softened butter
8 slices rye bread
Instructions: 

1. Butter one side of each slice of bread and set aside.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1-2 tablespoons butter.
Add the onions and saute for a few minutes, until onions start to turn
translucent.

3. Add the beef to the onions, sprinkle with a little salt and
pepper, and saute until meat is hot.  Remove onion and meat mixture
from the skillet and set aside.

4. Add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet and saute the pepper slices, just until crisp-tender. Don’t overcook!!

5. Assemble sandwiches by placing a slice of bread
buttered-side-down. Place 1 green pepper ring on the bread. Place a
slice of cheese on top of the pepper. Spoon about one fourth of the meat
mixture onto the slice of cheese and top with another slice of cheese.
Place a second pepper slice on top of the second slice of cheese, and
place another slice of bread, butter-side-up, on top.

So, from top to bottom, you will have:

Bread
Pepper
cheese
Meat/Onions
cheese
Pepper
Bread

And the buttered sides of the bread will be on the outside of the
sandwiche, like for a grilled cheese sandwich. Because… that is what
we are going to do next: grill it!

6. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Carefully place
sandwiches on the hot griddle. After a couple minutes, flip sandwiches
and toast the other side to a nice crispy brown. The cheese should be
melted. Yum!

7. These sandwiches are best enjoyed hot off the griddle, but if for
some reason you need to hold them for a few minutes until they can be
devoured, we find it works great to place them on a wire cooling rack to
prevent condensation from forming on the crispy buttery grilled side!

Additional Notes: 

*You can use deli roast beef, or slice your own from leftover roast beef.

Joshua created this recipe, combining a couple of his favorite
things: Grilled cheese and MEAT! 🙂 A big fan of Philly Cheese Steak
sandwiches, these grilled ones are an easy way to enjoy the same
flavors.

I have a rye bread recipe here. The bread in the photos of this sandwich, however, is from a store, not homemade.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Juicy tenderized New York strip steak with horseradish sauce served on a grilled bun with lettuce, cheese, red onion, and tomato
Yield: 

4 servings
Ingredients: 

2 large New York strip steaks*
liquid smoke flavoring
salt
pepper
granulated garlic**
oil, preferably in a spray bottle

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

Toppings:

4 large thin slices of red onion
4 large thin slices of tomato
4 thin slices of cheese (Swiss, Provolone, cheddar, or American)
4 large lettuce leaves, washed

4 large hamburger buns
Softened butter, for spreading
Instructions: 

1. Trim fat and gristle from steaks and cut each steak in half, to form burger-sized pieces. Using a meat tenderizer (we have this meat tenderizer and it works great!), tenderize each steak several times (at least 4-5 times, and up to 10-12 times [with 16-blade tenderizer]).

2. Season steaks on both sides with liquid smoke (we put our liquid smoke in a spray bottle for convenience), salt, pepper, garlic, and oil. Preheat grill on HIGH for 10-15 minutes.

3. To prepare the sauce, mix the horseradish and mayonnaise in a
small bowl and set aside. Get the buns ready to grill by very lightly
buttering the open sides.

4. Grill buns for a couple minutes, buttered side down, until lightly toasted. Remove and set aside.

5. Grill steaks on MEDIUM for 8-9 minutes, flipping once halfway
through grilling time, until desired doneness is reached.*** We like
ours a little pink in the middle still, but even fully cooked
steakburgers will be super tender and juicy.

6. Assemble sandwiches using the horseradish sauce, onion, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Enjoy hot!

Additional Notes: 

*I
am sure other cuts of steak would work in this recipe as well.
Obviously, the better your cut of meat, the better this steakburger will
taste!

**Or use garlic powder or garlic salt (omit salt called for in ingredients list if using garlic salt).

***The FDA advises that tenderized meats should be fully cooked
unless irradiated meat is used, in which case some pink in the middle is
considered safe.

