Family Recipes: Stuffed peppers

If you are looking for a healthy, low cost family meal, stuffed peppers may be one meal that you can make. Whether you bake them in the oven or in your crockpot they are a great family meal that can be served alone, with rice, with pasta or simply with fresh baked bread.

You need:

8 Peppers - cleaned and tops removed (you can use "colored" peppers but green ones work best)
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup white rice (not minute rice)
1 large onion
salt, pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 can tomato paste
2 large cans crushed tomato (24 oz each)
Shredded cheese (if desired)


Prepare:

Cut the tops off the peppers and dice the usable parts of the tops. Combine these small diced peppers with ground beef in a large bowl. Add seasonings, onion, rice and tomato paste and blend together until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Stuff peppers with meat mixture - packing full (remember the mixture will shrink as the hamburg cooks) and place in baking dish or crock pot.

Cover with crushed tomato (add additional Italian seasoning and garlic if desired) making sure to spread evenly over peppers.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with shredded cheese if desired. Return to oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly and just slightly browned, usually about 10 minutes.

Crock Pot Cooking

Place your prepared peppers into the crock pot and follow the same directions above. Set the crock pot on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours (depending on size of pot).

Serve with rice, pasta or bread as desired.

Freeze leftovers and heat in microwave on low heat for approximately 7-10 minutes (from frozen state) to serve a 2nd time.

Makes 8 stuffed peppers.

This is one of the easiest recipes that you will use for stuffed peppers. What is even better about this that you can make them ahead of time, freeze them and you can then reheat them later. Your entire family will love this recipe. The crock pot version is great in the summer since you do not have to heat up the entire kitchen for a meal.  You may also substitute ground turkey, chicken or other meat alternative for ground beef.

Image credit: I, Badseed [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

Inexpensive Valentine's Day dinner menus

If your budget is suffering during Valentines Day there is no reason why you can't create an inexpensive Valentines Day dinner menu at home.  It is somewhat ironic that an evening of romance such as Valentines Day is often celebrated in noisy restaurants surrounded by strangers. Let's take a look at some budget-aware dinners that you can make at home without a lot of fuss.

Appetizers

Appetizers need not be expensive to be tasty and appreciated. A cheese board with crackers and fruit could be served along with a glass of wine as a fine appetizer without breaking your budget. For those who are weight-conscious serve hummus as an alternate with pita bread (seasoned or unseasoned).  Hummus can be made easily (and inexpensively) or can be purchased premade.  You can make hummus yourself and it will add an inexpensive appetizer to your Valentines Day dinner menu.

Main Course

Generally the main course is going to be the most costly part of your inexpensive Valentines Day dinner menu. But, with some careful planning it does not have to be.  Here are some thoughts on inexpensive main dishes:

• Cornish Hens - Granted these are small but they offer the benefit of being tasty, easy to prepare and cost effective. Prepare them by brushing the skins with olive oil and stuffing them with a bread stuffing and they will be just right for your Valentines Day dinner menu.  Serve with mixed vegetables or with squash for just the right flavor combination.  If you are looking for something more exotic for flavoring you can find hundreds of various recipes for Cornish hens.  Cornish hens are inexpensive, easy to prepare and perfect for a romantic dinner for two.
• Pork Chops - Pork chops are a favorite of many and can be a tasty low-cost alternative to a pork roast or other expensive cuts of meat. Serve with a baked potato (complete with trimmings) and applesauce and you've got an inexpensive Valentines Day dinner.  Pork chops can be prepared in a variety of ways including simply broiled without a lot of fuss if you are short on time.  Pork Chops are an inexpensive alternate that are available to add to your romantic Valentines Day Dinner.
• Beef - For beef lovers, watch for sales on Prime Rib, London Broil during the weeks before Valentines Day.  You can prepare several inexpensive beef dinners for those who prefer beef.  Watch for good cuts of beef that are inexpensive or purchase a less expensive cut and follow some easy tenderizing ideas for beef.
• Vegetarian - For those who prefer a hearty meal without meat, there are countless ways to serve a delicious, inexpensive Valentines Day dinner without meat.  With more and more people becoming health conscious, many will elect to serve one or more of the countless vegetarian recipes that are available.  Being vegetarian does not mean you can not prepare an inexpensive Valentines Day dinner menu.
• Dessert- No romantic dinner should be without dessert and coffee (or tea).  You can plan an elaborate or a fancy dessert and still provide an inexpensive Valentines Day dinner menu.  Choose the dessert of your choice whether it's a light or heavy one.  Selecting only one dessert recipe will be the hardest part of this portion of your menu!  If you would like to have your coffee more exotic you can purchase a flavored liquid coffee creamer.

