Crafting something special out of cabbage craving

 They were practically giving away cabbage last month just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. It got me thinking about how I could go for a plate heaped high with cabbage rolls, the kind stuffed with ground meat, rice and all kinds of savory herbs and covered with a tangy tomato sauce. This soup is inspired by my craving. Think of it as a broth-y deconstruction of that delicious dish. Cabbage makes for a great soup ingredient — it doesn’t take long to cook, and it seems to hold up pretty well in hot pot.

A note on the rice — I used converted brown rice because I already had some in the cabinet due to a recipe I tried out a while back. I imagine 3/4 cups cooked rice, stirred in with the cabbage, would also work.

Stuffed Cabbage Soup
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
8 cups chicken broth
½ cup converted brown rice
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 cups shredded green cabbage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine onion, garlic and ground turkey in large soup pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until meat is brown. Add thyme, oregano and parsley and cook for another minute before adding broth, rice, tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce to pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stir in cabbage and cover, simmering for a few minutes until cabbage is tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Stew shakes off the shivers

It’s been quite chilly the past few days, even if we didn’t get the low snow everyone was buzzing about all week.
I wanted to make something hearty and low-
maintenance for dinner and decided to give beef stew a try.

This recipe is inspired by something I read the “Slow & Easy” slow-cooker book I have on loan from the library. I call it Beef Stew for Two because the ingredients didn’t take up my entire Crock-Pot. The recipe yields enough for two hefty servings, plus leftovers.

I put all the ingredients in my Crock-Pot before making breakfast to ensure plenty of time so the beef would be nice and tender. I like my stew thick like gravy and with lots of chunky goodness, and I ended up making a quick roux of flour and melted butter (2 tablespoons each) to thicken the stew about an hour before serving. I’ll be sure to add mushrooms the next time I make this stew.

Beef Stew for Two
1 pound chuck roast, fat trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 ½ cups chopped carrots
1 ½ cups chopped celery
½ yellow onion, diced
1 pound Russet potatoes, cut into small cubes
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup beef broth
½ cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves

In a 3.5-quart electric slow cooker, mix together carrots, celery, onion, potatoes, broth, wine, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves.

Place flour, salt, pepper and meat in large resealable bag. Seal and toss until beef is coated. Empty bag’s contents into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low setting for 7-8 hour, until beef and potatoes are tender. Remove bay leaves before serving.