Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients

• 12 cabbage leaves shopping list
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup instant rice, uncooked
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces (DO NOT drain)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder 
• dash of salt
• dash of pepper 
• 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce 
• 1 tsp granulated sugar 
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice 
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch 
• 1 tablespoon water (approximately)

Directions:

Cover cabbage leaves with boiling water and let stand about 10 minutes or until leaves are limp. Remove leaves and drain off excess water.

Mix ground beef, rice, onions, mushrooms with liquid, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce.

Place about 1/3 cup of hamburger mixture at the stem of each cabbage leaf. Roll leaf around mixture, tucking in sides.

Place cabbage rolls seam sides down in an ungreased square baking dish.

Mix remaining tomato sauce, lemon juice, and sugar; pour over cabbage rolls. Cover and cook in oven at 350 degrees for approx 45 minutes or until ground beef is done.

Mix cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water in saucepan. Drain liquid from cabbage roll pan and add to cornstarch mixture. Boil approx 1 minute, stirring constantly. Serve this sauce with cabbage rolls.

Garnish with parsley or shredded cheese if desired

Bean and Bacon Soup

My husband used to eat this when he was little - i had never had it before.  We made it with cornbread (i had a traditional cornbread recipe in a pouch and i added sugar to make it sweet!) took me about an hour from start to finish.

Ingredients:
2 cans Campbell's Bean and Bacon soup
2 cans pinto beans
2 cans great Northern beans
1 pound link sausage [beef or pork] sliced (i used ground sausage and cooked it that way)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil

Sauté onion, garlic and sausage in olive oil. Add soup, beans, and 2 soup cans water. Simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking. Good with Corn Bread.

This is a pretty cheap meal i only had to buy the canned stuff so i spent $5.02 total (i didn't use a pound of ground sausage and i got that on sale and still have about 1/2 lb left of it for something else!) and i didn't put a whole onion in either!

"ockee" bean soup

When i was a little kid and my dad would make this soup with left over ham - i called it "ockee" (like gross) so NO ONE ELSE would want to eat it.  I was convinced that if i told everyone it was nasty they wouldn't eat it and i could have it all to myself!  So our family since then has called it ockee bean soup!

Boil ham bone in water (save water)
Scrape meat off the bone (cut into 1" chunks)
(save time with the last step with cutting everything off the bone after you cook it initially, and save the bone in a seperate bag - then just put the ham chunks and bone in together and it's easier to get the bone out later!)

ADD:

Potatoes (2-3 medium cut into chunks)
1 1/2 cups corn
1 cup green beans
2 cans navy beans
1 cup peas
1 med onion, diced
1 cup broccoli
1 cup sliced celery
3-4 carrots sliced

Bring to boil, lower heat, simmer until potatoes are done

this is a very adaptable recipe i also added penni pasta to mine.  if you don't have all the ingredients no big deal add what you have and either leave it out completely or subsitute it!

Tater nugget hot dish

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery (we don't like celery so we didn't add this!)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup frozen vegetable of choice (recipe calls for green beans but i used peas and it would be good with anything so i changed it!)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 bag (16 oz) frozen tater tots

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  In nonstick skillet, cook beef, onions and celery over meadium heat, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.

2.  Stir in both soups, the vegetables, garlic powder (you can omit if you season your beef as normal); spoon into ungreased 2 quart casserole.  Top with tater tots.

3.  Bake uncovered 40-50 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and tater tots are golden brown!

Chicken/Turkey Cheesy artichoke casserole

Ingredients:
1/2 cup carrot
1/2 cup red sweet pepper
1/4 cup sliced green onion (i used regular onion)
1 tbl butter
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
half can of artichoke hearts (diced)
1 1/2 cup chopped cooked chicken or turkey (i have used ground turkey as well)
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 slices bacon, crisp cooked and crumbled (we used turkey bacon)
3 tbl grated parmesan

directions:
1. in a large skillet cook carrot, pepper, and onion in hot butter over medium heat until carrot is crisp-tender.  Remove from heat.  Stir in soup, artichoke, turkey/chicken, rice, mozzarella cheese, milk, thyme, and bacon.  Transfer mixture to a 2-quart rectangular baking dish.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

2. Bake, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake about 20 more minutes until bubbly.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  (i like to cook the bread item in the mean time!)  Makes 6 servings.