Trisha's Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

This is a post that almost didn't happen. You see, I checked out Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood from our local library (checking to see if I wanted to invest in a copy) and my mother saw it sitting on an end table one day. She commented on how she had wanted to review it when it came out, and never got a chance to do so. So I told her to take it home for a few days. Next thing you know she was calling saying we had to try this and that from the book. We decided to get together at her house (her kitchen is twice the size of mine) last weekend and try the cabbage rolls from Garth's mom. We're mixing and cooking and having a great day. I'm taking pictures and dont you know, my battery dies. I never thought to grab the charger. The last picture I managed to get was the meat on the cabbage leaf about to be rolled. I took the final picture when I came home and had dinner that night, after letting the battery on our camera charge.

So here we go.

The ingredient list is fairly long, lots of spices.

Ready for stuffing.

Wrap and roll.

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Colleen's Cabbage Rolls

Adapted from Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

Ingredients

1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 cup long grain rice (we used brown rice)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 8 ounce can stewed tomatoes
2 heads green cabbage
9 cups water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 12 ounce can tomato juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the beef, rice, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, amd tomatoes. Set aside.Wash and core the cabbage. Bring a large stockpot filled with 8 cups of the water, the sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, and bay leaves to a boil. Blanch the cabbage in the boiling mixture for 5 minutes, or until just softened. Drain the cabbage, let it cool, then carefully peel 12 leaves from the cabbage.

Place 1/4 cup of the beef and rice mixture onto each leaf. Fold in the sides of the leaf and wrap into a roll. Place the cabbage rolls, seam side down, closely together in a 9 x 13 x 2 inch shallow baking pan.In a small bowl, combine the tomato juice with the remaining 1 cup water and pour the mixture over the cabbage rolls. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the meat is well done.
Makes 6 servings.


I have to tell you we doubled the recipe and still only had 14 cabbage rolls. We were really unimpressed with this recipe. For one the cinnamon and cloves were quite overpowering. Not our cup of tea so to say. Mom said she'll stick with her recipe the way she's always made them, and I agree. Secondly the sauce was very watery. We even added another 6 ounces of the tomato juice and still watery. When I came home I added some tomato sauce and some onion and garlic powder to mine and put the dish back into the oven for a little while. It was thicker and better. We still weren't happy with the flavors of the spices. Even Michael said they weren't what he was used to. His grandmother frequently made "pigs in a blanket" as she called them. Well, to each his own I guess. You can try them and decide for yourself. I know I'll make them from my own recipe or maybe even do some internet surfing and see what the rest of the world has to offer.






We're off to the other house to paint and clean for the day. Stay safe.
Carla and Michael

Everyone's Basic Shrimp Scampi

Everyone makes their Scampi Sauce a little bit different, except that it all starts out the same, with a few simple, basic ingredients. Mark Bittman's Shrimp Scampi is very basic. So for this weeks IHCC's Potluck, I made a simple Shrimp Scampi. The exception to the rule, I made it my way.  

I added to the mix (as I always make mine), a dash of red pepper flakes, shallots, and a couple of tablespoons of butter in the end to "finish" the sauce. I also forgot to put the garlic cloves and shallot into the picture. Rest assured there's plenty of garlic in this.

Shrimp simmering in oil, shallot, garlic and red pepper.

Shrimp Scampi

Adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

Ingredients

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, or more as needed

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 shallot, minced

3 or 4 big cloves of garlic

About 1 1/2 pounds shrimp, 20 to 30 per pound, peeled, rinsed, and dried

Salt and fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup fresh parsley, Yeah, I used the dried, (mine is withering in the heat we're having)

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup white wine

3 tablespoons butter

Chopped parsley for garnish

Directions

Warm the olive oil in a large, skillet over low heat. There should be enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook until just golden, a few minutes. Raise the heat to medium high and add the shrimp and salt and pepper. When the shrimp turn pink on one side, turn them over and add 1/4 cup parsley. Raise the heat slightly and cook until the shrimp are done, about 2 minutes more. Stir in 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and white wine, and cook for anothr 30 seconds. Stir in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time until each is incorporated before adding the next. Pour over pasta if desired and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

We had this served over pappardelle, a wide flat pasta. Simple, classic, yet always delicious and satisfying.

