Family Style Broccoli Ham Rolls

Ingredients:

1 package frozen chopped broccoli

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 package sliced cooked ham, diced

4 eggs

1/4 cup water

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

In a saucepan, prepare broccoli according to package instructions; drain. To broccoli, add cream of mushroom soup and ham. Cook, stirring often, until ham is heated through. Keep warm. Meanwhile, in a small bowl with whisk, beat eggs and water until well mixed.

In a small skillet over medium heat, melt butter or margarine. Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of egg mixture into skillet, tilting to make a thin pancake. When top of pancake is set and underside is delicately browned, slide spatula around sides to loosen; slide onto a plate. Repeat to make 7 more pancakes.

Fill each pancake with broccoli ham mixture; roll and arrange them in one layer on a warm platter. Top with sour cream.

Enjoying a delicious meal with your family doesn’t have to break the budget.

As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.
 
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Here is an “Easy-On-The-Cook” meal to serve your family.

Slow Cooker Beefburger Stroganoff

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

3 slices bacon, diced

1 small onion

2 Tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

2 Tablespoon dry red wine

1 cup sour cream

6 to 8 hamburger buns, toasted and buttered

Directions:

In a large skillet, brown beef and bacon. Drain. In a slow-cooker, mix together beef, bacon, onion, flour, paprika and salt. Stir in undiluted soup and wine. Cover pot and cook on low 4 to 5 hours. Stir in sour cream. Spoon mixture over toasted buns. Makes 6-8 servings.

As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.

Would you like to join our Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.

Sign up for my newsletter at www.NoelsKitchenTips.com and get recipes, menu ideas, cooking tips and more delivered directly to you!

Stretch Your Food Budget Without Sacrificing Nutrtion

With response to rising food costs eating out, about half of families have begun to make some changes in their household with their eating and buying habits.  Many are eating out less often, shopping for sales, and cutting back on more expensive food items. 

Here are some tips on ways to stretch your food dollar without sacrificing nutrition. Here are some tips that will help make this easy:

1. Don’t pay a premium for convenience. You can save a lot of money on groceries simply by washing your own lettuce, peeling your own carrots, slicing your own cheese, and chopping your own onions. I think people underestimate just how much extra they are spending for these small conveniences and at the same time overestimate how much time they are really saving.  Foods also lose freshness and nutrients when they are pre-washed and processed.

2. Skip the junk food aisle. Chips, sodas, and sweets are very costly; especially when you consider that they don’t contribute any real nutritional value to your diet.  Don’t get me wrong: I personally couldn’t live without snacks. But you’ll get more nutrition from your food dollar if you spend that money on nutritious treats like nuts, sunflower seeds, and dried or fresh fruits. Try making Baked Cinnamon Chips or Harvest Spiced Nuts.

3. Make it yourself and save.  You can spend $3 on a liter of ice tea or you can make your own for about 10 cents worth of tea bags. And skip the meal kits. The other day I saw a pasta salad kit that contained about 80 cents worth of macaroni and a packet of seasonings for $3.50.  For a savings of $2.70, I’m happy to get out my Salt and Pepper Mill.

4. Don’t pay extra for individual serving sizes. Buy yogurt, applesauce, cereal, and snacks in large containers and you’ll save big (plus, you’ll put less packaging into the waste stream). It only takes a few moments to measure individual servings into zip lock bags or reusable containers, either to pack in your lunch or to exercise portion control.

5. Go meatless once or twice a week.  Meat is one of the costliest items on your grocery list. You can save money and give the environment a boost as well by enjoying a vegetarian meal. With fuel prices driving up the prices of everything else, lowering the carbon footprint of your diet will benefit your wallet as well as the planet and the economy.

6. Eat at your own home restaurant.  You don’t eat out as much to save money.  Good for you, but don’t think you can’t enjoy those great dishes you order from your favorite take out or sit-down restaurants.  You can enjoy great tasting, restaurant quality meals at home and leave the extra money you save in your pocket.

As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.
 
Would you like to join our Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.

Sign up for my newsletter at www.NoelsKitchenTips.com and get recipes, menu ideas, cooking tips and more delivered directly to you!

Fun “YOU DESERVE TO BE PAMPERED” THOUGHTS “ Why Pampering is important…

It’s so easy to come up with excuses for why we shouldn’t pamper ourselves. The usual ones are… I don’t have the time, I have too much to do, and… it’s just not important.

All of these excuses can be dispelled. The usual reason that someone thinks that they don’t have time is because they don’t schedule the time into their lives. Couldn’t you find that hour here or there if you really think about it? Is there a sister, friend, or husband that can watch the kids for an afternoon while you soak in the tub and read a magazine?

If you are behind on your work, studies, or whatever, do you really think that an hour, or even a half of an hour of ‘me’ time is going to take away something that would not instead be helped by that special time given to your sense of peace?

Lastly, if you think that it’s not important, you must ask yourself…Are you important? If you’re not sure, let me tell you, YES YOU ARE! Whether you are a mother, wife, friend or person in this society… you matter. If everyone was at their best, think about what a better world we would live in. So many of us have been brainwashed into thinking that pampering is a decadent thing to do. Some feel that only the wealthy get pampered. Or that it’s only something that one does as a once-in-awhile ‘treat’. After giving as many pampering treatments to people as I’ve given, I know for a fact that ‘pampering’ is just another word for ‘healing’.

We are all at one level of stress or another. One instant way to find out what your level of stress is, is to notice how tense your muscles are at any given moment. Are your shoulders up around your ears right now? Stop right now for a moment and let your shoulders drop down. How far did they lower when you did that? That’s how stressed you are. The goal is to be as relaxed as possible, while being able to function at your best in this world. Remember, it’s not a selfish thing! Others that are more uptight than you will try to make you feel guilty. You are the only one that is responsible for your own good health, not them. Learn to let the things that stress you bounce right off of you. Less stress, means better health. And the better health that you are in allows you to offer the world… a better you. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Now, Let the Pampering begin!

(1) Eye Treatment

CUCUMBER EYE GEL
1 tsp. fresh cucumber juice
¼ tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbs. witch hazel

To juice a cucumber, chop it, then press through colander lined with a wet paper towel. Mix together aloe, cucumber juice and cornstarch in microwavable bowl. Heat until just boiling, about 1 minute in microwave. Remove to a bowl stir in witch hazel. Stir well and allow the mixture to cool completely. You can ice it by covering the bowl with lid, then pop into a larger bowl filled with ice water. You should have a clear, jelly-like cream. To use: Dab a small amount under your eyes and be careful not to rub or pull the delicate skin under your eyes. Keep in cool place. Makes 1 oz.

QUICK CUCUMBER EYE SOOTHER

Rather than purchase a $12.00 bottle of cucumber-lookalike eye pads infused with cucumber extract and then kicked up with a list of chemicals, you can simply use a real cucumber. Even if you used a fresh cucumber each week, it would take a long time before you spent $12.00 on this simple and soothing treatment.

2 wafer thin slices of cucumber, cut with knife
1 warm, damp, clean washcloth – While reclining in the tub, place one cucumber slice over each eye. Cover your eyes with a warm washcloth and relax for 10 minutes. Fine lines will smooth out and your eyes will feel refreshed and soothed, preparing you for a night’s rest. I recommend this particularly if you’ve had yourself a crying jag that day.

Now go PAMPER YOURSELF!