2 Heads Are Better Than One



Quinoa Stuffed Cabbage

   
Somehow both Dan and I ended up picking cabbage for the St. Patrick's Day boiled dinner.  After our corned beef and cabbage, I was left with an extra head of cabbage to use up. 

   My Mom used to make the most fantastic galumpkis, otherwise known as stuffed cabbage.  I didn't have any ground beef in the house so I decided to get creative and substitute the stuffing. 

   After checking out the Betty Crocker recipe for Cabbage Rolls, I modified it to a meatless meal that would be a good vehicle to use up cabbage.   It turned out fantastic.  Mom enjoyed one for lunch the next day.

First, I boiled up a batch of quinoa. Here's how:
  *Heat 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water to boiling. 
  *Reduce heat to low.
  *Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. 
  *Makes 3 to 4 cups quinoa. 

Since I wasn't using beef I shortened the recipe.
   *Boil the cabbage leaves.
   *Stir boiled quinoa, 1/2 can crushed tomatoes, garlic, onion, salt and pepper.

   *Fill cabbage with stuffing and tuck the leaves under.
   * Pour the other half can of sauce over the whole pan
   *Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes


Stuffing the Cabbage Leaves



Cabbage Rolls
from: Betty Crocker's Cookbook

Cabbage leaves will separate easily if you first remove the core from the head of the cabbage and let the cabbage stand in cold water for 10 minutes.

12 cabbage leaves
1 pound of lean ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked instant rice
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 medium onion chopped (1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can (4 ounces)  mushroom pieces and stems, undrained
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water

1. Cover cabbage leaves with boiling water. Cover and let stand about 10 minutes or until leaves are limp. Remove leaves; drain.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Mix beef, rice, 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, salt, pepper, onion, garlic and mushrooms.
4. Place about 1/3 of the beef mixture at stem end of each leaf. Roll leaf around beef mixture, tucking in sides. Place cabbage rolls, seam sides down, in ungreased square baking dish, 8 x 8 x 2 inches.
5. Mix remaining tomato sauce, sugar and lemon juice; pour over cabbage rolls.
6. Cover and bake about 45 minutes or until beef mixture is no longer pink in center.
7. Remove cabbage rolls to platter. Pour liquid in baking dish into 10-quart saucepan. Mix cornstarch and water; stir into liquid. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour sauce over cabbage rolls.

Leprechaun Soup



     On Saturday night I had a dinner avoidance crisis.  I really felt it would be easier to find a sitter and go out to eat than to attempt to make dinner.  I hadn't taken anything out to defrost and there were no leftovers to use up.  I called a friend and they had plans so the sitter was out.  I was about to call another friend when I realized I didn't even know when Dan would be home.  He was helping out a neighbor with kitchen renovations.  I didn't feel like finding a sitter when I didn't know what time we would need them, where we were going or what time we would be back.  It's hard to plan with no plan at all.

    Without much hope I opened the refrigerator door.  There was half a large cauliflower that had been on sale for ninety-nine cents, a bunch of asparagus, and half a baked chicken breast.  Okay so that's not a lot to go on to feed four people dinner.  

  I filled the small stockpot with roughly four to six cups of water plus a half gallon bag of chicken stock leftover in the freezer.  I added the cauliflower, asparagus, a dash of garlic salt and about a tablespoon of vegetable flakes consisting of potato, carrot, parsley and onion .  I let it simmer for about twenty minutes until the cauliflower was soft. Dan popped home for a minute and pureed the concoction with my immersion blender.   I whisked a tablespoon or two of arrowroot in one half cup of water and poured the mixture in to thicken the soup to a creamy texture. This would be a great meatless meal on it's own, but I chopped up the chicken into cubes and threw it in to warm it up for about five minutes. 

   I am the only big fan of asparagus in my house.  When the crew walked in asking, "What's for dinner?" I told them it was leprechaun soup.  Perhaps a wee elf on a spot of mischief had stopped by to turn our soup green.  They devoured their brimming bowls and asked for seconds.  I must have had some leprechaun magic that night since my paltry pickings turned into a popular meal.  Leprechaun soup may turn into a March tradition!