This is my offering to our IHCC Potluck this week.

 I hope everyone of you are having a fantastic summer. I know we are as we are moving into a much larger home on the 1st. of August. I hope to get back to posting more often in the beginning of the month. I'll post what I can, when I can until then. Stay close, my next post is from Trisha Yearwood's newest cookbook.

Until then, stay safe.

Carla and Michael

Stuffed Burgers and Skillet Potatoes

  As you may have taken notice, we have been trying to join in more and more challenges across blogland, in order to expand our culinary tastebuds, aside from the customary steak and potato dinners that we most usually turn to (if Michael had his way). That and the fact that we will be moving into a new home in approximately two (2) weeks. Well, this was our attempt at joining more food blogging challenges like, Burger Club , a new challenge started by Cinnamon Girl aka Reeni at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice . Well, to quote Reeni, "The future of the Burger Club is up in the air right now as I use this time to figure out a way to get more people involved. My original intention was to rate award-winning and popular burger recipes to see if they lived up to their hype. Depending on the response to this free-for-all the burger club may see its end...or live on in free-for-all form." Even though this is the first time we are participating, I would really like to see this one continue. At least through the summer, as I know we cook burgers on the grill almost every Saturday or Sunday as a quick summertime ritual. In the wintertime when it's snowing, not so much. How about you? Do you cook some sort of "burger" often during the summer? If so, then why not head on over to the Burger Club and let Reeni know that you'd like to participate. We are also joining Robyn at Our Homeschool Home for next weeks event of On the Grill , for the first time. Stop by and check out anything and everything assiciated with a cook out.

  This is also an attempt to use up some of our food before the move. We had a tub of this garlic herb cheese deep in the recesses of the refrigerator. I couldn't even tell you what I was giong to make with it. We also had several bags of ground beef and ground chuck in the freezer. So this is how this burger was born.

Quick and simple, that seems to be my motto as of late. This really is a method more than a recipe. I made 4 patties,with a pocket (indentation) in the middle of them. Filled the pocket of two of the patties with the garlic herb cheese. Seal with the patties that have no cheese. Sprinkled with Paula Deen's House Seasoning , which we keep on hand in a large canister to fill a smaller shaker with. Then throw on the grill and cook to your desired temperature. We served these on french bread with crisp romaine leaves and sliced red onions. These were delicious.

Cyndi's Skillet Potatoes. I owe these to my cousin. She made these for us years ago and I have been making them ever since. Thank you Cyndi!

Easy-peasy. These are usually made with Lipton Onion Soup Mix. Since I didn't have any on hand... I made my own with beef bouillon, onion bouillon, and dehydrated minced onion. 

Slice idaho potatoes into steak fry planks. Saute in a little canola oil and butter until tender.

Add onion soup mix and sour cream and simmer over low heat until liquid reduces to half.

Garlic and Herb Cheese Stuffed Burgers

Courtesy of Recipe Addict

Ingedients

1 pound ground beef or chuck

4 tablespoons Alouette garlic and herb cheese

2 teaspoons house seasoning

1/3 loaf french bread, cut in half

4 romaine lettuce leaves

sliced red onions

Directions

Make 4 patties,with a pocket (indentation) in the middle of them. Fill the each pocket of two of the patties with 2 tablespoons of the garlic herb cheese. Seal with the patties that have no cheese. Sprinkle with Paula Deen's House Seasoning . Then throw on the grill and cook to your desired temperature. Served these on french bread with crisp romaine leaves and sliced red onions.

Makes 2 Servings

I am submitting this to Reeni for the current round of   Anything Goes-Burger Club .

I am also submitting this to Robyn at Our Homeschool Home for next weeks On the Grill .

