Russian Cabbage Soup

This is a quicky, before I run off to my real job. The August skys have been cool and dreary. Seems like this happens right before school is getting ready to start. I actually had a sweater on the other day. Soup in August seems a little weird, but two night ago it was just right. Having 2 heads of cabbage in the crisper, something needed to be done about that. What to do with the cabbage -- hmm--- cabbage soup. So off I go to my favorite web site - all recipes-- to find a recipe that I think everyone will like. The result was a russian cabbage soup. It contains ground beef - i use the ground buffallo- but I think it would work with port or cubed beef just as well. I even think it could be made vegan. It is gluten free and companied well with the corn muffins in a previous blog.

Sweet Russiona Cabbage Soup

1 pound ground beef or buffallo (90% lean)
1 can diced tomato, no salt added
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 cups beef broth, low sodium
4 carrots, sliced
1 onion chopped
2 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar ( i would go 1/3 cup next time)
1/2 tsp salt
/2 tsp ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges

1. In a large pot crumble the ground beef. Add the diced tomato, tomato paste, broth, carrot, onion, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour in 4 cups of beef broth and bring to a boil. Stir to break up the beef. Simmer for 30 minutes once it comes to a boil.
2. Pour in 2 cups of water and return to a simmer. Add garlic and cabbbage, simmer for 25 minutes or until cabbage is tender.
This says it makes 4 servings - but no it makes a whole lot of soup. more like 8 servings.

Crockpot Chicken

This is a request from Kaitlyn, a friend of my daughter's at University of Vermont. It seems that she has a crock pot and does not know what to do with it. My daughter believes I am the crock pot queen.
There being a time in my life when it was difficult to get dinner made most nights the crock pot was my culinary savior. I was working two consulting jobs and then taking either one or both of my two daughter some where. I could fill it with veggies and meat in the morning - sometimes even the night before - and by dinner time the food was done. Wednesday night was crock pot night. We could have dinner and then I could get my daughter and her friend Zoe to Band practice.
Gluten free recipes abound for the crockpot. Many dishes are made with potatoes or served over rice. Fats don't have to be added either, another plus.

So here you go Kaitlyn --- Chicken with Peppers and Pineapple

1 pound skinlees, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 - inch pieces
4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch cubes ( baby carrots work well
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp finely chopped gingerroot
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce (gluten free)
1/2 tsp allspice
1/ tsp red pepper sauce
1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice, drained and reserved juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 medium bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

1. Mix all ingredients except pineapple, cornstarch and bell pepper in slow cooker
2. Cover and cook on low setting for 7-8 hours (or high setting for 3-4 hours) or until veggies are tender and chicken is cooked through.
3. Mix reserved pineapple juice and corn starch until smooth, gradually stir into chicken mixture. Stir in pineapple and bell pepper.
4. Cover and cook on high heat setting about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Serve over brown or white rice. Top with chopped cashews.

Enjoy, Kaitlyn.