Mexican Manicotti, Crescent Apple Cake

Hi Everyone!

Fall has definitely come to Kansas overnight and I'm loving it!

I've decided to have a Pampered Chef Party and you can join here. When you order, just choose me as your host.

A couple of years ago I had one and you can read about it here. A couple of their products were huge hits at our house! I had always heard great things about their food chopper and we LOVE it! I use that thing almost every day. It is one product that has certainly made chopping with Fibromyalgia a LOT easier. (No, I'm not getting paid to say that! :-)

In case you're wondering, "What is someone who promotes frugal living doing having a Pampered Chef Party?" you can check out my blog post about it here.

If you are getting ready and planning Halloween costumes, be sure to check out our costume article here.

We also have several other articles that might be useful. If you want to start planning your Halloween Party or think about how to use the leftovers be sure to check out our other articles about half way down the page here.

We hope you enjoy today's menu! Have a great rest of the week and get started on that fall baking!

-Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

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Today's Tips:

• When making muffins, fill each muffin cup with about 1 Tbsp. less batter than you normally would put in it. That much batter won't be missed and will give you 3-4 more extra muffins.
  


• Don't forget to freeze any extra muffins you have. They are perfect to include in a lunch with a thermos of soup and will be thawed by lunch time. They also make great last minute after school snacks. My grandkids love corn muffins with a little butter and lots of syrup or honey on them. Jelly is good too.
  


• If your corn bread turned out extra crumbly or if you have a couple of extra pieces left, crumble them up, add a little melted butter to them and sprinkle on a casserole.
  


• Always try to make do with what you have. The recipe below (Mexican Manicotti) is a great example of how to use all of those "Mexican" ingredients you have on hand when you are out of tortillas. You can adapt it in other ways, too, if you don't have all of the ingredients. Let's say you have no sour cream on hand but your family loves cottage cheese. Just substitute cottage cheese for the sour cream.
  

Today's Menu:

All these recipes are good to make if you are going to have a busy day the next day. You can make them all the day before and finish them off the next day.

Mexican Manicotti*
Coffee Shop Corn Bread*
Cucumber Salad*
Crescent Apple Cake*

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Today's Recipes:

*Mexican Manicotti

1 lb. ground beef
1 (16 oz.) can refried beans
2 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 (8 oz.) pkg. manicotti shells
2 1/2 cup water
1 (16 oz.) jar picante sauce
2 cups (16 oz.) sour cream
1 cup cheddar or Mexican blend cheese, shredded
1/4 cup sliced green onions, optional
Sliced ripe olives, optional

Combine uncooked beef, beans, chili pwd. and oregano. Spoon into uncooked manicotti shells; place in a greased 9x13 pan. Combine water and picante sauce and pour over shells. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake 1 hour at 350°. Uncover and spoon sour cream on top. Sprinkle cheese, onion and olives on top of that. Bake 5-10 minutes longer to melt cheese. Serves 8.

I am blessed with so many good cooks in my family. Here is a new twist on cornbread my sister in law just recently gave me.

If you are going to serve these with the Mexican Manicotti, you can make them the day before and simply warm the next day.

*Coffee Shop Corn Bread

1 1/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup oil

Combine all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Add to dry and mix until moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 425° for 12-15 minutes.

Here is another delicious recipe from Dining on a Dime. This is one of Mike's favorites!

*Cucumber Salad

3 medium cucumbers, peeled, diced or sliced
1/2 medium onion, diced or sliced
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Mix everything. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Serves 4.

*Crescent Apple Cake

1 (8 oz.) can crescent rolls
3 med. to lg. cooking apples, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

Topping:

1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar, depending on sweetness of apples
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. margarine or butter, melted

Heat oven to 350°. Separate crescents into 2 rectangles. Place in ungreased 9-inch square pan bringing 1/2 inch up the sides of the pans. Seal perforations. Arrange apple slices on crust. Combine topping ingredients until crumbly and sprinkle over apples. Bake 35-40 minutes until apples are tender.

Serve with slice of cheese, ice cream or whipped cream.