I have to say that, next to potatoes, cabbage is one of my favourite vegetables. I come by this love honestly. It is something which my mother cooked for us fairly often. Admittedly not as often as she would have liked to, as my father was not overly fond. 

He did not mind the flavour that it imparted into things like stews and such, but he was not fond of the vegetable itself. This worked well for me, actually as he would just give me his cabbage to eat, which I did not  mind one little bit.

My mom used to make lovely cabbage rolls. She would wrap up ground beef and onion in cabbage leaves and simmer them in a large pot with peeled potatoes, carrots and canned tomatoes.

My father loved the meat in them. I did not, but I loved the cabbage.  We would swap. My meat for his cabbage.

So this recipe makes four servings instead of 8. Which is still quite a lot, but when you love cabbage as much as I do, I know that I will really enjoy the leftovers.

Maybe even more so than the original recipe. Cabbage is one of those vegetables I find that tastes even better reheated the day after.  Or maybe I am just so in love with this vegetable that it doesn't matter when I eat it!

 

What I loved about this dish is that it is combined with my other favourite vegetable. The humble potato.  But not in such a high quantity that it messes with my carbs. As a diabetic I do have to watch my carb intake.

But with there only being one baking potato in the dish, divided between four people, its not a huge problem. This means that I get a little taste of potato without the risk of going over the top!

 

And if you love potatoes as much as I do, there is a real risk of going over the top.  Dishes like this are perfect for me. 

I loved the addition of the ham to this. It gives a bit of smokiness which goes very well with cabbage.  There isn't a lot of it. I had a chunk of ham in the freezer leftover from Easter. (Don't judge me, lol)

You could use thick sliced boiled ham from the shops or even a chopped up ham steak if you wanted to. You just want a bit of smokiness.  

It also uses an onion and some garlic.  You begin by sauteeing the onion in  a bit of oil. I cut the amount of oil way down.

 

Most recipes call for far too much oil. Even Eating Well recipes. I have always cut back on the amount without any problem. I also used light olive oil rather than canola oil. 

I had a medium sized cabbage in the refrigerator that needed using up.  I used about half of it which means that I have another half to get rid of before next Friday. Maybe I will make my favourite dish, Noodles and Cabbage to enjoy!

 Back to this one.  Its simple and quick to make and very delicious. You could jazz it up a bit if you wanted to, by adding some chili flakes, but I'll be honest it is pretty perfect just as it is. 

I have posted a lot of cabbage recipes on here through the years that you might enjoy. Creamed Cabbage is really lovely. Tender pieces of cabbage baked to perfection in a lush cream sauce. 

Another favourite is Cabbage and Tomato Soup.  Cabbage and tomatoes have a wonderful affinity for each other.

 

 

I cooked a roast chicken at the weekend. I love cooking a roast chicken. It makes for a great economy. You end up with a great meal on the day along with several more options.

Depending on the size of the chicken you can get at least one additional meal from it.  If it is a large chicken you may also get some sandwiches, and then with the spent carcass you can always make a delicious soup!

 

My mother always said I could make the sole of a boot taste good.  I have to say I have never had any complaints when it comes to feeding my family leftovers.

Nobody ever turned up their noses at any second hand meal of mine. I guess mom was right, I do know how to put the flavour into things.

 

This is one of my favourite casseroles.  I know it says "Chicken Noodle Casserole," but I think that a sturdier pasta holds up better in this.

I like to use fusilli pasta twists.  And I use the whole wheat ones as well.  This ups the fibre content and makes it a bit more gi-friendly. As a diabetic that matters.

 To that end I have also cut the amount of pasta in half. I doubled the amount of vegetables from my original recipe.  

That means half the carbs and twice the nutrition!  I can honestly say you will not notice the difference in the least flavour or consistency wise. It is every bit as delicious as the original.

 

Also as cauliflower is white, you fool the eye into thinking there is plenty of pasta in the dish.  We eat first with our eyes. 

Yes, I have used a can of cream of chicken soup, but I am not a canned soup snob. It has its uses and this is a brilliant one. You can opt for a low fat low sodium one if it really bothers you, or make a basic 2 cup sized cream sauce using half chicken stock and half milk.

 If there is a downside to this, it would be that there is plenty of cheese.  Sorry about that. You can opt for a low fat cheddar if you wish.

I prefer the sharp/strong cheddar for the casserole itself as it gives the best flavour all round. You get a lot more bang for your buck!

  

I have used an Italian Garlic Seasoning mixture to flavour the chicken. It has plenty of zip. Just cut up your chicken and stir it together with the seasoning before mixing it into your pasta, etc.  It will give everything plenty of flavour.

I do not add any extra salt to things. People are free to add salt at the table if they wish. I just think it is better for people to add any extra seasoning they want themselves. Some people like their food extra salty, we do not.

 

This recipe does make six servings, which can be a lot for a smaller family. I always break it down into two individual casseroles.  I freeze one prior to baking, and bake the other for on the day.

To freeze it unbaked, simply wrap it airtight. I use a couple of layers of cling film and then a final layer of aluminium foil, adding a freezer label with the contents and date written on it so there is no confusion at a later date!

When it comes time you want to cook it simply place in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. Unwrap and leave the casserole on the counter for half an hour, while you are pre-heating your oven.

I think it is a smart thing to bring casserole dishes to room temperature before putting them into the oven if they are really cold. I wouldn't want to have one crack from a sudden temperature change!

This is also a great casserole to make ahead. If you know you are going to be rushed for time on the day, just make it up the night before, ready to pop into the oven when you get home. 

Allow it to cool completely then cover tightly and refrigerate. You can keep it in the fridge for up to two days prior to cooking.

When you are ready to cook it, remove it from the fridge. Let it sit at room temperature for about half an hour.

Add five minutes to the initial cook time, uncover and then continue as per the recipe instructions. Easy peasy.

 

This is an incredibly versatile recipe. If you don't have any leftover cooked chicken, you can poach two chicken breast fillets and cube to use in its place.

You could also use leftover roast pork instead of chicken if that is what you have. It works beautifully.  After all it is not called the other white meat for nothing!

I call this classic comfort food.  Easy to make and easy to eat! Not wasteful in the least. Not too fancy and very family friendly. What more could a person ask for!

Broccoli has long been touted as one of the healthiest veggies because of its nutritional makeup. 

 These are the bear paws and they were an unmitigated disaster.  The dough was very sticky, but hers also looked quite sticky.  I decided to use my piping bag, not wanting to get my hands all covered in goo.  So that is what I did. I used baking parchment to hopefully keep them from sticking to the pan.  It didn't work. These cookies spread out flat, flat, flat  . . .  and only puffed up a little bit. They resemble bear paws in no way whatsoever, and they stuck to the baking paper like crazy.  In short I don't recommend this recipe as written.  It needs some work done on it.  Half of each cookie was getting left on the pan.  Also they were gooey, not cookie like.  The consistency was almost glue like.  Not a good cookie at all.  I know my baking and I know my cookies.  I was quite miffed actually as Molasses is a very hard to come by ingredient over here and I hate  HATE wasting it!  The cookies went into the bin.