Tag: Sauce

Slow-Cooker Pigs in a Blanket using Cabbage

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Old fashioned pigs in a blanket is a common meal that many people used to make about 100 years ago. This recipe was most commonly made by those who had family stemming from eastern Europe. Today, pigs in a blanket is typically something very different, usually a hot dog or mini dog wrapped in a puff pastry. These pigs in a blanket taste very different than the new version. The older version was savory flavored meat wrapped in a wilted and tender cabbage leaf and coated in a slightly sweet tomato sauce. Though this dish can be very messy to eat, it is filling and very delicious. This recipe makes 12 pigs and 4-5 adult sized servings. This recipe can also easily be doubled and frozen in a freezer container or casserole dish.

Slow-Cooker Pigs in a Blanket using Cabbage Recipe CardDownload

What You Will Need

  • 6 Large Cabbage Leaves, Halved with Middle Stem Removed
  • 1 Lb of Ground Beef
  • 1 Medium Diced Onion
  • 2 10.5 Oz Cans of Tomato Soup
  • 1 6 Oz can of Tomato Paste
  • 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
  • 2 tsp Paprika
  • Slow-Cooker
  • Strainer
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Large Dutch Oven of Water
  • Thongs and Wooden Spoon

Directions

  1. Bring dutch oven of water to a boil. Add Prepared cabbage leaves and boil for 1-2 minutes until soft. Transfer to strainer and let cool. Place burger in a mixing bowl, add 1/2 onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, and paprika. Mix by hand. Add 1 can of tomato soup to bottom of slow cooker and stir in 1/2 can of tomato paste.

2. Once cabbage is cooled, form about 1/3 cup of meat mixture into a patty. Place patty on cabbage leaf and roll, tuck under ends, then place into slow-cooker. Repeat for remaining leaves, or until out of filling. Place down first layer of pigs, then spoon each with a layer of soup from a new can. mix remaining tomato paste with remaining soup. Place your second layer of pigs, then top with remaining sauce. Add 1 can of water and remaining onion, carefully stir and place on high and cover.

3. Check every hour and spoon with hot sauce. Once they begin to shrink, push more into hot sauce. Cook pigs for at least 2.5 hours on high before serving, making sure they are thoroughly cooked first. Plate and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

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Eggplant Parmesan

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This was me first time having and cooking with eggplant. When I was looking at recipes that use eggplant, I was surprised to find many people use eggplant in place of a protein like chicken or beef. I decided to make eggplant parmesan because it was one of the first recipes to pop into my head for eggplant. This recipe can easily be made vegetarian by swapping out cheese for vegan cheese, egg for an egg replacement, and using a natural oil like canola (what I used) or coconut. With this dish, I made homemade sauce. I added 1/3 of a very large zucchini and 1 large cucumber. Because these are both sweeter veggies, I added some salt and it came out tasting amazing and looking beautiful with speckles of green. I also added some red pepper flakes for spice, and same paprika for smokey flavor. Finally, I added the sauce at the end. I altered that for the recipe since I noticed after that many people like to bake it with the sauce. I chose not to though thinking the crispy crust was more important then having a gooey cheese on top. Either way, you can’t mess up this recipe! Makes 5-7 adult sized servings.

Eggplant Parmesan Recipe CardDownload

What You Will Need

  • 1 Medium Eggplant
  • 2 sandwich bags
  • 1 pie plate
  • 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/2 cup Flour
  • 1/2 cup Mozzarella shredded
  • 1/2 cup Spaghetti sauce
  • 1 cup oil
  • Large Dutch Oven
  • 9 X13 baking dish

Directions

  1. Slice off the top and bottom of your eggplant and discard. Slice remaining eggplant into 1/4 inch slices.
  2. Add flour to one sandwich bag, add parmesan to the second. Crack your egg into the pie plate, add 2 Tbsp water, then beat with a fork until smooth. Add the oil to a dutch oven, and heat over medium heat until oil ripples.
  3. One-Two pieces at a time, coat the eggplant slices with flour, then egg, then parmesan. Then, set aside. Repeat for all remaining slices.
  4. Heat oven to 350 F.
  5. Add slices carefully to oil. Cook on each side for 2 minutes. Then transfer directly to the baking dish.
  6. Top each slice with 1 Tbsp sauce and a generous pinch of mozzarella. Add to oven and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
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Chicken Cacciatore

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Chicken Cacciatore is a classic Italian dish, but who knew it was so easy to make a home? With a little prep, this dish is incredibly hands off, and makes enough to feed a large family. With the only limiting factor being how much chicken you use, this recipe easily makes 6-7 adult sized servings. I decided to make this dish fresh because everything is in season where I am right now, and anything I didn’t grow, I could get at my local farmer’s market. Though this dish is typically made with chicken thighs, I usually only have white chicken meat, so I decided to butterfly and fry a large chicken breast instead. The chicken breast I used was about 1 pound on it’s own, and easily formed a nice brown crust after 5 minutes. This is a healthy and delicious meal I highly recommend you try!

