Quick Dutch Oven Meal

1 pound ground beef
1 medium chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup green pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 large can or quart tomatoes
1 cup uncooked macaroni
1 cup mild cheese
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Cook hamburger, onion, celery and pepper in the Dutch Oven, stirring until it is cooked through, but not too brown. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add macaroni, cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes or until macaroni is done. turn off heat and sprinkle the top with grated cheese. Server right from the dutch oven.

American Hambrger Soup

1 pound hamburger
3 medium diced carrots
3/4 cups diced celery
2 cups canned tomatoes
2 tablespoons minced green pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 1/2 teaspoons salt
little pepper
2 cups cubed potatoes
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 teaspoon sugar
2 medium onions chopped
1 large bay leaf
1 small garlic button
1 1/2 quarts water
6 whole allspice
1/4 cup barley or raw rice

 Put all ingredients in a large kettle. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook slowly several hours with lid on.

Spaghetti Sauce

5 lb. Hamburger Meat
2 Onions
1 Stalk Celery
2 Green Peppers
1-2 cans tomato paste used to thicken up sauce.
Garlic powder (or fresh garlic), oregano and other spices as you desire.
1-2 tea spoons vinegar
2 coups brown sugar



Tomatoes - I love to use fresh tomatoes out of my garden but substitute crushed, whole pealed, or stewed canned tomatoes. To me its the variety of the textures I like. For example I bottle tomatoes and use them year round I will mix with my bottled tomatoes the whole or diced tomatoes from cans (which is thicker in consistency then the bottled tomatoes which are pretty much mush by the time you cook them down.
Cook meat and onions together. I like at this time to also put in garlic and Italian seasonings. Most normal cooks put in a dash of this and dash of that. Don't tell my wife but I put the spices in by the hand full (OK maybe she already knows from buying me all the spices). To me the flavor of the spices is what its all about. Once cooked you can drain some or all of the fat. I give my wife grief for dumping it out but I suppose you can if you like, I leave most mine still in the pot though I do buy leaner ground beef.

Add Celery and Green peppers (diced and chopped) my kids like them in big chunks so they can pick them out. and I dice them really small so they cant.

Cook these tell they are to texture you like them and then add tomatoes/tomato past. Note that My 5 pounds of hamburger is huge I make large batches in 1-2 big pots to freeze left overs. Bring contents to high simmer and then turn down and simmer to cook in. At this time I add in more spices (again by hand fulls) and flavor to taste. I like it STRONG but you may want to maybe put a dash in depending on your taste buds. Also add vinegar and simmer 30 min to an hour depending on the consistency you desire your sauce to be.

Last but most important add the brown sugar. What can I say I love the sweetness of the sugar and the sassy and tarter taste of the tomatoes and the spice of oregano.

Now you can make spaghetti and eat, make home made lasagna or put it in the freezer for later.

ENJOY!!

Pineapple Dr. Pepper Spare Ribs

8-10 boneless pork spare ribs
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 green bell pepper diced
1 cup medium Pace Picante sauce
1 yellow onion diced
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple tidbits
4 cloves garlic minced
1 (12 oz.) can Dr. Pepper
2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
Trim most of the fat from ribs. Arrange ribs in the bottom of a 12" Dutch oven. Drain pineapple reserving juice. Sprinkle bell pepper, onions and pineapple evenly over ribs. In a large bowl stir together the remaining ingredients including the reserved pineapple juice and pour over ribs. Cover oven and cook for 2 hours using 6-7 briquettes bottom and 12-14 briquettes top heat (325° F.) replenishing briquettes once after 1 hour of cooking time. Turn and baste ribs in oven juices carefully every 1/2 hour.