Cabbage offers so much nutrition for so little money!  I love ordering cabbage rolls when we’re at a restaurant, just to get ideas about how to prepare them.  Then, when I’m home, I can pretty much duplicate the ingredients and save a few dollars.  These were inspired by a dinner out not too long ago while we were traveling.  Enjoy!

1 head cabbage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 medium yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons ginger root, grated
1 can (16 to 19 ounces) cannellini, rinsed and drained
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes

Remove core of cabbage and throw away.  Heat a large Dutch oven pot filled 2/3 full of water over high heat until boiling.  Place cabbage in boiling water cut side up.  With forks separate leaves as they soften.  Once the leaves are separated cover the pan and continue to boil about 15 minutes or until tender.  Drain well.  Place 8 large outside leaves to the side.  Chop remaining leaves.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add bell peppers and onion and cook about 8 minutes.  Add chopped cabbage, vinegar, soy sauce and ginger and continue cooking for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in cannellini and water chestnuts.  Allow to cool slightly.   Lay out the reserved cabbage leaves and place about 1/3 cup of filling in the middle of each leaf.  Wrap cabbage leaf around the filling.  Once all the leaves are filled return skillet to the stove.  Pour canned tomatoes in skillet and heat tomatoes over high heat until juice just starts to boil.  Reduce heat to low and arrange rolled cabbage leaves in skillet with seams down.  Cover and cook on a slow simmer about 15 minutes or until heated through.

Which do you prefer, white potatoes or sweet potatoes?  You don’t have to even think about it with this fun recipe.  Both kinds of potato cook up a little differently which makes the texture of this dish very interesting.  The color is nice, and the flavor is tremendous.

2 white potatoes cut into wedges
2 sweet potatoes cut into wedges
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Heat the oven temperature up to 425 degrees.
Place the potato wedges into a large resealable plastic bag.  Add the oil, pepper and cheese.  Seal and shake to coat the potato wedges completely.
Spray a baking sheet with a non stick cooking spray.  Place the potato wedges in a single layer on the sheet.  Sprinkle the garlic over the wedges. 
Bake 25 minutes.  Turn the potatoes and continue baking 15 minutes more or until a nice golden brown.

There will always be debates about what is authentic Irish food and what is not.  This just happens to be our family’s traditional St. Paddy’s Day feast and it’s close enough for us!  The beer adds a wonderful richness to the stock and the dish turns out hearty and filling.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

3 to 4 pound bone-in ham
2 (12 oz) bottles of full-bodied beer
enough water to cover ham
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
6 medium boiling potatoes, peeled and halved
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 large head of green cabbage, cut into six wedges
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste

Place ham in large heavy pot or stove-top safe casserole (Dutch oven works well).  Pour beer in pot, then pour water enough to just cover the ham.  Toss in onion, garlic, and bay leaves.  Bring water to boil, turn down to simmer, cover, and let simmer slowly for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, checking water level on occasion to see that it reduces, but does not disappear.  Then, if you have a big enough pot, place potatoes, carrots, and cabbage around the ham, bring back up to boil, turn down, cover pot and let simmer for 30 minutes or until veggies are tender.  (If your pot is too small, remove the ham to a platter, cover with foil, and keep warm in oven set at lowest temperature, and then put vegetables in pot.)  Add black pepper and taste for salt, adding if necessary. 

Potato Soup is considered traditional Irish fare.  That could be in part to the history of the potato in Ireland.  A large portion of the population grew potatoes and depended on them as their main food source.  We often refer to any white potato as an Irish potato.  Whatever you call them, they are loaded with dietary fiber and nutrition. 

½ C. chopped onion
1 C. diced celery
1 Tablespoons bacon bits
1 (10 oz) can cream of celery soup
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
2 2/3 C. skim milk
1 ½ C. diced white potatoes, cooked
Butter flavored cooking spray

Cook your potatoes, drain and set aside.
Coat a soup pot with cooking spray.  Sauté onion and celery for about ten minutes.
Stir in bacon bits, canned soup, sugar, and vinegar.
Add milk and potatoes. Mix well.
Lower heat and simmer ten minutes or until mixture is heated though.  (Serves 4)

What an incredible substitute for pork or beef sausages!  These turkey patties are great for breakfast alongside your eggs, or in a bun for lunch, or even a light dinner.  I add a little onion to mine just because I like onion.  This is a great basic pattie with which to experiment.

2 pounds lean ground turkey
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 finely chopped onion (optional)

Place the turkey into a large mixing bowl.  Add the sage, pepper, ginger and cayenne pepper.  Mix with your hands until completely incorporated together.  Make the mixture into patties about 2 1/2 inch thick.  Place a scant amount of canola oil into a large skillet and place over medium heat.  When the oil is hot but not smoking brown the patties for 6 minutes.  Turn the patties and continue cooking 4 minutes longer or until the meat is not longer pink.  Drain well by laying on a  paper towel before serving. 

Marinading your sirloin in beef broth with garlic just seems so over the top, doesn’t it?  But, it really makes this dish really beefy flavored, which is a nice contract to the cucumber dressing and the veggies. 

