Grammie's Cabbage and Noodles

This dish is a long-time family favorite, first served by my mom's mother, Julia, during the depression. Grammie brought this recipe over from Poland when she made the trip to our country as a young teen in 1909. This dish is still very inexpensive to make, so it's a great meal when finances are tight. It can be served as a side dish but my family loves to have it as our main meal.

I adapted this dish a bit, using olive oil, as well as the butter that Grammie used. She would also make her own noodles. I bet that was awesome! I only wish I had Grammie's homemade pierogi recipe.

Grammie's Cabbage and Noodles

1-2 onions, chopped
1 head cabbage, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse pepper
small dash cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth or water
1 pkg of noodles or pasta
Butter and/or olive oil, as desired

Cut onion and cabbage and place in large pan with olive oil, butter and seasonings. Saute cabbage and onions over medium heat. Add broth or water as needed, in small amounts. Don't stir a lot as you cook or the veggies will not brown properly. Cook until the cabbage and onion are caramelized. Caramelizing can take around 40 minutes. (Add a tablespoon or so of extra butter if mixture is not browning properly.) You'll end up with a lot less of the cabbage onion mixture than you started with. Taste for seasonings and put to the side until pasta is cooked. If you want to cook this mixture a day or two ahead, it keeps well.

While cabbage and onions are cooking, cook pasta in boiling salted water until tender. Follow package directions. Drain.

Once the onion and cabbage are well browned, add pasta and extra butter or olive oil as desired. Taste for seasonings.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Dad's Hamburger Veggie Soup

When I was growing up, my Dad was the one who prepared our family meals, and his hamburger soup was a food I always craved. I remember being in high school and napping on Sunday afternoons and waking to the comforting smell of soup on the stove.

This is one of those delicious soups that you can pull together and be ready to serve in not much more than an hour. You can easily change it up by adding different veggies like green beans, corn, zucchini or potatoes.

Dad's Hamburger Veggie Soup

1 onion, chopped

1-2 cups chopped carrot

1/2 to 1 lb. ground beef

Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano to taste

1/4 teaspoon or more cayenne

1/2 medium head cabbage, cut in thirds and sliced thinly

3 or more cloves garlic, minced

2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes

4-5 cups beef broth

1-2 15.5 oz. can/s cannellini (white kidney) beans, preferably organic, undrained

Balsamic vinegar, lemon juice or red wine -- add a tablespoon or more if desired

Using a large soup pot, cook ground beef with onion, carrots and seasonings til browned and veggies are tender. Drain/spoon out excess fat. Add sliced cabbage and cook until tender. For last minute, add minced garlic and saute.

Taste for seasonings. (Soup should be very well seasoned before adding more ingredients.) Then, add canned tomatoes, broth and beans and bring to a simmer.

Simmer at least 30 to 40 minutes (can simmer much longer if desired). Make sure veggies are very tender and taste again for seasonings before serving.

To "brighten" the flavor, add balsamic vinegar, lemon juice or red wine if desired before serving.

Serve with sour cream, crusty bread and a salad.

I'm Addicted -- Coffee Jello Cubes

I think it was at Thanksgiving this year when I asked Matt if there was anything special he wanted me to make, and he requested the coffee jello cubes I made when he was a kid.

I kind of balked at the idea. I had no idea where the original recipe was and didn't really think that coffee jello was a great Thanksgiving dish.

Boy am I glad Matt asked for them!

I tracked down some recipes online that jogged my memory and adapted them to recreate those jello cubes I would make all the time when I had three young children in the house. (I think I said I was making it for them but now I know I probably was eating many of them myself!) I totally fell in love at first bite. I don't know what it is about the combination of good coffee and a bit of chocolate in that jelled form, but whatever it is, they make me happy. (And I bet they're not terrible in terms of calories when you use Splenda.) So, here's the now-treasured recipe for me, Matt and my grandbabies-to-be:

MY FAVORITE COFFEE JELLO CUBES

4 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1 C cold liquid – I used ½ C chilled coffee and ½ C half and half

2 ½ C hot, good quality coffee

¼ - ½ C chocolate chips (optional, but totally necessary for me!)

1/2 C splenda (can use all sugar or a combo)

Sprinkle gelatin over cold coffee and half and half. Let soften for one minute. Stir out as many lumps as possible.

Melt chocolate chips in coffee, heated to near boiling and add sugar.

Stir cold coffee mixture into the hot coffee, until gelatin is totally dissolved. (If mixture is at all lumpy, run it through a sieve, pressing with spoon, as you pour into the pan.)

Spray 9x9 pan with butter spray and pour mixture into pan. Chill. (You can do this quickly if you put in freezer for around 20 minutes.) Cut into pieces as you serve with a small spatula, so you can get under the pieces without breakage.

ENJOY!!

There is an alcoholic version of this that I want to try. When I do, I'll share the recipe.