Stuffed Cabbage

*ok, ok. don't judge the poor things by their cover. they look nasty but taste great*

i didn't take this picture-- i forgot to take one of my own:)

Dan's sister, mom and I made this one night in Colorado. It was so tasty!

Stuffed Cabbage

1 large head of cabbage
1-1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1 1/4 tsp corriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
season with pepper
1 TB brown sugar
1 egg
2 dollups tomato paste
1/3 c uncooked rice
1 medium onion finely chopped

Bring large pot of water to boil and steam cabbage head. Cut the center core out as best as you can as this will make it easier to remove the individual leaves when boiling. As leaves fall off the head of cabbage remove them from the pot and set on a plate to cool. Be careful not to overcook cabbage as it will make it difficult to wrap because the leaves will rip.

In a frying pan with 1 TB oil brown the onion and rice for a few minutes. Then mix in with all other ingredients listed above.

Use the very small cabbage pieces from the center of the cabbage to line the bottom of the pot. Roll up your cabbages and put them in the pot. I cut the very large cabbage leaves in half before rolling them just to make more rolls and I usually need all the cabbage to use up all the meat mixture.

Add to the pot
3 Beef Bouillon Cubes
2 - 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes
6-8 cups water...enough to barely cover cabbage rolls

Cover and bring pot to a boil and then simmer for about an hour. Garnish with sour cream and enjoy.

Gumbo

Here is my attempt at writing down my gumbo recipe. I usually just add stuff and don't really measure, but with gumbo I think it's all a preference and it turns out great every time. So here are my guesstimates - Hope you enjoy!

I use a big pot to make my gumbo in. Start by making a roux (equal parts butter and flour). I usually use 1-2 Tbsp of each. On medium high heat, melt them together, whisking the whole time.


You want to whisk it until it becomes a light brown color, a little darker than the picture below.


After it turns a light brown color I add the following:

1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 or 3 roma tomatoes (blended in the blender with a little water to make them smooth)
2 tsp chili garlic sauce (found on the ethnic/Asian food isle) - we use this stuff A LOT when we cook.
1 Tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. salt
2-3 cups of chicken broth (depending on if you like it thicker or not)
1 small onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 bay leaves
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 1/2 cups sliced smoked sausage (we buy the Jennie-o Lean Turkey sausage - and use about 1/3 of the package)

Cover and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes to let flavors blend. I have made it a couple of hours in advance and let it simmer until we were ready to eat.


Serve over cooked rice. Even Annabelle loves this stuff, but then again her eating habits aren't quite normal ;)

I'm posting this recipe on the other two *other recipe blogs that I contribute to--not only because I don't have three new recipes to contribute this month, but also because my hubby thought this was SO GOOD (so did I) that I figured I'd share it with everyone.

I made this recipe up for the sole reason that I have never found a good, healthy tuna noodle recipe that wasn't full of butter, sour cream, and cheese. So, I threw together my own ideas and it was a success. Let me know what YOU and YOUR family thinks!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Boil Egg noodles so that you'll have about 3-4 cups of cooked noodles

Meanwhile, in a large skillet sautee (in about 1-2 tsp olive oil):
1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
8 oz (or 10 medium) mushrooms (chopped)
About 1/2-3/4 cup cooking sherry
1 tsp minced garlic

Once onions are translucent add:
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of cream of celery soup
1 to 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
2 tsp ground mustard powder
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 to 2 tsp onion salt
1 to 2 tsp garlic powder
1 to 2 tsp salt
1 to 2 tsp pepper

Stir together until its creamy then stir in:
3 cans of tuna (6 oz cans) after draining liquids

When noodles are nearly all the way done boiling, drain the water and stir them in with the creamy tuna mixture in the skilllet. Once thoroughly mixed together pour contents of skillet into a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Sprinkle top of noodles with about 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Place in oven for about 15 minutes or until bread crumbs are browned and top noodles are crisp

Serve hot! Enjoy!

*Pleasant and Plump
*Tried and True Food

Magic in the Middle Cookies

(picture from My Kitchen Cafe)
Magic in the Middle Cookies
from King Arthur Flour Blog
Chocolate Dough
1 1/2 cups (6 3/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar (plus extra for dredging)
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ) brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

Peanut butter filling
3/4 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth, your choice
3/4 cup (3 ounces) confectioners' sugar

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
2. To make the dough: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
3. In another medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the egg, beating to combine, then stir in the dry ingredients, blending well.
4. To make the filling: In a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and confectioners sugar until smooth.
5. With floured hands or a teaspoon scoop, roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls. (after I formed them into balls, they were pretty sticky, so I froze them for a little while, and it made it a lot easier to work with.)
6. To shape the cookies: Scoop 1 tablespoon of the dough (a lump about the size of a walnut), make an indentation in the center with your finger and place one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation.
7. Bring the cookie dough up and over the filling, pressing the edges together cover the center; roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
9. Roll each rounded cookie in granulated sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
10. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass, and use it to flatten each cookie to about 1/2-inch thick.
11. Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they're set and you can smell the chocolate. Remove from the oven and cool on the rack. (I couldn't tell when they were done so I cooked them longer, and I overcooked them. They came out hard on the bottom, still good, but not as soft...so make sure you only cook them 7-9 min)

Homemade Balsamic Vinegarette Salad Dressing

6 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
2 Tbsp chopped challots (optional)
2 tsp lemon juice

Blend it altogether in a blender so its smooth and creamy and doesn't look separated. Put it in the refridgerator straight away so it doesn't separate too quickly. Shake before you pour on your salad or dip your bread into it.

Enjoy!

Cookie Recipe?

It's been forever since I've made a good valentines day cookie.  Does anyone have a good sugar cookie (and icing) recipe?

Gingerbread Cupcakes

1 box (18.25 ounces) French vanilla or yellow cake mix
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Bake as directed.

Then for the frosting, I just used the cream cheese frosting from the pumpkin bars that I posted earlier, because, as mentioned, I love it.

8 oz cream cheese
1 stick of butter
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups of powdered sugar
Beat until fluffy.

Then I just put it in a pastry bag with a big circle tip and piped it on. I'm a sucker for gingerbread, so I loved these ones, but I think they might have been even better as mini cupcakes. mmmm...I wish I had some left. :-) I got the recipe for these cupcakes from the book Hello Cupcake