Stuffed Peppers

Oh my heavens this is a goodie!
I found this recipe while cutting coupons. I knew coupon cutting was worth it! And this recipe is!

Stuffed Red Peppers
4 lg red bell peppers (I'm sure green would work too)
1 c. minute rice, uncooked
2 Tbs Mrs Dash Tomato Basil Garlic seasoning
1 pound browned ground beef
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. bread crumbs (Italian style is delish!)
1 jar marinara sauce
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

Remove tops and seeds from peppers. Place in a 9x9 baking dish.
Combine uncooked rice, seasoning, beef, egg, and bread crumbs. Mix well. Stuff mixture into peppers.
Pour sauce over peppers and sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or till peppers are tender.

What's for dinner

We'll be having this.

You can get the recipe here.

I LOVE Picky-Palate.

I'll probably put my own spin on it, cuz that's what I do.

I'll let you know how it all turns out.

I'm already drooling!

Cooking Tricks

I love to cook and make new things, but I hate spending a lot of time in the kitchen doing so. This last year my life was crazy, but I didn't want my family to suffer and my wallet was too thin for take out and fast food each night. I found a few little tricks that helped me do what a love, feed my family a home cooked meal each night so I thought I'd share some of my cooking tricks.

1. Buy hamburger meat in bulk and cook it up.
It does take a little time to cook up so much meat, but when you have 8 bags of meat cooked and ready to go it cuts cooking time in half! You can do chicken as well. Dice it, shred it or leave it alone.

2. Make a weekly menu
Write out everything you need and add what you don't have to your shopping list. This helps you not spend too much money at the store as well as finding out later that you don't have something for the meal you are cooking.

3. Create a meal list
I was getting stuck in a food rut. Spaghetti or enchiladas. It seemed I was making the same meals over and over again. As soon as I made a meal list I remembered meals I had forgotten about, added new favorites to the list, and was no longer stuck in a rut.

4. Crock pot
I forgot how much I loved my crock pot! Set it, forget it, and when you get home it's ready. You can even put them outside so your house doesn't heat up. That's the last thing we need in AZ!

5. Rhodes Rolls
These bad boys are so yummy! I'm not a baker at all. When I try nothing works out for me. I am so banned from yeast! You buy these in the freezer section and they taste like homemade. I set mine outside for faster rising. They have turned out perfect every time. I like to bake mine in a muffin pan. They end up being pull apart rolls.

So, these are a few little tricks I've found. What are some of yours?

Tamale Pie

1 1/2 lbs browned hamburger meat

1 small can tomato sauce

1 cup corn-frozen or canned, drained

1 small can sliced or chopped olives-drain if needed

1 small can green chili's

2 cups shredded cheese

1 pgk taco seasoning

2 pkgs crescent rolls

In a greased 9x13 pan, place 1 can of rolls. They roll out like a square, so you just need to spread to the sides. They may come apart a bit, but that's okay. Mix together meat, tomato sauce, corn, olives, green chili and taco seasoning. Spread on top of rolls. Top with cheese. Place the other can of rolls on top of meat mixture. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Top with sour cream.

Salsa Verde Enchiladas

This recipe freezes REALLY well for up to 3 months. See instructions below on how to thaw and reheat. Ingredients
•1 rotisserie chicken
•1 jar (16- to 17.6-ounce) mild salsa verde
•3 green onions, thinly sliced
•1/8 cup fresh lime juice
•1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
•8 (6-inch) corn tortillas •1/2 container (8-ounce) reduced-fat sour cream
•1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
•1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Directions
1. Remove meat from chicken and coarsely shred; place in medium bowl (you will need about 2 cups; reserve any extra for use another day). Discard skin and bones. Stir 1/4 cup salsa verde into chicken to evenly coat.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 13" by 9" glass or ceramic baking dish; set aside. In 12-inch skillet, heat remaining salsa verde, green onions, and lime juice to boiling on medium-high. Boil 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1 tablespoon cilantro; keep warm over very low heat.
3. With tongs, place 1 tortilla in salsa verde mixture; heat 10 seconds. Place tortilla on waxed paper; top with about 1/3 cup shredded-chicken mixture. Roll up tortilla and place, seam side down, in prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture.
4. Stir sour cream and broth into remaining salsa verde mixture in skillet; spoon over filled tortillas. Cover baking dish with foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove foil; sprinkle with 1 cup cheese and 1 tablespoon cilantro. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese melts.

From freezer: Thaw overnight in covered container. Heat, loosely covered, at 350 degrees F 45 minutes; uncover and heat 10 to 15 minutes longer.

White Chicken Chili

I'm in a rotisserie chicken phase and have been looking for quick and easy recipes to use it up. This one was FABULOUS! More like a hearty soup than a chili, it is very filling and VERY health-conscious.

• 1 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 15 oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups cooked, diced Rotisserie chicken meat
• 1 4 oz. can diced green chiles
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• kosher salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)
• 4 sliced green onions (optional)

Heat oil over medium heat in a dutch oven or heavy saucepan. Add onion and garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes. Process one cup chicken broth and 1 can cannellini beans in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add to onion and garlic mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium-low. Simmer 20-30 minutes. Top with cheese and green onions.

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

This meal was super easy and used up part of a rotisserie chicken, which I love. The filling was so good, I'm tempted to use it atop a green salad for a quick fix.

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, roughly chopped (I used half a rotisserie chicken)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
5 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 cup drained & rinsed black beans
2 tblspns chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup salsa
8 oz shredded cheese
7 flour tortillas
oil for brushing

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, cumin, oregano, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, scallions, black beans, and cilantro. Add the salsa and cheese. Stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

Brush tortillas on one side very lightly with water then stack on a paper towel. Wrap twel around tortillas and microwave about 25 seconds.

Remove one tortilla from towel and add 1/3 cup of filling to center. Wrap like you would a burrito. Take care not to roll too tightly or the tortilla will tear or burst during baking. Place chimi seam-side down on foil-lined baking sheet. Repeat with other tortillas.

Brush tops and sides of each chimi with oil. Bake for 23 to 26 minutes or until golden and crispy. Serve with additional salsa, cheese, guacamole and sour cream.