Easy Boiled Cabbage

If you don't already know it, cabbage is a wonderful thing.  It is healthy, flavorful, easy to cook, and cheap.  Plus, you can cook it several different ways:  fried cabbage, baked cabbage and cabbage on the grill are just a few of the different ways to cook it, but last night, we had boiled cabbage.  I was always kind of hesitant to try to make boiled cabbage, because it was something that my mom and mother-in-law cooked, and I didn't think I could make it as good as them.  But, to my surprise, it is super easy and I must say mine is just as delicious as theirs.  So, without further ado, here we go:

Basic ingredients

Here is what you will need: 

• 1 small-medium head of cabbage (depending on how many you are serving)
• 3 slices of salt pork (aka fatback, streaked meat, or whatever other name you might call it)
• about 1/2 cup of water
• Salt & Pepper -- I prefer to use kosher salt and the seasoned pepper you see in the front of the picture....actually I use the seasoned pepper on almost everything I cook.  
• Large heavy pot to boil it in.  Doesn't have to be a cast iron pot like the one I have, but I got that for Christmas and I love it...just an FYI

The first step to boiled cabbage is to take your pieces of salt pork and brown them up a bit in the bottom of your pan over medium heat.  The salt pork is like a thicker, saltier piece of bacon and it gives a really good flavor to the cabbage.  If you didn't have salt pork on hand, you can use bacon drippings, but I like to use the meat.  

While your salt pork is browning, go ahead and quarter up your cabbage like so:  First peel back a couple of the outer layers of the cabbage leaves and discard them.  Then cut your cabbage in half and then into quarter pieces.  Discard the core of the cabbage as it's too tough. 

 You should have 4 large chunks when you are done: 

When your meat is good and browned up, go ahead and a little water to the bottom of your pot...I think I used about 1/2 cup of water.  The cabbage will actually produce its own water when it cooks down, so you don't want to add too much or it will be soggy.  Once the water is added, just throw your cabbage in the pot and salt & pepper it to your liking.  

Then, just put a lid on it and let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes or so....the length of time will depend on how crunchy or soft you like your cabbage.  I tend to like mine more on the softer side, so I just kept testing it with a fork to see when it was about the way I like it.  

Also, here is what was happening behind me while I was cooking: 

shhh mom...I'm taking a nappy

Not sure why, but she likes to drag in pillows and a blanket and make a pallet.  Her usual location is behind the couch, but tonight she decided to join me in the kitchen.  

Anyway, back to the cabbage.  Once it has cooked to your satisfaction, it should look something like this: 

yummmmm

So, serve it up alongside your meal, or just eat this for a meal in itself.  That's what I would do if it was just me...but, The Lineman has to have a meat (and apparently Carter does too, she ate like it was going out of style last night).  So, we had it next to a grilled pork chop and shells & cheese....

If you think you don't like cabbage, and I didn't think I did for forever, just try this.  It might change the way you feel about cabbage.  I am looking forward to this summer and growing some for myself in the garden. 

By the way, after some discussion at work, there are apparently different ways to cook boiled cabbage, so if you have a different suggestion, feel free to share in the comments.  And, let me know what you think if you try it! 

Mom's Chicken Casserole

As I said in my last post, we have been experiencing quite the run of wintery weather over the last week.  This latest dose left us with about 4-5 inches of snow around our area, which is a lot for us.  My parents talk about getting big snows like that fairly frequently when they were growing up, but it doesn't happen that much these days.  Snows like this are usually only once or twice a season.  So, we were out of school again and I got a hankering for a warm home cooked meal and I decided to make my mom's chicken casserole.  I am not sure where she got this recipe, but she has made this for as long as I can remember, and luckily for me it is super easy, and warm and delicious...perfect for a snow day.

