Couscous Cabbage Rolls

Use your favorite cabbage roll recipe, but instead of cooked rice, use cooked couscous instead. Also, when we put the rolls into a crock pot, we just pour V8 juice over them and it tastes great.

The couscous adds a bit more flavor than the rice. 

Crock Pot Hawaiian Ham

So you have some leftover ham shank/butt. Let's make a meal.

Get the crock pot out and if you want, spray the inside of the crock with non-stick cooking spray as it makes clean up a bit easier. I also add about a cup and a half of water to the crock. 

Put about three pounds of leftover ham in the crock. (Scale this recipe up as needed.) Then add a 20oz can of crushed pineapple. On top of this pour a 12-16oz bottle of Hawaiian marinade.

Set crock pot on low and cook for 7 hours. We serve this over steamed/cooked rice.

Total cost for this is between five and six dollars.

Crock Pot Salisbury Steak

You will need:

2 to 2 and 1/2 pounds ground beef. (We do not mind using 70/30 or 80/20 (The first number is the percentage of beef and the second number is the percentage of fat. It will be on the label.), but if you want less grease in the crock pot, go with 85/15.)

1 package of dry onion soup mix.

1/2 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

1/4 cup milk.

1/4 cup all purpose (white) flour.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 10-12 ounce cans of condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup.

A couple of dissolved (in a half cup of hot water) beef bullion cubes or a tablespoon of beef base.

3/4 cup of water.

Directions:

In a big bowl, mix, by hand, the ground beef, onion soup mix, bread crumbs and milk. Shape into about 8 patties.

Next, heat the oil in a large skillet, ( use medium high heat), spread the flour out on a large plate and place the patty on the flour. Flour both sides of the patty and quickly brown the patties--say a minute on each side. Then, place the browned patties in the crock pot. (You will have to stack them.)

In a medium sized bowl--something a bit larger than a cereal bowl--mix the soup, beef base and water. If you dissolved the bullion cubes just add another 1/4 of water to equal the 3/4 cup the recipe calls for.

Pour the soup mixture over the beef patties in the crock pot and cook on low setting for 4-5 hours.

Serve over instant rice or egg noodles.

This is an absolutely delicious meal. Your kids should love it and will have fond memories of the fact that you put yourself out a bit to give them some delicious food.