Skillet Meatball Goulash ***

I've been slacking on posting lately, but we've been so consumed with basketball and Cub Scouts since we came back from Christmas break. Our meals have mostly been quick, off-the-top-of-Amy's-head kind of things. Nothing post-worthy. I hope to be back into the swing of things over the next week, since bball is finally coming to a close. Whew!

Dh actually requested this one, which is pretty strange for him.  Normally, I'm pretty much left to my own devices when it comes to meal planning, so when dh makes a request, I almost always make it that same day, lol.  The chili sauce in this really makes all the difference, in my opinion.  That makes it a little more than the normal stroganoff-type dish.  I use turkey meatballs, fat free sour cream, and whole grain egg noodles, so it's a little bit healthier than the original recipe as written.  However, the whole grain noodles just don't soften as well as the regular.  When I use them, I make sure to add some extra water and let it simmer a bit longer.  I also like to have enough leftovers for lunches the next day, so I use the full 32-oz bag of meatballs, 8-oz of sour cream, and an extra 1/4 cup of water.  This is so unbelievably easy to throw together.  I love that the meatballs are cooked from frozen and that both the meatballs and the noodles are cooked in the same pan.  A girl's gotta love one-dirty-dish-meals!  The kids ate it up, and dh raved about it.  The house smelled wonderful.  So easy and such a comfort dish.  :)

SKILLET MEATBALL GOULASH
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar)

½ cup chopped green bell pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (12 ounce) jar beef gravy
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
¾ cup water
2 tablespoons chili sauce
12-16 ounces frozen cooked Italian meatballs
8 ounces uncooked mini lasagna noodles (I prefer egg noodles)
½ cup light sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Spray 12-inch nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray; Heat over medium-high heat until hot.
Add bell pepper and onion; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender.
Add gravy, broth, water, chili sauce and meatballs; mix well.
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat to medium.
Cover; cook 5 minutes or until meatballs are thawed.
Add uncooked noodles; mix well.
Cover; cook about 10 minutes or until noodles are tender and meatballs are thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat.
Stir in sour cream until well blended.
Sprinkle with parsley.
* Amy’s notes: I use the full bag of turkey meatballs, fat free sour cream (8-oz), and 2 cups of beef broth.

Inside-Out Stuffed Cabbage ***

Big hit for our family!!!  It was actually the first time I've ever cooked with butternut squash, so that was a new experience for us as well.  We all loved it, though.  I made a few changes to make it work for us.  I used ground turkey, white rice (no brown on hand, but would have preferred that), and shredded coleslaw mix with carrots.  Will definitely do that again.  Hubby and I added a little hot sauce to our servings, since it just needed a little extra "something," so I'm thinking of either adding a little chili powder or cayenne pepper while it cooks next time.  It has the spicy hot V8, but you really can't get that flavor coming through at all.  So, so good, though!

INSIDE-OUT STUFFED CABBAGE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Taste of Home)

2 pounds ground beef
3 cups cubed peeled butternut squash
1-1/2 medium green pepper, chopped
9 cups chopped cabbage
17 1/4 ounces spicy hot V8 juice
1-1/2 cup water
1-1/2 envelope beefy onion soup mix
1-1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
3/4 cup uncooked instant brown rice

In a Dutch oven, cook the beef, squash and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the cabbage, juice, water, soup mix and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until cabbage is tender, stirring occasionally.
Stir in rice. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 5 minutes or until rice is tender. Yield: 6 servings.

Pepperoni Rolls ****

Let's just say that I've actually made this one twice in the same week. Does that tell you how much we loved it? ;) I only made one can the first time, and I pretty much stuck to the recipe exactly. I didn't have Mrs. Dash, so I melted some butter and added some garlic powder to it before brushing the rolls. I also added a pinch of shredded mozzarella to each roll. SO good! We then dipped them in spaghetti sauce. I made them again yesterday, and I halved the biscuits along a layer in the middle, getting two rolls from each biscuit. I then only needed to cook them for 15 minutes. It's a good thing for me to make them smaller, so that I can eat twice as many, lol. I also made a few with chopped ham. These I put in the fridge and nuked this morning for the kids' breakfast. Perfect! The only change I would make to doing it that way would be to use deli sliced ham, but I didn't have any on hand. I had some ham I needed to use up, so there you go. I'll be making this one lots in the future!

PEPPERONI ROLLS
(Rachel ~ 4*kowboys)

2 cans large flaky biscuits
1 lb. deli sliced pepperoni
Mrs. Dash Garlic Seasoning
Butter; melted

Roll biscuits out on table; add some flour so they don't stick to your rolling pin. Lay 3 slices pepperoni on flat biscuit. Fold in edges and roll up to form log. Baste with butter and add Mrs. Dash Garlic seasoning on top. Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
*Amy's notes: I halved the biscuit layers and added a pinch of shredded mozzarella to each roll (only cooked for 15 minutes when halved). I also brushed with garlic butter instead of Mrs. Dash.

Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole ***

This was by far the best slow cooker breakfast egg casserole I've made.  There are some parts left out of the instructions, though.  Ham and salt are both mentioned in the ingredients list, but they're not in the directions.  I skipped the ham and just added the salt in the egg mixture.  I'm thinking about trying it with maple sausage next time, to give it a bit more flavor.  It was really good, but as with any crockpot breakfast casserole, it was just a tad bland.  The sundried tomatoes did help with that, though.  We actually put a little ketchup on ours, to give it some flavor, and I am most definitely not the type of person who enjoys ketchup on eggs.  It would probably be good with salsa, but I didn't have any on hand at the time.  I forgot to take a picture, but the link to Debbi's original post is below the title of the recipe.  She has a good pic on hers.

