Quickie Cabbage Rolls

So I have never really been a fan of cabbage.  Until we grew our own this summer!  With some luscious cabbage to use up, I looked around for cabbage recipes and found this one at aubreyswanblog.  It was delicious!  My teen boys loved it, and that is pretty high praise.

Cut up cabbage and place in greased 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Meanwhile, brown hamburger and drain the grease.

Add a chopped onion, a jar of spaghetti sauce, one cup of uncooked rice, 3 cups of water, and salt and pepper to taste.  Let simmer for 10 minutes for flavors to meld and rice to begin cooking.

Transfer meat mixture to the casserole pan, and cover the cabbage with it.  Sprinkle top with parmesan cheese and bake at 350 for 90 minutes.   I have baked for less time in a hotter oven.

Garnish with cheese if desired, sour cream, or any other toppings you wish!

 

Grilled Salmon Burgers with Avacado Salsa

I found this recipe on laughingspatula.com, and immediately wanted to give it a try.  My entire family loves salmon, and since I am currently eating an anti-inflammatory diet I was looking for something that was gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, and soy free.  This turned out delicious!

What you need for the salmon burgers:

1 pound salmon fillet, de-skinned and cut into small pieces (do not use food processor, that will make them too mushy)

1/2 cup panko crumbs, for a binder (I used more than 1/2 cup because my salmon patty mixture was still too moist to hold together when I used only 1/2 cup.  I also found gluten free Italian bread crumbs instead of traditional panko)

1 egg

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 a pablano pepper seeded and chopped fine (this is a mild pepper and I used it with trepidation, but everyone loved the taste!  You will use the other half of the pepper in the avacado salsa)

the juice from half a fresh lemon, squeezed over mixture

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

What you will need for the avacado salsa:

1 large ripe avacado, seeded, peeled, and chopped (or two small ones)

the other half of the pablano pepper, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

juice from the other half of the fresh lemon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

What to do:

Mix all the ingredients for the salmon burgers together in a bowl.  Check the consistency.  If too moist add more panko crumbs.

Form the mixture into patties.

Grill or fry over medium heat.  These cook really quickly, so be sure you don't over cook.  Just 3-5 minutes per side is all you need!

While the patties are frying or grilling, mix up all the salsa ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

Serve the patties "naked" (as I did) or inside a bun.  The avacado salsa is meant to be served on top of the patties, and acts as a condiment if you also use a bun.  This prevents the burgers from being too dry.  I served my salsa on  the side.  It was super yummy!  This recipe was loved by all, and I will definitely be making again!

Parmesan Lemon Baked Spaghetti Squash with Chicken

That is a mouthful of a name, but it describes it very well!  I found this recipe on inspiredtaste.net, and since I have always wanted to try squash "spaghetti," I figured now was the time.  It was reeeeally delicious, and not a lot of work if you plan ahead and remember that you have to bake the squash for 45-60 min ahead of time.

Ingredients:

spaghetti squash, not sure how much you will need since it depends on the size of the squash.  I cooked three smallish sized ones (cut in half making 6 halves) and it made the perfect amount for four people, with generous servings.

olive oil

2 T butter

1-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 lemon, halved

2 ounces grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves and tender stems, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Use a heavy chef's knife and cut the squash in half lengthwise.  Use a towel underneath the squash to keep it from slipping while you cut.

Scoop out the seeds and discard.  Rub a light layer of olive oil over the inside and edges of the squash halves, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  If you have any rosemary, place a sprig inside each half to add extra flavor while baking.  Turn the squash halves cut side down and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes (I baked mine for 60).

When the squash is about half done baking, start cooking the chicken.  Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the chicken chunks.  Use salt and pepper to taste while browning, and be sure to brown both sides thoroughly.  Squeeze the juice of one lemon half onto the chicken.  I added mushrooms to this recipe, since my family likes sauteed mushrooms, but leave those out if your family does not like them!

When the squash is finished baking, flip them over and discard the rosemary.  Use a fork to run through the flesh of the squash, making spaghetti like strands.  Place all these strands in the skillet with the chicken.