Cyndi's Skillet Potatoes

Courtesy of Cyndi Hooper and Recipe Addict

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 large Idaho potatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch steak fries
1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix, or make your own Dry Onion Soup Mix
1 pint sour cream

Directions

In a large non-stick skillet heat oil and butter over medium to medium-high heat. Add sliced potatoes and cook until tender. Add onion soup mix and sour cream, stirring gently so as not to break up potatoes to severely. Reduce heat to low and cover, simmering potatoes for 20 minutes. Remove cover and stir once more. Cook over low, uncovered about another 10 minutes to reduce liquid. Potatoes should not be too soupy, a little on the drier side.

Makes 4 Servings

 
 

 
 
Garlic Herb Cheese Stuffed Burgers
 
Cyndi's Skillet Potatoes
Carla and Michael

Cheese Tortellini with Sausage Ragu

  Lazy, tired, lazy, tired? Not quite sure what I was feeling on this day. Definately, tired. We are in the process of fixing up a home that we will be moving into August 1st. Michael has been laying tile and vinyl, I'm the helper, ripping out old wall paper, etc... Not to mention the cleaning and fixing up the yard. Oh and did I mention that last week the temperature was 98 degrees with a feels like temp of 103? Yeah, I was definately not in the mood to stand in a hot kitchen and cook. Don't get me wrong, we are VERY happy to be moving from a 900 sq. ft. house into a 1500 sq ft. house. I think I could fit this house into the kitchen at the new one (most important room for me, well almost ; )

  So to say I copped out and made one of the quickest dinners I think I've ever made (short of take out) is an understatement. In the freezer I had a bag of frozen cheese tortellini, some mild italian sausage and some marinara. This, and a salad with garlic toast made for the fastest meal ever. I couldn't have had take out delivered in the time this was ready.

New tile in our new kitchen. YAY!

Cheese Tortellini with Sausage Marinara

Courtesy of Express Lane by Recipe Addict

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 pound ground mild italian sausage

2 cups marinara sauce Mine, I mean Giada's (I make in batches), your favorite recipe, or purchased jarred sauce

1/2 cup red wine, (Riojo is one I use often for cooking)

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 pound cheese tortellini, or choose your own pasta

2 inch sprig chopped fresh oregano

4 fresh basil leaves, sliced into thin ribbons, i.e., chiffonade

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

In a medium saucepan heat olive oil over medium high and brown sausage, using a wooden spoon to crumble the sausage as it browns. To the cooked sausage, add the wine and oregano, cook until wine reduces to 1/4 cup. Add marinara sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Let sauce begin to come to a boil and turn down to a slow simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes add cream, basil and parmesan cheese, and stir to incorporate. 

While sauce is nearing the last 10 minutes, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook 7 - 9 minutes until tender, stirring occaisionally. Drain pasta and toss with sauce. Serve with extra grated parmesan if desired.

Makes 4 - 6 Servings

You are never very far away from a good, fast dinner if you have a well stocked pantry and freezer.

I am submitting this to Pam at Sidewalk Shoes who is hosting this weeks Presto Pasta Nights #172 which was the brainchild of Ruth at Once Upon A Feast back in March 2007.

 

 

Carla and Michael

My Picadillo Empanadas and Patatas Bravas

 

 

  I was having a craving (NO-I'm not expecting). I was craving empanadas one minute and picadillo the next. My thoughts were, "why not just combine everything I love about the two"?. Being from the greater Miami-Dade area I grew up with a lot of Latin influence. If you are not familliar with empanadas, you can read about the many different styles, listed by country

 here . I myself, am not a fan of the raisins usually used in the Cuban recipe for picadillo. By the same token, I am a fan of the chopped, hard boiled egg, diced potato, and peas, as used in some regions of Columbia.  I also use a Dominican "sofrito" for my seasoning, which I make in batches and stash in the freezer in 1/2 cup portions. I have also never attemted to make my own empanada dough, which you can see by the photo. I buy them pre-made. One day I will get brave, put on my "big girl panties" and give it a try.