SLOW COOKER BREAKFAST CASSEROLE 
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Debbi Does Dinner)

1 pkg. frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (26 - 32 oz)
1 pkg. sausage, cooked and crumbled (about a pound)
8 oz. ham, chopped
1 cup (4 oz) shredded colby jack cheese
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded pepperjack cheese
1/2 cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes, drained
6 green onion, sliced
12 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Spray crock pot with cooking spray. Layer 1/2 of the potatoes on the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with half the sausage, cheeses, sundried tomatoes and green onion. Repeat layering.
Beat eggs, milk and pepper in a large bowl with a whisk until well blended. Pour over potato mixtures. Cook on low setting for about 6 - 8 hours or 3 - 4 on high or until eggs are set.

Grands Meatball Pops **

For the time being, I'm going to have to give this one just 2 stars.  I may make some changes in the future and try it again.  I love the idea.  Even the flavor was pretty decent.  The problem is that there is way too much biscuit per meatball.  You can either roll it out in smaller than 3" rounds (maybe 2"? - just enough to go around the meatball), use regular-sized biscuits, or split them into three layers instead of two.  Not sure which route I will go.  I think it would be really good with just a little bit of the spaghetti sauce smeared inside the pop too.  To just give it a little extra flavor.  And I really don't see the need for the crushed croutons.  That's a total PITA.  So, next time (if there is a next time), I'm just going to use the Italian breadcrumbs.  But like I said, the flavor itself was good...

GRANDS MEATBALL POPS
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Tablespoon.com)

1 can (10.2 oz) Pillsbury Grands refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/3 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
10 refrigerated or frozen cooked beef meatballs, thawed
1/4 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup finely crushed seasoned croutons
10 large appetizer picks or lollipop sticks, if desired
1-1/2 cups tomato pasta sauce, heated

Heat oven to 375*F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Separate dough into 5 biscuits. Split each biscuit to make 10 rounds. Press out each biscuit half to form 3-inch round.
Sprinkle each biscuit round with cheese to within 1/2 inch of edge. Top each with meatball. Bring up sides of dough over meatball; pinch edges to seal. Brush rounded tops and sides of dough with butter; coat with croutons. Place, seam side down, on paper-lined cookie sheet.
Bake at 375*F for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Place appetizer pick in each biscuit-wrapped meatball to form meatball pop. Serve with warm pasta sauce for dipping.

Rolo Pecan Caramel Candies ***

I've had this for a million years (or so), and I'm almost certain I got it from BBC. It's a pretty well-known recipe, though.  These are just delicious.  It gets harder and harder to find Rolos, though!  I did finally manage to find the small rolls at Walgreens, thankfully.  Hubby took them to work the next days, and there weren't any leftovers.  That means the boys and I will be making more tomorrow.  Woo hoo!  The very best part of them (other than the chocolate, hehehe) is that the kids can help make them.  They had a blast, and they thought they were really big stuff after making candy almost all by themselves.  :-)

ROLO PECAN CARAMEL CANDIES
(OP?)

1 package Mini Pretzels
1 (13-oz.) package Rolo Candies (there are exactly 63 pieces in the bag)
1 package Pecan Halves (you'll need 63 halves and there will be about 25 to 30 left)

Preheat oven to 250 Degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place pretzels individually to form one layer only. Place one Rolo Candy on top of each pretzel.
Bake at 250 degrees for 4 minutes or until the candies are soft. Immediately remove from the oven and quickly place a pecan half on top of a candy and push down to squish the chocolate into the pretzel and flatten out.
Cool for 15 to 20 minutes, then place in refrigerator (uncovered) until the chocolate candy is firm, usually 10 to 20 minutes. No harm is done if these are left in the refrigerator longer. Transfer to plate or container.
Makes 63 candies, approximately 1 ¼ pounds (M&Ms can also be used in place of pecans. Hershey’s Kisses, Hugs, etc. can be used in place of Rolos.)

Red Pepper Tenderloin ***

I found this recipe in the newspaper ages ago, and I've kept forgetting to make it.  I love roasted red peppers, so that's what initially drew me to it.  I couldn't find a 2-lb tenderloin, so I used two 1-lb tenderloins instead.  I went with about 4 hours on the cooktime, but that was still too long.  Some of the pieces got a little dry.  The flavor was wonderful, though.  I will definitely try it again, just with an actual 2-lb roast instead.  Even both of the boys asked for seconds!  (By the way, my picture of it sucks, because I had just burned my arm on the oven and was in a rush.  I'll get a better one next time, lol.)

RED PEPPER TENDERLOIN
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

2 lbs pork tenderloin
1 oz packet ranch dressing mix
1 cup roasted red peppers, rinsed and chopped
1/2 cup water
8 oz sour cream

Brown tenderloins in a large skillet and place in a sprayed 6-qt slow cooker.
Combine ranch dressing mix, peppers, and water in a bowl; spoon over tenderloin.
Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.
When ready to serve, remove tenderloin from slow cooker and stir sour cream into sauce. Serve sauce over tenderloin slices.
Yield: 4-6 servings