With the approach of Autumn comes the piles of cabbages in my local farmers market, along with all the beautiful root crops.  This is a great tummy-warming recipe that highlights the inexpensive nutrition powerhouse – cabbage.

1 head cabbage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium red pepper, finely chopped
1 medium yellow 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 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 10 to 15 minutes or until tender.  Drain well.  Peel away 8 cabbage leaves from the outer surface of the cabbage and set aside. Chop remaining leaves into small shreds.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat about 1 minute.  Add peppers and onion and cook about 5 to 7 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.

Using the big reserved cabbage leaves, 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 replace skillet on the stove.  Heat tomatoes over high heat until juice just starts to boil.  Reduce heat to low and place rolled cabbage leaves in skillet, fold side down.  Cover and cook about 10 to 12 minutes or until heated through.

This is the perfect breakfast to serve on one of those cold, crisp Autumn mornings. Cooked in a pressure cooker, it’s quick, delicious, and nutritious.  The pressure cooker keeps all the nutrients right in the dish – not cooked away.

1 onion, chopped
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can kidney beans, drained well
2 C of tomatoes, chopped
2 C new potatoes, diced
2 C of frozen corn
8 oz. ham, cooked and diced
2 T tomato paste
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T of soy sauce
1 dash of Tabasco sauce
1/2 t of salt
1/4 t of pepper

Spray the cooker with a non stick cooking spray.
Place the onions, beans, tomatoes, potatoes and corn into the cooker.
Place the ham slices over the vegetables.
Stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire, soy and Tabasco sauce.
Bring the cooker to high pressure and cook 15 minutes.
Slow release the pressure.
Season the hash with the salt and pepper before serving.

Makes 4 servings

This scary punch is a lot of fun at a Halloween party.  You can use any kind of fruit punch you like, but I like the creepiness of the green punch with the red colored sherbet.  Goes nicely with the spiders I think!  You can substitute any lemon-lime soda for the ginger ale if you prefer.

gummy spiders, enough for each ice cube spot in tray
1 vinyl food-safe glove
1 gallon green fruit punch, chilled
2 (1 liter bottles) ginger ale
1 qt raspberry sherbet

Fill an ice cube tray (or several) 2/3 full of water.
Add a gummy spider to each ice cube tray.
Place in the freezer until completely frozen, probably overnight.
Fill the vinyl glove with water and tie the end closed.
Place in freezer until solid, probably overnight.
Pour the fruit punch into a large punch bowl.
Pour in the ginger ale and stir briefly.
Add the raspberry sherbet.
Place the frozen spider cubes into the punch.
Lay the frozen hand in the middle.

Normally you see witches riding broomsticks around on Halloween, but these ghosts seem to have commandeered some broomsticks so they can take flight!  These are great little treats to make for your family and friends because they’re fun and delicious, too.

1 (3 ft.) roll of chewy fruit snack
14 (3 inch long) pretzel sticks
2/3 Cup white baking chips
bag of miniature semisweet chocolate chips (you’ll need 42)

Cover a cookie sheet completely with wax paper.
Unroll the fruit snack and cut the long end of the snack from end to end into 1/2 inch fringe.
Cut the roll into 2 inch segments.
Wrap a piece of the fringed fruit snack around one end of each pretzel stick.
Use your fingers to press the fruit snack onto the pretzel to make it stick well.
Place the pretzel sticks onto the prepared cookie sheet leaving room for the ‘ghost’ riding the broomstick.
Melt the white baking chips according to package directions.
Measure out 1/2 teaspoon of the white melted chips and pour into a ghost shape over the middle of a pretzel stick to form a ghost riding the broomstick.
Continue until you have made all 14 ghosts.
Press 3 of the chocolate chips onto each ghost head for the eyes and a nose.
Allow the ghosts to set at in a cool spot for about an hour, or until they have hardened.

Makes 14 treats

These lollipops have a surprise under the chocolate dipped exterior!  Wrap individual cookies in cellophane or plastic as a special treat to your family and friends as they come to Trick-or-Treat at your house.

1 (12 oz.) pkg. vanilla (white) baking chips
2 T Crisco, divided
orange gel food coloring (liquid will not work with white baking chips)
1 (16 oz.) pkg. cream filled chocolate cookies – Oreos
32 Popsicle sticks
1 (6 oz.) pkg. semisweet chocolate chips or baking chips

Melt the vanilla baking chips along with 1 T of shortening together in bowl over boiled water removed from burner.  Or, you can microwave chips and shortening together on high for 1 minute, stir, and continue in 10 second intervals, stirring in between until totally melted.
Add the gel food coloring to melted baking chips and stir, adding more until you reach the desired color of orange.
Remove the tops off all the cookies and set aside.
Dip each Popsicle stick into the melted chip mixture and place one on each cookie half to “glue” into place.
Return the tops to the cookies and place cookie lollipops on a waxed paper covered cookie sheet and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
Remove cookies from freezer.
Reheat the vanilla chip mixture if it has hardened.  Put back over boiled water, or put in the microwave for 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted again.
Dip each of the cookie pops into the melted chocolate covering the cookie well and allowing any excess to drip back into the bowl.
Return the cookies to the wax paper and freeze for 30 minutes or until set.
Melt the chocolate chips with remaining shortening, using the method on the bag.
Drizzle the mixture over each of the cookie pops.

