Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

I've seen a number of these recipes on the Internet.  Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls are so easy and so yummy.  Bonus: it's a one-pot meal.  I chopped the onion and cabbage this afternoon, then went to work out.  Came home, threw it all together and had a satisfying, hot dinner in 30 minutes.  Here's my version.

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls


Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1.5 pounds extra lean ground sirloin
• 1 small head of cabbage, chopped
• 1 large (28 oz.) can of diced tomatoes
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 to 2 cups water
• a few dashes of worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and stir until translucent.  Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds until fragrant.  Stir in ground beef and cook, stirring often, until nicely browned.
• Add the cabbage, diced tomatoes and lemon juice to the pot.  Add 1 cup water if you like it a little thicker.  My daughter likes to eat it like soup, so I add another cup of water to make it extra saucy.  Add the worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste.  
• Bring to a boil, then put a lid on the pot and reduce to simmer for about 20 minutes until cabbage is tender.  (Don't overcook or the cabbage becomes mushy!)

We like to serve it over brown rice.

Whole Spelt Pumpkin Cranberry Nut Muffins

Baking season is just around the corner, and pumpkin season is here.  I'm kicking it off with muffins.  My young kids love these in the mini sizes.  They'll happily devour 3 or 4 mini muffins in one sitting, but won't touch a regular sized one.  It must be a size thing.

If you don't have whole spelt flour, you can substitute 1:1 with whole wheat flour.

Whole Spelt Pumpkin Cranberry Nut Muffins
Adapted from this recipe.
Yields 1 dozen muffins (4 dozen mini muffins).

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups whole spelt flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin pan(s) with paper muffin cups.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together first 7 (dry) ingredients.
• In another mixing bowl, whisk together next 5 (wet) ingredients.
• Pour wet mix into dry mix and combine.  Do not over mix.
• Fold in the dried cranberries and walnuts.
• Divide batter evenly into the prepared pans. 
• Bake until golden, 18 - 20 minutes for regular muffins, 14 - 15 minutes for mini muffins.

These freeze really well if you don't get around to eating them all within a few days.  Or if you want to make a double batch.  My kindergartener loves the mini ones for her mid-morning snack at school. I take a couple straight out of the freezer in the morning (7:30am-ish), toss them into her lunchbag, and by the time she eats her snack (10:30am-ish) the muffins are completely thawed and good to eat.

Off Topic - Decorated Cookies - Disney's Brave-themed Birthday

July - Disney's Brave-themed 5th birthday cookies
4 dozen vanilla sugar cookies, 1 dozen chocolate sugar cookies

Off Topic - Decorated Cookies - 90th Birthday Hearts

July - 90th birthday; heart cookies
1 dozen vanilla sugar cookies, 1 dozen chocolate sugar cookies

Watermelon and Grape Smoothie

It is HOT out today.  We went to the Farmer's Market near closing time and I snagged two small watermelons for a great price.  Then we ran a bunch of errands, and when we all got home, we were hot and tired.  So I figured, what better way to use up one of the sweet, juicy watermelons than in an ice cold smoothie?  I had some leftover grapes and threw those in as well.  So refreshing!

Watermelon and Grape Smoothie

Ingredients:

• watermelon, cut into small chunks, seeds removed if necessary
• seedless green grapes
• crushed ice cubes (or whole ice cubes if your blender is strong enough)
• lemon wedges
• honey (optional)

Directions:

• Add watermelon, grapes and crushed ice cubes to your blender.  I used a 2:1:1 ratio (2 parts watermelon, 1 part grapes, 1 part crushed ice cubes)  and it was perfect.  Spritz in some lemon juice.  My watermelon was a little on the bland side, so I added a drizzle of honey.
• Blend until smooth and enjoy.

Avocado Egg Salad

I've been seeing many Pinterest posts about avocado egg salad.  I love avocados.  I'll put them in anything.  So in the past few weeks I tried out several of these avocado egg salad recipes, and let me tell you, they are GOOD!  Some recipes add a little mayo, some add sour cream, others add Greek yogurt, and even others add Dijon mustard, but you know what?  I prefer it straight up.  Just hard boiled eggs, avocado, a squirt of lemon juice, and salt & pepper to taste.