Add most of the grated cheese, the parsley, and some fresh ground pepper to taste.

Serve with a bit more grated parmesan cheese on top, and a little splash of lemon juice from the second lemon half.

I am not normally a huge fan of squash, but this was delicious.  The blend of flavors really worked for me!  The whole family liked it, and the boys did not know that squash formed the "noodles" until I told them after the meal.  It is another largely anti-inflammatory meal, being mostly dairy free (except for the parmesan cheese), gluten free, soy free, and sugar free.  A delicious and healthy dinner!

Stir Fry Chicken and Bok Choy

I found this recipe on amindfullmom.com and it looked really delicious so I decided to give it a try.  It WAS delicious!!  It was a hit with the whole family so I will definitely be making again.  And it is dairy free, soy free, and gluten free, which makes it an anti-inflammatory meal.

Here is what you will need:

For the sauce

2 T honey
2 T soy sauce
1 T rice wine vinegar (or rice vinegar)
1/2 t freshly grated ginger (or 1/2 t ginger spice)
2 cloves garlic finely chopped

For the stir-fry

1 T sesame oil (be sure to use light colored sesame oil, not dark, and refrigerate it between uses so it doesn't go rancid)
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs cut into one inch pieces (I used thighs and I used more than a pound because I was making for the whole family)
1 head of bok choy washed and cut into one inch strips (I did not use all of the leafy end, but cut the white portion of the bok choy down about halfway into the leaf and discarded the rest)
2 large carrots cut in strips (I used more, again because I was making for our whole family)
5-6 green onions, diced
1 T sesame seeds (I didn't have these so left out)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I left this out)


In a small bowl stir all the sauce ingredients together.  Set aside for later.

Heat sesame oil in a large wok or frying pan over medium high heat.  Add in chicken and cook til chicken is done.  Add bok choy and carrots.  Cook til they are heated through and slightly soft (or if you like super soft veggies, cook longer!).  I covered my frying pan for a while so the veggies would steam and get done a little faster.  When veggies are near done, add the green onions, sesame seeds and cilantro (if desired).  Add sauce and cook until all the chicken and veggies are coated with the sauce.

Serve as is or over rice.  Yum!!

Sausage, Bean, and Potato Soup

I found this recipe in Joanna Gaines' "Magnolia Journal" magazine, and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1 14oz smoked sausage links cut in bite sized chunks (I used 2 packages of Italian sausage, browned)
2 cups chopped onion (I didn't measure, just chopped one large onion)
1/2 cup chopped celery (I didn't measure, just chopped the entire bunch of celery)
1/2 cup chopped carrot (again, I didn't measure, just chopped a whole bunch!)
3 cloves garlic, minced (this I did measure)
1 lb great Northern beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed (through long years of trial and error, I have learned that the only bean my family will willingly eat in soups is light red kidney beans, so I used 2 cans of those instead of great Northern beans.  Also, that meant no soaking overnight!)
2-3 boxes chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dry Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
8 cups torn fresh kale, stems removed (the kale in this soup is actually really good, but I found that 8 cups was too much.  Next time I will probably half that)
8 oz tiny new potatoes, quartered (I used more)

To Make:

In large soup pot, heat 1 T olive oil over medium heat and then brown the sausage.  Remove from pan and set aside once browned.  Add remaining oil to pan (another 1 T) and saute the celery, onion, and carrots, and garlic.  Cook and stir until tender, about 8-10 minutes.  Stir in beans, broth, sausage, bay leaf, Italian seasoning, and pepper.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Add kale and potatoes and bring to boil again, cook til potatoes are tender, about 20-30 minutes.  Remove and discard bay leaf.


My family really liked this soup, even with the suspicious greens floating about in it (kale!).  They all declared they would eat it again.  Winner!

Chilean Stuffed Empanadas

To go along with our history studies of South America this week, I made empanadas for lunch today.  They actually turned out really well!  (yes, I was a bit surprised!)  I cheated and used Pillsbury Grands for ready made dough, because, life. 

