Cabbage and Straw

This is an adaptation by Rachel Ray of an old Italian comfort food called pizzocheri.  It's more a winter food; kind of makes you want to unbuckle your belt and put your feet up a la thanksgiving dinner.  It's not winter, though.  It's summer in Southern California.  But at the last second I was feeding two missionaries from our church (two 19-year old boys who ride their bikes all day and have huge appetites) and I needed something that was easy and made a lot.  Plus, this uses the rest of the cabbage from the teriyaki chicken recipe. 

p.s. I sliced my finger today while peeling the potatoes. Please forgive any typing errors.

Ingredients:

Salt

2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 pound fettuccine or papardelle pasta (I usually use spaghetti)
1 small head cabbage, cored and thinly sliced  (I use 1/2 a head; or whatever's leftover after teriyaki night)
1 stick butter
3 to 4 cloves garlic, cracked from skin and halved
16 sage leaves; 6 left whole, 10 thinly sliced (I only use about 4 whole; I'm not a huge sage fan)
1 tsp black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups grated Romano (I have used plain Kraft Parmesan in the green shaker and have liked it just fine.)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.  (Now, when I first made this recipe, I tried to use the large pot on the right.  It wasn't big enough.  Try something closer to the large pot on the left.  And please excuse the state of my stove.)

Add the potatoes and cook 7 minutes.  Add the pasta and cook 2 minutes, then stir in the cabbage and cook 5 minutes longer.

While the potatoes and pasta cook, melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat and add garlic and 6 whole sage leaves.  (Four for me, then no sliced ones.)  Cook 3 to 4 minutes; remove the garlic and whole leaves (reserve the leaves for garnish), then add the sliced leaves and the black pepper.  Just before draining the pasta and cabbage, add 2 ladles of starchy cooking water to the skillet.

Drain the potatoes, pasta, and cabbage and add to butter and sage.  (While I have a large skillet, it's not big enough for all the pasta.  I throw everything back in the big pot.)  Toss to combine with sage butter, adding in lots of cheese as you work.  Toss 1 to 2 minutes to form a cheesy butter coating on the pasta and cabbage.  Then adjust salt and serve.  Use reserved whole leaves to garnish the pasta.

And there you have it.  One huge pot of carbalicious yumminess.  This is usually enough to feed my family for 2 nights.  Tonight, with 2 extra mouths, it was just the right amount.

Teriyaki Chicken with Cabbage

Hi again.  My wonderful sister Julie has invited me to be a regular contributor to her blog.  Well; she didn't invite as much as I asked.  As I've expanded my repertoire in the kitchen I've realized how much fun it is to cook and now have a desire to share that with everyone else.  And so here I am. 

I'm going to start with one of my favorite easy recipes.  I know what you're thinking after reading the title.  "Are you serious lady?  Uh-uh.  No way.  Chicken and cabbage do not belong in the same dish."  Well, that was what I thought, too, the first time my sister-in-law served this.  And now I love it.  It's one of those dishes that's not really an exact science.  You take the ingredients and cook however much your family needs.  So I'm not giving quantities, just ingredients.

Ingredients:

Chicken pieces.  I prefer thighs; tonight was breasts
Teriyaki Sauce
Cabbage
Vegetable Oil
White Rice

Instructions:

Marinate the chicken in teriyaki sauce.  The original recipe says to marinate for 2 days, but let's be serious here...  I rarely think about my meals that far in advance.  I've marinated it for as little as 2 hours.  The flavor isn't as rich, but it's still good.  Cook the chicken in an oven-safe casserole at 375 for 35-40 minutes.

Put some white rice onto boil.  I like to rinse it first when doing this recipe because I like the sticky texture it gets.  Everyone has a method for making perfect rice, and here's mine:  Add 1 part rice and 2 parts water to the pan.  Cover it, and start the flame on high until boiling, then turn it down to as low as it will go.  When pocks form in the rice, turn it off and let it sit until you're ready to eat.  I like using my glass-lid pot for making rice.  That way I don't have to keep lifting the lid to tell if I have pocks yet.

Next, cut your cabbage into strips.  (I do about 1/4 -1/3 an average cabbage for my husband and I; the kids refuse to eat it.)  Put a little oil in the bottom of a frying pan.  Add the cabbage.  Add salt and pepper.  (I tend to be liberal with the pepper.)  Cook it down until the cabbage is wilted but still has a little bite.  It will continue to soften after you take it off of the heat, so don't let it cook too much. 

When your chicken is done, shred it with two forks. 

Serve with the rice on bottom, then the cabbage, and then the chicken. 

I forgot to take a picture until the end of dinner; hence the haphazard look to the pile of food.  I had been trying to convince my son that it really is chicken, which he loves, and that he can eat the chicken without eating the green.  But no such luck tonight.

Since I only used about 1/3 of the cabbage tonight, I'll be sharing another cabbage recipe soon.

