Cabbage Soup!

A lot of you have asked me for the recipe for the cabbage soup I mentioned in the last post, so I thought I would post it here. In fact, there is a whole website dedicated to this "diet" that features the cabbage soup. If you are interested, you can go here:

http://www.cabbage-soup-diet.com/index.php

You can click on the soup recipe there.

I think this recipe and diets revolving around it have been around for a million years. I can remember when a group of us decided we would all try it, and we all had cabbage soup coming out of our ears! It worked, but after a while, I never wanted to see another bowl of that stuff!!!My recipe has evolved over the years to suite my tastes and to satisfy my hunger. I will have a bowl of this for lunch, then another bowl before my VERY low cal supper. I don't do the rest of the diet as outlined on that site. I'm just eating VERY low cal right now. Gotta get it off FAST as the days are going by before that dreaded Dr. visit!

And I have an awful confession to make. I even have to lose MORE than he knows because I leaned on the desk when I was weighed, so it looked like I weighed less than I really did. So. . . . . that didn't help me out any. With the outcome of the dr. visit being what it was, I would have been better off making myself look like I weighed MORE rather than less. I'm not even down to what my chart says, no less lost anything! I'm paying for my sin!

So here goes:

1 large head of cabbage (remove outer, tough leaves) chopped
3 or 4 yellow onions, chopped
LOTS of celery, chopped fine
2 peppers, chopped (yellow, green or red,)
8 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 large cans of diced tomatoes with juice (seasoned ones work well)
1 large jar of V-8 juice
2 envelopes Liptons beefy onion soup
Seasonings: (it's up to you!)
Sometimes I do taco seasonings, sometimes italian, sometimes just garlic, salt and pepper.
Add enough water to make it SOUP and not STEW! you might need a beef boullian or two.

That is the BASIC thing that I do. But from there, it's all what I have available and the time of the year. I have used yellow summer squash, zucchinni, a few green beans, etc. Any of the low cal, low carb veggies. I had a bag of frozen italian veggies and a bag of stir fry veggies, and I threw those in.

Also, you can change the whole flavor by using chicken stock, or chicken boullian, or the Liptons chicken onion soup.

If I have no ideas for supper and don't feel like cooking, I'll throw a few of those little frozen meatballs and a little bit of cooked pasta or rice in the soup and just have that.

I'm not saying this is the best soup in the world, but it sure is filling and about as low in calories as a soup can get (outside of just plain broth!), and that's what I need to get me through the day.

I've lost 5 pounds since Friday!!!!!!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Last week, my sister told me she was making a tuna noodle casserole. My mouth started watering, believe me!!!! Years ago, this was something that was always on my menu, but it seemed to have been forgotten for years. So you KNOW what I made this week. . . . Yep!. . . . Tuna noodle casserole. And believe me, I had forgotten how good this can be. So give it a try, even if you think you don't like tuna!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

6-8 cups of egg noodles
2 regular sized cans of tuna, drained (I used the white stuff)
2 regular sized cans of cream of mushroom soup(or cream of celery, or 1 of each)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
4 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, finally chopped
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup shredded chedder cheese
2 cups milk
1 can peas, drained

Cook noodles in salted water till just done (not soggy!)
Melt butter and over medium heat, cook onions, celery and peppers till just tender (not browned)
Mix in drained tuna, soup, cheese, milk and peas
Mix all this with drained noodles
Put in greased casserole dish
Top with crushed potato chips or french fried onions (I like the onions best)
Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until heated through.
I had to lower the heat as my onions were getting a little too brown.

This makes a great one dish meal, or serve with a nice salad.

I love meals that have only a few dishes to wash afterwards. Although, I must say, I filled a bag full of cans, had several pans to wash, etc., etc., but at least it was all cleaned up BEFORE dinner.
1 cup crushed potato chips, or french fried onions

Fried Rice Anyone???

I don't know why, but I had this terrible urge for fried rice lately. I used to make it all the time years ago, but haven't done it in ages. Don't know why -- just never thought about it, I guess. I had a lot of "this and that" in the fridge, so decided I'd throw it all together to make my own. That's what's great about fried rice -- you can use all those little bits of left over veggies and meat that really aren't enough to serve as is. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be making it A LOT, I guarantee it! You just can't go wrong!


Ingredients
4 cups cooked rice (I cooked mine in chicken broth)
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoon butter or margarine (I used olive oil)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green and/or red pepper (optional)
4 cups rice, prepared and cooled
1/2 cup shredded carrots (optional)
1/2 cup shredded lettus (optional)
1 cup cooked chicken (optional)
soy sauce
1 cup cooked peas (optional)

Directions

1 Melt 1 tablespoon butter in skillet or wok.
2 Scramble eggs in butter, breaking up the cooked eggs into small pieces.
3 Set aside.
4 Melt 1 tablespoon butter in skillet or wok.
5 Saute onions and/or green peppers in butter for 3 minutes.
6 Combine eggs, onions, rice, and meat, carrots, etc.
7 Stir in soy sauce until color of rice is uniform.
8 Stir in peas.
9 Toss and turn until everything is heated well.