Planning a quiet romantic dinner for two for Valentines Day does not mean spending money that you simply cannot afford. With planning and spending wisely you can create an inexpensive Valentines Day dinner menu.

Easy Crockpot Soups

How to make crock-pot split pea soup

Winter and fall weather often mean we are searching for more cost effective meals that are nourishing as well as hearty. Split pea soup is one option when you are searching for an easy meal for your family. Split pea soup can be served by itself with salad or may be served with crackers, as a side dish to a complete meal or may be a meal in itself. Depending on how large a serving you are dishing out, you may find that it is hearty enough for the largest of appetites. If you are planning on serving pea soup as the main part of your meal, consider including ham in the recipe. Simply chop ham into bite sized chunks and add to the crock pot one hour before it is finished.

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 pound dry green split peas
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 large onion (1 cup diced)
• 4 large potatoes (2 cups chopped)
• 1/2 lb salt pork
• 8 cups water
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 medium Bay Leaves

Helpful Hints:

• You may substitute yellow split peas for green
• You may substitute whole dry green peas
• Salt Pork is optional and can be eliminated
• Diced (or chopped) Ham may be added for flavor
• Use caution when adding salt and pepper as the crock pot intensifies flavors

Step One: Initial Preparation

Chop the salt pork into 2X2 cubes and lace in a pre-heated skillet.

Add onions and saute until the onions are transparent. Stirring frequently will ensure the onions are not scorched.Once the onions are transparent, you may add them to the bottom of the crock pot.

Note: This step is optional. You may cube the salt pork and place it into the crock pot with the vegetables if you desire.

Step Two: Preparing Peas

Using a colander with small holes, empty the bag of split peas into the colander under running cold water. Carefully examine and remove any rocks or other debris from the peas. Remember, that since peas are picked raw and typically by machine it is not unusual to find debris in them. Place into crock pot when finished.

Important note: If you have elected to use whole peas instead of split peas, you may want to soak them overnight. This will keep the recipe from taking longer to cook.

Step Three: Add Vegetables

After preparing carrots and potatoes and rinsing, place them into the crock pot. Immediately empty water into the crock pot and add salt, pepper and bay leaves. Set crock pot to high and cook for six (6) hours.

If you have decided to include ham in your pea soup, you should place it into the crock pot (chopped) at the beginning of the fifth (5th) hour of cooking. You may also place the ham into the crock pot at the beginning of the cooking stage if the ham is pre-cooked. Do not use raw pork.

Step Four: Serving

Remove the bay leaves from the crock pot and the pea soup is ready to serve. Serve piping hot with oyster crackers or Italian bread. If you are serving pea soup as a side dish, this recipe will serve 10 - 12 people. If you are serving it as a main meal, you can serve 6 with this recipe.

Next page: Crock Pot White Clam Chowder

How to make healthy lunches for your children

Lunch can be fun and nutritious

Moms and dads spend time putting together lunches for their children to take to school and often find themselves wondering if their child is eating their lunch or "trading" away what they pack. Kids love to open up their lunch bags and find great food that they'll have fun eating. They do not necessarily need to know that their lunch is good for them too!