What you will need

2 T vegetable oil
2 T butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 T paprika
1 beef bouillon cube, dissolved in 1/4 cup water (I just used beef broth)
salt and pepper to taste
handful of raisins (optional, but I used)
handful of sliced olives (optional, I did not use)

2 tubes of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits

What you do

Melt the oil and butter in a skillet and saute the chopped onion til tender.  Add the garlic and saute for another couple minutes, then add the ground beef.  When browned, drain oil.  Then add the spices and the beef broth.  Also add raisins and olives if desired.  Simmer about 10 minutes so that flavors can meld.  Remove from heat.

Separate each biscuit from the Pillsbury tube and flatten into larger oval shapes.  Spoon filling onto half of each oval shape, fold other half on top and pinch edges together.

Then bake at 350 for about 15-18 minutes until golden brown.  Watch to be sure they don't overbake!

My boys enjoyed them for lunch today!  Might tweak the filling and make other varieties in the future.

Pull Apart Pizza Bread

 I found this recipe several months ago and have made it several times.  It was a hit from the beginning!  Little Man requested this for his birthday dinner last week, and the rest of the fam was pretty happy about that!

This is pretty much what the title describes - pizza bread that you can bake any way you like.  I have made it in small pie pans (like thick individual pizzas) and in muffin cups for smaller pizzas.  I have never tried it in a bread pan, but I am sure that would change the cook time and temperature somewhat.  Little Man requested the muffin cup size, so that is how I made it this time.  I doubled the recipe for our family of 8 plus 4 little birthday friends.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
26 oz thawed dinner roll dough, cut in large bite sized chunks
2.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 T Italian seasoning
1-2 cloves minced garlic, or a 1/2 tsp garlic powder
6 oz pepperoni slices, quartered

Procedure:

Put all ingredients in large bowl and mix thoroughly with hands.  Through trial and error I have learned that the mixing is easier if you make a couple layers of ingredients while placing them in the bowl.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Dip in marinara sauce if desired.  Yum!

When the 11 year old makes dinner....

....we have pancakes!  He made them about 90% by himself.  Happy son, happy Mama.

Mixed Berry Salad

Summer is here, and that means more salad for dinner!

Here is a new one to me that is super easy and super delicious.

Ingredients:

5 ozs baby spinach leaves
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced 
1 sweet apple, cored, halved, and thinly sliced
1 cup candied walnuts, chopped

Mix ingredients together and toss lightly with a strawberry dressing.  Garnish with feta cheese, and voila!

Vinegar Braised Chicken and Mushrooms

I am always searching for new ways to prepare chicken, so when I saw this recipe I decided to give it a try.  It looked really good and not too complicated to make.  It turned out to be more labor intensive than it sounded, mostly because the chicken and vegetables are cooked separately before combining, and I cooked two pan fulls of chicken one after the other so that took double the cook time.  If I had used two pans at once it would have solved that particular problem.

Ingredients:

4 pounds chicken pieces - the original recipe called for bone in pieces, but I used boneless.
2 pounds mushrooms (I did not use this many)
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 pkg baby carrots ~ I sliced the fatter ones down the middle for faster cooking
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 T olive oil
2 T flour
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

Heat olive oil in a large pan.  Generously season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and start them browning.  While chicken cooks, chop the veggies.

Be sure to season the other side of chicken pieces with salt and pepper after flipping over.

When cooked through, remove the chicken from the pan and place on a separate plate. Add the carrots and onions to the pan and saute them until soft, about 10 minutes.

Add mushrooms and cook until tender, about 6-8 minutes.  Add crushed garlic and cook a couple more minutes.

Transfer vegetables to the plate with the chicken and add the flour to the empty pan.  There should be a bit of liquid in the bottom of the pan that mixes with the flour.  Cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking continuously, until pasty and smooth.  Add the three vinegars and whisk until smooth.  Cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until thickened and reduced.  Then slowly add the chicken broth.  Add the chicken back into the pot and bring to a boil.  At this point it is just a matter of making sure the chicken is cooked through.  If your pieces were thoroughly cooked previously, this step will be short.  If your pieces were simply browned earlier and need to continue to cook for a bit, cover the pot, turn heat down, and let cook until chicken is done.  When chicken is done, add the vegetables back in, let simmer and heat through for a few minutes and then serve.

