Slow Cooker Turkey and Cabbage Stew

This is a great low calorie and high fiber meal.  It’s easy and makes the house smell wonderful when you come home from a long day at work.  As a teacher, this meal is easy to prepare and have ready for after school and all the running around we do.  Yes, it is difficult to get your younger kids to eat it, but when they do sample it… well… mine liked it.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1lb lean ground turkey

2 medium onions, chopped

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 Tbs. cumin

1 small head green cabbage, coarsely chopped

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 teaspoon Splenda

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

How to:

First, heat a skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil and cook the turkey. Add cumin, garlic, thyme and salt and pepper cooking until done.

Spray a slow cooker with cooking spray (or like I do, insert a crockpot liner and spray it)

After the meat is cooked add to the bottom of the slow cooker.

Add onions, peppers and stir to mix well.

Add cabbage followed by the diced tomatoes.

Mix the Splenda with the tomato sauce and pour over the top of the entire mixture.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

 

ENJOY!

Easy Sides - Baby Carrots

The old adage of K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) is a great one when fixing this side dish.  I love carrots, and eat them in many different ways, but this is quickly becoming one of my favorite way to eat them. It provides a sweet side with a little kick.



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Simply open a small bag of baby carrots and place them in a sauce pan.  Add one tablespoon of olive oil and two tablespoons of Red Pepper Jelly.  Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes on the stove top, stirring occasionally. 

Enjoy!

Left-Over Christmas Ham Casserole

Another Christmas has come and gone.  We have been blessed beyond measure and enjoyed spending time with family.  As my bride and eldest son returned to work today it was me and Natalie left to do some cleaning and cooking. 

My middle child and youngest son Matthew gave me some Bobby Flay bake ware so I had to give it a trial run.  I looked through my cookbooks and decided to go my own way on this dish.

Ingredients:

2-3 cups of chopped ham

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups of cooked rice

6oz mushrooms, roughly chopped

2 10oz boxes of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

3 slices Provolone cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

How to-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the rice, spinach, ½ the shredded cheese and eggs.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil, onion, garlic, and mushrooms, after a few moments add the ham.

Once the onions are softened add to the spinach and rice mixture and combine well.

Pour the mixture into a large casserole dish with cooking spray.

Spread out evenly and add the remainder of the mozzarella cheese.  Cut the provolone into strips and spread out over the casserole.

Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. (I turn the oven to broil for the last couple of minutes to brown the cheese on top.)

Serve with French bread.

Enjoy!

Mistletoe Treats - Christmas Kisses

 

This recipe was the perfect one for some kitchen fun with daddy this Christmas.  We made these familiar sweet & salty treats together this morning and they are pretty too!  Sometimes during the Christmas ‘rush’ we get so bogged down with shopping, prepping, cleaning and so forth that we forget to just have some fun and spend time making memories.  Recipes that involve multiple ingredients and lots of measuring can be trying on the patience of the young and the old!  This little treat was perfectly simple for a morning of fun.

 

Ingredients-

1lb bag of Snyder’s Butter Snaps (The Mini-pretzels work too, but I like the uniform squares)

2- 1lb bags of Hershey’s Kisses (We used the regular, but feel free to use your favorite)

1 large bag of M&M’s (we used the Christmas peanut butter)

 

How to-
Pre-heat your oven to 250 degrees.

Unwrap a BOAT LOAD of Kisses.  Seriously, unwrap ALL the Kisses, and don’t be surprised when a few disappear into the mouth of your assistant. Put the naked Kisses on a platter or bowl for later.

 

Place the unbroken Butter Snap pretzels on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or silicone mat.  Your assistant may eat as many of the broken pieces as they wish.  Fill the baking sheet with as many as possible; use two sheets if necessary.

Center one Kiss on to each Butter Snap. 

 When you have all the Snaps and Kisses you have ready put them into the oven.  Now, listen closely as this is the tricky part.  With all the chaos of the holidays happening all around you it is extremely important to tune EVERYTHING out for the next couple of minutes.  DO NOT WALK AWAY from the oven.  These Kisses only need a couple of minutes in the oven.  If you let the holiday mayhem monster distract you…. SHAME ON YOU!



For some reason, these kept jumping into my assistant's mouth.

In 3-4 minutes these babies should be soft and ready.

 

Take them out and immediately start placing the M&M on the center of each Kiss.  Press down to cover the square and to seal into the “waffle” of the Butter Snap.

Place in the fridge for about thirty minutes to solidify the chocolate.

ENJOY and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Rocky Road Christmas Candy (Kid-Easy)

 

It’s always a great tradition to bake/create with kids in the house.   Although Nat-Nat did not help me with this simple treat, (She opted to play outside with her friends) it was all the rave with her and her comrades.

Stuff you need –

12oz. Nestle Toll House Semi-sweet morsels

1/3 cup of Canola or vegetable oil

10.5oz package of mini-marshmallows

½ cup of chopped nuts (I used almonds)

Red and Green sprinkles for topping (optional)

 

What to do –

     1.    Line an 8x8x2 baking pan with foil. Lightly butter the foil and set to the side.

2.    In a large sauce pan, combine the chocolate chips and oil.  Heat over low heat.  Stir constantly until smooth.  Remove from heat.

 

3.    Stir in the nuts and marshmallows covering well.  Dump mixture into the foil and spread evenly. I topped mine with some red and green springles.  Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm.

 

4.    Grasp the foil and lift out of the pan.  Cut candy into squares and store covered tightly in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!