Chicken Cacciatore Recipe CardDownload

What You Will Need

  • 1 Green Pepper, Cored and Sliced
  • 1 Medium Onion, Diced
  • 3 Large Diced Tomatoes with Juice (14 Oz)
  • 1 Cup (8 Oz) Tomato Sauce
  • 1 Can (4 oz) Sliced Mushrooms, Strained
  • 1 Chicken Breast, Butterflied or 3-4 Chicken Thighs
  • 1/4 Cup Oil
  • 2 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
  • 1 Tbsp Dried Basil

Directions

  1. In a large dutch oven, add peppers, onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, and tomato sauce. Heat over medium heat and cover.
  2. In a large frying pan, heat over medium heat. Add oil and chicken. Turn down heat if necessary, and cook on face for about 5 minutes undisturbed until a brown crust forms. Flip and repeat browning on second side.
  3. Transfer chicken to dutch oven. Cover with sauce and veggies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, then simmer covered for 40-50 minutes, or until internal temperature of 165 F is reached. Serve over pasta.
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Homemade Tomato Sauce

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Red sauce is a staple for many different meals across many different cultures. It is one of the four staple sauces of French cooking, and seeing it’s versatility, it is easy to understand why. This recipe is quite simple. Dice up tomatoes, add some water and spices, boil until tomatoes pure, then blend to make sauce smooth. You can cook out the sauce for a long time by adding extra water and boiling it covered. This will mature the taste of your sauce and get rid of any fresh tomato flavor that may remain in the dish. Some people, like my in-laws, like to add pureed vegetables or beans to the sauce. This usually helps with thickening the sauce and can add extra vegetables to your diet or your picky child’s diet. Finally, some people will also add a splash of alcohol. This helps add a richer flavor, and if you enjoy the taste, it may make your sauce taste more mature for a special occasion or date night.

Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe CardDownload

What You Will Need

  • 3 cups diced tomatoes/halved cherry tomatoes
  • 2 Tbsp Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • (Optional) Diced onion, peppers, kidney beans, etc.
  • Pinch of Salt
  • Sauce pan
  • Blender/Dicer

Directions

  1. Heat pan over medium heat. Add oil and tomatoes and cook until soft. Add remaining ingredients and cook uncovered until the sauce thickens.
  2. Transfer to blender and blend till skin is dispersed. Store, or use in recipe as desired.
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Carrot Top Pesto Shrimp

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To see my recipe for Carrot top pesto, click here! When I froze this pesto, I didn’t add any parmesan, so if you are using store bought or even your own homemade pesto, please note that I did not add double the cheese. Also based on flavor, add some sugar or salt to flavor the sauce before adding the pasta.

This pasta is easy and straight forward, pasta, pesto, and shrimp. I didn’t strain my pasta in a colander, and instead used a slotted spoon to transfer the pasta to the pesto. I then boiled my shrimp for 1-2 minutes before using the same spoon to transfer them to the pasta mixture. I boiled my shrimp because I bought precooked shrimp, and at the time I hadn’t thawed them, so it was a great way to warm them up. If you will be doing that yourself, just be careful not to overcook the shrimp. Shrimp is fully cooked when it forms a “c” in shape. If the shrimp looks like an “o” then is will be over cooked, and tougher to eat. This recipe made 4-5 adult sized portions.

Carrot Top Pesto Shrimp Recipe CardDownload

What You Will Need

  • 2/3 cup Pesto
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan
  • 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Pasta Water
  • 1 1/2 cup Rotini Pasta
  • 1 1/2 Cup Shrimp
  • Large frying pan
  • Large sauce Pan & Colander

Directions

  1. Use the large frying pan with 1/2 Tbsp oil to cook any raw shrimp, 2 minutes per side in a hot pan. If using cooked and frozen shrimp, place your shrimp in a bowl with cold water for 5-10 minutes to thaw then strain through a colander.
  2. Fill a large sauce pan 3/4 with water and bring the water to a boil. Add rotini and cook until al dente. Reserve pasta water before straining.
  3. In a large frying pan, add pesto, sugar, and parmesan. Heat over low heat and combine.
  4. Add cooked pasta, cooked shrimp, and pasta water to pesto. Stir together and heat for a 3-5 minutes over low heat. Serve immediately.
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