30 Days of Real Meals- #3 Cabbage Roll Casserole

I grew up eating my mother's amazing cabbage rolls.  These days, I get my fix (without all the work) by making this quick and easy casserole.  I love recipes you can make with 1 pound of ground beef.

I know I already warned you about the potential for bad lighting in my photographs for this 30 Day journey, but I am sorry for all the artificial lighting......by the time dinner is ready, the sun has set and we are in a hurry to eat so I just snap and go!  I love the natural light of summertime when the days last 

F O R E V E R.......

CABBAGE ROLL CASSEROLE

1 pound organic grass fed beef

3 cloves organic garlic, smashed and minced

2 organic onions, chopped

1 cup organic basmati or white rice

26 oz organic tomato sauce, or chopped tomatoes (preferably from a glass jar)

2 Tbsp organic tomato paste (from a glass jar)

1/2 cup organic chicken stock or water

6 cups shredded organic cabbage

1tsp organic ground cinnamon

1 tsp organic mint

sea salt and pepper

organic feta or romano cheese

Method:  In a large frying pan, cook the beef, onions, and garlic until there is no pink left in the beef.  Add salt and pepper.

     Add the uncooked rice to the beef mixture and set aside.

     Mix together the tomatoes, paste, stock, cinnamon, and mint. 

     In a large casserole dish (1.5 L), layer half the cabbage.  Cover with half of the beef mixture.  Cover that with half of the sauce.  Repeat. Cover and bake at 350* for one hour.  Serve with feta cheese or grated romano.

MY MOTHER'S KITCHEN (in my kitchen) - STUFFED PEPPERS WITH EGGPLANT

My mother has been visiting for the last two weeks, so there has been a flurry of activity in the kitchen.  The farmer's market is overflowing with seasonal vegetables we don't see around these parts most of the year, so I've been very excited to bring home treats to make all my summertime favorites with.  Luckily mom is here to help with all the work.  

Her willing hands were also very useful when I had the hugest urge to go wild blueberry picking last week.  A couple of years ago there was a big forest fire alongside the highway not too far away from where we live.  I was sad to see all the trees burn away, but a part of me was looking forward to the idea of prime blueberry growing conditions that are subsequently created as a result of a big burn.  So there we were, out early in the morning, me with my big baby belly, and mom with her allergy congestion.  We weren't there for very long, just enough to pick blueberries to make two lovely pies.  That same day we made sweet and sour pickles, and Spanakopita.  We were tired by the end of the day, but well fed.  

To take a break from all the cooking, we've been busy sewing baby stuff.  And going to the beach to cool off during this heat wave we've been having.  When we get tired of that, we haul ourselves back into the kitchen to make other delicious treats like homemade pasta, which my son helped us make, and stuffed peppers.  Wow, I'm getting tired just writing about it all.  By the way, sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I find myself low on patience and energy during this pregnancy.  Thankfully, mom took these pictures of supper tonight, and so here I am sharing it with you.

STUFFED PEPPERS with EGGPLANT

1 medium organic eggplant, sliced in half and hollowed out, reserve the meat and chop

6 organic peppers, any colour, tops cut off and hollowed out

2 cups partially cooked organic brown rice

1/4 cup e.v olive oil

1/2-3/4 pound organic or pasture raised ground beef

1 can organic whole tomatoes, crushed by hand

1 organic onion, diced

1 organic leek, thinly sliced

2 large cloves organic garlic, chopped

1/4 cup Bulgarian feta, crumbled (I bought this type because it comes in bulk from a metal can instead of a plastic pail!  woo hoo)

1/4 cup organic parsley, chopped

1/4 cup organic mint, chopped

sea salt and pepper to taste

1/8 cup grated romano or parmesan 

1/4 cup organic breadcrumbs

2-4 organic potatoes, cut into large wedges (to hold all the peppers upright in the pan)

Method:  In a large saute pan, cook onion, reserved eggplant, and ground beef over medium heat with half the olive oil until onion is soft and beef is browned slightly.  Stir in the tomatoes and let simmer for a couple of minutes.  Remove from heat, add cooked rice, feta, herbs and seasonings.

     Preheat oven to 350*.  Fill peppers and eggplant.  Cover the peppers with their lids.  Brush olive oil over the peppers and any of the exposed eggplant.  Combine the romano and bread crumbs together in a bowl and then sprinkle on top of the peppers and eggplant.  Place the peppers and eggplants in a baking dish, and use the potatoes to keep the peppers upright in the pan, wedging them between the vegetables.  Bake in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours or until nicely browned and cooked through.  If peppers brown too quickly, cover with parchment paper.

Faegan insisted on being the official pasta machine cranker.  He had a lot of fun helping, but eventually he decided he'd rather cut the pasta into little bits which inspired us to make a quick lunch of leftover pasta bits boiled in water and then smothered in salty butter and freshly grated romano cheese.

The grand finale was this delicious lasagna made from the fresh pasta noodles, grilled eggplant and zucchini.

 

One of the blueberry pies.

The lovely leeks we used in the pita.  I was glad to find a use for all the chard and dandelions in the garden too.

And the delicious sandwich pickles.

I promise I will get to posting all these recipes eventually.  Just as soon as beach days are gone.........

GARLIC MASHED AND MEATLOAF

I should have really labelled this post in a way that highlighted the delicious side dish of broccoli and kale in a yummy tomato sauce.  My father was savouring the meatloaf, saving it for last, but for me the broccoli was the hit.  My favorite times when my parents visit is supper time.  I really love eating together as a family, sitting around the table sharing food.  I am also very lucky that my mother sometimes cooks for us when they're here and so the food tastes even better when someone else is making it!  Tonight though, I insisted on making supper for her because she rarely gets to enjoy other people cooking for her.

