Saving money with The Quitsch Kitch

OK, so everyone knows that I've learned to coupon and have been avidly using coupons since the beginning of the year. I actually started before the whole "Extreme Couponing" thing started on TV, which is a-whole-nother can of worms.....don't get me started.

Anyway, I came across a really good deal at Kroger this week for Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and Pillsbury ready to bake Cinnamon Rolls. Yes, the kind in the can. Some of you may be surprised to hear that The Quitsch Kitch uses refrigerated cinnamon rolls and doesn't make her own. Please, people!! While The Quitsch Kitch can (and has) made delicious homemade cinnamon rolls, and enjoys doing so, Mr. Quitsch Kitch couldn't honestly care less, so when he is the main partaker of the cinnamon roll, The Quitsch Kitch is glad to pop open a can!!

However, I digress. I found a good deal on them at Kroger - the small cans (of both Crescent*4 count and Cinnamon Rolls*5 count) were on sale 10/$10 - making them $1.00 each. I had coupons for .50/2 - which my Kroger doubles to $1.00, essentially making each can of Crescents and Cinnamons .50cents each. So basically, I was getting a full roll of 8 of the crescents for $1.00, and I was getting a big roll of 10 cinnamon rolls for $1.00.

When I got my bonanza of breads home, though, I quickly realized that I didn't have enough room in my fridge (let's face it, 16 cans of crescent rolls - even the small ones take up a lot of space!!) What's a girl to do?? I quickly thought about how I could salvage my money saving deal without overloading Mr. Quitsch Kitch on crescents and cinnamon rolls every meal this week.

I went to my storage drawer and retrieved my handy-dandy roll of waxed paper and gallon sized freezer bags, and went to work. I popped open each can of crescent rolls, and rolled each "naked" roll individually in waxed paper, then placed them in the freezer bag. I was able to get 8 individually wrapped rolls in one gallon sized freezer bag. I did the same thing with the cinnamon rolls - and yes, I wrapped the icing up with them. I was able to get 4 wrapped rolls of the cinnamons in a gallon freezer bag. I labeled the bag with the date and contents. Now when I the make Mr. Quitsch Kitch happy, I'll just pull out a roll of waxed paper and bake. I imagine I will have to allow for thawing time for the crescents, but it's a small price to pay. I do love saving money!!

Long Live the Queen.....Queen Margherita, that is.

Nope, I didn't misspell it, I'm not talking about the drink. I'm talking about the pizza!! Margherita Pizza. You may or may not have heard of it....I had never heard of it until I took my first cruise, and it was available in the Pizzeria 24 hours a day. It was very popular, they almost never had it already made. You always had to wait on it. That was OK though, because that meant it was always FRESH!!

Now it's a funny name for a pizza, and it gives nothing away about the ingredients (unless you happen to be an expert in Italian history...or you've cheated and used Google). But as I've already hinted at in the title, the pizza is named after Queen Margherita, wife of King Umberto I, who ruled Italy from 1878 to 1900 (it coulda been longer, but he was assassinated during a time of social upheaval). But I digress....In 1899, Queen Margherita visited Naples to escape a cholera epidemic in Northern Italy. Italian Chef Raffaelle Esposito wanted to honor the Queen with a special meal. He concocted a pizza made with Tomatoes, Mozzarella Cheese, and Basil - the colors of the Italian Flag: Red, White, and Green. Queen Margherita liked the pie so much, it is said she hand wrote a note to the chef thanking him for the pizza. The rest, as they say, is history.

You can recreate the famous meal in your own kitchen. It's super easy when you use already made dough.

Margherita Pizza -- Preheat oven to 375.

1 8 oz can of Crescent Rolls (or substitute your favorite refrigerated dough -
I used the reduced fat crescents)
2 TBSP olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 Cup + 1/4 Cup Mozzarella cheese (divided)
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced (or your favorite variety)
2 pinches sea salt
2 TBSP chopped fresh basil

Unroll the crescent rolls and divide into two rectangles. Pinch seams together. Brush each rectangle with 1 TBSP olive oil. Press 1 clove garlic over each rectangle. Sprinkle dough with 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese. Lay tomato slices on top of cheese, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle tomatoes with a pinch of sea salt. Top tomatoes with the left over cheese. Bake at 375 for 12 - 15 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh basil when you remove from the oven.

