Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Cabbage Roll Soup...Minus the Roll

I love cabbage and sadly it's one of those foods that a Crohn's patient shouldn't have in their diet, for dare I say it, gassy issues. Its really sad that I could care less what it does to me though because I love it so. My Mother-in-Law Sue makes the absolute best cabbage rolls and even though we took her and my Father-in-Law out on New Years...she was still kind enough to make a batch for Daniel and I, and man they were tasty. Now if you are like me then making cabbage rolls is out of the question during the week because of the amount of time and effort they take you. So what are you supposed to do when it's Wednesday and you have a hankering for a cabbage roll you ask?? You make cabbage roll soup that's what! This recipe was passed along to me from my Mamaw who showed my Step-Mom how to make it, who then showed yours truly!

Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground sirloin, browned and drained
1/2 onion, chopped
46 oz. can V8 juice
32 oz. can beef broth
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 medium head cabbage, chopped
salt
pepper

Directions:
1.) In a large soup pan, brown ground sirloin along with chopped onion. Drain any grease.
2.) To browned meat add V8 juice, beef broth, and diced tomatoes.
3.) Add cabbage, chopped into 1 inch pieces. Stir carefully. Cabbage will wilt down so do not be afraid to fill your pot.
4.) Simmer on medium heat for 1/2 hour or until cabbage is cooked.
5.) Add salt and pepper to taste.
Now if your like my Mother-in-Law, you add rice to your cabbage rolls, which is missing from this soup. We never made it with rice but it is completely up to you. If you do decide to add rice I would suggest adding about a cup or so of uncooked rice. It will cook in the broth, but it may require you adding more V8 juice to compensate for the broth that the rice will absorb.

Hope you enjoy!!

Fancy Rice Krispy Treats

My Husband absolutely adores Rice Krispy treats and to be honest with you, I am fond of them as well. A couple of weeks ago during one of our Christmas shopping trips we stumbled upon a booth at Traders World that was selling cupcakes, cookies, and an assortment of other delicious looking treats. One of those treats were chocolate covered Rice Krispy treats. Now we were on a mission to shop for family and I refused to pay what they were asking so we kept on truckin'. I promised Daniel that I would attempt to make our own at home for Christmas. Well Christmas has come and gone and I never got around to making them. To make matters worse, they were selling something similar to these at Wal-Mart in little gift boxes and after the holiday season they were 75% off so of course we grabbed one. These chocolate covered Rice Krispy treats were so good I could have cried tears of happiness. Unfortunately for us there were only three in the box so it was almost a tease and I have not forgotten about those yummy treats since then. Luckily I just clipped a coupon for Rice Krispy Cereal so I figured it was about time to settle down and follow through with the promise that I made to my Husband weeks ago. This time though I was going to kick them up a notch with the help of my friend, peanut butter.
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
10 1/2 ounces mini marshmallows
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
5 cups Rice Krispy cereal
1 bag chocolate chips, melted
1 bag of Reece's

Directions:
1.) Melt butter in large saucepan over med-low heat, add peanut butter and vanilla, stir until combined.
2.) Stir in Rice Krispy cereal.
3.) Press into greased 13x9 pan. Sprinkle Reese's Pieces Candy on top, press into Rice Krispy treats.
4.) Melt chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat.5.) Pour melted chocolate over Rice Krispy mixture and spread, place in refrigerator to cool.
6.) Cut into squares and enjoy!!Verdict...who needs to buy these when you can make them at home. They were very tasty and I am glad I didn't make them sooner, because I would just be that much fatter. The true verdict will come tomorrow after I have received Daniel's thoughts on the matter.