Here are the things that you will need:

• 2-3 chicken breasts (don't have to be boneless/skinless, that's just what I had in the freezer)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (not pictured, because I was still trying to find a can in my house, which I didn't have so I ended up have to use 2 cans of cream of chicken and it was all good)
• 1 soup can of milk
• 1/2-3/4 stick of butter melted
• 1 package of the pepperidge farm cornbread dressing

The first thing you will need to do is boil your chicken, or if you are lazy like me just season it up and bake it in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes.  This is the method that I prefer to use if a recipe calls for chicken to be boiled first.  The Lineman thinks it's better that way, and I like it cause it's easy. 

Washed and seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper and season salt

After baking for about 30 minutes at 350

Once the chicken is cooked, just shred it all up, or have your husband do it...which is what I like to do.  

Then, you will put the shredded chicken into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish

Next you will take your can of cream of chicken soup, can of cream of mushroom soup (or chicken again if you are like me and thought your were prepared, but you actually weren't) and a soup can full of milk and put into a whisking bowl like so: 

Whisk it all together until it becomes a nice creamy consistency like so: 

And then pour it on top of your shredded chicken, which will look like this: 

The next step is important (or so says my mother, and I have to agree).  Open your package of cornbread stuffing and pour it into the mixing bowl with the remnants of the soup/milk mixture that was till in there.  And, then melt your butter and pour it over the cornbread stuffing.  Stir that all together.  The soup/milk mixture and butter are going to make the stuffing a little moist, which is what you want. 

Pour that mixture on top of the chicken and soup mix in your casserole dish and bake it for about 30 minutes at 350, or until it is golden brown.  Here is the end result: 

And here it is in my plate, next to my quart of home canned green beans and those really delicious sister schubert rolls.  I probably should've had another side, but you know...it was snowing and we had been playing and I didn't have time to come up with something else.  :)

Let me know what you think if you try it!  

Baked Tortellini & Meat Sauce

The Lineman and I both work full time jobs.  We leave our house by 7:30 (if we are doing good) and we don't get home until going on 6:00 most nights.  By the time you factor in needing to give Carter a bath and to bed by 8:30, it doesn't leave much time for cooking.  For the longest time, and still some nights, I resorted to carry out for dinner.  Thankfully, my mom and mother-in-law are good about helping and invite us for supper regularly, but obviously not every night.  For that reason, I am always trying to find easy meals that can be made in a hurry to put into my dinner rotation.  

One of my sister-in-law's recently told me about a baked tortellini and sauce meal that she makes and I tried it a few weeks back and it couldn't be easier and more delicious!  

You will need 2 packs of the refrigerated tortellini pasta (I used the three cheese kind...cause I like cheese).  Pasta sauce...I used  a bag of frozen meat sauce that I made using the Pioneer Woman's recipe.   You can find it here.  I have made this in bulk and frozen it in small batches a couple of times and it comes in so handy!!   (As a side note, the last time I made it, I only had 2 lbs. of ground beef on hand, so I subbed in 3 lbs. of ground deer burger meat.  I think it turned out better than usual!)  If you don't have frozen meat sauce, I am sure you could just use a regular store bought jar of sauce and add meat if you want.  However, the Lineman refuses to eat something if it doesn't have meat in it, so it is nice to have the homemade meat sauce on hand.  And, you will need some shredded cheese to top it off.  I used mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.  

First, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add in your tortellini and cook according to the package.  

While it's cooking, heat up your sauce in a small pan.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and pour into a casserole dish, tossing with olive oil to keep it from sticking together. 

Then top with your meat sauce. 

And then your shredded cheeses.

  

Then throw it in the oven and bake it at 350 for as long as it takes the cheese to get a little brown and bubbly.  And it should come out looking something like this: 

Serve it with some garlic or cheese bread and a salad, if you are being really productive.  I was not, come on it was a Monday night.  This is a super easy dinner and it makes for great leftovers.  

Obviously this is not for someone who doesn't like noodles...or cheese...or is on a diet.  But, if you don't fall into any of those categories, try it out and let me know what you think!  :)