Crockpot Pierogies and Sausage Recipe

Crockpot Pierogies and Sausage Recipe

This Crockpot Pierogies and Sausage Recipe was originally published on our parent site, Thrifty Jinxy, but it is so perfect for this time of year that I just had to share it here too.  For a busy day, it’s such and easy meal because you just throw it together in the Crockpot and you end up with a hot, hearty dinner. The recipe is very flexible, so feel free to play around with it by adding extra veggies, changing up the sausage, or whatever your family will like best!

1 16oz package of Polska Kielbasa/Polish Sausage, sliced (I used the turkey version)
1 1/2 peppers, sliced (I used 1/2 each of red, green and yellow peppers)
1 small onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp butter
bay leaf (optional, but adds great flavor)
salt and pepper
1 16 oz package of frozen pierogies

Place all ingredients EXCEPT pierogies into Crockpot and cook on low appx 6-7 hours. 45 minutes before you’re ready to eat, add the frozen pierogies and turn crockpot to high. If you like some of your pierogies to be browned, spray the exposed parts of your crockpot with cooking spray or brush with butter and lean pierogies against the edges. Those pieces should brown nicely.

Find more recipes from Thrifty Jinxy HERE.

Green Chile Pulled Pork Recipe + Boulder Organic Soups Giveaway

Green Chile Pulled Pork Recipe

Super Bowl Sunday is almost here? Don’t yet have your menu planned? There’s no need to fear. We have partnered with our friends at Boulder Organic to bring you this amazingly easy-to-make Green Chile Pulled Pork Recipe. All you need is a pork shoulder roast, Boulder Organic! Green Chile Corn Chowder and a slow cooker. Set it up on the morning of the big game and it will be ready to enjoy come game time.
 

Green Chile Pulled Pork Recipe

 
Ingredients:
– 2 lbs. pork shoulder roast
– 1 tub Boulder Organic! Green Chile Corn Chowder
– salt to taste (optional)

Directions:
Place a 2 lb. pork shoulder roast in a slow cooker.
Add one tub of the Green Chile Corn Chowder on top (add a dash of salt if desired).
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Pull apart and enjoy!

Boulder Organic Soup

Boulder Organic Foods’ mission is to craft “oh my gosh!” good organic food with uncompromised nutrition using garden-fresh ingredients.Their kitchen accept only the best—like whole, organic produce (much of it’s local), savory spices (a pinch of this and a dash of that) and people with a passion for doing things right (everything is personally prepared just like you’d make it yourself). Boulder Organic! products are sold in your grocer’s deli refrigerator. Find a store near you and enjoy some today.

Boulder Organic Soups

Reader Giveaway:  Three (3) lucky Thrifty Recipes readers will each receive 3 coupons for free Boulder Organic! soup. To enter, just complete the entry form below by 11:59pm ET on 2/16/16. Good luck!

 

Boulder Organic

Souper Easy Super Bowl Green Chile Pulled Pork Recipe

Easy Taco Casserole Recipe

Ground Beef Taco Casserole
This Easy Taco Casserole Recipe is one that I have been making for about as long as I have been cooking on my own. That’s because it is EASY and it is GOOD!! It’s so simple to assemble without a lot of time and the result is delicious. It also makes GREAT leftovers, but I recommend heating them up in the oven rather than the microwave if you want the chips to stay crispy.

The recipe uses a packet of taco seasoning mix, but you can substitute your own homemade taco seasoning – something that is super easy to mix together and keep on hand in your pantry. Another possible variation for this recipe is to make it with chicken instead of beef. To do that, I just dice up two chicken breasts and make sure it is cooked all the way through as the first step of the recipe preparation.
Ground Beef Taco Casserole Ingredients

Easy Taco Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 packet taco seasoning (or make your own)
14.5 oz diced tomatoes
1 15.5 oz can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
1/2 bag tortilla chips
8 oz shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef with onion and green pepper. Drain fat.
Add in taco seasoning, undrained tomatoes and pinto beans. Cook until heated through.
Cover the bottom of a 9×9 baking dish with a layer of tortilla chips. Cover with half the meat mixture. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese. Add another layer of chips. Add the rest of the meat mixture. Sprinkle with another 1/3 of the cheese. Add a last layer of chips and top with the remaining cheese.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

Ground Beef Taco Casserole

 

Turkey (or Chicken) Taquitos Recipe – They’re Even Gluten Free!