I got a mixed reaction from my family over this recipe.  My husband and two of the children really liked it.  The boys were not fans of the mushrooms, though.  I thought the vinegar taste was a little too strong.  As I mentioned earlier, it was a bit more labor intensive than I was anticipating, so if I make it again I will have two pans going for the first step of cooking the chicken, and will probably reduce the vinegar and increase the chicken broth.  Otherwise, pretty good!

Lasagna Soup

This was AMAZING!  Just soooo delicious, and loved by each member of my family, even the one who doesn't like tomatoes.  I saw it floating around facebook and decided to give it a try.  It was a hit!

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds Italian sausage
one large onion, chopped
2T tomato paste
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic
2-3 cans diced tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
1 pound rotini noodles

8 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
small amount of mozzarella cheese (just to sprinkle on top of each serving)
fresh basil
pepper

How to Make:

Brown the sausage in the bottom of a stock pot.
Add the chopped onion, tomato paste, bay leaves, and garlic.  Let cook for a few minutes til onion is slightly softened.

Add the diced tomatoes and chicken broth.  Let simmer for 30 minutes.
Pour in the rotini noodles and bring to boil.  Let boil for 8-10 minutes til noodles are cooked.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine the ricotta and parmesan cheeses with a bit of pepper.

To serve:  spoon soup into a bowl.  Top with a spoonful of the ricotta/parmesan cheese mixture, then sprinkle some mozzarella cheese over all, and place bits of fresh basil on the very top.  Voila!

This was scrumptious.  My family (currently 7) scraped the stock pot clean, so when I make this again I will double the recipe.  Definitely a winner!

Meatball Sandwich Casserole

You will need:

1 bag of frozen meatballs (or make your own from scratch)
1 jar of marinara sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup Italian blend cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 loaf of fresh Italian bread, sliced

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 400. Place entire bag of meatballs in pot with sauce (I also add garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste) and cook over medium heat until warmed completely through, about 10 minutes. Stir as needed to keep meatballs from sticking to pot.  When we made these for New Year's Eve I gave this job to my very capable nephew!

Once heated through remove from heat. Place meatballs in the center of a 9x13 baking dish, layer mozzarella and Italian blend cheeses over meatballs topping off with the Parmesan. Take the slices of Italian bread and line the pan all the way around with them so that they are kind of keeping the meatballs toward the center of the pan. The bread slices will be standing up in the pan as shown below. You have creative freedom here with the bread...you can lightly butter and garlic the bread prior to placing it in the pan if you prefer or even brush lightly with olive oil and garlic (this is what I do). 

Place in oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. I forgot to take an "after" picture, but here it was in the oven, baking. 

Soooo good!  Assembly is so fast and easy, this is *almost* a meal in 30 minutes entry.

Loved by all.  I will definitely make again!

Crescent Roll Stuffed Sandwich

 This recipe was floating around facebook this past year and I decided to try it for our Super Bowl party last February.  It was delish!  I made two for our family of 8, and had lots of other food also.  We had no leftovers. :)

Start by opening two cans of crescent roll dough and arranging them in a rough circle like so on an UNGREASED cookie sheet or pizza circle:

 If you like peppers, drain some pre-cooked ones (you don't want any extra liquid inside the sandwich, so pat dry with paper towels to be sure and get all the liquid out) and arrange in a circle on top of the dough.

Layer with meat, such as ham and salami.

Then add cheese.  I used provolone.

Add a second layer of meat and then cheese again.

Fold the flaps over the meat and cheese pile toward the center of the ring, and tuck underneath.  Lightly sprinkle surface of dough with pepper.

Bake in a 375 oven for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.

Here was the rest of our Super Bowl party spread.  As you can see, we were cheering for the Seahawks!!

This was a hit and super easy.  I will definitely make again.