Makes 32 lollipops

This is a spooky graveyard that won’t keep the Trick-or-Treaters out!  Go ahead and double the recipe so you don’t run out of these delicious tumbling tombstones!

4 C miniature marshmallows
1/4 C of butter, cubed
6 C crispy rice cereal
12 oval shaped chocolate cream filled cookies
1 tube white decorating gel that suitable to write with
1 (16 oz.) can ready to spread chocolate frosting
Halloween color sprinkles (optional)

Place the marshmallows and butter into a large saucepan.
Place the pan over medium low heat and stirring continuously cook the mixture for 5 minutes or until completely melted.
Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the cereal until well coated.
Grease a 13 X 9 inch baking pan.
Press the cereal mixture evenly into the pan.
Allow the cereal mixture to cool then cut into 12 squares.
Cut about 1/2 inch off the bottom of each of the cookies and place into a bowl to crumble later.
Use the white decorating gel to write RIP onto each of the cookies.
Place 2 T of the frosting in a sloppy circle in the middle of each of the cereal squares.
Place 1 decorated cookie into each frosting circle, tipping slightly so it looks like an old abandoned graveyard.
Crush the reserved cookies and sprinkle over the top of each square.
Sprinkle each square with the Halloween sprinkles if desired.
Makes 12 servings

Use any size or shape of cookie cutter, like pumpkins, for instance.  Once they have hardened wrap them in thick plastic, cellophane, or even those cellophane candy bags.  Tie them closed with Halloween color gift wrapping ribbon.  Give as gifts for your special family and friends at Trick-Or-Treat time.

1 1/2 cups of sugar
3/4 cups of water
2/3 cups of light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. peppermint oil
black and orange paste food coloring
10 lollipop sticks (or one for each cookie cutter) (available by candy making items at craft or party stores)

Butter 10 assorted size round cookie cutters and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Place the sugar, water and corn syrup into a saucepan and place the pan over medium heat.
Stir in the cream of tartar and cook the mixture, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved.
Stop stirring and bring the mixture to a boil.
Continue cooking without stirring until a candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peppermint oil.
Be careful to keep your face away from the pan when stirring in the oil as the aroma is very strong.
Spoon 1/4 cup of the mixture into two separate heat resistant cups and tint one cup orange and one cup black.
Pour the remaining mixture into the prepared cookie cutters.
Drizzle the black and orange sugar mixtures over the cookie cutters and use a toothpick to swirl the mixture through each lollipop.
Remove the cutters just before the lollipops completely harden and place a lollipop stick into each lollipop.

Makes 10 lollipops, depending on size of cookie cutters.

Susnane – aka The Hillbilly Housewife here again with another blog post. Over the past few days we’ve talked about how meal planning saves time and money, the different types of meal planning you can do as well as some time-saving grocery shopping tips. What we haven’t really talked about is the fact that planning and making these meals does so much more than just feed your family.

Sure, that’s an important part of it, but the dinner table is also where our families reconnect.

Make it a point to sit down at least once during your busy day to share a meal with your loved ones and encourage conversation. Find out what’s happened to each family member during the day.

Sitting down for a family dinner has shown to reduce obesity (which makes sense considering you’re eating a wholesome homecooked meal instead of fat and caloray-ladden fast food), but it does so much more. A study from Columbia University has shown that “teens from families that almost never eat dinner together are 72 percent more likely to use illegal drugs, cigarettes and alcohol than the average teen”.

Teenage daughters are also less likely to engage in unsafe sex and become pregnant when they have close family ties like those built and strenghened at the family dinner table.

Keep this in mind the next time you feel to tired to cook and of course make dinner faster, easier and less expensive with Christine’s wonderful Meal Planning Service.

We’ll talk about this in more detail in tomorrow’s post, but get your kids (no matter what age) involved in meal planning, dinner preparation and cleanup after. Remember you don’t have to do it all alone. Dinner is a family affair and that includes making it and doing the dishes after.

Warmly,

Susanne Myers – The Hillbilly Housewife
http://www.HillbillyHousewife.com

P.S. Leave a comment and share how dinner has helped you and your family reconnect. Remember Christine and I will put all commenters in a drawing and give away a subscription to her Meal Planning Service and one to the Hillbilly Housewife Club. Please comment away.