Turkey Taquitos Recipe

This recipe comes from Christy at The Shopper’s Apprentice. These Turkey Taquitos are a great way to use up leftover turkey, or you can substitute chicken if that’s what you have on hand. They are crispy and delicious and a way to turn your leftovers into something special!

Turkey Taquitos Recipe

12 corn tortillas
1 lb. cooked turkey, shredded (or chicken)
1 onion, chopped
1 package Taco seasoning
3/4 cup hot water
1 clove garlic, minced
Vegetable oil

Lightly sprinkle each tortilla with water. Wrap the stack in aluminum foil and place in a 200 degree oven for 10 minutes to soften.  Leave in foil until ready to use.  In a skillet, combine meat, seasonings, water, onion, and garlic.  Stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Place 2 Tbsp of the mixture in the center of each warmed tortilla. Roll up tortillas tightly, securing with toothpicks. In a large, deep saucepan, heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry rolled tortillas in oil until golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels.  Keep warm in oven.  Remove toothpicks before serving.  To serve, place on a bed of lettuce and garnish with salsa and guacamole.

Turkey Taquitos Recipe

Vegetarian Tamale Pie Recipe with Bulgur Wheat

This Vegetarian Tamale Pie Recipe with a cornbread top is a favorite in our house.  In this meatless version, we substitute bulgur wheat for the traditional ground beef with bulgur wheat.  Believe it or not my husband likes this version much better than when I used to make it with beef! It’s a perfect all-in-one meal for the “reluctant vegetarian”.

Vegetarian Tamale Pie Recipe

Vegetarian Tamale Pie Recipe

1 cup bulgur wheat
2 1/4 cup boiling water
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 packets taco seasoning (or use our Make Your Own Taco Seasoning recipe)
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 15-oz can black beans, drained
1 15-oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 8 oz. pkg. cornbread mix (or make your own)

In a saucepan, pour about the boiling water over over the bulgur, cover the pan, and allow it to stand for about 30 minutes.  Drain excess water from bulgur.

Heat olive oil a large skillet.  Add in onion and green pepper and sautée until softened.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add in taco seasoning, tomatoes, corn and beans. Cook 2-3 minutes.  Stir in prepared bulgur wheat.  Prepare cornbread according to package directions.

Transfer wheat & veggie mixture to a 1 1/2 quart casserole or a 9×9 square pan.  Spread cornbread mix on top and spread as evenly as you can.  Cook according to directions on cornbread box, or until golden brown.

Easy No-Boil Baked Ziti Recipe – Vegetarian

This is a very popular recipe in our family and I make it a lot.  It’s one of those dishes that taste even better as leftovers.  And since it cooks up a nice, big batch its perfect for a family get-together or to bring for a potluck. 

Easy No-Boil Baked Ziti Recipe

2 jars of pasta sauce
15 oz container of ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella
16 oz box of ziti

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix everything EXCEPT half the mozzarella cheese in a large casserole dish.
Add in one jar of water* and stir well.
Cover the casserole and bake for approximately an hour and 15 minutes. Remove cover and top with remaining mozzarella. Return to oven and baked uncovered for 15 minutes or until cheese is nice and bubbly.

I like to serve it with a salad and Garlic Cheese Crescent Rolls.

*To make sure I don’t miss a single drop of sauce, I fill one of the empty jars 2/3 full with water, put on the lid and shake it really well. I then pour that water into the other jar. I then put on the lid and shake that one. I fill the 2nd jar the rest of the way to the top and then add it to the rest of the mixture.

Easy Peanut Broccoli Pasta with (Optional) Tofu

This recipe is super easy and CHEAP to make.  While the tofu is optional, it does help to add protein to the meal and also thicken the sauce a bit.  You can use any shape of pasta that you like.