TOMATO SMOTHERED BROCCOLI AND KALE

1 head organic broccoli, stems peeled and cut into four pieces and floretted

3 large handfuls organic young kale

5 cloves organic garlic, peeled and smashed

1/2 can organic crushed tomatoes

e.v olive oil

sea salt and pepper

Method:  Heat a saucepan over medium hight heat, stir in a drizzle of olive oil, some sea salt and cook the tomatoes for about 15 minutes over medium low heat until they thicken.  Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil.  When ready, toss in the broccoli and cook for a couple of minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and then drop the kale into the hot water.  Cook for about 1 minute then set aside with the broccoli.  Heat another 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a non stick skillet.  When hot add the smashed garlic and then fry the broccoli and kale for 3 minutes.  Dribble in the tomato sauce, 3 Tbsp of water, cover and reduce heat and cook for about 5-10 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

MEATLOAF

2 pounds organic ground beef

3 organic green onions, sliced

2 organic eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup organic fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs

1/4 cup organic milk

5 cloves organic garlic, smashed and minced

2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

dash of hot sauce

sea salt and pepper

Method:  In a large mixing bowl soak the breadcrumbs in the milk and let sit for 5 minutes.  Add the ground beef and the rest of the ingredients, stir gently to combine.  Preheat oven to 375*.  Shape the meat into a loaf in the centre of a cast iron skillet.  Bake in oven for about 30-45 minutes, or until it starts to brown and is not red in the middle.

Burgers and Ice Cream

When you are craving take out, try making your own.

BURGERS

1 pound organic and or pasture raised ground beef

1 organic onion, minced

1 organic egg, lightly beaten

1 handful fresh bread crumbs

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 Tbsp ground organic coriander

pinch of ground organic cumin

sea salt and pepper to taste

Toppings etc:

3 organic whole wheat burger buns

Homemade cucumber relish

Organic ketchup

Honey mustard or Dijon

Sliced organic tomato

Thin sliced red onion

Slices of organic cheddar cheese

Method:  Preheat oven to 450*.  Combine all the first ingredients together in a bowl.  Shape into 4 big flat patties. Place in a cast iron fry pan and broil for 25 minutes.  Add cheese to melt in the last 5 minutes. 

SALAD WE ATE WITH THE BURGERS

Organic Oak leaf lettuce

Organic Local Feta Cheese

Grated Organic Carrot

Organic Cucumbers

Organic Red Pepper

Organic Sunflower Seeds

Spiralized Organic Zucchini

Dressing:  1/4 cup olive oil * 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar * 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast * 4 cloves garlic * 3 Tbsp fresh herbs * 2 Tbsp local honey * pepper

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM SENSATION

I was craving the homemade peanut butter cups I make, but we didn't have any or the ingredients to make them so I decided to create this which was so good I had two bowls.

2 scoops organic milk chocolate ice cream ( we like PC brand)

1 heaping Tbsp organic peanut butter (PC brand)

drizzle organic chocolate sauce (Nativa brand from Shopper's Drug Mart)

Method:  Scoop ice cream, then PB and drizzle with sauce......AWESOME!

Clean out the fridge Lasagna, or what should I do with this ground beef?

Scott's parents were coming over for dinner the other night and I had already taken out some pasture raised ground beef from the freezer the night before.  The dilemma - how do you make 1 pound of meat feed 4 adults and one toddler?  So I decided to make up a lasagna.  There were a couple of challenges with this one - 1) I didn't really have enough mozzarella 2) I didn't have ricotta or cottage cheese or even tofu in the house to fill the lasagna with.  No problem though, I just used feta cheese blended with whatever yogurt I had and when I ran out of enough mozzarella for the topping, I just grated a whole bunch of romano cheese to fill in the blanks - it turned out really well!  I ate the rest for lunch today :)

LASAGNA (from my head and I didn't record measurements so modify as required)

About 18 lasagna noodles ( I used a combo of organic kamut and organic white lasagna noodles)

1 jar organic pasta sauce

organic mozzarella cheese

1 bunch organic swiss chard

About 10 organic button mushrooms

1 organic onion

organic feta cheese (found local organic goat feta at Homegrown Oranics in Halifax!)

organic yogurt

1 pound organic pasture raised ground beef

Method: Preheat oven to 350*.  Put a big pot of salted water onto boil for the noodles.  As you wait wilt swiss chard in a pot with a lid over medium heat.  Strain and squeeze all the liquid out and then chop into small pieces.  Slice mushrooms and onions and saute in a skillet with some olive oil.  After about 3 minutes, add the ground beef and brown.  Set aside.  When water is boiling, add the noodles in 2 batches, cooking 3/4 of the way so they are still slightly undercooked.  Be sure to add oil to water to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other.  Drain and cool.  Add about 1/4 cup water to the pasta sauce to dilute.  Pour some of the sauce on the bottom of your big roasting tray.  Layer some noodles on top.  Now is when you can mix some yogurt with the feta to make a ricotta like cheese sauce which you spread onto the layer of noodles, followed by some ground beef mix,  some chard,  some more sauce and ending with a sprinkle of mozzarella.  Repeat.  End with another layer of noodles, then the rest of the sauce and cheese.  Sprinkle with romano and cover with pod lid or aluminum foil.  Bake covered 1 hour, uncover for 20 minutes and serve.