Christmas Entertaining? Try This Easy Christmas Eve Beef Pie Recipe

With all the rich food coming on Christmas day, this easy Christmas Eve Beef Pie is hearty, filling, and so tasty!  Share this recipe with your family and friends…and add your own variations!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup tomato sauce with mushrooms
• 1 cup green beans, drained
• dash cumin seed
• dash garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp salt to taste
• 1 cn Refrigerated Quick Crescent Dinner Rolls
• 1 egg, beaten slightly
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese
• dash Paprika

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375. 
2. In large fry pan, brown ground geef onion, and green pepper; drain off fat.
3. Stir in tomato sauce, beans, cumin, garlic salt and salt; simmer while preparing crust.
4. Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles.  Place traingles in an ungreased 9 inch pie pn; press over bottm  and up the sides to form the crust. 
5. Combine egg nd 1 cup of cheese.  Spread over crust.
6. Spoon hot meat mixture into crust.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese and paprika. 
7. Bake 20 minutes.  For easier serving, let it stand 5 minutes before cutting into pie wedges.

Serve with a green salad, and your favorite rolls or french bread.  Christmas Eve meal is done!  Coffee?

Broccoli Rabe ‘n Peppers

This sauteed Broccoli Rabe and peppers will have you eating it often.  It’s so good for you and packed full of vitamins.  Get your Greens!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried basil, crushed
• 1 red sweet pepper, cut into small strips
• 2 lbs broccoli rabe
• crushed red pepper to taste
• lemon wedges

Procedure:

1. Carefully wash broccoli rabe and cut away the woody stems.  Coarsely chop the leafy greens, set aside.
2. In skillet, cook and stir sweet pepper, basil, salt, and garlic in hot olive oil over medium to high heat for about 2 minutes.
3. Add broccoli rabe and toss, cooking  vegetables for 4 to 6 minutes until broccoli rabe is crisp-tender.  Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with red peppers, add lemon wedges to side of plate.

This veggie is full of Vitamin A, C, Calcium, Iron!!  Eat it often!!

Budget Friendly Vegetable Side Dishes – Squash Medley

Squash goes well with steak or chicken, and it’s normally low cost, especially in season. One Zucchini and one summer squash squash goes a long way!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium summer squash, and 2 medium zucchini, halved and sliced
• 1/3 c chopped onion
• 1-1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1 large tomato, chopped (preferrable plum tomato)
• 1-1/2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp pepper seasoning blend, or lemon pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder or minced garlic to taste
• dash salt
• 1/2 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Procedure:

• In skillet, saute the squash, and onion in oil for about 8 minutes or until tender but still crisp.
• Stir in the tomato, butter, pepper seasoning, garlic and salt.
• Cook for 2 minutes or until heated through. 
• Remove and sprinkle with cheese.   Cover until cheese is melted.

Yield:  8 servings

Budget Friendly Main Dishes – Leftover Chicken Turnovers

Do you have leftover chicken and you’re wondering how to prepare it the second time around?

Try this and you’ll do it with other kinds of leftover meats as well:

Chop leftover chicken into small bits, add leftover mixed veggies, also chopped into small pieces, and toss with a nicely seasoned white sauce. 

Spoon small mounds into the center of refrigerated crescent roll dough, fold over to the triangle shape, being careful not to over stuff.  Seal ends well with a fork, or eggwash. 

Bake to make flaky, tender main dish turnovers.  Add a salad, and some iced tea and you’ve got dinner even the kids will love!

Budget Friendly Main Dishes-Meat Loaf

The secret ingredient of rubbed sage makes this meatloaf high on flavor and low on expense.  Every family needs budget friendly main dishes today!

If you are a beginning cook, this easy and budget Friendly Main Dish is for you!  You’ll be out of the kitchen in no time!

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 lb ground beef
• 18 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 c chopped onion
• 3/4 c quick-cooking oats
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 c evaporated milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c ketchup

Procedure: 

• In bowl, mix the egg, milk, worcestershire sauce, oats, onion, salt sage and pepper. 
• Add beef and mix, being careful not to overmix as this will make the meatloaf tough.
• Press into loaf baking pan, ungreased.
• Bake at 350 for one hour or until meat is at least 160F.
• Top with ketchup and bake 10 minutes to heat sauce thoroughly.
• Let stand for about 10 minutes before slicing. 

Yield:  6 servings.