Cabbage Casserole

I wanted to make a traditional New Year's meal with cabbage, but I am not a big fan of plain smothered cabbage and greens.  So Lizzie passed this recipe along.  Be warned, it's yummy and makes A LOT!  Also, processed cheese food, Velveeta, Rotel, and Jimmy Dean sausage were no where to be found in our neighborhood...shaking my head.  Somehow I managed to track down some appropriate substitutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Jimmy Dean Sausage
• 1 lb ground meat
• 1 large onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 head cabbage, chopped
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 can Rotel, drained
• 16 oz Velveeta
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbs flour
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Brown sausage and beef and drain.
2. Add chopped onion and bell pepper and sauté until limp.
3. Add cabbage and smother for about 25-20 minutes.
4. Add can of Rotel and 1 cup rice.
5. In a saucepan combine Velveeta, milk, and butter.  Whisk in flour.
6. Pour over cabbage and meat mixture and mix thoroughly.
7. Transfer to a large casserole dish.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour

Havarti Potatoes

I made these to celebrate Charlie's victory...his cholesterol was lower than mine.  It's not heart healthy, but it is so yummy.  I LOVE havarti cheese.

Ingredients:

• 3.5 lbs potatoes, sliced, I leave the skin on because it's easy
• 12 oz. Havarti, shredded
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups cream or milk
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Crush bouillon and mix with milk.
• Layer potatoes, flour, and cheese three times.
• Pour milk and bouillon over the top.
• Bake for about 60 minutes until browned and bubbly.  

Veggies and Rice

Served with flounder

We eat a lot of potatoes around here.  There's baked, and boiled, and oven fries, scalloped, au gratin.  I need to mix up the starch component of mealtime.  So I'm starting with rice.  I looked and looked and looked for recipes, but definitely did not want a casserole-esque type side.  I based on this on a recipe from allrecipes.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/3 cup uncooked rice 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 medium yellow summer squash, chopped 
• 1 cup broccoli crowns
• 2 toes garlic, minced

Directions:

1. In a saucepan saute onion and garlic in butter until tender and begin to brown. 
2. Stir in rice and stir, allowing rice to brown a little.
3. Stir in the broth, salt and pepper. 
4. Bring to a boil. 
5. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 13 minutes.
6. Stir in the yellow squash and zucchini. Cover and simmer 6-10 minutes longer or until rice and vegetables are tender. 

Notes:

• This was light, easy and yummy and I can do it with whatever vegetables I have on hand.  I imagine tossing in some frozen peas or carrots would work well.
• It is probably enough for 3-4 servings.
• I did serve this with a little parmesan sprinkled on top.

Broccoli, Cheese, and Rice Casserole

We do lots of stuff with potatoes but not so much with rice so I've been looking for some new dishes to try out.  Have any to send my way?

Hate to call this "casserole" because Charlie cringes at the mention of casserole for supper.  Actually it wasn't very casserole-y, but I did put it in a baking dish and cover it with cheese, so it's a casserole, right?  It would have been good just warmed in the pot and served as "cheesy broccoli rice" as well.

Charlie like it.  I liked it.  I'll do it again, perhaps with a few adjustments as noted below.

I based this recipe off over several I skimmed online, not one in particular.  Again, I used what was on hand.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups small broccoli florets, I used fresh
• 3 cups cooked rice
• 1 cup milk, I used whole
• 2 cups shredded cheese, I used a cheddar blend
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1 small to medium sized onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 toe garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in pot and add onions, celery, and garlic.  
2. Cook vegetables until they are clear, about 15 minutes.
3. Add broccoli and stir until broccoli begins to become tender, about 5-10 minutes.
4. Dissolve bouillon cube in milk.
5. Add milk mixture to veggies, stirring until warm. 
6. Stir in rice.
7. Stir in 1 cup of cheese and mix thoroughly.
8. Pour rice mixture into backing dish and sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese.
9. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.  
10. Remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is beginning to brown and casserole is warm throughout.

Notes:

• I'd like to provide measurements for celery in terms of "stalks" but when I made tomato soup  I chopped the remaining celery and put in freezer for future use.  Loved having this all chopped and ready in the freezer.  I also liked not looking at wilting celery in my fridge all week.  I suppose I should figure out how many stalks are in a cup.
• We were having sir fry for dinner so there was lots of fresh broccoli and cooked rice on hand.  I like to plan meals for the week that use similar ingredients.  It was nice to prepare the broccoli for the stir fry and casserole as well as cook all of the rice at once.  This cut down on prep for the next meal.
• I imagine you could use frozen broccoli if this is something you keep on hand.
• Be careful with the salt.  The bouillon is pretty salty and my rice had a bit of salt in it as well.  I would have preferred to have only used 2 cups cooked rice with 2 cups broccoli, but needed more rice to cut the salt.  Next time I'll use less bouillon and rice or more broccoli.
• A few recipes have more milk and eggs.  Not so sure about this, but I guess this would make it more of a casserole. 
• There were lots of recipes that called for cheese whiz, condensed soup, and crushed Ritz crackers....definite casserole ingredients.  Don't think we'll go this route though.

Potatoes Au Gratin

I browsed recipes and the ingredients were pretty consistently potatoes (some say red some say russet), milk, cheddar cheese, onion, flour.  The amounts were pretty similar so I just based this off what I had on hand.

It is yummy, yummy, yummy.  I'd really like it served next to a steak, but we had it with grilled shrimp poboys.  We'll have the leftovers this week with brisket.

