Easy Economical Macaroni & Beef Casserole

There's no better comfort food than a hearty casserole at the end of the day. My favorite one is this macaroni & beef casserole that's even better the day after, if there's any left!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup sliced celery (about 2 stalks)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 of a small onion)
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, broken up (undrained)
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta just until tender; drain.   Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown beef over medium-high heat; drain off excess liquid.  Combine all ingredients in a 2-quart casserole dish and bake, covered, for 30 minutes.   Uncover and bake 30 additional minutes, or until top is light golden and crunchy.
Enjoy!

Scrumptious Bacon Appetizer Crescents

Servings: 24
Preparation Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:15 minutes
These are a delicious appetizer to serve up for game day!

Ingredients

8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened

8 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 Tbs chopped parsley

1 Tbs milk

2 8 oz. cans refrigerated crescent dinner rolls.

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°. Mix cream cheese, bacon, Parmesan cheese, onions, parsley and milk until well blended; set aside. Separate each can of dough into 4 rectangles; firmly press perforations together to seal. Spread each rectangle with 2 rounded tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture. Cut each rectangle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges, starting at short ends. Place, seam-side down, on greased baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Delicious Pepperoni Stromboli

Servings: 6
Preparation Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:20 minutes
A turnover packed with cheese vegetables, pepperoni and Canadian style bacon.

Ingredients

1 can refrigerated pizza crust dough

1/3 cup pizza sauce

1 package (3.5-ounce) Canadian Style Bacon

1 package (3.5-ounce) Pepperoni

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper and/or onion, if desired

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

Directions
Heat oven to 400°F. Grease baking sheet. Unroll dough; place on baking sheet. Press dough into 12x8-inch rectangle. Spread pizza sauce on dough to within 2 inches of long sides and ½ inch of short sides.
Top with Canadian bacon, pepperoni, cheese, vegetables and Italian seasoning. Fold long sides of dough over filling; pinch to seal. Pinch short sides to seal.
Bake stromboli 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Spoon pizza sauce over this stromboli, or serve on the side for dipping.

Easy Mini Cheesecakes

Easy Mini Cheesecakes

Servings:Makes 8 servings.
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:30 minutes
These luscious cheesecakes are gently flavored with Vanilla and Almond Extract. Sized just right, they can be garnished with fresh or canned fruit topping.
4th of July Cheesecakes: Top cheesecakes with strawberries and blueberries.

Ingredients

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1/4 tsp Pure Almond Extract

8 vanilla wafers or chocolate wafers

Fresh or canned fruit

Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F. Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and extracts; beat well.
Line 8 muffin cups with paper baking cups. Place a wafer in bottom of each muffin cup. Spoon batter into each cup, filling each 1/2 full.
Bake 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cook in pan on wire rack.
Refrigerate 4 hours to overnight. Serve topped with fresh or canned fruit.

Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

Ingredients

1, 3/4 cups Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

6 oz shortbread cookies, crushed

1/4 cup butter, melted

16 oz cream cheese (for filling)

1, 3/4 cup sugar (for filling)

1/3 cup orange juice concentrate (for filling)

3 large eggs (for filling)

1, 1/2 cup sour cream (for topping)

6 Tbs sugar (for topping)

2 Tbs orange juice concentrate (for topping)

Directions
Crust: Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine cookies and butter with a fork. Press into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan and slightly up the sides. Bake 15 minutes. Cool.
Filling: Melt 1 ½ cups chocolate chips at 30-second intervals, stirring after every 30 seconds until melted. Cool. Beat cream cheese and 1-3/4 cups sugar until smooth. Add 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips, 1/3 cup orange juice, and eggs, one at a time. Pour into crust, and bake 50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.
Topping: Mix sour cream, 6 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate together. Spread over cake. Drizzle remaining 1/4 cup melted chocolate chips over. Bake 5 minutes. Turn off heat, and cool in the oven with the door slightly open for 30 minutes. Place in refrigerator overnight.