Sunday, March 18, 2012

Irish Cabbage Can Be Delicious!



I was looking for a decent cabbage recipe, I mean, cabbage is cabbage. Its not the most glamorous vegetable, but it can be quite delicious. Let me just say that I love cole slaw, like..a lot. Love it. I judge restaurants based on their cole slaw, but I just wasn't feeling it tonight as I had it twice the past week.

This recipe I found has a bit of everything, saltiness from the bacon, sweetness from the cabbage and richness from the butter. Also, you will see some dark green in the photo, that is kale which I had found in my freezer, but you certainly don't have to add it if you don't want to or have it. I just happened to have some so I threw it in and it was pretty good!


Irish Cabbage
1 medium cabbage, quartered and core removed
2 slices of lean bacon
2 tbsp melted butter (or smart balance light)
1 tsp of nutmeg
drizzle of vinegar

1. Boil the cabbage in water for about 10-15 minutes.
2. Fry the bacon, remove from fat and cut into bits.
3. Place the cooked cabbage in a oven safe dish, drizzle with melted butter, top with bacon and nutmeg.
4. Broil for 5-7 minutes.
5. Just before serving add a splash of vinegar to your liking.

Sausage Sunday! Bangers and Mash

Wow, I cannot believe how long it has been since I've written. I've been pretty busy and just haven't had the energy to write anything so here it is! Yesterday was St. Patrick's day, as we know, I am not a lick of Irish, not even a little, but that doesn't mean I can't sort of celebrate with great food, right? Also, I've been following a great program called Diet Free Life (you can thank me for your inbound link later hehe), which has helped me to lose close to 25 lbs in two months (fluctuating the past 2 weeks ugh). The reason for this little ad is because the meal I ate is a complete meal which is pretty close to DFL compliant, with just a few tweaks here and there you can have a very compliant meal!

I went to my sausage go to place, Karl's, on rt 1. I actually didn't go there with bangers on the mind but I saw them, freshly made, lovely bangers just asking me to take them home. So, I did! These bangers a bit spicy with a touch of nutmeg and are very delicious, especially when served with pan gravy which I am a big fan of.

So I guess the only recipe you need now is for the mash, or mashed potatoes. Actually, you don't even need that, just use your own favorite recipe! Ok ok, I will post the one I used:

Mashed Potato
3 large potatoes peeled and cubed
1 tbsp smart balance light (or butter)
1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
chicken stock (I love Trader Joes low sodium!)
Freshly ground pepper

1. Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until soft, usually about 10-15 mins
2. Begin to pan fry your sausages
3. In a bowl, combine the butter and greek yogurt, add potatoes and mash. It will be a bit dry now, so start adding the stock a little at a time. Some people like chunky potatoes, but I like them mostly creamy, so a little extra stock helps with the creaminess factor. Yum, set aside!

Pan Gravy
1 tbsp flour
a little fat to start the roux, use whatever you want

1. Remove sausages from the pan.
2. Add the fat and flour. Whisk
3. Add a little bit of stock while whisking to avoid clumping (this is my trick. I use mostly stock to create a roux rather than mostly fat)
4. Once the flour has cooked for a minute, add about a a cup and a half of stock, and keep whisking up the caramelized sausage off the bottom of the pan and watch the magic happen as it thickens!

And lastly, you need a vegetable to complete the meal. I found a great Irish recipe for cabbage. I will post it here as well as make a new post for it as well. If you like cabbage, then you will like this.

Irish Cabbage
1 medium cabbage, quartered and core removed
2 slices of lean bacon
2 tbsp melted butter (or smart balance light)
pinch of nutmeg
drizzle of vinegar

1. Boil the cabbage in water for about 10-15 minutes.
2. Fry the bacon, remove from fat and cut into bits.
3. Place the cooked cabbage in a oven safe dish, drizzle with melted butter, top with bacon and nutmeg.
4. Broil for 5-7 minutes.
5. Just before serving add a splash of vinegar to your liking.


I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, I wasn't really even planning it but it all came together nicely!

Enjoy!



(I left my laptop open when I went to get some water and one of my kitties stepped on it and left me this message, I found it to be very fitting so I am leaving it!)
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