Applebee's Santa Fe Chicken Salad

The credit for this amazing dish goes completely to my husband. He made it while I was in Spokane, but there was enough to make it the next day, so he made me a whopping plate full. I ate the whole thing. This is amazing!  It comes from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2.

Ingredients for Marinade
2 cups water
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp ground chipotle pepper (or 1 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper) - I used cayenne pepper
2 tsp hickory smoke flavoring
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 skinless chicken breast fillets

Ingredients for Mexi-ranch Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp minced onion
2 tbsp diced tomato
1 tbsp buttermilk (feel free to substitute with milk)
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp canned chopped milk green chiles
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
pinch dried dill weed
pinch ground cumin
pinch cayenne pepper

Ingredients for Pico de Gallo
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Remaining Ingredients for Salad
8 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
8 cups chopped romaince lettuce
1 cup chopped red cabbage (We only had iceberg and romaine)
1 cup fancy shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup fancy shredded Monterey Jack cheese (We only had cheddar)
4 handfuls tortilla strips or chips
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup guacamole (We didn't have sour cream or guacamole, but I know they would've been amazing additions)

You want to marinate the chicken for 2 hours in advance, so make the marinade first by combing all the ingredients for the marinade in a medium bowl. Stir well until the sugar has dissolved. Drop the chicken breasts into the marinade, then cover and chill for 2 hours. You don't want to marinate for much more than 2 hours or the chicken could get tough.

While the chicken marinates, make the Mexi-ranch dressing by combining the ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and chill so the flavors will develop as the chicken marinates.

You'll also make the pico de gallo in advance so that it can rest a bit in the fridge. Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl, then cover and chill this as well. When the chicken has marinated for 2 hours, fire up the grill to medium/high heat. (We just used a skillet) Grill the chicken breasts for 4 to 7 minutes per side or until the chicken is done. Take the chicken off the grill then let it rest for a bit while you prepare the salads.

Build each salad in a large bowl by first tossing 2 cups chopped iceberg lettuce and 2 cups chopped romaince lettuce with 1/4 cup chopped red cabbage and about 1/4 cup of the dressing. Combine the shredded cheeses and then add, about 1/2 cup to each salad on the lettuce. Sprinkle a handful of tortilla strips or crumbled chips on next.

Slice each chicken breast into strips and arrange each one on each of the salads. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of pico de gallo over the top. Finish off each salad by adding a 2 tbsp scoop of sour cream on one side of each salad, then a 2 tbsp scoop of guacamole on the other side.

We didn't construct our salads nearly so mechanically, but I wanted to give you the original recipe. You can easily loosen up the construction, etc. to suit your needs. But let me just add again that this salad was absolutely delicious! There's a lot involved, but it's worth the work. We've already had it like 3 times since he made it in May. Soo good!

Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2

This is a great cookbook my mom got me for Christmas. At first, I wasn't reallyinspired to cook from it. But my husband found some recipes he thought sounded good and started using it, and I must say we've been hooked since!  We've only scratched the surface of what's in this great book, but I'm sure whatever else we try will not disappoint! So I hope you enjoy these new recipes as much as we do!

Crock Pot Roast

I know for most people roast is pretty darn basic and not exciting. For me, however, it's most intriguing. We did not eat roast growing up, and my first exposure to it I had mono (but didn't know it til the day after) and so needless to say, at the time it didn't taste great. I still don't think I would've liked it because it was a dry roast, which I've learned that I don't really prefer. However, after Emery was born, my neighbor and friend brought us dinner. It was a crock pot roast. I really, really liked it. We recently got a roast from my hub's family ranch and I had to do it right. So I emailed my old neighbor and got her recipe from her. This is what she sent me.

Ingredients
Roast
Onion Soup Mix
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Beef Bouillon
garlic, celery salt, onion powder, onion salt
Potatoes
Carrots

I use 1-2 (depending on the size of the roast, with my family size I usually use a 3-4lb. roast that I would use 2 for, but anything less I would use just one) envelopes of Lipton onion mix. 1-2 (matching how many envelopes you use) cans of cream of mushroom soup. I also like to add 2 beef boulion cube to the water. Add about 1-2 cups of water, I don't really measure it. Just enough to make it 1-2 inches deep in the crock pot. Then I like to set the crock pot on low for at least 6 hours preferrably 8. But if you want to just put a frozen roast in there you can do it for 12. I wouldn't recommend cooking them any faster unless you are doing it in the oven. Then you can do it for 3-4 hours at 250. If you do it in the oven seering the meat first is a good idea too. I just like putting a bunch of herbs on my roast like, garlic, celery salt (plenty of it, it's kind of the secret ingredient), onion powder, onion salt, pepper, Monteral Seasoning, beef bouillon (the other secrect ingedient :) Sometimes I add the cream of mushroom soup sometimes not. The the cooking instructions are the same.
I also add carrots and potatoes toward the end with at least 3 hours left.

