Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry

I found this recipe the other day on Pinterest. I'm pretty sure this is going to become a regular around here. Well, as regular as any recipe can be - there are just so many recipes out there that simply must be tried. That doesn't leave much time for repeats... But, seriously, the flavors in this are so good.

Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry
from BudgetByte$

Ingredients:

• Sauce
  * 2 T soy sauce
  * 1 T sesame oil
  * 1 T sriracha
  * 1-1/2 tsp brown sugar
• Stir Fry
  * 1/2 head green cabbage
  * 2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
  * 3 green onions
  * 2 cloves garlic
  * 1 T fresh grated ginger
  *1/2 lb. lean ground beef (or ground turkey or chicken)
  * Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, and brown sugar. Set aside.
2. Prepare vegetables so they are ready to go when you need them. Cut cabbage in half, remove the core, and then shred the leaves of one half the cabbage. Peel two carrots and cut into matchsticks (OR use a cheese grater to shred them). Slice the green onions. Mince two cloves of garlic. Peel a knob of ginger using either a vegetable peeler or by scraping with the side of a spoon, then grate it using a small-holed cheese grater.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the ground beef, garlic, ginger, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the beef until browned (about five minutes).
4. Add the cabbage and carrots to the skillet and continue to stir and cook until the cabbage is slightly wilted (or fully wilted, if you prefer). Stir in your prepared sauce and the green onions; heat through.
5. Serve with steamed rice, a sprinkle of sesame seeds, some chow mein noodles, and a drizzle of sriracha, as desired.

Note: this makes a medium spicy stir-fry, so if you're sensitive to heat, start with 1 tsp. sriracha and adjust as necessary. Pass the sriracha for those who like a little heat.

I love spicy, so I used the entire tablespoon of sriracha in the sauce, and I thought it was nicely flavorful but not really spicy at all. My husband said it was a bit spicy for his taste, but he loved the way all the flavors went together, and he ate it anyway. Next time I think I'll cut the sriracha down a bit for him and just drizzle a bit on top of mine. Or add some of this hot chili oil.

Also, as it's a stir fry, any other vegetables you have on hand and want to use can surely be thrown in. The more vegetables the better, right?

Easy Vegetable Soup

I have plenty of recipes 'on deck' but for some reason I just haven't been getting around to posting any of them. I have some pictures, so hopefully I will remember what I actually did with these recipes - because, of course, I can never just follow a recipe. I just really need to sit down one of these days and get them all written up, if only for my own sake.

I've been fighting a cold this week, so the only thing that really sounded good was soup. I pulled some turkey broth out of the freezer, and I was just going to heat that up and drink it. But then I kept thinking of vegetables that would be good, so I just kept adding. Of course, feel free to add more or less or even omit a vegetable if you don't have it on hand. This is just what I did. This time.

Easy Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1/2 a medium onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 to 1 cup sliced cabbage
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• 2 cups turkey (or chicken) broth
• 1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in 2-quart saucepan. Chop onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and cabbage, adding them to the pan as you go. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to soften; add garlic, salt, pepper, and turmeric, and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
2. Add broth and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until flavors are blended and vegetables are cooked. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy.

Oh, sure there are aisles full of canned soups in the grocery stores.  So many choices, and all you have to do is open the can and heat it up - but this isn't much harder than that, and it's much better because I know everything that went into it. It was exactly what I needed, and now that it's gone, I'm probably going to make another batch of it tomorrow.

Maybe I should add a jalapeno? That would certainly kick any last vestiges of this cold right outta there.

This is Some Good Coleslaw

I made this coleslaw a while back, and we really liked it.  The original recipe comes from Chick-fil-A, and if I hadn't changed it, it would taste just like the kind you used to be able to get there.  Or so it says.  I never had it, so I can't say for sure.  I've never even been to a Chick-fil-A.  It was the dry mustard in the recipe that caught my eye.

Then things got really busy, and then we were away from home for a week and a half - and now that I sit down to type up this recipe so I don't forget (because I will be making this again), I'm hoping that I haven't already forgotten.  Mainly I'm questioning whether I cut the sugar down or not, since the original recipe says it's not too sweet - but since what I usually don't like about coleslaw is that it is too sweet, I'm pretty sure I cut the sugar in half, so I'm going with that.  If you like your coleslaw sweet, feel free to use 1/4 cup sugar; it just won't be as good - IMO.  I also shredded my own cabbage, added a carrot (or two), and some green onions. Oh, and black pepper because coleslaw always needs black pepper.