We tenderize our meat right before grilling, using a very clean tenderizer and cutting board, and feel safe consuming it with pink in the middle. If in doubt, fully cook and check with a meat thermometer! 🙂

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A homemade thin-crust unleavened pizza topped with your favorite pizza toppings! (Topping suggestions included!)
Yield: 

8 individual-size pizzas
Ingredients: 

1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups water
6 to 6 1/2 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour

Your favorite pizza toppings: See additional notes for suggestions!
Instructions: 

1.
In a large mixing bowl*, combine the oil, honey, salt, eggs, and water.
Stir until well-mixed. Stir in about 4 cups of the flour, then add more
flour as needed and knead into a fairly stiff dough.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough into 8 pieces. On a
lightly-floured surface, roll each piece into a very thin circle, about 8
inches in diameter — but really as thin as you can get it.** Place
rolled dough onto lightly-greased baking sheets.

3. Bake pizza crusts for about 6 minutes, just until very lightly browned and not doughy.

4. Remove from oven and spread with your favorite pizza toppings.
Place pizzas back into the oven to bake until cheese is melty and
browned, about 10 minutes. Serve hot!

Additional Notes: 

*
If you have a bread machine, you can use the dough cycle for this step.
Just place ingredients in machine in order listed and allow it to knead
until a smooth dough has formed. Remove dough from machine (before
“rising time” has started) and proceed with step 2.

A Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook can also be used for step 1 in this recipe.

**Another rolling option: Roll dough on a silicone baking mat. This
eliminates the lightly-floured surface part and greasing the baking
sheet, as the mat is non-stick.

Pizza Topping Suggestions:

For Matza Pizza, I think the toppings are the most important part!
So, I suggest loading up the pizza with some more flavorful options than
just sauce and cheese. 🙂

Pictured: Fresh spinach leaves, pineapple, black olives, mozzarella cheese, and red sauce.

Mediterranean Herb: grilled chicken, sun dried tomatoes, fresh spinach leaves, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and an Italian dressing for the sauce.

Chicken Garlic: grilled chicken, sliced green onions, chopped fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and Ranch dressing + minced garlic for the sauce.

Taco Pizza: seasoned taco meat, red sauce, mozzarella cheese, and cheddar cheese. Serve with shredded lettuce and sour cream.

Chicken Bacon Artichoke: grilled chicken, turkey bacon, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, chopped artichoke hearts, and Italian dressing for the sauce.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Tangy-sweet lemonade with bits of juicy strawberries
Yield: 

48-56 oz
Ingredients: 

2 large lemons, washed
3/4-1 c sugar*
6-7 c water*
2 c strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced
1/8-1/4 c sugar
Instructions: 

1. Slice lemons as thinly as possible. Put lemon slices and 3/4-1 c sugar into a large bowl or pan.

2. Using a potato masher, mash lemon slices with sugar, squeezing out juice.

3. Add water (to taste) and additional sugar if needed. Strain out seeds and rinds.**

4. Combine strawberries with 1/8 c sugar and mash. Add more sugar if needed.

5. To serve, pour lemonade into a glass and add several tablespoons of the strawberry mixture.
Additional Notes: 

*Taste your lemonade as you make it, to get the right amount of sugar and water, since lemon size and taste buds vary 😀

**Lemon rinds may be eaten, and are actually quite tasty when sliced very thinly and eaten fresh. Don’t leave the rinds in your lemonade for longer than 30 minutes or so, because they will make it bitter.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Tangy fresh homemade lemonade with juicy bits of pulp
Yield: 

6-7 cups
Ingredients: 

2 large lemons, washed
1 c sugar
6-7 c water
Instructions: 

1. Slice lemons as thinly as possible.

2. Put lemons and sugar into a large bowl or stainless steel pan, and
mash with a potato masher until juiced. Alternately, juice lemons and
combine sugar and juice.

3. Add water until lemonade is to the strength you desire. Drink fresh, or strain out seeds and rinds for longer storage.*

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.