More "Instant" Dessert ---> Cherry Filled Crescent Rolls

And again I get the, "Is there any dessert?"  And again, there are 500 half gallons of ice cream in the freezer. But, yet again, that isn't what they want. *sigh*

I was trying to finagle something with crescent rolls and pie filling. I didn't even bother with a cookbook. It was getting late and the natives were getting restless.

And this is what I found:

Cherry Filled Crescent Rolls
http://www.food.com/recipe/cherry-filled-crescent-rolls-70713

1 (8 count) can crescent rolls
1 1/2 cups cherry pie filling
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
Directions:

1. Unroll crescent rolls.
2. Place 2 Tbsp cherry pie filling in center of each roll; roll up dough.
3. Bake according to directions on can.
4. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

I finally got to use my itty bitty teeny tiny strainer thing that nicely sprinkled the confectioner sugar.  It wasn't too sweet with the combo of pie filling and crescent rolls.  I will be trying different pie filling in the future, too. This was a definite hit!

That's it for today. Till next time...

Cabbage Rolls and an Unplanned Visit to the School

I recently bought a head of cabbage.  And there is sat on my counter for a whole week, begging to be used. I ventured to  my fav shopping spots and came across an interesting item  -- ground chicken sausage. Yes, please. Now what to do with it?!? And then an epiphany. Cabbage Rolls!

I knew exactly what cookbook to use, since I had recently made a cabbage roll-ey casserole thing. Pretty much faux cabbage rolls. But, alas not cabbage rolls.

I have had very little dealings with cabbage. But, thankfully right above the chosen recipe there was a helpful hint on how to get those darn leaves off without too much fuss.  I boiled a big pot of water and then speared the cabbage with a large fork and then put the whole thing in the pot.  After 3-5 minutes the leaves loosened and were able to be removed without any damage. Of course, you had to repeat this a billion times, to get all those darn leaves off. I am sure there is a better easier way, but, this way was slightly amusing. Plus it gave me some time to run around and do other things while I boiled the cabbage.

A big pile of leaves.

The Taste of Home Cookbook : Cooks Who Care Edition, on page 143. I quadrupled the recipe, since it was only for two people and I was planning on feeding my Mom and S#4 and then bringing the leftovers to my besties house.  Therefore I definitely needed more servings.

Ingredients

• 4 large cabbage leaves  MORE!
• 1/4 pound ground beef
• 1/4 pound bulk pork sausage Chicken sausage worked great!!
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard I could not find the Dijon, so I used regular yellow.
• 1 egg
• 1 cup tomato juice I had some V-8 juice which worked just fine.
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, optional
• Directions

• In a large saucepan, cook the cabbage leaves in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown the beef, sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is not longer pink; drain. Stir in rice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and egg; mix well.
• Spoon about 1/3 cup onto each cabbage leaf. Fold in sides and roll up leaf; place with seam side down in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish -- I used a large baking dish, since I had a lot more leaves to cook.
• Pour juice over rolls; sprinkle with brown sugar if desired. I used a large can of petite diced tomatoes to cover the entire thing. I like it way more saucy!
• Cover and bake at 350° for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer. Yield: 2 servings.

The final product! Delicious!!

S#4 had never had cabbage rolls. She ate them, but, I'm not sure she loved them. I thought they tasted great. I told the hubby and kids what I made and they were less than impressed.  Lucky for them, I didn't make it for them.

That afternoon my darling C#2 informed me that she had to be back at the school by 5pm. "You what?!?! Do you have a note?!? What is going on!?!?" Come to find out she has been working on a thingy for the younger children in her school district. She has known for weeks!  And when I mentioned her lack of information to her teacher (definitely NOT blaming the teacher, but, the daughter), I got the impression there were many a note that never made it home. *sigh*

I talked to one of her BFFs Mom's and she said that he hadn't told her about it until the previous night. What is with kids these days?!? Anyway, it all worked out and she appeared to have a good time doing whatever she was doing.  I warned her that things might not work out as well if this happened again. But, alas, we shall see.

That's it for today. Till next time....

Feta Stuffed London Broil

This past week one of the stores, whose ads I frequent, had a really good sale on London broil ($2.99 a lb!)  I bought a couple packages and had to figure out a way to make them more interesting.  Grilling/broiling always works, especially with the right seasonings, buttttt, I.do.that.all.the.time. Borrrrrringgggggg!

So I got to thinking. Are you allowed to stuff a London broil?!!? Well, no one said I couldn't. I picked the thickest hunk of meat and went to it.

Firstly, I chopped up 2 mini sweet peppers and about 1/2 an onion into tiny pieces. I minced 2-3 cloves of garlic.  I added about 1-2 TB canola oil to a small skillet and sauteed those three ingredients until the onions were tender. Turn the burner off. I then added about 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese and mixed it all together.  I sprinkled some pepper and granulated garlic into this, too.

