The whole premise behind my blog and my mentality is that there are much more important things to spend money on other than a wedding.  A wedding is one day, and a marriage is the rest of your life… a wedding is an expense and a marriage is an investment…

With that being said, Jackie contacted me in hopes that I might feature her fantastic cook book on the Big Day Blog. Why? Because she shares my mentality… and brings it into the kitchen.  My kinda gal!  I figured that sure, it could make a pretty decent post… but it would make an even better GIVEAWAY!  You’ll find details on how to WIN Jackie’s book at the bottom of this post!

As a newlywed, Jackie recognized the need for quick, useful and budget friendly tips and recipes for couples who couldn’t necessarily afford all the foo-foo recipes that are featured in the majority of those beautiful cook books you receive as wedding gifts… brilliant, right?

“This is a great cook book concept, we know cooking for two can be tough… This can be really a struggle, I love that you’ve come up with solutions!” Good Morning Arizona

Her dream of providing a useful resource in the kitchen and sharing the wealth (wealth = budget savvy, tasty and Jackie-original recipes) has finally come to fruition!

Jackie’s book, Our First Year, is filled to the brim with creative and fun to make recipes that yield just enough for two.  From appetizers to desserts, to breakfast, dinner and everything in between, Our First Year is sure to provide you pages and pages of culinary adventures for your first year of marriage… and beyond.  It doesn’t matter if you’re no Iron Chef, this book caters to kitchen newbs and those who may have a wee bit more experience.

Don’t worry, lovelies, I wouldn’t ever dare leave you hanging… Jackie has sent one of her favorite recipes my way, so I can share it with you:

Green Chili Tortilla Rolls
Serves 4-5 or 2 with leftovers
Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients:

• 1 can green chili enchilada sauce (19 oz)
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. seasoning salt
• 1 can refried beans (16 oz)
• 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 flour tortillas (burrito size)

Heat enchilada sauce, cayenne pepper and seasoning salt in a sauce pan until simmering.  Heat beans in a separate pan or microwave until hot.

On a cutting board or plate, lay out one tortilla and lightly spread heated beans on tortilla.  Sprinkle with cheese and pour on a couple spoonfulls of sauce.  Roll tortilla and place it in a greased 8×11″ glass casserole dish.  Repeat with remaining tortillas. All tortilla rolls should only use about 2 cups of cheese.

Once all flour tortilla rolls are in the casserole dish, pour remaining sauce overtop and sprinkle with remaining cup or so of cheese.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted!

*You can always add meat if you feel so inclined!

Jackie is a vegetarian, but her hubs Jeff likes his meat.  Most of Jackie’s recipes can be either/or… just make it and add the meat in later! Smart thinkin!

Now for the good stuff:
To win a copy of Our First Year – Cost Effective Recipes from the Home of Newlyweds, simply leave a comment on this post (once you’re on the post page, you’ll find the comment block in the right hand sidebar) telling Jackie and I why you want to win the book and what you anticipate using it for.

For additional entries in the drawing:

• Tweet this: I just entered to win @OurFirstYear‘s new cook book from @BigDayfor10K, you should too! http://bit.ly/9phjUT
• Post a link to this page on your Facebook profile or page and share the link by leaving another comment here.
• Like the Big Day Blog on Facebook and leave a comment on the wall (include twitter handle and/or email pls!).
• Blog about this giveaway and share the URL by leaving another comment here.

The winner will be drawn at random & notified via email/twitter (&in a blog post) at 4:00pm EST on Friday, July 23rd.

If you want to get your grubby little nearlywed or newlywed paws on this book, you can also purchase it here.

Tagged as: budget wedding, cheap wedding, cook book, cooking for couples, giveaway, our first year, wedding giveaway