Oh this makes me want to go on a cruise!!!!

BACON makes BETTER green BEANS

I passed the local mall last Friday and noticed the Farmer's Market all set up with local growers offering their fresh produce. Yes, Summer is the best time for flavorful fruits and veggies, picked at the peak of perfection.

You will also notice your friendly neighborhood grocery store offering fresher items: corn-on-the-cob, local watermelon, tomatoes, purple-hulled peas, and what seems to be everybody's favorite, the green bean.

Did you know there are over 130 different varieties of green beans? They are almost universally grown, and are cultivated as bush plants, or pole beans. You may also hear the terms "snap beans" or "string beans", but they're all the same - a regular old green bean.

Now we've all eaten green beans from a can; pour them in a little quart pan and heat them up. If you're fancy, you might throw in some new potatoes. And then there's the old Thanksgiving stand-by, Green Bean Casserole: a can of green beans, drained and smothered in Cream of Mushroom soup and topped with French Fried Onions. But I'm going even one step further....Bacon Wrapped Green Beans. Because we all know, BACON makes everything BETTER!!

For this recipe, you can use canned green beans (you will need 2 cans of WHOLE green beans), but if you really want the best taste, use FRESH green beans (1-1/2 to 2 lbs). Ideally, you want the bean to be about 3 inches long - they don't have to be exact, but 3 inches makes the most visually pleasing display.

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Green Beans - See the note above
1 lb bacon
3 - 5 TBSP butter
1/2 Cup (more or less) Brown Sugar
Toothpicks

Trim your beans to 3 inches in length (or there abouts). Cut your bacon into thirds. Take about 4 green beans and wrap tightly in a piece of bacon. Secure with a toothpick. (Try to get the toothpick through an actual bean if you can, that will make it the most secure.) Continue to wrap your beans in bacon and secure with toothpicks until the entire batch is done.

Now there are a couple of ways you can cook them. You can throw them all in a crock pot, with your butter and brown sugar and let them cook for about 3 hours on low. You can put them in a 9 x 13 baker with the butter and brown sugar and bake them at 375 for an hour (here is my disclaimer on this one --- an hour doesn't always mean an hour. What you are looking for the bacon to be DONE!! Lightly browned and slightly crispy!! Your oven may take more or less time).

But my favorite way to cook them, is to start them in a skillet on the stove. Just put the bacon wrapped beans over medium heat. When the bacon starts to get lightly crisp, turn the beans over to cook on the other side. About five minutes into cooking on this side, add your butter and brown sugar. Continue to cook until your bacon is done, turning as needed.

If you have used canned green beans, you're done when your bacon gets done. If you have used fresh green beans, pour the entire contents into a crock pot and cook on low for about an hour.

Let me just warn you right now.....you will NEVER have enough of these!! They are just that yummy!! So this summer, enjoy some fresh green beans, with the flavor of bacon and brown sugar to sweeten the deal.

"Souper" Good Soup

OK, seriously, I surprised even myself with this one, folks. Number one, because I'm not crazy about home-made Chicken Noodle Soup (how can you improve on Campbell's?), and number two, I'm not Amish....I know, some of you are freaking out right now!! No, really, I got this postcard several years ago with an Amish recipe for Chicken Corn Soup on the front. I held on to it, not thinking that I would ever really make it (see number one, above), but it just goes to show ya, ya never know.

This past Thanksgiving, I made the turkey breast. DQ ate turkey for several days afterward, and I commented on how he almost never ate leftovers. He said, "Well, we never have turkey except at Thanksgiving, so I can't let any of it go to waste. I have to get my fill." Who knew he liked turkey that much? But, I digress a little. After the holidays, I went back to the store and picked up another turkey breast and put it in the freezer, thinking I'd pull it out and surprise him with it later on. Which I did this week. He hasn't touched that stupid turkey!! So, not wanting to let my $15.00 bird go to waste, I started thinking about what I could do with the turkey meat that DQ wasn't eating. I pulled out my recipes, and lo-and-behold, my eyes fell across the Amish recipe.