I cut the London broil in half and then proceeded to cut two deep pockets into the narrow side.  I was very careful not to stab myself (my blood wouldn't make it taste any better. I am sure.) and cut too far, since I didn't want it slopping out both sides.  I also sprinkled the granulated garlic on the outside of the meat. Then place the meat onto a preheated grill.

I didn't time it or anything. I am not the best at the grill thing. I flipped them over a bunch of times and the meat was pretty thick.  I'm thinking 7-10 minutes per side, depending on how you like it.  

And viola! The final cooked product:

Everyone liked it and it was really easy to do and it did seem sorta fancy with out being all difficult and fancy to do.

So the next time I'm tired of the regular London broil method, I will definitely make it this way.

Till next time...

Microwave Blackberry Crisp or Dessert in a Pinch!

So, once again, I was asked, "What's for dessert?!" And again, there are still 10+ half gallons of ice cream in the freezer.  I had just bought six new ones, because of last week's sale.  I bitched and moaned and then found a recipe....  Taste of Home: The Busy Family Cookbook page 232.  This recipe was for cherry crisp, but, I was too lazy to go downstairs and find a can of cherry pie filling.

Microwave Cherry Crisp

4 ServingsPrep/Total Time: 20 min.

Ingredients

• 1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling I used blackberry pie filling.
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• Vanilla ice cream, optional DEFINITELY!

Directions

• Spoon pie filling into a greased 9-in. pie plate. In a small bowl,
• mix the brown sugar, oats and flour; cut in butter until crumbly.
• Sprinkle over filling. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 7-9 minutes
• or until hot. If desired, serve warm with ice cream. Yield: 4
• servings.

This was a hit and everyone liked it. There were no leftovers.  I will need to stock up on various pie filling, so I can switch it up at the next "no-dessert" situation!  

Till next time...

Quesadilla Quiche and an Earache.

S#4 came over to hang out and I always find it a challenge to fix something delicious.  I had eggs on the brain and was on a hunt for a good quiche recipe.  After flipping through four books, I found one in The Pillsbury Bake-Off Cookbook, February 1990 Edition. "Quesadilla Quiche" on page 23.

Crust

1

box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling

1

cup coarsely chopped onions

1

tablespoon butter or margarine

1

cup coarsely chopped tomato (1 medium), drained

1

can (3.8 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained

1/4

teaspoon garlic powder or garlic salt

1/4

teaspoon ground cumin

1/8

teaspoon pepper

1

can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles, drained

2

eggs, beaten

2

to 3 drops red pepper sauce

1

cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 oz)

1

cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)

Sour cream, if desired

Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa or picante sauce, if desired

1. Make pie crust as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom or 9-inch glass pie pan. Place 1 crust in pan; press in bottom and up sides. Trim edges if necessary. I only used one crust -- it didn't need the top crust!
2. Place oven rack in lowest rack position; heat oven to 375°F. In 8-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions; cook and stir until tender. Reserve 1 tablespoon each chopped tomato and sliced olives I didn't use olives; stir remaining tomato and olives, the garlic powder, cumin, pepper and chiles into cooked onion. I used Southwest seasoning, too.
3. In small bowl with fork I mixed everything in the same bowl -- no need to make extra dishes, beat eggs and red pepper sauce; reserve 2 teaspoons mixture. Stir in 1/2 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese and 1/2 cup of the Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle remaining cheeses in bottom of pie crust-lined pan. Spoon onion mixture evenly over cheese. Carefully pour egg mixture over onion mixture; spread to cover.
4. Top with second pie crust; seal edges. Cut slits in crust in decorative design in several places. Brush with reserved egg mixture.
5. Place pie on lowest oven rack; bake 45 to 55 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes; remove sides of pan. Serve warm with sour cream, salsa and reserved chopped tomatoes and sliced olives.

S#4 loved it (as did I) and had three pieces and took the remainder home. Maybe she'll share with the parents?! Maybe not...

Darling C#2 informed me the other night that her ear hurt.  She had been withholding this information from me from the night before. I told her that we wouldn't be able to do anything about it until the next day.  I gave her some meds to ease the pain and off to bed we went. Then at 1:00 am I had a visitor pulling at my blankets! It totally freaked me out! I smacked at it, only to realize it was C#2.  She felt the need to tell me it hurt really, reallllllllly bad.  Geez Louise! I got up and gave her some different meds and told her that we would definitely be going to the doc later that morning. She didn't sleep very well (I heard her bumping around and go to the bathroom 5,000 times), and neither did I.

