Stuffed Pepper Casserole

I love stuffed peppers, but I hate all the work of actually stuffing the peppers. So adapted my mom's stuffed pepper recipe to be a casserole instead. Can't believe I haven't shared this before now!

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Stuffed Pepper Casserole

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey

1/2 cup onion -- chopped

1 can diced tomatoes -- 26 oz. can

1 large green pepper -- chopped

1/2 cup long-grain rice -- uncooked

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup cheddar cheese -- shredded

In a skillet, brown beef; drain. Transfer to a greased 2 quart casserole. Add the next 8 ingredients. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour or until rice is tender. Uncover and sprinkle with the cheese; return to the oven until cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

Or assemble casserole in your crockpot. Cook on HIGH for 2 hours or LOW for 4 hours. Top with cheddar cheese 10 minutes before serving.

Baked Crab Rangoon

Hubby and I love to treat ourselves to some take-out Chinese about once a month. One of our favorite things to order is Crab Rangoons. Funny story about crab rangoons: when we were engaged, we both worked for the same company. One of our favorite places to eat was the local Chinese place that had a lunch buffet. We would eat lunch there at least once a week with our co-workers, one of whom was a good, old West Virgina gal. Instead of "rangoons," she would always call them "magoons." So her nickname became "Magoon."

Anyway, we love crab rangoons. But I don't like eating fried foods, and I have noticed that our local Chinese place isn't putting as much filling in the them. So I'll be making these when we want that special treat!

I received this recipe in an e-mail; it's from the Krafts foods website. Don't forget to visit Carol, the host of Saturday Stirrings, for more great recipes!

NOTES: This makes a lot of filling, so I would suggest that you can make 18 rangoons instead of just 12. And I'm going to add some garlic next time too! Overall, this tastes a lot like my favorite take-out place.

BAKED CRAB RANGOON

Prep Time: 20 min Total Time: 40 min

Makes: 12 servings, 1 won ton each

1 can (6 oz.) white crabmeat, drained, flaked

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/4 cup KRAFT Light Mayo Reduced Fat Mayonnaise

12 won ton wrappers

HEAT oven to 350°F. Mix crabmeat, Neufchatel cheese, onions and mayonnaise.

SPRAY 12 muffin cups with cooking spray. Gently place 1 won ton wrapper in each cup, allowing edges of wrappers to extend above sides of cups. Fill evenly with crabmeat mixture.

BAKE 18 to 20 min. or until edges are golden brown and filling is heated through. Serve warm. Garnish with chopped greenonions, if desired.

For a Crispier Rangoon:

Bake won ton wrappers in muffin cups at 350°F for 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Fill evenly with crabmeat mixture and bake 6 to 8 min. or until filling is heated through.

Whole Wheat Applesauce Waffles

I found this on The Cookbook Junkie, and I'm making these today. I'll be putting the extras in the freezer for quick snacks during the week.

Don't forget to visit Carol for more Saturday Stirrings recipes!

UPDATED TO ADD: I use honey instead of sugar. I have a Belgian waffle maker and this makes 6 waffles for me. 194 calories per waffle without syrup



Whole Wheat Applesauce Waffles
Have Your Cake And Eat It Too Copyright 1993

butter-flavor no stick cooking spray
1 large egg
2 tablespoons canola or safflower oil
3 tablespoons nonfat vanilla or plain yogurt
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon dark corn syrup or granulated sugar
¼ cup toasted wheat germ
¾ cup 1% milk, or as needed
½ cup unsifted all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour or buckwheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup pure maple syrup, warmed

1. Lightly coat the waffle iron with the cooking spray. Preheat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, and yogurt. Beat in the applesauce, corn syrup or sugar, wheat germ and milk.
3. Set a strainer over the bowl and add both flours, the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, With a spoon, stir and sift the dry ingredients onto the wet ingredients. Mix well. (If the mixture must stand for any length of time, you may need to add a little more milk, a tablespoon at a time.)
4. Spoon the batter onto the bottom panel of the waffle iron, close it gently, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes (models vary in timing), until the jaws can be opened easily. If the iron sticks, the waffle is not yet baked through. When the waffle is done, use a fork to gently pry it up. Repeat until all the batter is used. You should have to regrease the surface only rarely, but if the waffles seem to stick, lightly spray the waffle iron again. Serve the waffles hot, with the warm maple syrup.

Makes 15 4-inch waffles. Per waffle with 1 tablespoon syrup: 133 cal, 3 g pro, 3 g fat, .4 g sat fat, 26 g carbs, 111 mg sodium, 15 mg chol

Yum Yum Brownie Muffins

Another great recipe from Hungry Girl! I will never make a regular brownie mix again! This makes a wonderful, cake-like brownie. Definitely Yum Yum!!

Yum Yum Brownie Muffins

(1 Muffin, or 3 minis - 181 calories, 3.5g fat, 37g carbs, 2g, fiber, 2g protein - 4 WW points)

This super-simple 2-ingredient recipe is a Weight Watchers Fave!

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 can solid pack pumpkin (15 oz.)

Directions:
Mix the two ingredients together. Don't add anything else that may be mentioned on the box, such as eggs, oil, or water. The mixture will be very thick and you will be tempted to add in other things to make the batter smoother. DO NOT DO THIS AS IT WILL RUIN EVERYTHING! Place batter into muffin tins (or mini muffin tins) lined with paper, or sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 12 regular or 36 mini muffins.

Mom's Homemade Mac n Cheese

Yes, I have a wonderful crockpot Mac N Cheese recipe. But sometimes I need a little comfort food, just like Mom would make. Mom's recipe is more of a method; I don't think she really measures quantities for this. I've done my best to guess measurements!

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Mom's Homemade Mac n Cheese

3 cups macaroni
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs flour
salt and pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheese (I usually use 1 c cubed Velveeta and 1 c shredded cheddar)

1. Cook macaroni according to package directions.
2. When you drop the macaroni to cook, it's time to start the cheese sauce so that the two are done approximately the same time.
3. Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Do not allow butter to brown. Stir in flour until it forms a paste. Cook and stir for one minute. (You've just made a "roux.") (you can use a whisk of some sort for this.)
4. Add milk to saucepan, stir to remove lumps, increase heat to medium high heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Stir often (almost continuously, but not quite) until sauce begins to thicken. Add cheese and continue stirring until all the cheese has melted.
6. Hopefully by this point, your macaroni is cooked. Drain macaroni and return to pot. Pour cheese sauce over macaroni and stir gently to combine.

There you have it - Mom's Homemade Mac n Cheese!