Cabbage Rolls

I have always loved Cabbage Rolls but thought it was too difficult to make. We've had this head of cabbage for a while and decided to give it a try. As I was getting the ingredients out of the fridge Richard announced that Ina Garten was making Cabbage Rolls on Barefoot Contessa. After our lesson from Ina, Richard and I worked together and created a new family favorite.

SAUCE
1 large onion, chopped
1 TBSP butter
24 oz tomato sauce
14-15 oz can diced tomato
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
Saute' onion in butter until translucent. Add all other ingredients. Simmer low while getting cabbage and filling ready.


FILLING
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup rice, uncooked
1 small onion, minced
2 eggs, well beaten
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 cup sauce (from above)
Lightly mix all of these ingredients together. Place 1 cup of sauce in bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish to prevent burning.

CABBAGE - 1 large head (3 lbs)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove the core from cabbage and par boil for 3 minutes Insert a large meat fork in top to remove cabbage from water. Tilt the cabbage over pot to drain hot water. Pry 12-14 whole leaves from cabbage. Immerse in water again if necessary.

Cut the hard center vein from each leaf in a V shape about 2-3 inches long. Place a spoonful of filling right in front of the V. First, fold the V part over the filling, tucking it under. Next fold each side over. Then roll up the rest of the leaf, place in dish seam side down. Continue filling all leafs. Slice a few 1/2 inch wedges from the remaining cabbage head and place in between rolls. Pour remaining sauce over the cabbage rolls. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Next time we are going to cook in the crock pot.

Rachel's Peanut Butter Cookies

June 12th is National Peanut Butter Cookie Day. Enjoy this recipe from my cousin, Rachel Maggs

2 sticks parkay

1 cup Jiffy peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 medium eggs or 1/3 cup

1 tsp vanilla

2 ¾ cup sifted flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

Cream  together parkay and jiffy. Mix in b. sugar and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients.  Form into balls. Press with fork, sprinkle sugar on top.  Bake at 375° for 9 ½ minutes.

Gingerbread

National Gingerbread Day is June 5th. My step-mother made Gingerbread with Sauce for my December birthday many years ago. Who knew the observance was in June!  I found this recipe in my mom's cookbook with notations Gramsy made; circling molasses and buttermilk and checking off ingredients in the second recipe. I love Gingerbread any time of the year.

Sauce over Gingerbread

In a saucepan WITHOUT heat, dissolve 1 TBSP cornstarch and 1 TBSP flour in 2 TBSP cold water until no lumps appear. (use a fork or small whisk) Then add:

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp butter

1 1/4 cup water

Bring to a boil, stirring until thick. Remove from heat. Add 1 tsp vanilla. 

Spoon over slices of Gingerbread. Top with whipped cream.

Perfect Iced Tea

June is Iced Tea Month. This recipe is a combination of Grandma Hickman’s method of making delicious iced tea and my mom’s little touch of clove. I tweaked the procedure a bit. You know how you're supposed to add tea bags to the cold water and heat until water barely comes to a boil? Well, there's been a time or two when I let it come to a full boil which resulted in a bitter tea. I had an epiphany and came up with this recipe. 

Bring a small saucepan 2 - 3 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and quickly add 5 teabags. Let steep for about 10 minutes, then add ¾ to 1 cup of sugar. Optional: sprinkle ground clove. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Continue to steep until pan is cool.

Remove teabags. Pour into a 2 quart pitcher, fill with water and ice to the top. 

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Bill & Becky clean strawberries, 2006

June is National Strawberry Month and you just have to try this recipe from Aunt Becky!

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp Karo Syrup

1-1/4 cup water

3 oz pkg strawberry jello

1 ½ - 2 quarts fresh strawberries

1 – 9 inch baked pie crust 

Wash and slice strawberries.  Place on paper towel to absorb water. Don’t put into pie crust until sauce is cooled.

Bake 1 pie crust and cool completely. Note: I tried the refrigerated Pillsbury brand this time and liked it much better than a frozen pie shell. I used my own 9 inch glass pie pan, fluted the edge, pierced the dough with a fork and baked according to directions until golden brown. It was very flaky and had great flavor. Out of curiosity we measured a 9 inch frozen pie shell and the very outer edges were barely 9 inches! No wonder I always had left over filling when using the frozen shell. But the best, of course, is to make my Never Fail Pie Crust from scratch.

In a saucepan bring water and cornstarch to a boil, stirring until clear. Remove from heat, add sugar, Karo syrup and Jello, stir until dissolved. Cool until warm, stirring frequently.

Place strawberries in the baked, cooled pie shell, pour sauce over strawberries.  Keep refrigerated. Serve with whipped cream.

Roger & Becky making strawberry jam, 2006

Try with fresh peaches and peach jello or any other fruit with matching jello.