This is Some Good Coleslaw
adapted from shugary sweets

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 4 tsp white vinegar
• 2 T granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 4 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 or 2 carrots, shredded
• 4 green onions, sliced

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, salt, and pepper until smooth.
2. Add in shredded cabbage, carrot, and green onions and stir together until until completely coated. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
3. Serve and enjoy!

Roasted Veggies and Sausage

A few weeks ago I was checking out at the grocery store. I was buying smoked sausage, red potatoes, and cabbage. There were a few other things too, but there was something about seeing those things on the belt that made me think I really needed to throw something together with them.  I went looking for inspiration, and this recipe from real life Dinner was pretty much exactly what I had in mind.  Except I changed the vegetables a bit.  That, of course, is the beauty of a recipe like this - you can use the vegetables you have on hand or the vegetables that are telling you they really want to be thrown together into something yummy.  I think any number of combinations would work.

Roasted Veggies and Sausage
adapted from real life Dinner

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, cut into chunks
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3-4 large carrots, sliced
• 4-5 medium red potatoes, diced
• Coarsely sliced cabbage (I did not measure)
• 3-4 T olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste (I used 1 tsp. salt and freshly ground pepper)
• 1 12-16 ounce package smoke sausage or kielbasa, sliced into 1-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.
2. Toss veggies with olive oil and salt & pepper in 13x9" pan.  Top with sliced sausage.
3. Bake for about an hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so.

That's it.  Really simple and really tasty.  Just chop your veggies up, toss them together, bake, and enjoy!

The secret is to cut all the veggies into similar sized pieces so they will cook evenly.  Next time I think I am going to cut my carrots and potatoes just a bit smaller.  Also, the size of your veggies, and how well roasted you like them, will determine how long you'll need to bake this.

This heats up really well, and the leftovers might be even better than the first time.  we had some green beans with it the first night, and I just threw them into the pan and roasted them with the rest.  (see them in the back there?)  Just really so good.

Sesame Peanut Noodles

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Trisha's blog My Hobbie Lobbie. Trisha loves to bake, and she's married to her best friend - we have that in common.  She's also into crafting and crocheting, and uses her blog to keep track of recipes and crochet patterns.  I never did learn to crochet, but I am amazed by people who can.

I started scrolling through Trisha's list of recipes and found a bunch I'd like to try - and I hadn't even made it down to the baked goods.  Here are just a few that sounded yummy:

• Cajun Chicken Wrap
• Sprouted Moong Salad
• Bean and Spinach Bake
• Oven  Baked Zucchini Fries
• Pickled Jalapenos

Trisha lives in Australia, where it's winter right now, so she's making soups and trying to stay warm.  I may have to go back and look at some of her soups when winter comes to our part of the world, but for now I thought something cool would be better.  Or something to use the produce that's coming out of the garden; I'm getting lots of jalapenos and zucchini.
 
I ended up choosing this Sesame Peanut Noodle Salad because it's both - cool, and it uses lots of veggies. As Trisha said - "You can pretty much alter this salad to accommodate the salad veggies that you have at hand."  Perfect!  The recipe reflects the veggies I used this time, but pretty much any combination or amount would work.

Sesame Peanut Noodles
adapted from My Hobbie Lobbie

 Ingredients:

• 8 oz. angel hair pasta
• a handful of bean sprouts (I forgot to put these in)
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 1/2 cup shredded cabbage (or more)
• 2 T chopped cilantro
• 1 T sesame seeds

for the dressing:

• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 T sesame oil
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T soy sauce
• 2 T lime juice
• 2 T sweet chili sauce
• 3 T peanut butter 

Directions:

1. Break pasta in half and cook according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Toss pasta and remaining salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Mix dressing; add to salad and toss well, making sure everything is coated.
4. Serve with additional cilantro and sesame seeds to garnish.  Refrigerate leftovers.

 My husband and I had this salad for lunch one day last week, and we both really enjoyed it.  The dressing has a really good flavor, and the combination of soft pasta and crunchy vegetables is excellent.  I will definitely be making this again.  I'm thinking some zucchini would be a nice addition...

An InLinkz Link-up

Chile Lime Salmon Tacos

I pinned this several week ago because these tacos just looked so good.  Seriously - yum!

Mine didn't turn out looking nearly as nice as the ones in the picture, but they were definitely yummy.  And easy.  Gotta love an easy recipe that is also delicious.  I will definitely make these again.