1/2 cup beef broth
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 pound beef sirloin, cut into thin strips
2/3 cup cucumber ranch dressing
5 (6 inch) pita bread
2 cups lettuce, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 red onion, sliced thin

Place the beef broth in a large sealable plastic bag.  Add the olive oil and garlic.  Shake lightly to combine.  Sprinkle in the oregano and pepper.  Place the beef strips into the bag with the marinade.  Seal and shake well to completely cover the beef.  Place the bag in the refrigerator at least 2 hours but as long as 24 hours.  Drain the beef strips into a colander.  Discard any marinade. Spray a skillet with a non stick cooking spray.  Add the beef strips and place the skillet over medium heat. Cook the beef strips 5 minutes or until no longer pink.  Place the pita flat on a serving plate.  Place the lettuce on each slice of pita bread. Layer the beef strips on top of the lettuce.  Sprinkle with the chopped tomatoes.  Layer with the red onion slices and drizzle the salad dressing over the top.

You’ve probably been in the same situation with your kids as I’ve been with mine; the only vegetable you can get them to eat is carrots.  All my carrot recipes had to be kid-friendly, that is until now.  As my kids got older their tastes changed, so now I can make some “grown up” versions of carrots that suit my tastes, too!  These carrots are delicious and really, really pretty.

1 (16 ounce) package baby carrots
2 Tbsp honey mustard
1 Tbsp. fresh dill, snipped
2 tsp. unsalted butter

Place the carrots into the saucepan with water and set over medium high heat.  Bring to a steady boil.  Reduce the heat to low and cover the saucepan.  Continue cooking on low 17 minutes or until the carrots are tender.  Drain well in a colander and place the carrots in large serving bowl.  Stir in the honey mustard being sure to cover the carrots well.  Sprinkle the dill over the carrots and top with the butter.  Stir until the butter is melted and distributed through the carrots.

If you or your husband are on a sodium restricted diet, this recipe is for you.  Using low sodium ingredients doesn’t mean it’s going to be bland.  On the contrary, you’re getting the flavor going in this kettle of soup with all the onion and vegetables swimming around in there.  Not to mention that tender sirloin steak!

1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 pounds beef top sirloin steak, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 cups onion, chopped
4 quarts hot water
4 cups carrots, chunked
4 cups potatoes, chunked
4 cups cabbage, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
8 tsp. low sodium beef bouillon
1 tsp. pepper
4 bay leaves
6 cups low sodium tomato juice

Place the butter in a large soup kettle over medium heat. Allow the butter to completely melt.  Add the beef cubes and onion to the melted butter and cook 6 minutes or until the beef is browned on all sides and the onion is beginning to tender.  Pour the water into the soup kettle. Add the carrots, potatoes, cabbage and green pepper.  Stir in the bouillon and pepper.  Place the bay leaves into the kettle.  Place the burner temperature on high heat bring the mixture to a rapid boil.  Reduce the heat to medium low, cover the kettle and simmer the soup for 30 minutes.  Pour the tomato juice into the kettle.  Cover and continue to simmer another 30 minutes or until the beef and vegetables are as tender as you like.  Discard the bay leaves before serving.

Nutritional Information:  (Approximate Values per one cup of soup)

123 calories; 4 g fat; 2 g saturated fat; 34 mg cholesterol; 428 mg sodium; 10 g carbohydrates; 2 g fiber; 12 g protein

If you’re still fighting the winter blues, this delicious salad may just perk you up a bit.  Sometimes just a nice mix of flavors, textures, and colors is enough to get you thinking about spring time.  Good and good for you, too.

2 (5 – 6 ounce size) packages mixed salad greens
2 small seedless oranges or tangerines, sectioned
1 (13 1/4 ounce) can beets, drained and sliced
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette

Place the salad mix into a large salad bowl.  Add the oranges and beets and toss.  Sprinkle the salad with the feta cheese to cover the entire salad.  Dribble the vinaigrette over the entire salad.

Seems everyone watches their weight in the spring.  But, we like to have a few little treats to reward ourselves for sticking to our diet.  These cookies are fun, flavorful, and low in fat and calories. 

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1/4 cup sugar substitute
1/3 cup brown sugar substitute
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup 1% buttermilk
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

Set the oven to 350 degrees and allow to heat.
Place the flour in a large mixing bowl.  Add the cocoa, sugar substitutes and baking soda.  Mix together well being sure all the ingredients is combined.  Pour in the buttermilk and stir until the dry mixture is completely moistened.  Fold in the applesauce and continue stirring until the batter is thick and very moist. Spray a cookie sheet well with a non stick cooking spray.  Drop 1 mounded Tbsp. at a time of the batter onto the prepared cookie sheet.  The mounds should look like clumps of mud and can be slightly flattened with a fork if they mound too high.  Bake 9 minutes or until the cookies are firm.  Cool completely before storing. 

Nutritional Information: (Approximate Values based on 1 cookie)

56 calories; 1 g fat; trace saturated fat; trace cholesterol; 44 mg sodium; 12 g carbohydrate; trace fiber; 1 g protein