Once we scooted C#1 and the hubby off to school/work we were on our way.  We got to the office lickety split and were shown right in. AND there was no else there to cough all over us and share their disease.  Unfortunately we were done by 7:30 and the pharmacy didn't open until 9:00.  So this week instead of going to Walmart to do a price match, I actually went to two of the stores and bought the stuff directly from them.

We then went to the pharmacy, picked up the meds and then home.  C#2 slept for the rest of the day and woke up feeling much better.

She and her brother were lucky ducks this morning. They had a two hour delay from school, so they were able to sleep in.  I'm thinking they should just start school at 9:00 for everybody.  The children are far less crabby that time of day!

That's it for now. Till next time...

I Love Cleaning Rooms...

Lovely C#2 decided it would be a "good" idea to lose a bunch of her hand held video games. After I found out, I informed her that she would have to find these said games before she could do anything "fun."  AKA Play video games.

Sooooooooooooooooooooo.... She proceeded to "pick" things up in her room.  I set the timer, since she apparently needs incentive to get it done! And I fetched the broom and started sweeping things out from underneath the nightstand. Holy Smokes! There was all sorts of extraneous crap underneath that thing. But, alas, no games.  I then grabbed the trusty broom handle and proceeded to pull out bucket loads of crap from underneath her dresser. OH.MY.GOODNESS!!! That space was FULL of to the brim with more crap! Not literal crap mind you, but crap none the less.  I asked her why on earth she would put literal garbage and other stuff underneath her dresser. She sayzzzz, "I didn't have a garbage at the time."  I'm like, "Welllll. Ummm... So you put the actual garbage underneath your dresser?!?!" Seriously?!?! Who does that??!? So I proceeded to sweep more and more crap out from underneath the dresser.  There was a huge pile of stuff when I was finished and then we proceeded in scrapping out the crap from underneath her bed. That amazingly enough wasn't as bad.  I am a "nice" Mommy and store my wedding dress and our luggage underneath her bed.  Not my bed. Hers. HAhahahahahHA!  I figure it's my privilege to fill up any extra space with my stuff!

Anywhooooo when we had gotten some of the mess under control I re-looked in her top drawer in her nightstand and lo and behold there was a lovely little bag and guess what was in there?!!?! The game that she was looking for. NOT all the games that I demanded she find, mind you. But, the game that started this rockin' adventure.

I washed her sheets and comforter and instructed her to "re-sheet" her bed. I knelt onto her bed to check out the other side and guess what I saw?!?! Yup! Her trusty little container that holds "those" games was on her shelf all out in the open. Figures.

She finished up her bed and I helped move stuff around so she could vacuum the floor.  After 2+ hours I decided to call it a day.  She has some more work to do, but, you CAN see the floor! That is a vast improvement!

See!! It's all nice and vacuumed! Probably the first time in months...  But, she has boxes of junk to go through.

This is what she still has to clean. Her dresser, desk, more dresser, book shelves, etc...

And she is definitely a girl after my own heart. She LOVES books! :)

So there you have it. My exciting adventure today. Cleaning C#2's room. Yay me.

Till next time!

Bow Tie Lasagna

I asked C#2 what we should have for dinner and she said something with ground beef.  We just had pizza the night before, so I told her probably not spaghetti. So she suggested lasagna. Well. Ummmmm... That is kind of the same, too, butttttttttttttt, we will go with that.

Then we discovered that there were no lasagna noodles. What to do? What to do? Bow tie pasta!

Around lunch time I prepared a pot of homemade spaghetti sauce... Sauteed 1 lb ground beef, 1 medium onion chopped, minced garlic (sauteed, too,) 1 large can of pureed tomatoes, 1 large can of whole peeled tomatoes that I hand mooshed, tomato paste, spaghetti Italian seasonings, S&P, granulated garlic, a few tablespoons of sugar, 1/2 cup or so of water and I think that was all.

I then realized we didn't have any ricotta or cottage cheese for lasagna.But, never fear! I love substituting ingredients.  I even have a nifty book with all sorts of switcheroos that work great!

This lovely edition suggested cream cheese and so we went with that.  I sort of followed three recipes, sort of...  I left most of an 8 oz package of cream cheese out to soften and then proceeded to mix that with one egg, some Parmesan cheese, 1-2 cups thawed spinach and about 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese.  

I layered the lasagna pan with a little bit of spaghetti sauce, then 1/3 of the bow tie pasta (I cooked up about 1/2 lb), 1/2 the cheese mixture, then repeated all the steps -- spaghetti sauce, pasta, cheese mix. Then I topped that with the remainder pasta, 1/2 cup or so of sauce and 1/4-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese on top of that. OR something like that.  

I unfortunately didn't take a picture until I was having leftovers. But, you get the gist.

