If you like cabbage....

You'll like this meal.

I found this recipe on one of the food blogs I read (I can't remember which now), but it's from Recipezaar.

We love cabbage, and I really love stuffed cabbage leaves, but I think they are so time consuming to make. This recipe combined everything I like about stuffed cabbage but made it so much easier to make on a week night!

This is a make again, both the hubs and I loved it - and it was even great leftover for lunch.

Cabbage Casserole

1.5 lbs ground pork or beef - I used meatloaf mixture this time, next time I'd use turkey or lean beef
1 med. onion, chopped
dash of garlic
dash of oregano
32 ounces spaghetti sauce - this is 1 jar plus one small 8 oz. can - and trust me you'll want the extra 8 oz.
1/4 cup rice - I think I probably used more like a cup - it was leftover so I just used what was left.
dash of basil
1 head cabbage, shredded
4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded - I only used about half a cup on top.

Directions:

Boil cabbage for 3 minutes, then drain thoroughly.
Brown onion and pork with spices, then drain.
Place 1/2 cabbage in 9×13 casserole pan. Top with 1/2 meat mixture, then 1/2 spaghetti sauce and 1/2 rice. Repeat.
Top with cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Remove cover and make sure cheese is melted.

*NOTE* Instead of layering, because I had so much more cabbage than meat or rice, I just popped the cabbage in the bottom of the greased casserole, then put the rice and meat on top and then the sauce and cheese... still was wonderful and a bit easier than layering everything multiple times.

Sorry there's not picture -we sat down to eat so late because the hubs worked late - so we just dug right in.

*UPDATE* I finally found where I got the recipe from in my reader! Black Cat Kitchen

http://jesstyler.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/cabbage-casserole-or-why-cooking-with-colors-is-fun/

Perhaps the best new Caesar Dressing

I have been in a major mood for Chicken Caesar Salad for a few weeks now.

Now I do make a KILLER Caesar Salad Dressing (one of the few good things I learned from my dad - but that's another story).

My dressing is oil based - no egg, no anchovy. But as much as I love that dressing, sometimes I just want a good creamy ceasar salad dressing. But I refuse to use raw egg in my dressing - I just don't feel it's safe to do.

Since our house is pretty much packed up to move (when we ever get an offer and find a new house!) I only left out 4 cook books. So my pickings right now are pretty limited when it comes to choosing the dinner menu each week.

I came across this recipe in one of my favorite cook books - The All New Good Housekeeping Cook Book. This was given to us as a wedding gift along with a collection of Penzy Spices and really has always stuck with us as one of the most memorable wedding gifts because it was so fitting for us!

Anywho - back to the salad!

For the Chicken - I marinated the breasts during the day in lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, lemon oil and a bit of white wine vinegar. I grilled the chicken up and then sliced it on the salad.

New Caesar Salad Dressing

In a large bowl with wire whisk, mix the following:

1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used low fat)

1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

3 T fresh lemon juice (3T was a bit much - 2 would be better, it was too tart, I had to add a bit more mayo and oil to compensate)

2 T water

2 tsp. anchovy paste (I omitted and used 2 tsp. worchestire sauce instead)

* I also added in 2 T olive oil to help it cling a bit more to the lettuce and it was a great addition*

Once everything is combined, toss with the lettuce and serve with chicken.

Perhaps the best egg salad evah!!!

The Hubs and I are big fans of egg salad. Maybe me a little more than him.

I had a couple of leftover kaiser rolls kicking in the fridge that needed to be used. I was on the mission for a good, new, sandwich recipe to make that would be quick and easy on a busy night.

I came across this recipe on my friend Pam's recipe site that she maintains for us on the RI Nest Board.

These eggs salad sandwiches combined all of our favorite things - egg, bacon, capers - what more could I ask for?!?? I did double the number of eggs in it - but I also only used half the amount of egg yolks. Instead of adding double the mayo - I just added one extra T and it was MORE than enough!! And I did bump up the number of capers. For the bacon, again to be quick, I just did 6 slices of microwave bacon cut up after it was cooked.

DELICIOUS! Will so make this again!!!

Bacon and Egg Salad Sandwiches

2 Slice(s) cooked crumbled bacon

3 Tablespoon(s) mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon(s) spicy brown mustard

1 1/2 Teaspoon(s) drained capers

3 hard cooked chopped egg

4 Slice(s) sandwich bread

2 leaves lettuce (we also did tomato)

In a small bowl, combine the bacon, mayonnaise, mustard & capers. Add eggs; stir gently to combine. Spread over two slices of bread; top with lettuce & remaining bread. Serve immediately.

Just Wing It!

I will be the first to admit I'm an avid recipe follower. Not because I don't trust my cooking abilities, but because, well by the time dinner rolls around, I'm tired and lazy and just want to make things as easy as possible.

But tonight I didn't really have a gameplan and decided to just wing it with what I had moderately planned for.

I had taken out a leftover cooked Asian Flavored Pork Tenderloin from the freezer to defrost. I really didn't know what to do, since I wasn't jonsing for our usual lettuce wraps with our leftover tenderloin.

I also had some nice veggies to use from the farmers market before they went bad.

So I opted for a Asian Pork and Ramen and Zucchini Noodle Soup.

The results were REALLY good and we were both really satisfied with the flavor, textures and fillingness of the meal.

Asian Pork, Rame and Zucchini Noodle Soup.

2 packages ramen noodles - any flavor

1 can beef broth

1 pork tenderloin, cooked and shredded or diced

2 golden zucchini, shredded long wise to be like noodles

4 green onions sliced

2-3 tsp. fresh ginger minced

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 shake of red pepper flakes

1/2 package cole slaw mix

soy sauce to taste

In a large stock pot, combine 1 can beef broth and 8-10 cups water, depending how many veggies you're going to add. Add in ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes and green onion and bring to a boil.

Prepare your veggies and meat. Toss in the veggies and cole slaw mix and meat to the simmer in the stock pot. 10 minutes before you're ready to eat, add in the ramen noodles and 1 flavor packet. Serve when noodles are done and top with green onion.