Taco Casseroles and Bargain Shopping

I know totally off the wall title. But I saw this recipe on the back of the Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix box. The picture looked so good and I had to try it. Of course like the title says bargain shopping. So I had gotten the pancake mix on a Albertson's Bonus Buy, and I thought well I have a well stocked pantry and everything I need. Why not. Now here's the recipe with the changes I made to it, and approximately what it cost me to make it all from my restocked pantry.

Taco Casserole

filling:
* 1 lb. 85% lean ground beef (Fred Meyer sale $1.99)
* 1 cup onion, chopped (about half a small onion)(30 cents)
* 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
* 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped( we don't care for bell peppers so it's not worth keeping it around so some home dehydrated bell peppers it what I used)(50cents)
* 1 can (11 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained (1cup and a half of frozen)($1)
* 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce (used a can of dice tomatoes)(37cents)
* 1 package (1.25 oz.) taco seasoning mix (my own homemade mix)(25cents)
* 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (deli markdown with coupons)(about 25cents)

topping:

* 1/2 cup Aunt Jemima® Original, Buttermilk Original, Complete or Buttermilk Complete Pancake & Waffle Mix (out of a $2 box I'm pretty sure at least 25 cents)
* 2/3 cup 2% milk (free with cereal promo)
* 1 egg, slightly beaten (markdown and then coupon)(10 cents?)
* 2 tsp. vegetable oil (Olive Oil 10 cents?)

1.Preheat oven to 350° F.
2.For filling, combine ground beef and onion in large skillet. Cook until meat is no longer pink.
3.Add peppers and corn, cook 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
4.Add tomato sauce and taco seasoning; cook 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
5.Pour hot beef mixture into 8" x 8" or 9" x 9" square baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese; set aside.
6.For topping, combine pancake mix, milk, egg and oil; stir with wire whisk until large lumps disappear. Pour over ground beef mixture; spread evenly.
7.Bake 30-35 minutes or until topping is golden brown.
8.Sprinkle top with additional cheese, if desired.

Recipe Yield: 8 servings (that's adults or get it before the 2 teenage hockey players in the house get to it. LOL!)

Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe

Nutrition Information:
Calories: 270, Calories from Fat: 120, Total Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 75mg, Sodium: 760mg, Total Carbohydrates: 20g, Dietary Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 7g, Protein: 18g

Nutrition wise not bad. Low enough in carbs I wonder if I took too much insulin. hmmm
Cost wise $5.11 just a few cents over the $5 mark. The $5 dinner mom would be proud of me.
The boys loved it and even left enough for Phil to take for his lunch.

Chicken Mole

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Title: Chicken Mole
Categories: mexican, poultry, quick and easy
Yield: 6 servings

1 chicken; cut up
salt and pepper; to taste
1/4 c water
1/4 c chili powder
1 ts oregano
1 ts cocoa
1/2 c flour
2 tb flour
1 ts pepper
1 ts garlic powder
1 c water
1 tb peanut butter
5 c water

season chicken with salt and pepper to taste.

Place chicken in a large pot with 1/4 cup water. Cover and simmer until
tender, approximately 45 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix chili powder, oregano, cocoa, flour, pepper, and
garlic powder with 1 cup water.

Add to chicken in pot; mix well.

Add Peanut butter and 5 cups water to chicken in pot; mix well. Bring to a
boil, on high heat.

Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir and serve immediately.

Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Description:
"Oregon State University Extension Service"
Yield:
"6 c"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 619 Calories; 41g Fat (60.7%
calories from fat); 46g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 226mg
Cholesterol; 245mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 6 Lean Meat; 4 1/2
Fat.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Preparation Time: 0:00

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Corn & Squash Quesadillas

Got another squash recipe for those of you that did what I did today. Go out to the garden and pick a dozen squash's. I'm gonna make these for dinner.

Corn & Squash Quesadillas

main dish, mexican, vegetables

2 medium ears of sweet corn, husks removed
2 medium yellow summer squash, cut in half l; engthwise
1/2 small sweet onion cut into 1/4 inch slice; s
2 jalapeño peppers
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh oregano, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 8 inch flour tortillas
1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon canola oil

Grill corn over medium heat for about 10 minutes while turning the corn
every few minutes. Then grill the squash, onions and jalapenos on the
grill and cook for 10 minutes, turning once. Remove and let cool
slightly. Remove the corn from the cobs and chop the squash and onion.
Then seed and chop the jalapeños. Place in a large bowl. Stir in the
basil, oregano, garlic, salt and cumin. Place a 1/2 cup of the filling on
one side of each tortilla. Sprinkle with the cheese. Fold the tortillas
over the filling. Use a large skillet to cook the quesadillas over medium
heat with a little oil. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. Cut into
wedges and serve.

Layered Enchilada Casserole

MMMMM----- Now You're Cooking! v5.84 [Meal-Master Export Format]

Title: Layered Enchilada Casserole
Categories: main dish, mexican, crockpot
Yield: 8 servings

1 cn whole tomatoes (14 1/2 oz)
1 sm onion; cut into pieces
1 clove garlic; minced
1/2 ts ground red pepper
1/2 ts salt
1 cn tomato paste (6 oz)
1 lb ground beef; browned
2 c cheddar cheese; shredded
9 corn tortillas

to prpare sauce, blend tomato and their liquid with onion and garlic in a
blender or food processor. Pour into medium sized sauce pan. Add red
pepper, salt and tomato paste . Heat to a boil; then simmer for 5 to 10
minutes. Place 3 tortillas in bottom of Crock Pot. Layer on tortillas 1/3
of the ground beef, 1/3 of the tomato sauce and 1/3 of the chedder cheese.
Repeat each layer two more times . Cover and cook on Low 6 to 8 hours.




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Preparation Time: 8:00

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 358 Calories; 25g Fat (63.2%
calories from fat); 18g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 78mg
Cholesterol; 394mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 0
Vegetable; 3 1/2 Fat.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Preparation Time: 0:00

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