Garlic Beef Cabbage Rolls

Great as an appetizer or main dish. Very diabetic (or Atkins) friendly meal.

Ingredients:
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 large head red cabbage
1 zucchini (grated)
5 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons flour
toothpicks
water (for boiling cabbage)

Directions:
Remove core from the head of cabbage then pry off the leaves, trying to keep them whole/untorn if possible. You can cut the head in half and then pry apart the leaves if it's too hard to core the cabbage head. The goal is to get boats or cups to place the meat mixture into.

Boil the cabbage cups for 2 minutes until the leaves are wilted. Drain and cool.

Grate zucchini and mix with salt, pepper, soy and flour. Heat a nonstick pan on high. Brown ground beef and crushed garlic. Add zucchini mix and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Spoon the garlic beef mixture into a cabbage cup and roll up. Secure with a toothpick.

Not all of the cabbage cups will be easy to roll. Cut the middle rib of the cabbage leaf out if it makes it easier to roll.

You can substitute raw lettuce leaves for the cooked cabbage.

Strawberries & Cream

Tastes just like homemade strawberry ice cream.

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen/sliced strawberries
3/4 cup fat free half & half (coffee creamer)
4 teaspoons sugar or 4 Splenda packets

Directions:
Mix the cream and sugar. Spoon the sweetened cream over the frozen berries. The cream will freeze when it hits the berries making a thin coating of ice cream-like ice on the outside. Serve immediately.

** Don't defrost the berries, serve frozen.

Crack Pot Roast

It's so easy to make and tastes so good, I call it "crack" pot roast

Ingredients:
4-5 lb beef chuck roast
3 carrots (peeled then cut into 3 large chunks)
2 potatoes (peeled then cut in half)
1 large onion (peeled then cut into 4 large chunks)
2 zucchini (cut off ends then cut in half)
2 packages Lipton Onion Soup Mix (dry seasoning packet)
1 cup water

Directions:
Pour water and 1 onion soup packet into the crock pot. Wash the roast and then place it into the crock pot. Place all of the veggies on top of the meat and sprinkle the second packet over the top of the meat and veggies. Put the lid on and walk away for 5-6 hours. If you are home during the cooking process, then remove the veggies from the pot after 3 hours, so that they don't get too over cooked or mushy. If not then it's OK ... as Rob and Uncle John say ... "it all goes down the same".

** Food Network tip = place cold items into a cold crock pot, place warm items into a heated crock pot !! (Apparently, if you do the opposite and merge hot items and a cold pot then you are inviting salmonella into your dish.)

Chickastrone Soup

Rob was sick so I attempted to make him Chicken Noodle Soup … long story short, I added tomatoes to the broth which turned the yellow soup, a funny shade of red. After I had my little cry, I decided to add more veggies and call the soup Minnestrone. The soup turned out yummy and hearty. I play with the addition of new veggies and fresh herbs if I have them on hand. This soup freezes well, is great as a leftover and works well at dinner parties. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 box chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
6 chicken tenders or 2 chicken breasts (skinless) - OPTIONAL
2 carrots – diced
3 zucchinis - diced
½ yellow onion - diced
4 cloves garlic - minced
½ cup frozen white corn
1 cup frozen spinach (I don’t defrost the spinach before I measure it out)
1 can diced tomatoes (8oz)
1 cup dried pasta (any kind)
Add whatever other veggies you have (mushrooms, celery, parsnips, etc)

Seasonings:
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried Italian Herbs (mix of oregano/basil/parsely)
½ tsp dried celery seed
3-4 cups water

Directions:
Bring chicken broth and 3 of the 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium sized stock pot. Add chicken and cook for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to med/low. Remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to the pot and add all of the remaining ingredients. Simmer the soup for at least 1 hour. I simmer for 2 hours or longer -- until the chicken falls apart into shreds, and the pasta breaks apart into little bits. I like it when the veggies are small and not chunky. If you prefer a chunkier soup, perhaps if you are serving it at a dinner party, then simmer for less time. Add the 4^th cup of water if the soup gets too thick as it simmers.

White Bean Chili with Sausage

Once you do all of your chopping, this dish is really "dinner in a flash".

Ingredients:
4 Italian Sausages, chopped or crumbled (depending on the kind you buy)
1 can white cannellini beans - drained
1 red bell pepper - large dice
3/4 cup frozen white corn
3/4 yellow onion - large dice
3 garlic cloves - minced
2 jalepeno peppers - seeded and minced
1 can chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (use 1 teaspoon if using regular table salt)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
Heat a medium size pot or dutch oven then add olive oil, salt, pepper, and onion. Saute till onions are translucent then add garlic and sausage. Saute sausage till brown then add all of the other remaining ingredients. Cook on HIGH until liquid comes to a boil. Reduce heat to MED-LOW, cover the pot and simmer for 25-30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

**Trader Joes sells a pre-cooked Italian Sausage with fennel seeds. The fennel flavor is a nice compliment to the other ingredients.

Bruschetta Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
4 cups dried pasta (rigatoni, penne, farfalle, etc.)
3 tomatoes (diced)
1/2 cup feta cheese (crumbled)
1/2 cup fresh basil (roughly chopped)
1/4 cup pine nuts (toasted)
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (roughly chopped)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic powder (for pasta water)
2 tablespoons salt (for pasta water)
1 tablespoon dried italian herbs (oregano, basil, or a mix of both)
additional salt/pepper to taste

Directions:
Place a pot of water on high and add garlic powder, dried italian herbs and salt. Once the water comes to a boil add the pasta and boil till the pasta is "al dente" (approx 8-10 minutes). Drain all of the water from the pasta (don't rinse) and place in a bowl to cool. Chop fresh basil and tomatoes then add to pasta bowl. Toss in all remaining ingredients. Serve warm, cold or at room temperature.

Note, if your sundried tomatoes come packed in olive oil then you can use the oil from the tomato jar, instead of fresh olive oil.

Spoonbread (Cornbread Casserole)

This recipe is perfect as a side dish for dinner or brunch.

INGREDIENTS:
1 can creamed corn (17 0z)
3/4 can whole kernal corn (11 0z)
1 box corn muffin mix (8.5 oz)
8 oz sour cream
2 eggs (beaten)
1 stick of butter/margerine (melted)

DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter and mix with wet ingredients (corn, sour cream, eggs)
Combine the box of muffin mix with the wet batter, then pour into a greased baking dish
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes

** Dairy does crazy things to the digestive tracks of my family. I often substitute, IMO (non-dairy sour cream) for the regular sour cream that is called for in this recipe. You can't tell the difference.