German Pizza

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
6 medium potatoes, peeled and finely shredded
3 eggs, beaten
1/3 c. milk
2 c. cheddar or mozzarella, shredded

In a 12-in skillet over medium heat, brown beef with onion, green pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper. Remove meat mixture from skillet and drain fat. Reduce heat to low. Melt butter; spread potatoes over butter, and sprinkle with remaining salt. Top with beef mixture. Combine eggs and milk; pour over all. Cook, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Top with cheese; cover and heat until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Cut into wedges or squares to serve. Serves 4-6.

Recipe courtesy of Mama Hess

Taco Salad

Beef and onion cooking

1 lb. ground beef
coriander, cumin, black pepper, and garlic powder to taste
1 medium white onion, diced
1 can black olives, drained and sliced
1 4oz. can green chilies, drained
1 15oz can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 8oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
1 head green leaf lettuce, torn
2 large avocados, chopped
8oz cheddar jack cheese, shredded
1 15oz. package fritos corn chips

Dressing:
1 c. salsa mild or medium (I used green)
1/3 c. sour cream

Cook ground beef, onion, and seasonings until cooked. Put in refrigerator to chill.

Mix all other ingredients except salsa and sour cream. Add meat and onions to the salad. Toss. For dressing, mix salsa and sour cream together, and drizzle over salad. Serve at once.

Adapted from recipe courtesy of Mama Hess

Sausage and Sauerkraut Soup

Kielbasa and onion

1 lb. kielbasa sausage
6 Tbsp. chopped onion
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed thyme
3 c. milk
1 c. half and half
8 oz. sauerkraut with juice*
1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice, optional

Chop sausage coarsely by hand. Saute onion and sausage over medium heat in deep pan about 8 minutes until sausage is lightly browned. Combine flour, thyme, and pepper, and add to sausage and brown all together until mixture bubbles up (about 5 minutes). Add milk and half and half all at once and cook, stirring, until mixture again bubbles (about 5 minutes). Add sauerkraut and bring to a boil; the mixture will continue to thicken. Taste for tartness and add lemon juice if desired. Serve at once.

Ready to eat!

*I add a lot more sauerkraut, like 24 oz. for this recipe, but just not all the juice.

Also, this is a soup you must serve immediately. It is one of the only soups I've found that does not reheat well, so I make sure to make just enough. But it is delicious and one of my favorites!

Recipe courtesy of Mama Hess

Spam Musubi

My absolute favorite food in the whole wide world!

I apologize in advance for my lack of accurate measurements.

Spam cooking

Spam (as many cans as you want!)
Soy sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sugar
Hot white rice
Nori (seaweed)
Musubi mold

When you take the spam out of the can, slice it lengthwise. In one can, you should be able to get 10-11 slices. Don't cut them too thin. Put 2-3 Tbsp. sugar in the empty spam can and then fill the can almost half way with soy sauce. Stir to dissolve the sugar as much as you can.

Cooked spam

Put as many pieces of spam into your frying pan as will fit without them overlapping each other. Spoon soy sauce and sugar on the spam, and drizzle with hoisin sauce. Cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat (it may be longer). The first round of spam will always take the longest. While the spam is cooking, turn the pieces over from time to time so both sides cook evenly. The sugar can cause the soy sauce to become thick and gooey, so I keep a cup of water nearby to add to the pan because you don't want the sauce too thick; just a few tablespoons at a time. Sometimes it's hard to tell when the spam is done because they need to be dark, but the soy sauce can make it look like they are dark enough. When you think they're done, keep them cooking a little longer. As the spam cooks, remove the done pieces to a plate and set aside. Add the uncooked spam to the pan, and coat with soy sauce, sugar, and hoisin.

Nori

Musubi mold

When the spam is all done, you will need a clean open space to assemble the musubi. Take your nori and fold it in half the long way. Hopefully it is fresh, and it should break apart in the middle. Break as many sheets as you need. Lay one sheet of nori on the counter with the shiny side down, ridged and dull side up. Place your mold at the bottom end of the nori, leaving a little flap at the end. Fill the mold with hot rice and press down with the lid. Keeping the mold in place, place one piece of musubi on top of the pressed rice. Press down again with the lid, this time lifting the mold up. Now lift the little flap up and begin to roll the musubi. Make sure the nori is taut. You don't want it loosely rolled. When you're making the first few musubis, the seaweed should stick to itself when you're done rolling because of the heat from the rice. As you keep going, the nori doesn't stick as well, so I have a cup of water that I dip my finger in and wet the top flap of the nori to seal it. I usually slice mine in half, but you don't have to. Serve warm.

Nori before you break it

Delicious musubi

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets
2/3 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. chicken broth
2 c. half and half cream
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
basil to taste
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

In a saucepan, cook cauliflower in enough water to cover until tender. Drain and reserve 1 c. liquid; set aside.

In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Add flour; cook and stir until bubbly. Add chicken broth; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and stir in 1 c. reserved cooking liquid, cream, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in cauliflower and seasonings.

Remove from heat. Add cheese and stir until melted. Makes 6-8 servings.

From Taste of Home Big Book of Soup