Ingredients:

• 4 large potatoes, I used russet
• 2 cups shredded cheese, I used a cheddar blend
• Handful of cheese to sprinkle on top
• 2 cups milk, I used 1.75 cups whole milk, 0.25 cream
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 toes garlic, chopped

Directions:

1. Slice potatoes and then cut slices into fourths.  My slices weren't super thin as some recipes instructed, but they weren't thick either.
2. Whisk milk and flour until combined.
3. Toss potatoes in 2 cups cheese and garlic to ensure cheese evenly distributed among potatoes, and then place in a 2 quart baking dish.
4. Pour milk over potatoes.
5. Cover with foil.  
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
7. Remove foil and bake another 25 minutes.
8. Add remaining cheese to top of potatoes and bake another 15-20 minutes until browned and bubbly.

Note: 

• Some recipes required "cooked" potatoes, I imagine to decrease cooking time.  Many had baking time of 1 hour, but I imagine the potatoes needed to be sliced pretty thin for that.  Test potatoes after first hour to get better idea of cooking time.
• I opted not to use onions.
• I used three toes of garlic and these were garlic-y.  I may reduce to 2 toes next time.
• Potatoes will look very soupy after first hour of baking.  They will firm some after removing the foil and then even more after cooling before serving.

Dirty Rice

I had some extra veggies and rice leftover from making gumbo and some delicious stock made from the smoked chicken bones.  Perfect start to dirty rice.  I don't mind if you call it rice dressing, but don't call it Cajun Rice.  That's what restaurants who have no business serving Cajun food call it.

Ingredients:

• Some trinity : about 1 large onion, 1 bell pepper, 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 2-3 toes garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 cups broth
• 4 cups cooked rice
• 1 lb ground beef*
• Salt, pepper, and Tony's to taste

Directions:

1. Saute veggies, including garlic, in oil in a heavy pan.  Cook until onions are translucent and beginning to brown.
2. Add ground meet.  Brown.  *Consider using a combination of ground beef, crumbled sausage, and giblets for some extra yum.
3. After meat is no longer pink, pour in broth.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes until warm.  
4. Add parsley.
5. Shake in some Tony's.  Be careful here though because you don't want to add too much if your broth and rice is already salted.  
6. Turn off heat.
7. Slowly add rice.  The rice will absorb the liquid.  You don't want to add too much rice, so be patient.  I probably used about 3.5 cups cooked rice with 2 cups broth.  I could see a little liquid at the bottom of the pot but after it sat for a few minutes it was perfect.

Cheesy Orzo

I found this on MomAdvice, a site I frequent, and you can also find it on the Food Network.

We already do angel hair pasta with olive oil, garlic, and parmesan every once in a while, but I'd never thought to use orzo.

I served this as a side to ribs, something we eat about once every other week. I usually make corn pudding with ribs, so this was our "shake up" of the week. Way to keep it interesting, right?

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cans (14 ounces) chicken or vegetable broth or stock
• 2 cups orzo pasta (enriched rice may be substituted)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat a 8 inch pot with a tight fitting cover over moderate heat.
   
2. Add oil, onion and garlic and saute for 2 or 3 minutes.
   
3. Add broth to the pan and bring to a boil.
   
4. Stir in orzo and return broth to a boil.
   
5. Cover pot and reduce heat to simmer.
   
6. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until liquid is absorbed and pasta tender.
   
7. Remove lid and stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Your
8. favorite fresh herbs may also be stirred into the orzo or rice to strengthen the flavor even more.

I didn't do the onion this time. I may stir in some fresh spinach or other veggies next time towards the end of cooking so perhaps then I'll use the onion.

Orzo and spinach

When I went through a take out from Whole Foods for lunch 3 times a week phase what seems like many, many years ago, I used to always get this yummy orzo concoction. I suppose it was a pasta salad, but I just remember the spinach and it being unbelievably yummy. I haven't looked for it at Whole Foods in a while as I try to stay away from the prepared foods and bakery section for fear of losing control so I am not sure if it is even a regular staple there currently.

There are lots and lots and lots of variations of this recipe online, but I made this based on memory and what I had on hand. Next time if accounting for this when making my shopping list I think I'd like to toss in some purple onion and use feta. One recipe included marinated artichoke hearts which would be a nice addition as well, but I don't think the Whole Foods variation had artichokes.

Regardless, all options are easy, yummy, and healthy.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz uncooked orzo
• 8 ounces spinach
• 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, cut lengthwise
• 6 oz Gorgonzola cheese
• garlic
• olive oil
• kosher salt

Directions:

1. Cook orzo until aldente
2. Brown garlic in olive oil (I do not like raw garlic)
3. Toss all ingredients together
   
4. Let sit so spinach will wilt a tad
   

Baked Macaroni

I made this earlier this week, but need to get it up here before I forget because Charlie loves, loves loves it. What's not to love about mac and cheese? Good thing, because we've been eating on it all week, with brisket, then ribs, and now we'll finish it off with a turkey I'm making tomorrow.

I got this one out of the Offbeat. It's Irma Thomas' recipe. You know the "Soul Queen of New Orleans" has got to turn some tasty dishes out of her kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb uncooked elbow macaroni
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 lb cheese, cut into small cubes (a mix of pepper jack, gouda, sharp and mild cheddar, colby jack)
• 1 large cooking spoon granulated sugar (roughly ¼ cup)
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• vegetable oil spray

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni according to directions on the box, until almost done.
2. Drain and butter pasta.
3. Add cheese, sugar, eggs, and milk. Stir.
4. Spray a lasagna pan or other deep dish with vegetable oil.
5. Dump in the macaroni and cheese mix.
6. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

I didn't add the gouda or pepperjack. I'll try that next time. It also needs some salt, but it didn't hurt to add the salt once it was dished up and gooey on your plate!