Chile Lime Salmon Tacos
from BumbleBee

Ingredients:

• 1 can (14.75 oz) Salmon, drained and flaked (remove skin & bones as desired)
• Juice of 1 fresh lime
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning (or chile powder)
• salt to taste
• 8 soft corn tortillas or small flour tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cabbage
• Cilantro
• Sliced green onions
• White Sauce
  1/2 cup sour cream
  1 tablespoon hot sauce

Directions:

1. Sauté salmon with lime juice and taco seasoning to warm through, about 2 minutes.  Add salt to taste.
2. Meanwhile, combine sour cream and hot sauce; stir well.
3. Fill warm tortillas with salmon mixture; top with cabbage, cilantro and green onions. Serve with your favorite salsa and the white sauce.

The original recipe said that the white sauce was optional, but don't skip it.  It really adds to the texture and flavor of the tacos.  I suppose you could use plain sour cream, but the hot sauce just gives it a little kick.  You could also probably stir about half a teaspoon or so of your taco seasoning or chile powder - whichever you use - into the sour cream for the sauce.

I used taco seasoning for my tacos, but I'm going to try the chile powder next time, just to see which one we like best.  Did I mention that these are super easy?  And super yummy? 

Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew

I had some chicken breasts in the fridge and some sweet potatoes in the pantry, so I went looking for a recipe.  I found this one which also included cabbage - and I had some of that in the fridge, too!

Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew
adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients

• 2 tsp cooking oil
• 1 lb. boneless skinless breast, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper 
• 1 tsp dried oregano 
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 5 cups cabbage, chopped
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1⁄4-inch chunks
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1 T cornstarch

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until beginning to brown.
2. Add the cabbage, onion, garlic and seasonings. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage and onion are just tender. Stir in the sweet potatoes, broth, and water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes, longer if you want your sweet potatoes really soft. Stir in the peas and heat through.
3. Combine the cornstarch with about 1⁄4 cup water in a small bowl until smooth. Add the mixture to the Dutch oven. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens, about 3 minutes.

Notes

If you like, substitute a teaspoon of dried thyme, or use 1 T chopped fresh oregano or thyme.  If you use fresh herbs, add them when you add the peas.

I made this a day early and then added 1/2 cup of water when I reheated it, because it was really thick.  I'm not entirely convinced the cornstarch is needed for thickening because I cooked mine long enough that the sweet potatoes got really soft and thickened the stew on their own.  I will probably leave that step out next time.  I also may have used more than just the 1 cup of peas, too - their green color against the orange of the sweet potatoes is really pretty.

This was a really easy and tasty soup recipe, great for a potluck.  Everybody really seemed to like it and there wasn't much left, so I'm sure I'll be making it again.  A nice slice of wholegrain sourdough bread is the perfect complement.

Related articles

• Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
• Sweet Potato & Chicken Stew
• Sweet Potato Beef Stew in the Slow Cooker

Ricki's Spicy Slaw

My friend Ricki shared this recipe on facebook - and he just kept talking about it.  It seemed that he was making this stuff all the time and eating it just as quickly as he could make it.  Of course I had to try it, right?  I'm so glad I did.  This stuff is amazing!  I've made it several times so far...

Ricki's Spicy Slaw

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium head of Green Cabbage, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 large Tomato, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Red Onion, finely chopped
• 3 Green Onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of Claussen Kosher Dill Pickle juice
• 1.5 Claussen Kosher Dill Pickles, finely chopped
• 2 - 4 Pickled Pepperoncinis, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of Ranch Dressing
• 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Salt
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 2 dashes (or more, to taste/burn) Cayenne Powder
• 1 - 2 Serrano Peppers, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper

Directions:

1.  Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl
2. After mixing thoroughly, let it sit for an hour or so (if you can!) and let the flavors blend.  Then mix it again, each time, before eating.

So many great flavors all blended together!

A few notes: I've never measured the cilantro; just washed and chopped up a bunch.  I used regular, ordinary, yellow onion, and I used the dill pickles I had on hand, in my case Vlasic, and I'm not sure if it is supposed to be 1.5 pickle spears or 1.5 whole dills - so I just used 1 really big whole dill pickle each time.  I, of course, used 2 peppers each time (sometimes jalapenos because that's what I had) and 4 Pepperoncinis.  Even with those the slaw isn't overly spicy, just very nice and flavorful.

With all the ingredients and chopping involved, I supposed you could use a food processor, but I love my knife and cutting board, so I just chop everything that way.  It really doesn't take too long, and you get to enjoy all the lovely aromas as you do it!

Did I say that I really love this stuff?  No wonder Ricki was making it and talking about it so much.  Try it - you'll talk too!

Related articles

• Spicy Jicama Slaw
• Sweet N' Tangy Cabbage Slaw
• Raw Butternut Squash Slaw

Not-Stuffed Cabbage - a Casserole

I've never had stuffed cabbage.  I haven't the faintest clue how one would even go about stuffing cabbage, but it does sound like more work than I want to do.  However, when I saw this layered version on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it.  Of course, I didn't follow the recipe exactly...

