Bacon Pancakes

Gotta admit - I am intrigued.

Oven Baked Cabbage Rolls

Been thinking about friends/family in Omaha -- which has me missing Cabbage Rolls. Sounds YUMMY!



Oven Baked Cabbage Rolls

12 cabbage leaves
1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup milk

Sauce:
1 cans (8 ounces ) tomato sauce
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup cold water

Drop cabbage leaves into boiling salted water; cover and cook for 3 minutes. Drain well. Combine ground beef, rice, onion, egg, and salt, pepper, and milk. Mix well and divide into 12 portions.
Place a portion into the center of each cabbage leaf. Roll leaf around filling; fasten with toothpick. Place in a baking dish.

For sauce, combine tomato sauce, tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, and 1/2 cup of water and pour over cabbage rolls. Bake covered in a preheated 350 degree oven 40 to 45 minutes. Remove rolls and discard toothpicks. Place pan with juices over medium heat and stir cornstarch and water mixture into the sauce; bring to a boil and cook and whisk until thickened. Pour thickened sauce over cabbage rolls or serve on the side.

Sign up for Bisquick Recipes!

Sign up here to get Bisquick recipes! You can really make a lot of fun things with Bisquick - we recently discovered that the kids LOVE crepes with hollandaise sauce. Who woulda thought?

Pace Hand-Pick & Win Contest

Have you played this contest yet? If not, you're gonna have to asap... There's a 1 in 20 chance of winning a free jar of salsa... This comes to you as a (smartsource printable) coupon for $4 ANY Pace product!! If you don't already have a code from a jar, just use the one they provide SAL321... Well I've won already, and as a result have more than a few jars of salsa around - and was wondering what to do with it... I mean there's only so much chips and salsa snacks a girl can handle!! (Free chips - thx Marsh)

So tonight I made ... for lack of a better word - Salsa Soup!

2 Jars Pace Salsa
1 can black beans
1 can of corn
1lb of hamburger

Top with onions & a dollop of sour cream!

It was really quick, and actually pretty good! Husband ate it with his beloved Jalapeno Tostitos, and the kids and I dipped our toasted corn tortillas in! Imagine my surprise when I cruised Pace's website and saw that they have a whole section of recipes - INCLUDING soup! Check it out!

Spring Recipes from Betty Crocker

I actually need to get a few new recipes... I think we might be in a rut lately... Anyhow, sign up here. You might need to use a diff email... maybe.

Special Valentine's Day Recipes

Register with Eversave here to print out some special Valentine's Day Dinners. Yum...

Holiday Recipe Ideas - Betty Crocker & Pillsbury

I'm no Martha Stewart, I wish I was... So when I need to come up with something fun in the kitchen, I'll admit that I look to either of these sites. Besides having recipes with actual ingredients that real people would have in their kitchens, they're easy! After you sign up, make sure you check out their respective coupon pages for some good printables. (Bettycrocker.com & Pillsbury.com)

Baked Potato Soup...

So last week I took advantage of the OreIda Mashed Potato Steamers at Kroger for $1 each after coupon... And realized we don't really eat that much mashed potatoes... So I started thinking... I decided that making a creamy potato soup would be really good.
I made these according to the package directions, but added a lot of milk, a little butter, and it was super good. We garnished with shredded cheese, green onion, sour cream, and crumbled bacon. Was a huge hit. Will also work with all of the free samples of mashed potatoes we'll be getting in the mail!!

Yummy Southwestern Style Corn Chowder...

Ok so I've got jars and jars of Taco Bell Salsa, too many Green Giant Steamers - corn, more packets of taco seasoning than anyone really needs, Organic Meijer Brand Black Beans... And it's kind of cold outside. I set out to McGuyver together a soup for dinner. Here's what I used...

2 Large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- cooked and chopped into small chunks
1 Jar Taco Bell Salsa
2 Bags of Steamers Corn
1 Packet Old El Paso Taco Seasoning
1 Quart of Skim Milk
- found on clearance at Meijer today for .70
1 Pint of Half & Half
1 Can of Meijer Brand Organic Black Beans
- rinsed (got these for free using the $2 off 2 Meijer Organics Catalina coupon)
Couple of TB of Flour to thicken
1 Bag of Shredded Cheese (any will work - we used 'mexican blend')
1 Jalapeno
- I have a small Jalapeno plant in a pot on my back patio, I picked a bunch this summer and roasted them on the grill, then tossed into the freezer - Man, they're HOT
Few TB of Cumin

Added the ingredients together and cooked till it was thickened. Turned out really really good. Best part is, we have leftovers for the freezer! I had thought about toasting up some of the Taco Bell Taco Shells (free - thanks Meijer) and crumbling over the top when serving, but figured this soup was already pretty rich. The kids liked it, except that the 1 tiny Jalapeno pepper really made the entire dish spicy. Happy husband though...