So yes, the ingredients and instructions are a big broad. I'll give you a better break down of what I did. I don't know how much roast we had. It was big, so I assumed it was in the 3-4 pound category. (Although it had a bunch of bones, which wasn't fun to deal with. It was apparently a neck. Or was a neck.) So I did 2 cans of the cream of mushroom, 2 packets of onion soup mix, and added enough water to feel like it was sufficiently filled. Our crock pot is really big, so just use your gut on that. Then I peeled and cut up some potatoes. Just as many as you think would suit your size roast. Then I took my carrot sticks from my handy dandy peanut butter snack container and cut them all in half with my kitchen scissors.  As for the seasonings, I just sprinkled liberally. I did add the 2 bouillon. I didn't use any salts. I used garlic and onion powders. I try to reduce salts wherever possible. Just a personal thing. Our potatoes and carrots didn't end up fully cooked. The next time I did this, I put them in from the beginning. That worked well, although they probably didn't have to be in there that long. But I would put them in half way. It came out really tasty. I was very pleased. We've already cooked it again with the rest of our ranch roast. I rather enjoyed cooking a tasty roast.

Rice Balls

This is a new idea for me, but I love it. This post is done by a guest author, my talented sister Heidi. She wanted to make this recipe and I hadn't yet. So we figured it would be a great opportunity for her to guest-blog! Enjoy her wonderful recipe!

~ Julie

Like many moms of young children (mine are 18 months and *almost* 3) I often struggle with what to make for lunch. I find myself in the same rut: mac & cheese, pb&j, grilled cheese, and quesadillas. I like chicken nuggets (as do my kids) but after watching an episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution where he shows how chicken nuggets are made (ewwww) I can't ever do that to my children again. So I set out on a mission, to find easy but healthy food to feed my kids. Of course, the first thing I turn to is Mrs. Jerry Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious. I thought the Rice Balls looked easy and wondered if I made a double batch, would they freeze well. I called my baby sister Julie and discussed the possibilities. She invited me to try it and then do a guest post on her blog. And here I am.

The recipe is as follows:

1/2 cup short grain brown rice (or 1 cup leftover cooked rice) - I have come a long way in eating whole grains and whatnot, but when it comes to rice, I will never cross over to the dark side. It was long-grain, nutrient-lacking white rice for me, which was leftover from dinner a couple of nights before.
Nonstick cooking spray
3 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 pound chicken cutlets, rinsed and dried - I made boneless skinless chicken breasts for dinner the night before and just cooked up a couple of extra then.
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese - Frankly, I think reduced fat cheese is almost as much of an insult to all that is yummy as american cheese is. Yuck.
1/4 low fat buttermilk - I didn't have buttermilk so I used plain whole milk.
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup spinach or broccoli or butternut squash puree - I used butternut squash
1 1/2 cup whole wheat cracker crumbs or breadcrumbs
*Her recipe didn't call for flax seed meal, but most of her breaded recipes do so I threw in a couple of tablespoons just for good measure

Instructions:

1 - Place the rice in a small saucepan with 1 cup of water; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low and cook until the rice is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. You can also use your rice steamer.

2 - Meanwhile, coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add 1 tsp oil. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/4 tsp salt and the pepper, and cook until no longer pink in the center, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

3 - Cut the chicken into chunks and place them in a food processor or blender. Add the sweet potato puree, cheese, 1 tsp salt, and the buttermilk, and blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the cooked rice.

Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and place them on a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil.

4 - In a shallow bowl, beat the egg and vegetable puree with a fork. Put the crumbs (and flax seed) in the bowl. One at a time, dip the rice balls in the egg mixture, then roll them in the crumbs to make sure it has an even coating.

**This is where I deviated from the recipe. I stuck them in the freezer on cookie sheets until they were frozen. then I put them in freezer safe bags and waited for a few days to see how they would work as a frozen food.

5 - Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Add the rice balls and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally and spraying with cooking spray until browned and crisp all over. Serve warm.

I found that they did very well going straight from freezer to pan. You just need to make sure that when you cook them, the pan isn't so hot that you burn the outside before the inside is warm.

Now, for the purposes of full disclosure, when I put this in front of the kids, my younger one dug right in. She even picked them over the strawberries. My older one, on the other hand, ate a few strawberries then took a bite of the rice balls and immediately declared them "icky". Of course, at that point, the little one heard that big brother had called them icky, so the little monkey-do had to call them icky too and now neither kid will eat them now. But I would comfortably say that your standard kid is really going to like them.

Italian Baking Powder Biscuits

This was a variation on baking powder biscuits, and wow! So amazing! You have to try these! They are seriously my new favorite.

Ingredients
1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour - I'm all out of cake flour, so I used all regular flour

1/3 cup cake flour
½ tsp garlic salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
½ cup vegetable shortening
¾ cup milk

Preheat oven to 425. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk all at once and stir just until dough forms a ball. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead 12 times. Pat or roll ½ inch thick. Cut into rounds with 2 inch cutter. Bake on greased baking sheet for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and flaky.

So good! Really. Delicious! I was extremely pleased with this change to the recipe. Definitely a keeper!