Not-Stuffed Cabbage

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp hot Hungarian Paprika
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste 
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
• water - enough to rinse cans
• 2 cups cooked brown rice 
• 1 to 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 head green cabbage, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese 
• Parmesan 

Directions:

1. In skillet, cook ground beef, adding onion, garlic, and green pepper as you get them chopped.  Cook until beef is browned and vegetables are tender; add spices.
2. Reduce heat to low and add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water.  Simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot and slightly thickened.
3. While it simmers, heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Chop cabbage, adding it to skillet as you go. Cook over medium-high heat until the cabbage is wilted and about half cooked, stirring frequently. Season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.

4. When the meat and tomato sauce mixture has cooked and thickened, stir in the 2 cups cooked rice.
5. Grease a 13x9" baking dish and layer half the cabbage in the bottom of the dish.  Follow with half the meat mixture, the other half of the cabbage, and the remaining meat mixture.
6. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes at 350°.
7. Remove foil, spread mozzarella cheese over the top and sprinkle with some Parmesan. Return to over and bake, uncovered, an additional 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starting to slightly brown. Remove from oven, and let sit 5 minutes or so.  Serve hot.

 This turned out really good. The flavors go really well together.  It started smelling amazing as soon as I added the spices to the hamburger!  And the cheese on top?  So good!

The original recipe did not call for green pepper, but I had half of one that needed used, so that's why I threw it in.  I also only used 8 oz. of tomato sauce - instead of the 16 oz. called for - because I messed up and only got one can out! Since I only used 1/2 lb. hamburger instead of the full pound, maybe that was best...  It's a casserole - you can adjust the ingredients to suit your tastes or to use what you have.

The cabbage could have used a bit more salt, but that's my fault - when it says salt and pepper to taste, it really means to taste it!  I just usually sprinkle it on until it looks good.  Also, next time I want to cut the cabbage into smaller pieces - perhaps more like coarsely shredded.  The original recipe said to chop it into pieces about 1 inch in size, so I left my cabbage fairly large this time.  It was OK, but I think it will be better smaller. 

Also, I see no real reason for the layers.  Once you bake this, you really can't tell it's layered.  I'm thinking just mix the meat, tomato sauce, rice mixture together with the cabbage, pour it all into the baking dish, and bake as directed.

Peasant's Offering

Another recipe from my favorite cookbook, The Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals.

Peasant's Offering

Ingredients:

• 2 T cooking oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 lb. lean ground beef (or turkey)
• 1 medium head cabbage, grated
• 2-1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 cup sour cream
• 5-6 large potatoes
• 1 cup milk or less
• 1 T butter
• Chopped parsley or chives

Directions:

1. Heat cooking oil in very large skillet. Add onion and saute lightly. Add ground beef and stir to keep meat loose and fine. cook just until pink disappears.
2. Gradually add grated cabbage, stirring until all cabbage is well cooked. Add seasonings adjusting to taste. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in sour cream. Spoon into rectangular baking dish (13X9) and spread evenly over bottom. Keep hot in oven.
4. Dice and cook potatoes. Mash with milk and butter until desired consistency. Layer mashed potatoes over cabbage mixture.
5. Garnish with chopped parsley or chives and serve.

This is always really popular at potlucks. I usually spoon the meat and cabbage mixture into my crockpot, layer the mashed potatoes on top, and turn it on low to keep it warm. If I'm fixing this at home, I usually just leave the meat and cabbage mixture in the skillet and put that in the oven to keep it warm. Then layer the mashed potatoes on top and serve. I usually completely forget about the parsley or chives, but I figure they're more for looks than anything - and no one seems to care.

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Oriental Coleslaw

I combined a couple recipes to make this.

Oriental Coleslaw

Salad:

• 1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced and chopped (or shredded)
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 cup green pepper, chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 T vinegar
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1/4 t. salt

Directions:

1. Combine all salad ingredients.
2. Combine dressing ingredients and pour over salad.
3. Mix well and refrigerate for several hours.
4. Serve with chow mein noodles.

One of the recipes I used also calls for a package of Ramen noodles.  Mix as directed, noodles with the salad and seasoning packet with the dressing.  I did not use the Ramen this time because I only had a couple hours to let the salad chill, so I didn't think the noodles would have time to soften up.  Next time I'm planning to plan ahead better and use the Ramen.  2 T sesame seeds, 2 T sunflower seeds, and 1/2 c. slivered almonds can also be added - or any combination of the 3.

This is really good with grilled chicken, and makes a good, cool summer meal.

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