Apple to the Core

Quick Meals

Quick Spanish Beef-Rice

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced

• 1/2 medium green pepper, chopped

• 1/2 lb ground beef

• 1 cup regular rice, uncooked

• 2 (8 oz) cans Hunt's tomato sauce

• 1¾ cups hot water

• 1 tsp salt

• dash pepper

• 1 tsp prepared mustard, optional

• 1/2 cup grated cheese

Heat oil in skillet. Add onion, green pepper, beef and rice. Stir over high heat until lightly browned. Add tomato sauce and remaining ingredients except cheese. Mix well. Bring quickly to a boil. Cover tightly and simmer 25 minutes. Top with grated cheese just before serving time. Makes 4 servings.

Laredo Supper

• 1 lb ground beef

• 1/2 cup chopped onion

• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper

• 1 (16 oz) can kidney beans

• 1 cup chopped tomatoes

• 1 (8 oz) jar of Cheez Whiz with Jalapeno Peppers

• 2 tbl chili powder

Brown meat with onion and green pepper. Drain. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer 15 minutes. Serve with corn or tortilla chips. 

Hurry-up Ham & Noodles

• 5 to 6 cups uncooked wide egg noodles

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine

• 1 cup whipping cream

• 1 1/2 cups julienned fully cooked ham

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/8 tsp salt

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in cream. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add ham, cheese, onions, salt and pepper; heat through. Drain noodles; add to ham mixture and heat through. Makes 4 Servings.

Sausage and Pepper

• 1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage or a combo of the two

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 medium onion

• 2 bell peppers

• 1 tbl minced garlic

• 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

• 1/2 tsp salt

Cut sausage in bite-size pieces. Put into a large skillet with the water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 4 to 5 minutes, stirring once until the sausages are no longer pink. Remove skillet from heat. Strain off water and sausage fat. Meanwhile, peel onion. Halve, core and seed peppers. Cut onion and peppers into bite-size chunks. Add vegetable to skillet with garlic, tomatoes, Italian seasoning and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 8 to 9 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.  This dish can be served as a stew with a lot of hot, crusty bread or served over rice or pasta for a different taste. Makes 4 servings.

Steak Roll-up Supper

Combine stuffing mix and water. Spread each beef cubed steak with stuffing mixture. Roll and fasten with wooden picks. Brown beef rolls in oil in 10 inch skillet; drain. Mix tomato sauce, salt, thyme, rosemary and poultry seasoning. Add tomato sauce mixture and onions to skillet. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until beef is tender, about one hour.  Stir in bean. Cover and simmer until beans are hot, about ten minutes. Makes four servings.

Colorful Kielbasa

• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1 tbl margarine

• 1 jar (4 1/2 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained

• 1 lb smoked kielbasa, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

• 1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

• 3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice

• 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen peas

In a skillet, combine soup, water and butter; bring to a boil. Add kielbasa and rice. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes or until rice is almost tender. Stir in peas and mushrooms. cover and simmer 15 minutes or until rice is tender and peas are heated through. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand until melted. Make 4-6 servings.

Ham 'N' Biscuit Skillet

• 1 tbl vegetable oil

• 1 medium onion

• 1 (14 1/2 oz) can no-salt added stewed tomatoes

• 1 box  (10 oz) frozen spinach

• 2 cans (16 oz each) butter beans

• 1 (8 oz) piece ham

• 1/4 cup ketchup

• 1 (10 oz) can refrigerator buttermilk biscuits

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a large (oven proof ) skillet. Peel onion and cut in thin wedges. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until just tender. Add tomatoes and frozen greens. Cover and cook until green are thawed. Drain beans and cut ham in bite-size pieces. Stir ham, beans and ketchup into skillet. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and arrange biscuits, just touching, in a ring around edge of skillet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until biscuits are golden brown on top and fully cooked on bottom (lift one to check). Makes 4 servings.

Uptown Beef Pie

• 1/2 pkg Pepperidge Farm Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets

• 1 tbl olive oil

• 1 lb lean ground beef

• 2 large onions, coarsely chopped

• 1/8 tsp garlic powder

• 1 jar Pepperidge Farm Hearty Beef Gravy

• 1 pkg (9 oz) frozen mixed vegetables

Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add beef, onions and garlic and cook until beef is browned, stirring to separate meat. Pour off fat. Add gravy and mixed vegetables. Heat through. Pour into 9" deep dish pie plate. Unfold pastry sheet and place over meat mixture. Trim to fit pie plate. Using fork press edge of pastry to edge of pie plate. Bake 25 minutes or until golden. Serves 4.

One Dish Chicken and Stuffing Bake

• 4 cups Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• Paprika

• 1 can cream of mushroom soup

• 1/3 cup milk

• 1 tbl chopped fresh parsley

Mix stuffing, 1 1/4 cups boiling water and 4 tbl margarine. Spoon stuffing across center of 3 qt shallow baking dish. Place chicken on each side of stuffing. Sprinkle paprika over chicken. Mix soup, milk and parsley. Pour over chicken. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Serves 6.