This isn't actually a McDonalds Cheeseburger, hopefully that would be obvious, but the first time I tried it, that was the first thing that came to mind.  Contrary to what would be intelligent thought, I immediately begged for the recipe thinking it would curb my cravings for fast food... No luck, as it turns out, but it is still a MUCH healthier alternative to a McDonald's Cheeseburger.

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

4 slices processed cheese (or any cheese)

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tsp mustard (or more, if you wish)

16 dill pickle slices

2 tubes (8 ounces each) Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fry the ground beef along with the onion until cooked through.  Mix in cheese, ketchup and mustard until cheese is melted and mixture is evenly mixed.

On a pizza pan or pizza stone, layer and fan each individual triangular crescent dough in a circle. The inside of the circle will be a smooth circle, while the outside will be an evenly-spaced circle of 'spikes' (I should have included a picture, sorry!).

Spread ground beef mixture evenly around the inside of the ring of dough, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch of dough around the inside.  Pull the spikes up and over the ring of beef and pinch into the 1/4 to 1/2 inch of dough in the middle of the circle.  Ideally, the curled in 'spikes' will be evenly spaced, and you will have a perfect wreath of dough and beef. 

I seriously need to do this again with pictures...

Anyway, bake for 20-25 minutes (or less, if using a pizza stone).  Cut and serve!

Yummy!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 Cup cooked ground beef
• 3/4 Cup salsa
• 1 C grated cheddar cheese
• Corn tortilla chips

Directions:

Combine cooked beef, salsa and 1/3 Cup of cheese in a bowl, and turn into lightly greased casserole dish.  Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Top with remaining 2/3 Cup of cheese and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes until cheese is melted.  Serve with tortilla chips.

This recipe is struck me as being kind of like bachelor food, but we loved it and it was super-easy, so we'll definitely do it again.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped finely
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp celery salt
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4-1/2 Cup bread crumbs
• 2 Pie shells (for bottom and top crust of pie)

Directions:

Brown ground beef with onions.  Add remaining ingredients.  The bread crumbs should just soak up the excess liquid.  Pour into bottom pie shell, and cover with crust.  Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.  Serve hot.

A cooked tourtiere can be frozen for up to 5 months.  It does not have to be thawed before reheating.

My husband's little brother brought this recipe back from Quebec after an elementary school trip.  My husband's family does not regularly eat 'non-Mennonite' cuisine, but this was one exception that everyone loves.  Even my one-year-old couldn't seem to get enough of it.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup each, chopped - carrots, celery, red and yellow bell peppers, mushrooms
• 1 - 2 Cups frozen corn
• 1 can tomatoes, or 1 Cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 can mixed beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp curry
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp oregano
• 2 Tbsp basil
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot, add onion and carrots - cook until tender.  Add remaining vegetables and cook for another 5 minutes until peppers are tender.  Mix in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cook for at least 10 minutes longer (or up to 30 minutes) stirring occasionally.

Optional: Add 1 lb of ground beef to oil and onion and brown before adding carrots.  To compensate for the extra 'chunkiness' of the beef, add an additional can of tomato sauce.

This recipe is extremely approximate, we tend to just add whatever vegetables we happen to have on hand, and whatever spices sound appetizing at the moment.  As a child, I seriously disliked chili, and it wasn't until I had grown up that I realized that chili didn't have to be a selection of canned beans and tomato soup (as I was used to).