Italian meatball sandwich: pork-and-beef meatballs simmered for an hour in a long-cooked red wine tomato sauce built on salt pork, garlic, basil, and marjoram. Piled in a crusty roll with Parmesan and roasted peppers for a proper Sunday sub.
Hamburger barley soup loaded with carrots, celery, onions, and tomatoes in a beefy broth. A one-pot meal that simmers for an hour until the barley turns tender and chewy.
Portuguese chili beans with ground chuck, dried kidney beans, tomato sauce, cloves, and a whole red chili pepper. A hearty, mildly spiced bean stew served with crusty Portuguese bread.
Crowd-sized sloppy joes for 100 people, with ground beef simmered low in a sweet-tangy tomato sauce with peppers, onions, and Worcestershire. The go-to potluck, wedding, or church supper recipe.
Slow cooker venison chili loaded with kidney beans, mushrooms, jalapenos, barbecue sauce, and six cloves of garlic. Thick, spicy, and built for long cooking.
San Francisco-style cioppino with halibut, shrimp, scallops and clams simmered in a slow-cooked tomato and white wine broth. The Italian-American fisherman's stew, served with crusty sourdough.
Baked Swiss steak braises floured round steak in tomato sauce with onion, bell pepper, celery and carrots. Slow-baked until fork-tender for a hearty, family-style oven dinner with built-in gravy.
Red bell peppers stuffed with spiced ground beef, rice, toasted walnuts, raisins, and olives, then baked until tender. A one-dish dinner with sweet and savory filling.
Hamburger spinach casserole layered with seasoned ground beef, egg noodles, creamy spinach, and melted cheddar. Hearty potluck-style comfort food with hidden greens for picky eaters.
Quick Southwestern casserole layered with zucchini, corn, fried tortilla quarters, and green chilies in a spiced tomato sauce, smothered in melted cheddar. Ready in 20 minutes.
This dish is very, very hot. It may not seem so at first, but the spices have a cumulative effect that builds up over the course of the meal.
A copycat Bull's Eye BBQ sauce simmered from ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, mustard, and Worcestershire into a thick, tangy-sweet, smoky barbecue sauce. Pantry staples, big cookout flavor.
Smoky, beer-braised chili loaded with cubed flank steak, jalapenos, and masa harina. This thick, hearty Texas-style chili simmers low and slow until every spoonful hits with deep, layered heat.
Carol's lasagna stacks six noodle layers with a triple-cheese mix of ricotta, cottage, and romano, plus mozzarella and a slow-simmered ground beef tomato sauce. The classic baked pasta done generously.
Hearty slow cooker spaghetti sauce loaded with ground beef, mushrooms, bell peppers, and Italian herbs. Simmer it low and slow for rich, restaurant-quality marinara.
Vegetarian chili with TVP (textured vegetable protein), pinto beans, and fresh chili peppers. Oil-free cooking, ready in 40 minutes. Plant-based protein that satisfies.