Now, it is a little bit of work, but it's NOT HARD work. And the end result was so delicious, I may never eat Campbell's again. There's a little prep work involved, but not so different from how the Amish do it. I may have a little Amish in me after all.

First of all, I pulled all the cooked meat off the bones of the turkey and put it in the fridge. Then I put the bones and skin of the turkey in a stock pot and covered it with 4 quarts of water. I boiled it for - oh - I don't know....say 2 hours. I don't know if it actually had to boil for this long, but I put it on the stove and then ran some errands, so, whatever. Pull the bones and skin from the broth, and discard. You are now ready to make the soup. Oh yeah, don't have a turkey? A Traditional Rotisserie Chicken from the grocery store would work great!

Souper Good Soup

Oh and I started with 4 quarts of liquid, but after boiling it for two hours, I now have about 3 - 1/2 quarts of broth:

Add the first 5 ingredients

2 - 12 oz bags of frozen corn
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 yellow onion
2 Cups chopped turkey
3 chicken bullion cubes (optional) I felt like the broth needed a small boost
Rivels - This is what makes the soup Amish...keep reading
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

After adding the first 5, bring to a gentle boil for 20 minutes or so (long enough for the onion and celery to cook). Add your rivels, then the boiled eggs. Simmer for 10 - 15 more minutes.

OK, what the heck are rivels? Rivels are the "noodle" part of the soup. The word "rivel" actually means "lump", which is exactly what they are, little lumps of dough. Think about the "Stars" in Campbell's Chicken and Stars soup (but better, much better!!) They are apparently quite common in Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, and I can see some old Amish Mam standing at the stove laughing at my first attempt to make them. But that's OK, they turned out just fine.

To make the rivels, lightly beat one egg. Place one cup of flour in a small mixing bowl, and make a well in the top. Add a pinch of salt. Pour the beaten egg in and mix with a fork until it starts to come together. Now, crumble the dough through your fingers until about the size of peas. Drop the crumbles slowly into the simmering soup. I had to add a little more flour to get my rivels "dry" enough to crumble. And that's it. If you have kids, let them make the rivels!!

Red Velvet Whoopie Cookies

So, Valentine's Day is quickly approaching us, and nothing says "I Luuuuuuuve You" like some lovin' from your oven. (Well, actually that's not true, but it sounds really good for the purpose of this blog!!)

I love playing with recipes. I like to tweak them, add a little summin' summin', take away something that I don't particularly like, or just explore something new...taking an old reliable recipe to another level.

That's what I've done with this recipe. The stand-by recipe is Cream Cheese Cookies, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with the original recipe....except for the fact that when I went to make some the other night, I didn't have a yellow cake mix. I did, however, have a Red Velvet cake mix. And voila, the Red Velvet Whoopie Cookie was born. It's really simple, and it will be perfect for St. Valentine's Day. So whip up a batch of Whoopie Cookies, and say "I Luuuuuuuuve You!!"

The Cookie Part:

8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix

Cream the butter and cream cheese together, add the egg yolk and vanilla. Blend well. Add the cake mix in 3 parts, beating well after each 1/3. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Drop by teaspoon onto prepared cookie sheet (I like to line mine with parchment paper and be done with it!!) and bake at 375 for 8 minutes. Don't over bake. (They will be soft when you bring them out of the oven, but will firm up a little after chilled.) Let them cool enough to take them off the cookie sheet, then chill them in the fridge for an hour.

For the Whoopie Part

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup marshmallow cream

Blend together until smooth.

Fill your cookies with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of whoopie (depending on how big you made your cookies). Gently press them together to smush the whoopie to the edge of the cookie. Chill until cool. Store covered in the fridge if you have any left over.