Do you like cabbage?

"Skinny Soup"

Made: May 20, 2011

Pop made a ton of things when both me and my Mom were growing up. Her favorite was called Skinny Soup. It apparently has about 5-10 calories a serving and a full serving of veggies. It's really pretty good, but I do love cabbage. :)

Ingredients

- 15 oz can of tomato sauce
- 12 oz can of tomato paste
- 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 4 cups water
- 4 beef bullion cubes
- 1 head of cabbage, chopped/diced into small cubes/squares

Directions

- Put all ingredients into a pot
- Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours until cabbage is tender
- Enjoy!

You can add other veggies if you wish, but Mom's way is just cabbage. I also added a couple cans of water while getting the rest of the paste and sauce out of the cans. Plus a dash of salt, pepper & some sugar to cut the acid and can taste of the tomatoes. :)

Ramen Noodles & Beef

Easy Beef & Noodle dinner

Made: May 12, 2011

I wanted to make something with ground beef ... It's one of my favorite ingredients to use. I don't know why, but I just love cooking it. :D So I saw this recipe and thought it was quite easy and very delish. So I tried it out!

Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 cups Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes with Italian herbs (2 14.5 oz cans)
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 package (3 oz) beef-flavored ramen noodle soup mix
- 1 1/2 cups Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers frozen green beans

Directions
- In a 12in nonstick skillet, cook beef & onions over medium heat, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.
- Add tomatoes, water, Italian seasoning & seasoning pack from soup mix; mix well.
- Heat to boiling.
- Break up noodles; stir in noodles & beans.
- Bring to boil.
- Reduce heat to low, cover & simmer for 5 minutes, or until noodles & beans are tender.

I never heard of the "Muir Glen" brand of organic veggies; so I told Rob to use his best judgment while shopping. I used Del Monte diced tomatoes with herbs. :) I also substituted frozen corn instead of green beans (and they were normal Giant brand) since Mom had green beans for lunch and I wanted to use some of the stuff we already had home. I had to add a dash of sugar to the tomatoes to reduce the amount of acid; so it was a pretty sweet dish with that and the corn. It got good reviews all around and seconds. :D

(Recipe used: Pillsbury)

Cheesy and pineappley goodness

Pineapple-Black Bean Enchiladas

Made: May 10, 2011

I've always wanted to make something other than soup and tacos; so I saw this recipe in my e-mail and it sounded really yummy! So I decided to take a chance :)

Ingredients

- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits in juice, drained (keep 1/3 juice on reserve)
- 1 can (15 oz) Progresso black beans, drained & rinsed
- 1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso chopped green chiles
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 can (10 oz) Old El Paso mild enchilada sauce
- 8 whole wheat flour tortillas (8 or 9 in)
- 1/3 cup sour crean
- 8 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Spray 13x9 in baking dish with cooking spray
- In 12in non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium heat; add onion and bell pepper - cook 4-5 minutes or until softened.
- Stir in pineapple, beans, green chiles & salt; cook & stir until thoroughly heated - remove from heat.
- Stir in 1/2 cup cilantro & 2 cups of the cheese
- Spoon & spread 1 tablesppon enchilada suace onto each tortilla.
- Spoon about 3/4 cup vegetable mixture over sauce on each.
- Roll up tortilla; place seam side down in baking dish.
- In small bowl, mix reserved 1/3 cup pineapple juice & remaining enchilada sauce; pour over entire surface of enchiladas in dish.
- Sprint with remaining 1 cup cheese.
- Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray (large enough to cover the dish); place sprayed side down over baking dish & seal tightly.
- Bake 35-40 min; removing foil during last 5-10 minutes of baking until cheese is melted & sauce is bubbly.
- Top each baked enchilada with 1 tablespoon south cream & 1 teaspoon cilantro.

I overstuffed & the first one is always the hardest to get out!

I edited the recipe a smidgen since Mom isn't a big fan of cilantro; so I didn't add any at all. Also, I used Giant brand black beans. :) Side note; if you can't find tidbit sized pineapple ... used crushed. Cubed/Sliced was too big and hard to chop down for me. :/ Other than that, it was a quite delish dish :D

Two for the price of one

Marble cake

Made: May 6, 2011

For the final week of the Friday Night Doubles league, I wanted to make something. Since I can't decide what to make and like to please the masses; I picked a marble cake. Best of both worlds. :D

Ingredients

- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter; softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Grease and flour baking pan
- Place flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and milk into a mixing bowl
- Beat slowly to moisten, then beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for about 2 minutes until smooth
- Reserve 3/4 cup of the batter; pour the remainder into the pan.
- Stir cocoa into the 3/4 cup reserved batter.
- Drop by spoonfuls over top of white batter.
- Using a knife, swirl the cocoa batter into the white batter to incorporate it in a marble effect.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

 I used a 9inx13in rectangle baking pan; the recipe called for a 9in round pan. This was a fairly easy cake to make :) I'm very pleased with the outcome! :D You don't have to icing the cake, but I did half to have some variation for people today. :)

(Recipe used: allrecipes)

Such a ham

Ham Salad/Spread

Made: May 2, 2011

Mom and I love Ham Salad, but it's always so pricey for a little pound. So with leftover chunks from a ham we had previously made the week before for "Our Easter Ham" (which had a nice -homemade- honey mustard type glaze), I used that to make this. :D

Ingredients

- 3 cups ground fully cooked ham
- 1 hard-cooked egg, chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
Assorted crackers

Directions

- In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients
- Combine mayonnaise and mustard.
- Add mayo/mustard to ham mixture.
- Mix well
- Refrigerate until serving.
- Serve with crackers

I didn't follow this recipe much at all. Mom isn't fond of the egg in this. And we didn't really care for the celery or onion. I used a lot more than just 2 teaspoons of relish as well. :) I also had a lot more than just 3 cups of ground ham. :D I had fun with Mom's meat grinder and made at least 6 cups? I didn't measure. I then went to town with taste. In the bowl with the ham, I added 1 1/4 cup of mayo, a good 3 squirts of mustard and enough relish to coat nicely. Mixed it all up together and mushed it. I think it tastes really good and you can tell I made it from a ham shank as our glaze was in corporated inside the mixture as well :)

As for serving, I love it on crackers, bread or by itself. :)

(Recipe used: Allrecipes.com)