  In the interest of trying to put an ingredient list and directions for my version, which I make the same way every time I make picadillo (from the seat of my pants, or better known as by taste and sight) I will try and put this into perspective for you. Or, you can just search the web for a recipe that suits your taste. A basic guideline is this one from  Goya .  Fried little meat pies are ridiculously comforting, trust me.

My Picadillo Empanadas

Courtesy of RecipeAddict

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup sofrito

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup Manzanilla (Spanish) olives, roughly chopped

2 hard boiled eggs, diced

2-3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, diced and boiled until just cooked (firm to touch)

10 Discos - Goya Empanada wrappers

Directions

In a large high sided skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil and saute onions until tender, add garlic and saute another minute and add sofrito. Cook until all liquid is absorbed about 3-5 minutes. Add beef and cook until lightly browned. Add potato cubes, chopped egg,and olives. Heat through till warmed. Remove to warmed serving bowl. Serve over rice, or use as filling for empanadas.

Makes 4 Servings

If using for filling in empanadas, put 2 tablespoons picadillo on one half of empanada disc.Have a small bowl of water on the side to seal the empanadas. You will then dip your finger into the bowl of water and run the water around one half of the empanada dough to facilitate the seal. Fold in half and  pressing with the tines of a fork, press the edges to seal closed. Place into deep fryer or a pot filled with oil (1/2 full, oil rises when the ingredients are added), and fry, approximately 3 minutes per side.

Patatas Bravas

Patatas Bravas

Courtesy of  Spain Recipes

Ingredients

3 tablespoons of olive oil

4 large Russet potatoes, peeled, and cut to 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons Spanish paprika
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
1/2 cup (4 fl. oz) Ketchup
1/2 cup (4 fl. oz) mayonnaise
Chopped parsley, to garnish
1 cup (8 fl. oz) olive oil , for frying
 
 
Directions
In a saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is soft. Turn off the heat, and add the paprika, Tabasco sauce, and thyme, stirring well. Transfer to a bowl and add the ketchup and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Sprinkle the potatoes lightly with salt and black pepper. In a large skillet fry the potatoes in 1 cup (8 fl. oz) olive oil until cooked through and golden-brown, stirring occasionally. (Take care when adding the potatoes to the saucepan because the oil will splatter due to the salt). Drain the potatoes on paper towels, check the seasoning, add more salt if necessary, and set it aside.

Mix the potatoes with the sauce inmediately before serving to ensure that the potatoes retain their crispness. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve warm.
Makes 4 Servings


These potatoes were probably not the healthiest choice. Still, they sure were delicious. I will have to search for other variations of this recipe. Without the use of ketchup and mayo, which I am sure is not as authentic as it could be. Some recipes use tomato paste, though I was in a hurry to have something other than rice, (which is commonly served with empanadas), so I went with this shortcut veersion for the first time.

I am submiiting this to Priya at
MharoRajasthanRecipes who is hosting this month's AWED Challenge-Spain started by DK at ChefInYou .

Carla and Michael

Hoppin John, It's a Southern Tradition

  This weeks theme over at IHCC's Mark Bittman Challenge is BACON!!! As some of you may know, Mr. Bittman has been changing his dietary preferences over the last many years. His latest, more recent style of foods has been to, eat less meat, incorporate more vegetables and fruits. He is currently writing for  Cooking Light Magazine and Runner's World Magazine . I'm telling you this because even though I have 5 of his cookbooks and am a subscriber of Cooking Light Magazine, I was having a hard time finding a recipe with bacon in it that I liked. Until I ran across this little jewel, Hoppin John from days gone by, in How to Cook Everything. There are many variances on this recipe, as explained here by wikipedia. It's definately a southern tradition. So since I had some leftover black eyed peas, this was the perfect accompaniment for our roast pork with chimichurri sauce.

Black eyed peas, bacon, onion, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and water.