Mini Pumpkin Date Breads -- Great Gifts!!!

These cute and spicy little breads, wrapped festively, are a great solution for a low-key holiday gift exchange at work.



Mini Pumpkin Date Breads

1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
3 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup chopped dates

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottoms only of 11 miniature loaf pans, 4 1/2x2 3/4x1 1/4 inches.

2. Mix sugar, oil, vanilla, eggs and pumpkin in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except dates. Stir in dates. Divide batter among pans.

3. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up 10 days.

Holiday Snickerdoodle Recipe

I always love Holiday recipes! And this one is so simple as it uses the cookie mix you buy in the packet! LOVE those!

I'll be sharing more recipes during the coming weeks, and hope you do the same ---- sort of like a recipe exchange!!!!



Holiday Snickerdoodles

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Betty Crocker® red and green decorating icings
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, flour, butter and egg until dough forms.
2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. In small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 11 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute. Remove from cookie sheets. If desired, roll tops of warm cookies in additional sugar-cinnamon mixture. Cool completely, about 20 minutes. Decorate as desired using icing.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.

Best Ever Pot Roast!

I'm not a good planner as to what I'm having for dinner the next day, etc. So I'm really bad at getting something out of the freezer and getting it defrosted in time.
The other day, on the spur of the moment, I decided on a nice pot roast. There it was, sitting in my freezer, as hard as a brick. But I thought. . . . . let's experiment here!!!!!

It was a nice chuck roast -- couple of pounds. I unwrapped that baby, made sure all the plastic, etc., was off as it was frozen to the meat!




I got out my big thick, heavy, dutch oven and drizzled some oil in the bottom of the pan and got it heated to a high temperature. Sprinkled salt, pepper, and garlic in the oil and dropped that frozen brick of meat into that pan.




Don't move it around a lot. Just let it sizzle for a few minutes, especially if it's a frozen brick like mine. While you are waiting, salt, pepper, and garlic the side that is up and facing you. Then, take a peak on the sizzling size and see if it is nicely browned. If so, turn it over and brown the other side.



Now you have a choice. Since my crockpot bit the dust, I left mine in this same heavy pot to finish my roast. If you have a crockpot, you can remove the roast from the pan to your crockpot at this point!




Now: 1. Add one LARGE family size can of Cream of Mushroom soup, undiluted.
2. Add one envelope of Beefy onion soup (Liptons - comes two in a box).
3. Add about 1 1/2 cups of water.
4. Cut about 3 large onions in chunks and throw in there.

That's it. Cover that baby and let it cook. I turned mine on a med - low heat for a while, since I knew it was still probably frozen in the center, and I checked on it often to make sure it was still going at a slow boil. In the crockpot, I would set it on high, make sure it comes to a boil, then lower to medium.

I cooked mine for about 4 hours. At about the two hour mark, I added carrots. You can add potatoes, but I had mashed potatoes in mind, so didn't this time.

When your roast is fork tender, falling apart, making you drool, etc., it's done!
Check the thickness of all that artery clogging, delicious gravy. If you want it thicker, take some out into a bowl, whisk in some flour, then pour back into your pan and mix well till thickened.

I guarantee you, this is the all time best pot roast I've ever made. You just can't go wrong!!!!!!

PS: Someone left a comment that she makes this recipe except she cooks it in the oven! I forgot to mention that I have done this receipt in one of those cooking bags with all the same ingredients, tied that bag up, and followed the temp, etc., on the roasting bag directions. Same results!!!! Just delicious!

Best ever Funnel Cakes!

Whenever I get one of these reports from my sister in New Jersey, I think it's worth posting!!!!

This is what she said:

Thanks for the Parker's General Store site. My grandson saw the funnel cake recipe and it went downhill from there. 8 0:clock at night - it was grease, flour, sugar, etc., everywhere! My fry daddy was humming. They ended up being the best funnel cakes we ever ate with confec sugar flying all over the kitchen. Even Bernie was raving about them. Now my butt is 4 inches bigger and my gallbladder is crying!!! Please!!!! I need to be sent to bloggers Anonymous.



What more can I say???? I NEED these funnel cakes, and they are on my list to make for my comfort food this week.

You can go to Linda's Recipe Blog and start your own fun kitchen experience with this recipe!!!!

Thanks, Linda!

Left Overs ------ Again?????

Usually if there isn't enough for two left over in the bowl, I either give it to Buster, or I throw it away.

But lately, I just can't afford to do that, taking into consideration the high prices on veggies and other foods!

Last week, I did a cookie sheet full of roasted vegetables. It's probably my all time favorite way to eat veggies. I cut up potatoes into chunks (left the skin on!),
cut carrots into sticks, and cut up onions into chunks. I toss these together with olive oil and seasonings, spread out on a cookie sheet, and roast until nice and brown and tender.

I had a small bowl left over, and decided to save them.

The next night, I wondered what to do with these, as I was having meatloaf and needed some veggies to go with it.

Here's what I came up with . . . . .