2 cups pasta (preferably whole wheat)
1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup silken tofu (pureed in a blender or food processor)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
3 cups broccoli florets
1 red pepper, finely chopped

Cook pasta per package directions until al dente.  Drain, reserving 6 Tbsp of the cooking water.  While pasta is cooking,  steam broccoli in the microwave.  (Put it in a bowl with 2 Tbsp water, cover, and microwave 3-4 minutes on high.)  In a large bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, tofu, reserved cooking water, crushed red pepper.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add pasta, broccoli coarsely chopped, and the bell pepper.  Toss well and serve warm.

Sizzling Salsa Chicken and Rice Recipe

Summer is here and salsa can be a GREAT inspiration for creating summertime recipes. I know that many of you are already fans of Wholly Guacamole, but did you know that they also make Wholly Salsa? YES! Many different flavors of delicious salsa.
 
I recently received a cooler full of Wholly Salsas, along with some of their single serve Wholly Guacamole products and I set to work to create a new recipe.  I had no idea that Wholly made so many varieties of salsa!  They have some deliciously interesting ones too like Red Pepper Mango, Roasted Tomato, Pineapple and Avocado Verde.  I used them as inspiration and this is the recipe I came up with, and it is GOOD! (Ask my husband, he devoured it.)  I used the Roasted Tomato salsa, but you can use your favorite.
Sizzling Salsa Chicken and Rice
 
Ingredients:
3 cups cooked rice
2 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut from cob
½ tsp ground cumin
Salt & pepper to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ green pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
1 container of your favorite Wholly Salsa
½ cup Mexican Queso Fresco (crumbling cheese)
Prepare rice according to package directions to make 3 cups.
Meanwhile, spray a large 12” frying pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Scatter corn kernels across bottom of pan and sprinkle with cumin, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until browned.
Remove corn from pan and set aside. Add olive oil to pan and heat. Add pepper and onion and cook until starting to brown. 
Remove from heat and stir in chicken, salsa and rice. Sprinkle corn and cheese on top before serving.
Disclosure: Wholly Salsa Products were received in order to facilitate this review and giveaway, but all opinions are 100% my own.

Scotch Egg Recipe Courtesy of the Movie BRAVE

Scotch Egg
Have you ever had a Scotch Egg?  I have only had one at a Renaissance Fair, but it was very good!  Try making this Scottish favorite with a recipe courtesy of Disney/Pixar and the upcoming film BRAVE, in  theaters June 22nd. 

Click here to download nifty Brave recipe cards for both the Scotch Egg Recipe as well as Great Granny May Scott’s Cullen Skink Recipe – great for those of you who like fish.

Homemade Hot Pockets – Beef & Veggie Hand Pie Recipe

It’s really a shame to even compare these to hot pockets because they are SO much better!  I make them as little 3 bite pies, but you could make them as a larger size.

The recipe below is the thriftiest version because you make your own crust.  But, if you want to go the simple route, you can substitute a store-bought can of crescent rolls to save some time. (You can also experiment with your choice of vegetables.

Crust:  For the crust, I use Martha Stewart’s Pâte Brisée recipe. (This is a very versatile recipe and tastes fantastic.)

Filling:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
salt & pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 lb. ground beef
1 cup spinach, chopped
1 medium Klondike or Yukon gold potato, diced small
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp Adobo (or other seasoning of your choice)
1 egg

Directions:

    • Roll the dough (Pâte Brisée) to 1/8″ thickness. Cut into rectangles appx 3″x4″ (or larger if you want larger pockets.
    • Refrigerate while making filling.
    • Heat oil in a large skillet. Add peppers and onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook until translucent. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add in beef and cook until browned, approximately 5 minutes. Break up any large clumps of beef.
    • Add in potatoes, spinach, and seasonings.  Cook 2-3 minutes to heat.
    • Whisk egg in a small bowl.
    • Remove dough from refrigerator.  Brush edges with egg.  Place appx 1 Tbsp filling on each square (enough to make it very full, without overflowing).  Fold in half and crimp edges with a fork. Poke small hole in top to vent.
  • Place the pockets on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat baking mat.
  • Once all pockets are filled.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or better yet freeze for 10-15 minutes.
  • Brush tops of pockets with remaining egg wash.
  • Bake at 350 degrees appx 30 minutes or until golden brown, rotating half way through cooking.
  • Let stand 10 minutes before serving.