Bake that beast in the oven for 30-40 minutes or if you have an over hot oven like mine put foil on top and it will probably only take 20 minutes or so...  I took the foil off during the last 5 minutes to brown up the cheese.  And it was delicious! Everyone liked it. Had second helpings, so it was a win!

So the moral of this story is, don't let the lack of ingredients dissuade you from making something. There are always substitutes!

Till next time...

Cheese Ball and Pork Chops!

On New Year's Eve, S#4 and her BF came over.  Her BF brought the ingredients for a cheese ball.  

This consists of two packages of softened cream cheese and a packet of "Good Seasons Italian Dressing" mix.  Moosh it all together and viola! You have a tasty treat.

Well today there was 1/4 cup of this still left and I decided it needed to be finished off. I slopped it into a bowl and stirred in about 1/4 cup (a good chunk) of feta cheese.  I recently bought some nice thick pork chops and thought this might taste good baked inside. I cut a pocket into each piece (I cut the chops in half - so a little would go a long way -- or at least farther) and then packed in the cheese mixture. I then rolled the chops intp panko bread crumbs and baked them for about 20 minutes.  IF you have a "normal" oven, you might have to cook it for 35-40 minutes. Mine is a super psycho,hot, fast cooking oven.  

I made some wild rice pilaf and there was still salad from the other day and dinner was finished. Everyone liked it! So I will be making it again.  I might try it with chicken breasts next time.  I am absolutely sure that would work, too.

And I should state, right after I had mixed the leftover cheese ball with the feta, my darling hubby asked if there was any left (cheese ball.) Welllll... Ummmm... No. But, I can make more!  So I halved that recipe (1 8oz package of cream cheese and half a packet of Italian dressing mix.) AND Viola, again! New cheese ball!! Crisis averted.

So I can now say I do indeed now how to make a very easy/yummy cheese ball and super chops. Big win all around!

Till next time...

Soooooooooooooooooooooo... The hubby sprung another challenge my way when I asked him what he wanted to eat. BEER CHEESE SOUP! I looked through a few cookbooks and decided on the one featured in The Berghoff Cafe Cookbook by Carlyn Berghoff, on page 30.

"Beer-Cheese Soup

Makes eight 1-cup servings

Beer-cheese soup is traditionally very German but also popular in the Midwest, where fall and winter weather makes it a welcome bowl of warmth.  You can use any Berghoff beer with this, but my favorite is Berghoff Original Amber.  The only tricks to making this recipe are using freshly grated cheese (packaged pregrated cheese from the supermarket doesn’t melt well) and not letting the soup boil during or after adding the cheese.  I like to serve it with a plain or caraway pretzel, or with freshly popped popcorn.  Put the bowl of popcorn on the table and let everyone add it to the soup as they eat.

Ingredients

I cooked up some bacon and used some of that lovely grease -- with the butter.

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (I used salted butter.)

1 ½ cup finely chopped leeks, white and pale green parts only (about 2 medium-size) (I used finely chopped onions -- just less.)

2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic (I minced with my garlic press.)

1 bay leaf

½ cup all-purpose flour

3 cups whole milk, at room temperature

2 cups chicken broth

1 (12-ounce) bottle Berghoff amber beer (I used Yuengling Octoberfest -- so you can use whatever.)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon mustard powder

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups freshly shredded mild Cheddar cheese

2 cups freshly shredded Swiss cheese (I got a strange look with the Swiss, so I used ALL cheddar.)

Fresh Baked Pretzels or freshly popped popcorn, for serving (or not.)

Directions

Heat the butter in an 8- to 10-quart stockpot over medium heat.  Add the leeks, garlic, and bay leaf, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are tender, about 6 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low, sprinkle the flour over the leek mixture, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often.  Slowly whisk in the milk, 1 cup at a time, and cook, whisking, until smooth and fully thickened.  (This takes some time, so don’t try to rush this step.) Slowly add the broth and beer, whisking constantly until fully incorporated.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally from the bottom to prevent sticking and burning.  Remove and discard the bay leaf.  Stir in the Worcestershire, mustard, salt, and pepper. 

Add the cheese by handfuls, stirring constantly.  Cook over medium heat without boiling until the cheese is melted, 3 to 4 minutes.  Keep warm until ready to serve.  Stir well before serving with fresh pretzels or a big bowl of fresh popcorn.

The soup may be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 4 days.  Reheat in the microwave on medium power or on the stove top, in a hot-water bath, until hot."

This was definitely a success. ANDDDDDDDDDDDD it heats up great in the microwave, just like it says. I will be making this, again.  I hope to pre-plan it next time and possibly make some pretzel bread for dipping. 

I have a bunch more recipes that I have tried this past week and will blog about them soon.

Till next time...