I quickly whipped up some instant mashed potatoes (I like mine not so runny!).

I then took my left over oven roasted veggies, cut them up a little big, and mixed them in my mashed potato mixture.

I put this all into a buttered baking dish.

I had two strips of bacon left over from breakfast, so I crumbled that on top, and added some shredded chedder cheese, too.

I baked this all until the cheese was bubbly at about 375 degrees.

This had to be one of those all time favorite dishes I've ever made. I really didn't need the meatloaf . . . . This was good all by itself!

Isn't life great?????

---------------



For these things, I thank you, Lord:
39. Fresh tomatoes from the garden!
40. A lovely mid-day shower!
41. A sister who understands!
41. Great blogging prayer warriors.
42. Blubbery memories of my Dad!
43. A great cup of coffee and cookies that my sister made!--------

Plan B for the Scalloped Potatoes!

I was all prepared with my ingredients, suggestions, recipes, and tools. . . .went for my potatoes . . . .and they were rotten!!!!!! Since I tend to get crabby in the kitchen, I decided to save the day and come up with "Plan B."

I'm so glad I did, because it rated a "10" in my book!

I went with elbo macaroni. A big pot full!

Here's what I came up with:

1 can evaporated milk
1 cups water
1/2 stick butter
1 envelope of Pepper Gravy Mix (says makes 3 1/2 cups on the envelope)
Paprika
3 chopped onions sauteed in a little butter
cheddar cheese
2 cups left over ham
bread crumbs

Cook pasta til just done. Drain.
Mix the milk, water, and gravy mix in sauce pan, heat, and stir til thickened.
Fry onions till just clear (not browned) in a little butter or oil.
Add onions, ham, and shredded cheese to gravy mixture. (I eye-balled the cheese. I do like lots of cheese, though)
Mix in macaroni
Dump the whole mixture into 9x13 pan.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs
Put more cheese on the top
Back at 375 till cheese is melted and browning some.

This had to be the best I've ever made.

Buster thought so, too.

So the scalloped potatoes will have to wait until the next ham comes along!

Scalloped Potatoes?????

I was sooooo blessed this Easter and received one of those wonderful, spiral cut hams! I can't stop picking at it.

Years ago, I remember having the absolute best scalloped potatoes with ham chunks in it. It was soooo creamy, cheezy and tasty.

I have tried a million recipes down through the years -- some OK, some terrible, etc.
My main problem is that it seems to separate or "curdle" or something. Not that nice, creamy texture that you want.

Does anyone have a good recipe?? I'd love to use my left over ham like this, but don't want to ruin the ham AND the cheese, AND the potatoes in a not-so-good recipe!

Thanks!!!!

BoterKoek!

One of my all time favorite. . . .cookies???. . . . has to be BoterKoek. This means Butter Cake in Dutch. But to me, it's more like a butter cookie bar. Crisp on the outside, chewy and soft on the inside. A little more dense than a brownie. Why they call it cake is beyond me. My sister made this yesterday and it is just too good . . .melt in your mouth good . . . .who care's if you get fat good . . . .!!!!!

12 servings 50 min 20 min prep

2/3 cup butter or margarine or half-and-half
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract (I like 2 1/2 teaspoons in mine!)
1 egg, beaten (reserve 1 tsp)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
sliced almonds, for garnish (optional but not the same with it)

In medium bowl, mix together butter, sugar and almond extract.
Add beaten egg except for 1 teaspoon.
Sift flour and baking powder, and add to bowl, mixing with wet ingredients.
Put dough in greased 9 inch pie plate.
Mix the reserved 1 tsp of beaten egg with 1 tsp of water, and brush over dough.
Sprinkle with sliced almonds, if desired. (My Oma always used the almonds, it looks pretty and adds a nice touch!).
Bake at 350 degress for 25-30 minutes or until done (firm to the touch).
This is a dense cake (like a bar cookie or hard brownie), but should be soft on the inside and hard on the outside, but not too hard!

Oliebollen - My Favorite Dutch Recipe!

Nothing brings back memories of wonderful childhood experiences like helping my Mother make Olie Bollen! These little dough balls were full of apples and raisins, fried to a golden brown, and drenched in powder sugar. I can still our little faces full of powder sugar -- but it was well worth it and we didn't care! Start a family tradition with these wonderful treats! They were traditionally served on New years in Dutch families!

OLIE BOLLEN

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2 pkg. yeast
3/4 c. warm water
6 c. milk, scalded
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon juice or extract
6 c. flour or more
3 c. raisins
3 c. peeled and chopped apples

Soften yeast in warm water. To cooled milk, add the eggs, sugar, salt, and flavoring. Add yeast mixture and then gradually beat in 6 or more cups of flour and raisins and apples. Dough should be stiff.
Let rise until double in bulk (covered with dough cloth). Stir down and let rise again until double. Fry in deep fat at 375-400 degrees. (Use ice cream scoop to drop dough into hot oil.) Drain on absorbent paper. Dip or serve with powdered sugar. (Bollen will usually turn over by themselves while in hot oil.)