Very simple ingredients.

BUY THE BOOK

Hoppin John

Adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

Ingredients

1 cup Black eyed peas, washed, picked over, and soaked (I used canned, undrained)

4 ounces slab bacon or 1 smoked ham hock

1 large onion

1 4-inch sprig fresh rosemary, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary or thyme

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups long grain rice

Directions

Put the peas in a medium pot with the bacon or ham hock, onion, herb, and water to cover by at least 2-inches. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.

Turn heat down to medium and cook, skimming any foam that arises, until the peas are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove the meat and reduce the liquid to about 3 cups; as the liquid is reducing, cut the meat into chunks, removing extremely fatty pieces if you like. Return the meat to the pot.

Taste the cooking liquid and add salt and pepper if needed. Remove the rosemary or thyme sprigs if you used fresh herbs.Stir in the rice and cook, covered, until the rice is done and the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. At this point, you may let this dish sit for 15 to 29 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Notes: I had canned black eyed peas and leftover cooked rice. I added the black eyed peas uncooked with the bacon, onion, and thyme sprigs and let them simmer for about 1/2 hour. Then added the cooked rice and red pepper flakes, and about 2 - 3 tablespoons of water and let that simmer about another 20 minutes.

It was still delicious. I have to restock my dried beans and peas. I always have plenty of canned beans on hand, just for those quickie through together meals.

This is a good old southern dish. I have eaten a whole lot of blackeyed peas in my life. Oh, oh, oh, and guess what? I got the picky man to eat a bowl of this too, and he liked it. You know the guy that really isn't too fond of legumes, unless they're in Chili. Ha haa. My next adventure with black eyed peas will be to try fritters. Those I have never eaten, nor made. I'll let you know how that goes, down the road from now.

I am submitting this to IHCC's Bacon Theme this week.*

I am also submitting this to Andrea at  My Kitchen, My World for this month's U.S.A. Challenge.*                

      

* Stop in and see what everyone else is cooking up.

 

 

 

If you like or even love legumes, and have never tried this dish, you should definately try it. This could be a meal all on it's own, especially if made with the ham hock. Or leave it out if you don't eat pork products.

Carla and Michael

Southwest Bean Salad

I was in the grocery store last week picking up some last minute items when I saw a can of Southwest Bean Salad. I gave it a glance and didn't even note who it was made by or exactly what the ingredients were in it, though I did note in the picture on the label that there was corn and black beans. I knew I had all kinds of beans at home so I started thinking, why not just customize my own. Now I was on a mission! I scanned the internet, gave up and went into the kitchen. This is what I came up with. I am sure it was much better than that can I had in my hand back in the store. This salad says "summer days" to me. Not to mention it went great for our 4th of July cookout.

Southwestern Bean Salad

Compliments of RecipeAddict

Ingredients

1 cup fresh, or thawed frozen corn

1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup pinto bean, rinsed and drained

1 cup black eyed peas, rinsed and drained

1 large or 2 small tomatoes, diced

1/2 jalepeno pepper, minced

1/4 large red onion, diced

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup champagne vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup lime juice

1 teaspoon dried cilantro (I wish I had of thought to grab some fresh)

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk vinegar, oil, lime juice, and garlic together. Rinse and drain all of your beans. Add to dressing. Add in the tomatoes, jalepeno, onion, and cilantro. Stir to combine. Refrigerate for 8 hours to allow the flavors to marry.

Makes 6 to 8 Servings

This recipe can be made with a vast array of beans and or spices. I have to go stock up on some different varieties of beans now. We hope you are keeping cool during these hot and humid summer months.

I am submitting this to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for Souper Sundays .

And also to Reeni at Cinnamon Sice and Everything Nice for the July Side Dish Showdown .

And also to Siri's Corner who is hosting this month's My Legume Love Affair for Susan at The Well Seasoned Cook .

If you're not already blogging along with us, what are you waiting for? Stop on by and have some fun. 

 

 

Carla and Michael