Stuffed Cabbage with Turkey and Fresh Sage

Ah, fall begins tomorrow and everything is made of apple and pumpkin. I'm still rebelling as I have yet to make something with these two foods. Instead, I'm celebrating this equinox eve with a favorite dish - stuffed cabbage. 
With my Austrian roots, this dish was a staple in my house. I can never quite make it as well as my mom. I can't seem to recall her little additions. And she keeps secrets. I will be asking again. My mom recently retired after a career as a chef and then a food service director. She also owned a catering business for a spell when I was in high school. She's the inspiration behind my love of gardening and cooking. We grew up with a large garden. She canned everything. She even made her own ketchup. It was incredible. We would prefer her ketchup to Heinz. 
This dish is not something I make every week as it is time consuming, but it is so worth it. Every ingredient was local except for the rice, garlic, and ground turkey. I need to find some local ground turkey. I use it fairly often. I've made this recipe healthier and there are some shortcuts. Enjoy! And happy fall eve!
I started by coring the head of cabbage and putting in large boiling pot for 3 to 4 minutes. This cabbage is from Racine's Farm in Adams, MA. Just lovely. 

I also prepared a cup of rice. And then I diced up my onion and garlic. Then I finely chopped the sage and parsley that Estelle and I picked from the herb garden. Many of the herbs are still surviving despite a couple of frosts. 

 I added the ground turkey to the onion and herbs. The cabbage and rice was cooled. I put the tomato sauce at the bottom of the glass baking dish, I then put the turkey mixture into the individual cabbage leaves. Mmmmm. So tasty! 

Stuffed Cabbage with Turkey and Fresh Sage

Ingredients

1 large head of green cabbage
1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 medium red onion
1/2 cup white rice, cooled 
5 sage leaves, finely chopped
1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
2 cups tomato sauce (see below for my recipe, which)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 F. 

Prepare the rice by boiling 1 cup of water and adding 1/2 cup of rice to boiling water. Add salt. This will make 1 cup of rice, but just use a 1/2 cup. Make sure to let it cool. 

Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and add a teaspoon of salt. Cut the core out of the cabbage and put the head in the water for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the burner off and let it sit in the water for another minute. Drain and rinse with cool water. Place the cabbage on a tray or a plate and let it cool even more. 
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, place the ground turkey, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup rice, parsley, red onion, sage, salt and pepper and egg. Mix this well with your hands. Lay out the cabbage leaves on a tray or a cutting board and place a handful of the turkey mixture in the lower center of the leaf. Roll each leaf from the base and create a pocket. In a casserole dish, place 1/3 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom and add the cabbage rolls. Spoon the remaining sauce over the rolls and bake for 1 hour at 350 F. Remove and serve immediately.

Tomato Sauce
1 cup of your favorite tomato sauce 
8 oz can of diced tomatoes
!/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste

This tomato sauce is more flavorful and fresh tasting. 

Macaroni and Cheese with Ham.

There was frost on my car's windshield this morning. A sign of what's ahead. As the weather turns colder, we turn to hearty, warming dishes.  Everyone loves homemade macaroni and cheese. I would argue that this creamy and cheesy dish is the quintessential comfort food. Macaroni and cheese lends itself to many different add-ins, such as tomatoes, seafood, or broccoli. I prefer ham. I think it's smokey flavor complements the cheese perfectly. I have yet to try bacon. Of course, that will be a great addition!

Macaroni and Cheese with Ham

Serves 4 to 6

Preheat oven to 350. 

Ingredients

12 oz. elbow macaroni

1 lb ham (cubed)

bread crumbs

Prepare elbow macaroni according to instructions. Rinse and place in a casserole dish. Cube the ham and also add it to the dish.

For the cheese sauce:

1 cup of sharp cheddar

1/4 parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

Hot sauce (to taste)

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup of flour

2 1/2 cups of hot milk

Freshly ground pepper

salt

Heat 2 1/2 cups of milk in microwave for a minute or two. Or heat the milk in a saucepan on the stove until small bubbles appear on the sides of the pan. In a large sauce pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the flour and cook. Stir the flour and butter constantly, for about two minutes. The flour will bubble but don't let it brown. Add the hot milk and stir as the sauce thickens. Bring the sauce to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in the mustard and a few dashes of hot sauce. Then lower the heat. Lastly, stir in the cheeses and cook for about 2 minutes more. 

Final Steps:

Pour the cheese sauce on top of the elbow macaroni and ham. Mix everything together. Sprinkle on additional parmesan if you wish. Finally, top it off with breadcrumbs and bake for about 30 minutes, until it's nice and bubbly. Enjoy!

Speedy Spaghetti and Sausage Meatballs

Fall is a busy time of year and we're all learning to adjust to new schedules. This means we're looking for quick but satisfying week night meals. I stumbled across this  Johnsonville recipe in the newspaper. And it was a hit with everyone. The only change to the recipe was the addition of fresh oregano and parsley. This came together so quickly. Yet it tasted like a Sunday meal that had been simmering away for hours. A success!

Spaghetti and Sausage Meatballs

1 pound of Italian ground sausage or Italian link sausage with casings removed 

1 jar or 24 oz. pasta sauce

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup parmesan cheese 

1/4 cup milk 

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
2 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano

1 lb spaghetti 

Pre-heat oven to 350. In a large bowl, the egg, bread crumbs, cheese, herbs, milk, and onion. Add sausage to the bread crumb mixture and mix well. Shape into 20 meatballs and arrange on a shallow baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions and heat sauce to s simmer on the stovetop. Add the meatballs to the sauce. Top the pasts with the sauce and meatballs. Enjoy!

These meatballs would also make great grinders. 

*Recipe slightly adapted from Johnsonville Kitchens (JohnsonvilleKitchens.com)