We received a GIANT cabbage the other day…. like bigger than a LARGE watermelon.   So we've been having plenty of coleslaw, and my mom suggested this easy casserole.   Super delicious,  and easy…   cabbage rolls without all the work!   The kids loved it too (and I remember them not liking regular cabbage rolls).

 

Now if only there was a way to photograph a casserole nicely….   sigh..   don't judge it by looks!

 

 

Cabbage Rice Casserole

1/2 head of cabbage, shredded (small head or 1/4 large)

3/4 cups long-cooking rice, uncooked 

1.5 cups boiling water

1 lb of ground beef

1/2 onion, chopped finely

Bay Leaf

 

Sauce:

1 can tomato soup

1/4 cup vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

*mom says you can use sweet pickle juice instead of vinegar and sugar

 

Preheat oven to 375 F

Brown beef with onion.

Place cabbage in bottom of a greased 13x9 dish.   Spread rice on top.  Pour 1.5 cups boiling water over rice.   Spoon beef over top.   Pour sauce evenly over beef, and poke down to bottom with utensil to make sure sauce doesn't overflow, and to get the flavour into the cabbage layer.   Place bay leaf in the top of each dish.

Bake covered  for 1.5 - 2 hours.

 

*if using brown rice… cook for closer to 2 hours

This dish freezes very well, so we made 2 when we made it!  

Enjoy!   I don't know if I'd ever make real cabbage rolls again!

Rich, moist, and super delicious!

 

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 cup canola oil 1 1/2 cups white sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups shredded zucchini 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I omitted)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and vanilla until well blended. I found it was best to mix by hand, this mixture ends up being so dry, that the stand mixer was no good, and ended up doing it with a spoon after anyway.

Stir in the dry ingredients. Fold in the zucchini and nuts.

The mixture will seem dry… but don't worry, as it mixes, it moistens up, and will hold together in the pan.

Gently press the dough/batter evenly into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until brownies spring back when gently touched or a toothpick comes out clean.

After cooling, top with icing!

Chocolate Icing

1/4 cup butter (room temperature) 2 cups icing sugar 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 cup milk

I will be the first to admit, I don't follow a recipe for icings…. so you may have to play with the amounts a bit. I always sat art with 1/4 cup butter, and mix in icing sugar and milk until the right consistency is made… then add cocoa til it's flavoured just right. If I need more than is mixed up, I typically just add icing sugar, and milk until it's enough for whatever I'm making. So keep your ingredients nearby to make the perfect icing.

These brownies were delicious… no sign of zucchini, but it's there! :)

Honey Sesame Chicken

I found this recipe on Six Sisters' Stuff blog! I love that blog, always lots of great things on it!



Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper (I omitted)
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional -I omitted)
4 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tbsp water
Sesame seeds

Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper (I didn't want the extra sodium, so I skipped this), put into crock pot. In a bowl, mix the honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes (I actually added some minced ginger in here as well). Pour this mixture over the chicken.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours (until chicken is cooked). Take the chicken chicken from the slow cooker, but leave the sauce. Dissolve 4 tsp of cornstarch into 6 Tbsp of water and add to the sauce in the slow cooker. Stir. Cover slow cooker and cook sauce on high for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. While the sauce is thickening, cut the chicken into small pieces, then put them back in the slow cooker and stir into the sauce before serving.

Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

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DELICIOUS. We all really enjoyed this recipe, we even served it to company. I added some minced ginger to it, and I think it made it very good (although I think it would be very good without it).

I think this is one of our new favourites, and it's very quick and easy to make. I didn't even thaw my chicken ahead of time, just put it in about 30 minutes early.

Oh and the toddler asked for thirds!

Cream of Broccoli - Cheese Soup

This recipe is one from Weight Watchers - Simply the Best Cookbook.



Cream of Broccoli-Cheese Soup

1 onion, chopped
4 cups chopped broccoli
3 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups skim milk
3 packets low-sodium instant chicken broth and seasoning mix
1 carrot, shredded
3/4 cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper


Spray a large sauce pan with nonstick cooking spray; heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring constantly, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, potatoes and 2 cups of water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a blender. Puree, then return them to the liquid. Add the milk, broth mix and carrot. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring as needed until the carrot is softened, about 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat; cool about 1 minute. Add the cheese, sage and pepper; stir until the cheese is melted.

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Review: TASTY! we really enjoyed this soup. The only thing I might change next time is either cook and puree the carrots with the rest of the veggies... or throw some extra chunks of broccoli and potatoes in after pureeing, so there are more chunks. The only chunks being carrots was kinda weird... so I'd like either more or less. The soup itself was delicious and had great flavour, and my suggestions are just totally personal preference.

I didn't get a chance to make my own buns that day, so ended up scoring some clearance ones at the store to accompany our soup.