I basically replaced the mayo in a traditional egg salad with avocado.  I like a 1/4:1 ratio of avocado to egg, in other words, 1/4 medium avocado to 1 large hard boiled egg.  1/2 avocado and 2 eggs is perfect for a lunch for me.  And of course you can add whatever mix-ins you like (scallions, chives, celery, onion, capers, mustard, etc.) just like with a traditional egg salad.

While I was trying out the different avocado egg salad recipes, I began thinking of other ways to serve it besides as a sandwich or on crackers, because, you know, a girl's gotta get her veggies in.  I stuffed it into little sweet peppers.  I filled celery sticks and topped cucumber slices with it.  I rolled it in lettuce leaves.  And I tossed it with cooked spaghetti squash.  Don't try that last one with the spaghetti squash, though.  It was, well, yuck.

Avocado Egg Salad
Inspired by this recipe, this recipe, and this recipe, among many others.

Ingredients:

• 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled
• 1/2 medium ripe avocado, peeled and diced
• salt & pepper to taste
• a slice of lemon

Directions:

• Mash the first 3 ingredients together with a fork along with the juice squeezed from the lemon slice, and serve however you like.

Salade Composée, Day 7, Smoked Salmon

I'm ending this week-long series with a bang.  I absolutely love smoked salmon.  This salad was so good it didn't need any dressing.  Maybe just a light sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Salty, creamy, juicy, crunchy, yummy for my tummy.  :-)

Salade Composée, Day 7, Smoked Salmon


Ingredients:

• smoked salmon (I got mine from Trader Joe's)
• reduced fat cottage cheese
• shredded carrot
• sliced cucumber
• fresh heirloom tomato from your generous neighbor's yard
• edamame
• salt & pepper

Directions:

• Arrange ingredients on a plate and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

Salade Composée, Day 6, Mahi Mahi and Beets

Salade Composée, Day 6, Mahi Mahi and Beets


Ingredients:

• leftover baked mahi mahi
• steamed broccoli
• steamed cauliflower
• sauteed trumpet mushrooms
• boiled red beets
• Newman's Own Light Italian dressing

Directions:

• Arrange ingredients on a plate and drizzle lightly with dressing.

Salade Composée, Day 5, Roasted Tofu

I wanted to use garbanzo beans but didn't have any on hand, so I used Great Northerns.  Oh, and don't over-steam your asparagus like I did.  ;-)

Salade Composée, Day 5, Roasted Tofu


Ingredients:

• 1 package firm tofu
• olive oil
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 1 can Great Northern beans, washed and drained
• Newman's Own Light Italian dressing
• romaine, chopped
• 1/2 Fuji apple, chopped
• asparagus, steamed
• grape tomatoes

Directions:

• Blot the tofu well with a paper towel to remove as much water as possible.  Cut into bite-sized cubes.  Toss with some olive oil and TSSS, roast at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes until lightly golden all around.  You will need 1/4 - 1/3 of the roasted tofu for this salad.  (You can use the rest in tacos!)
• While the tofu is roasting, toss the beans with a couple tablespoons of Newman's Own dressing.  Refrigerate until ready to use, about 15 minutes.  You will need about 1/4 of the beans for this salad. Store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge.
• Place romaine lettuce on a plate.  Arrange the rest of the ingredients on top and drizzle lightly with dressing.

Salade Composée, Day 4, Chicken Sausage

We went to a friend's birthday party for lunch today, so the salade composée had to wait until dinner.  It totally hit the spot.  I used Aidells chicken sausage from Costco.

Salade Composée, Day 4, Chicken Sausage


Ingredients:

• romaine lettuce, chopped
• baby cucumber, sliced
• grape tomatoes
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• feta chunks
• chicken sausage, grilled per package instructions, then sliced
• Newman's Own Light Italian dressing

Directions:

• Place lettuce on a plate and arrange the other ingredients on top.  Drizzle with dressing.