Cost: About $2 for the chicken, .35 for the salsa, $2 for the cheese, .70 for the milk, $1.50 for the half&half. About $7'ish bucks for the entire dinner. Served 5, with leftovers. Could have probably gotten it done cheaper, but for some reason I didn't have any chicken, and I was too tired to go to the WalMart today to get the half&half. Not really sure why it's so expensive at the Meijer, but oh well.

Next experiment: Make an enchilada style casserole with the Crunchy Taco Shells.

I picked up an advance Sunday paper today during our shopping runs, and I'll thumb through and post the highlights later. Until then, take a look on the right side to the blogs that I love to follow... Those wonderful women always have their CVS and Walgreens, Target and sometimes even WalMart deals up. Money Saving Mom's offline for a few days - so I don't think hers will be updated... Wish her well.

Kids favorite Soup

Quick, easy, and really cheap meal that feeds 6+ and they actually like it!!!

Kids favorite Soup

1 can kidney beans
2 cans tomatoes
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Fresh or Frozen Vegetables – your choice
Zucchini, asparagus, carrots, celery, broccoli, onions
1 box pasta – your choice
we like to use radiatore
garlic salt or powder – to taste
fresh basil or oregano – if you have it (dried works too, but I have an herb garden)

Add ingredients to six cups of water, cook on med-hi till pasta is cooked. Can add meat if you like – sausage, hamburger, chicken, shrimp… whatever the kids would eat. Serve with bread, croutons, crackers, whatever you have…

Seafood Chili Blanco

I got this recipe from Whole Foods, thinking the kids wouldn't eat it, and we'd have plenty of leftovers for the next day, boy was I wrong!!! This entire recipe was eaten in one meal. Because my incredibly fickle children enjoyed this, not realizing it was good for them, I am sharing it as a kid-friendly recipe. It's very mild, and the beer really makes it taste good!

Serves 6 to 8

1 pound shrimp, shelled
1 pound scallops
1/2 pound mahi-mahi (I used salmon)

Marinade
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 medium jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
4 cloves garlic, minced

Chili
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 leeks, sliced
1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (I puree the entire can and save in the refridgerator)
2 bottles beer (I used Michelob light)
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups white cannellini beans (canned or cooked from dried)
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/2 cup cilantro, minced
juice of 1 lime
Ingredient Options: vary the seafood with your choice of clams, cod, halibut, grouper, wahoo, salmon or tuna.

Cut uncooked shrimp into two pieces. Cut mahi-mahi into bite-size pieces. Toss all shrimp, scallops and mahi-mahi with the marinade. Place in refrigerator while preparing rest of chili.
In a large stock pot, sauté the onion, celery, leeks, green and red peppers in two tablespoons olive oil for about five minutes. Add the cumin, oregano, chipotle chilies and adobo sauce and continue to sauté for two more minutes. Add the beer, stock, beans and salt. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
In a separate saucepan, heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add seafood and sauté for approximately 2 minutes until the fish turns opaque. Add seafood and any pan juices to the chili. Continue cooking for approximately 10 more minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro and lime juice. Garnish with additional cilantro when serving.
Nutrition Info
Per serving (12 oz-wt.): 260 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 4g dietary fiber, 23g protein, 17g carbohydrate, 90mg cholesterol, 890mg sodium

Kid Friendly Recipe

Chicken "Enchiladas" Verde

I "McGuyvered" this recipe and it's become a repeat/favorite. As with any recipe I make, the measurements are nowhere near being exact. I use the quotes around enchiladas, as I don't roll anything, it doesn't look like an enchilada. I layer these ingredients in my skillet (like a lasagna). Easy to cook, doesn't heat up the house.

1 Can diced tomatoes
Chicken Breast (shredded)*
Tortillas (i use flour)
1 Can Campbell's cream of chicken soup
2 Cans Green Enchilada Sauce**
2 Cups (or more) cheese***

Add shredded chicken, can of tomatoes (w/liquid), can of soup, and half can of green sauce. Heat until creamy. Spread over tortillas in skillet, alternating layers of chicken, tortillas, and sometimes cheese - saving 1 cup at least for the top of the dish. Cook in skillet on medium heat until melted. Serve with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, avocado (if you have on hand)

* I use boneless skinless and boil for 20 mins. You can use the rotisserie chicken, maybe even dark meat (i don't eat dark meat, so i don't know if it's good or not)
** Old El Paso's is MILD, I prefer it. Meijer brand is a little spicier, but also quite good)
*** I use Monterrey Jack, or Mozzarella