Feeding kids the food they want while keeping them prepared for school and high activity levels is challenging. However, there are some great ways to make their school lunches healthy and get them to eat them as well.

Finding healthy lunch options that are easy to pack for school does not have to be that difficult. There are several great sandwiches, salads, fruit smoothies and even snacks that are nutritious and can be carried to school. The more your child likes a specific food, the more likely they are to eat it so let them be your guide.

Find out their favorites

What are your kid's favorite foods? Remember, they are more likely to eat a nutritious lunch if you prepare some of the foods they prefer versus what you think they should have. Make a list of your child's favorite fruits, vegetables and snack foods. Use these foods to build a lunch they will eat. If you have multiple children, find out which ones they have in common and build lunches around these foods.

Recipes: Corned beef and cabbage

Saint Patrick Day celebrations almost always include a Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner.  What exactly goes into this meal is different depending on who is preparing this dish.  Here is a family favorite New England Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner that was prepared in an Irish household.

3 pound corned beef brisket
1 pound carrots
1 pound potatoes
1 large turnip
2 large parsnips
4 large onions peeled and quartered
1 bottle of any type of beer (dark beer works best)
1 large head of cabbage cored and cut into 8 pieces
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed

Rinse the corned beef brisket under cold water. Carrots can remain unpeeled but should be washed completely then chopped into 3" chunks.  Parsnips may be peeled or unpeeled, washed and chopped into chopped into 1 1/2" chunks.  Peel the turnip cut into 3" chunks and set aside.  The next step is to prepare the corned beef.

To prepare corned beef, rinse carefully under cold water then place the corned beef into the bottom of a very large pot. Add twelve cups of water and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium, and add carrots, turnip and parsnips as well as all spices.

Reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer for 40 minutes.  Add the potatoes and onion to the pot and allow to simmer for an additional 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.  Add the cabbage and beer and simmer on medium heat for fifteen minutes until the cabbage is tender.

This recipe will be sufficient for 8 hearty appetites. It is best to serve this with plenty of ground pepper, crusty bread and a variety of mustard on the side. Some people like the cabbage with vinegar so you may also consider placing a small bottle within easy reach.

Leftovers should be stored in airtight containers, with the cabbage being separated from the meat if possible. Leftover corned beef makes a great sandwich on rye bread. with yellow mustard.

Image credit: By Jonathunder (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

How to make a complete turkey dinner

Things Needed

Turkey to feed everyone
Homemade stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Squash (and/or other vegetables)
Perfect homemade turkey gravy
Bread or rolls

Holiday dinners all over the United States generally means that families will be gathering and sharing a big meal. In some families there are long standing traditions about what is served for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. This year, some will be starting their own long lasting dinner traditions.

Today, you can start planning your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner menu and compiling recipes so that you will be ready. Make a list today to ensure that your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner menu is ready to prepare and that you have all of the supplies on hand that will be needed for a perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. | Source

Selecting your turkey

Creative Homemaking suggests that you allow 3/4 of a pound of turkey (for turkeys over 12 pounds) per person. For turkey's under 12 pounds, you should allow 1 pound of turkey per person. This means that you need to purchase the right size turkey for the number of people you anticipate serving.

Make sure you observe the following:

• Be sure to follow instructions for safe poultry handling
• Wash your hands and any surfaces the(raw) poultry touch with hot, soapy water
• Do not stuff your turkey until you are going to put it in the oven
• Refrigerate leftovers promptly

The pictures in this database may be viewed, downloaded, linked, manipulated, copied, displayed, and redistributed free of charge for educational, non-commercial purposes as specified by the following Creative Commons License Creative Commons license | Source

Thawing and preparing your turkey

Depending on the size of your turkey, thawing could take as many as six (6) days in the refrigerator. The USDA suggests thawing your turkey in the refrigerator versus cold water soaking. Turkeys that are between 20 and 24 pounds may need five (5) or six (6) days to thaw in the refrigerator versus 10 - 12 hours in cold water.

