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Recipes

Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups

by Dana Zeliff on September 25, 20132013-09-25
in Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Spinach Lasagna Roll Up

Lasagna roll ups is an easy meal with a fun twist on traditional lasagna.  PLUS You can customize the ingredients to suite your families taste.

It’s also fun to get the kids involved.  The prep is a bit messy, but the taste is delicious!

Ingredients:
1/2 box of uncooked lasagna noodles (about 8 oz.)
1 Tbsp EVOO
3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup low-fat (or whole) ricotta cheese
1 cup marinara sauce
1 1/2 cup packed baby spinach (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
S/P (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Spray muffin tin (or small baking dish) with cooking spray or coat with olive oil to prevent sticking.
  3. Cook lasagna noodles until al dente as per package directions. Drain and lay out on a cutting board or other flat work station.
  4. Head oil and saute garlic and spinach with salt/pepper, if desired.
  5. Mix spinach with ricotta cheese in medium bowl.Lasagna Roll Prep
  6. Take one noodle and spread ricotta mixture then top with marinara sauce. Roll noodle and place in muffin tin.
  7. Spoon remaining marinara over rolls and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
  8. Bake 20 – 25 minutes or until bubbly.
  9. Serve with additional marinara sauce and cheese if desired.

*You could also add sauteed mushrooms, onions, sausage, ground beef or shredded chicken to customize this recipe.

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Filed Under: Recipes

How to Freeze Apples for Apple Sauce

by Dana Zeliff on September 23, 20132013-09-23
in Apples Recipes, Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Freeze Apples for Apple Sauce

I love to Freeze Apple Sauce. It’s a great way to save money and have tasty applesauce long after Fall. Make sure to take a look at my Recipe for Homemade Applesauce in the Slow Cooker. It’s super easy and you can make plenty to add to your freezer.

Freeze Apples for Apple Sauce:

Freezing –

  • First, Cook apples using the directions found here.
  • Use freezer bags, rigid plastic containers or freezer safe glass jars to freeze your applesauce.
  • Leave 1-inch of headspace for quart size or 1/2-inch headspace for pint size containers.
  • Allow to cool completely before freezing.
  • Can freeze at 0°F for up to 12 months assuming your container is airtight.

Thawing –
For best results, thaw in the refrigerator.

Tip –
If you like to bake, freeze in 1/4 cup portions to substitute for oil. While you could substitute the full amount of oil for applesauce, it is advised that you limit the substitution to 1/4 cup. Most cookbooks also advise having some oil to improve the texture of your product.

As you can see, it’s easy to Freeze Apples for Apple Sauce.  My kiddos even think it tastes better than store bought!

Looking for more Apple Recipes?  See my Homemade Apple Pie Filling Recipe!

1 Comment

Filed Under: Apples Recipes, Recipes Tagged With: Apple Recipes

10 Pleasing Pumpkin Recipes for Autumn

by Dana Zeliff on September 23, 20132013-09-23
in Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

pumpkin recipes

When fall rolls around we enjoy the splendor of the fall leaves, the smell of wood burning in fireplaces,  and the bright orange gourds known as pumpkins.   Traditionally speaking, we associated the pumpkin with Halloween; however, more people are learning  that pumpkin is not only for chasing the bad spirits away, but for cooking and baking as well.

Here are some pumpkin recipes that I hope you enjoy!

  1. Super Quick Pumpkin Dip

  2. Apple Brown Betty

  3. Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

  4. Pumpkin Bread

  5. Pumpkin Pecan Biscotti

  6. Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

  7. Pumpkin Bread Pudding

  8. Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes

  9. Pumpkin Fudge

  10. Paleo Pumpkin Pie

Try some or all of these pumpkin recipes to discover which one will be your favorite!

You might also like my Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting recipe!

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Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Halloween

Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

by Dana Zeliff on September 19, 20132013-09-19
in Cupcakes, Pumpkin, Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Get in the Fall spirit with these Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes.  These would be great for a Fall party at school!

Cupcakes:

1 package (18.25 oz.) spice cake mix
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY’S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
3 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 cup of mini chocolate chips (optional)

Frosting:

8oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon
few drops orange food coloring

Cupcakes:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 24 muffin cups. Set aside. *Check out these cute Fall Leave Bake Cups.
  2. Blend together cake mix, pumpkin, eggs, oil, and water, with electric mixer. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips if desired.  Pour batter into prepared muffin cups, and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  3. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

  1. Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and beat until smooth. Add a few drops orange food coloring (optional).
  2. I used Wilton’s 1M frosting tip to get the look in the photo above.

If you prefer, you can try this Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting recipe instead

2 comments

Filed Under: Cupcakes, Pumpkin, Recipes Tagged With: Cupcake Recipes

Easy (& Healthy) Blueberry Muffin Recipe with Spelt Flour

by Dana Zeliff on July 4, 20132013-07-04
in Recipes, Whole Foods Market

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Disclosure: This recipe is sponsored by Whole Foods Virginia Beach!

Blueberry Spelt Muffin Recipe

My kids LOVE muffins, and I love that they are an easy and healthy breakfast (or snack.) I made this recipe almost entirely organic.  I already had Baking Powder, Salt and Vanilla Extract, so I wanted to use some items I already had on hand.  I used frozen blueberries because I was able to get an awesome deal on organic blueberries last month, so I froze a ton of them for smoothies and baking.  Freezing fruit in season is a great way to eat healthy while on a budget!

This is the first time I’ve cooked with Spelt Flour and I’m hooked.  I love the added benefits such as being high in fiber. The flavor is amazing and my kids (nor husband) even noticed the difference.  They just kept asking for more!

Blueberry Muffins Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) softened butter
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups spelt flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Butter muffin tin or line with paper muffin liners.
  3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
  4. Stir in applesauce, eggs, water and vanilla.
  5. Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt.Blueberry Muffin Mix
  6. Gently stir in blueberries.
  7. Spoon batter into muffin cup to about 3/4 full.
  8. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.

Blueberry Muffin Recipe

This recipe was adapted from Whole Foods.

5 comments

Filed Under: Recipes, Whole Foods Market

Easy Berry Flag

by Dana Zeliff on June 22, 20132013-06-22
in My Kitchen, Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Whole Foods Virginia Beach!

Berry Flag | www.thecouponchallenge.com

Berry season is in full swing, so why not create a patriotic dish to serve at your next gathering?  I made this super simple Berry American Flag that will be perfect for your 4th of July party!   The kids at our party gobbled up the fruit.  It’s amazing that just adding a skewer and design can make kids excited about healthy eating.

Ingredients:

  • Skewers
  • Blueberries
  • Strawberries
  • Angle Food Cake*

I chose to use a pre-made Angel Food cake from Whole Foods for convenience and to ensure my nephew was able to eat the cake due to dietary restrictions.

Berry Flag Ingrediants

Directions:

Simply insert 7 (or so) blueberries on the top left hand side of your flag, followed by a piece of angel food cake then a strawberry.  Continue this pattern until you have created a flag.

Note:  Due to the size of my strawberries, I added 2 half-skewers of blueberries to fill-in empty space.  You could also use raspberries in place of or in addition to the strawberries.

I’ve seen some flags that use marshmallows for the white stripes, but I wanted to eliminate any artificial products.  We served organic vanilla yogurt on the side if anyone wanted a dip, but you could also use cool whip.

8 comments

Filed Under: My Kitchen, Recipes

Quick and Easy Tilapia and Tomatoes

by Dana Zeliff on April 12, 20132013-04-12
in Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

tilapia 2 small

This is a very quick, easy, healthy,  and delicious way to prepare an economical fish which I usually purchase in large bags when they are on sale. I usually serve over rice or pasta.

Ingredients:

1 pound of tilapia
pinch of salt
1 small onion
olive oil to coat pan
1 32 ounce can of  diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano
1 tbsp. capers

Directions:

1. Rinse and dry fish.
2. Chop onions into small pieces.
3. Heat pan with olive oil over medium heat.
4. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender.
5. Stir in diced, flavored tomatoes and bring to a boil and cook for about five minutes.
6. Add tilapia filets and capers to top of tomato mixture.

tilapia 1
7. Bring sauce to boil, reduce heat and cover pan.
8. Cook 6 to 8 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
9. Remove fish and continue to cook the sauce for about 2 minutes to thicken.
10. Spoon sauce over fish and serve fish over rice or pasta.

tilapia 4

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About The Coupon Challenge

Hi! I'm Dana, the writer behind the scenes of The Coupon Challenge, a Hampton Roads, VA based coupon blog. I'm a wife and mother of 2. After getting out of debt we started using our savings to travel together as a family and create memories.

Are you looking for ways to save your family money? I strive to help you save on the products you need, so you can spend more on the things you want. Read More about Dana & Family

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