Aldi-Tizers

It's that time of year again for tailgating, Sunday Night Football and fall time celebrations. It is important to always bring a dish whenever you are invited to join in the fun. For most college students, there may not be much room in your kitchen or money in your wallet to go big when bringing a dish to share. I have discovered the answer. Aldi, is a grocery store that has completely changed the game of cheap grocery shopping.

PSA: Don't forget to bring a quarter for the shopping cart, cash or credit for the groceries and your own reusable shopping bag

This past weekend I attended a bachelorette party for a friend. I knew there was going to be around 16 guests , all women who cared about eating healthy. I decided to make my own spin on Reuben Eggrolls. Reuben Eggrolls are corn beef encased in a Chinese eggroll wrap with Swiss cheese, thousand island dressing and German style sauerkraut. I choose to shop at Aldi due to their low prices and their available ingredients. I wanted to make sure this appetizer was as delicious as it was healthy.

Start to Finish -20 minutes (five minute prep time, 10 minute set up, five minute cook time)
Money spent to make - $3.57
Calories (per single appetizer) - 64

This recipe can be made in both a microwave, with safe and appropriate microwaveable dishware, as well as in an oven. Be sure to heat up corn beef hash and mozzarella cheese together in a dish if you are to use microwave to make this appetizer. I would heat them for about three minutes if you do so. This appetizer is a perfect dish to share with multiple people!

Ingredients:

- Savoritz Original Woven Wheat crackers -(20 calories per cracker)

-Brookdale Corned Beef Hash -(12 calories per tablespoon)

-German Style Sauerkraut -(.9 calories per tablespoon)

-Tuscan Garden Thousand Island dressing - (29 calories per teaspoon)

-FitActive Mozzarella cheese sticks -(3 calories per gram of cheese)

Reuben Crackers

1 Woven wheat cracker

1 tablespoon corned beef hash

1 tablespoon sauerkraut

1 teaspoon thousand island dressing

3 chopped finely mozzarella sticks

Begin by washing your hands and then chopping up three mozzarella cheese sticks. Make sure that you chop them as fine as you can, that way when you add the cheese to the corn beef hash mix, it will melt better.  

Once all of the cheese has been chopped up, add the cheese to the whole can of corn beef hash in an appropriate mixing bowl. Then mix together the two ingredients till you are able to see that the cheese has meshed well with the hash. 

Once the hash and cheese is completely mixed together, is when the fun can fully begin! Lay out 30 crackers on a cookie sheet (if you are cooking in the oven) or place as many crackers as you can (up to 15 comfortably) on a microwaveable dish. Once you have lined the crackers up take one table spoon of the hash mixture and place it on the cracker. Then take one table spoon of the German style sauerkraut and place on top of the hash mix. Finish off the cracker ensemble by adding one teaspoon of thousand island dressing to the top.  





Once each Reuben Cracker is created, which should take around 10 minutes or so, heat the oven to 350 degrees, or open the microwave and place dish of crackers inside. When the oven is completely heated place the cookie sheet on the second shelf for five minutes. If you are cooking these little squares of heaven in the microwave, place in the microwave for two minutes, checking on them if you need to.



You have done it again! You've officially created an appetizer that is great for any occasion. So now hurry up and get shopping (at your local Aldi) and cooking (your new favorite fall appetizer)!

Bon Appetite my fellow students!