Cooking your turkey means that the minimum internal temperature should reach 165 °F. Turkey should be cooked for approximately five hours for a 20 - 25 pound turkey. Cooking your turkey from a frozen state (which may be done) will increase cooking time by approximately 50%.

Ben Franske - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Stuffing and other side dishes

While your turkey is roasting you may prepare your stuffing and other side dishes. If you have stuffed your turkey you may still need to prepare vegetables including mashed potatoes, squash or turnip (or both) and other side dishes.

If any of your side dishes are ready before your turkey has finished make sure they are tightly covered and removed from the heat. You may re-heat them in the microwave or the oven when the turkey has finished cooking.

Things Needed

Fresh or Frozen Turkey (thawed)
1 stick of butter
Stuffing if desired
Deep roasting pan
Cooking spray
Aluminum foil
Meat Thermometer

By MOs810 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

How to cook a perfect turkey

A whole turkey should be thoroughly cleaned in preparation for cooking. Remove all insides (save for gravy if desired) in cold water. The water should run clear. Be certain to thoroughly clean all cavities and check for possible feathers while cleaning. Once the turkey is clear, pat dry and place in deep roasting pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

For a perfect turkey you need to prepare it properly for cooking. Force the skin on each breast back slightly. Take the stick of butter and slice it into four (4) long pieces that are of approximately equal size. Force the butter up under the breast skin. If desired, you may also rub butter all over the skin of the turkey for added flavor and browning.

If you prefer to have your turkey stuffed, prepare your favorite stuffing recipe and stuff the bird. After stuffing, place and end slice of bread into the cavity to hold the stuffing in. Truss legs to hold in place.

Once you have prepared the turkey for cooking, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (F). Cover loosely with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Turkey should be cooked approximately 25 minutes per pound for stuffed turkey and unstuffed turkey should be cooked for approximately 20 minutes per pound.

About 30 minutes before you estimate that your turkey should be cooked, remove the aluminum foil to allow the skin to brown. If these directions are followed, your turkey should not require any basting during cooking. Allow turkey to rest approximately 20 minutes after removing from the oven; prior to slicing.

Best Fourth of July recipes

When you think about the Fourth of July and what to carry along to one of the many events you'll be attending, you're looking for a few things:

A) Something Simple
B) Something that requires little or no cooking
C) Something that isn't likely to spoil

So, with that in mind here are my favorite and best Fourth of July recipes:

Pasta Salad

1 Lb box of tri-color pasta (any shape)
1 sm bottle of fat free Italian Dressing
1 medium onion (diced)
1 large cucumber (slice and then cut slices in half)
1 pint cherry (or grape) tomatoes
1 Green, Yellow, Orange and Red Sweet Pepper (large dice)
Salt/Pepper to taste

Cook pasta to desired degree of tenderness following the instructions on the box (if you add a few drops of olive oil to the water not only will the pasta not stick in the pan it leaves a nice flavor behind). Drain hot water, rinse in very cold water and drain thoroughly.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl with a firm sealing cover and place in refrigerator until ready to leave. This will serve approximately ten people.

Not everyone is a big fan of ice cream, cakes and other typical desserts so I use this to carry along with me as well:

Fruit Salad

1/4 Watermelon

1 Cantelope
1 Honey Dew Melon
1 Pint Blueberries
1 Pint Raspberries
1 Pint Strawberries
1 Box Lemon Pudding Mix (sugar free)
1 Sm container Fat Free Sour Cream

Use a melon baller (use the big end) and combine all the melons in a large bowl. Thoroughly clean the berries and remove all stems/leaves. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Combine the lemon pudding mix with the sour cream, refrigerate and use as a dip for the fruit. It's very tasty.
Enjoy!

Image credit: Pasta Salad: By jeffreyw (Mmm... pasta salad  Uploaded by Fæ) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Fruit Salad: By Pink Sherbet Photography [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons