Cabbage Confetti

This is not rice. Nope. Looks like it..but isn't.
It's not cauliflower either in case you might be thinking it is...
Nope...
Cabbage.
Say what?!
Yup.
I got on this kick of roasting cabbage. Because you see cabbage and I aren't huge buddies. I like it kraut style..and even then it has to be in small amounts. But then I started chopping it up and roasting it..and I LOVE it.
But Hubby likes it all sorts of ways. Including boiled to death and slimy as sh.....shomething slimy. *Gags*
So the other day I'm working..subbin' at the school..and Ma is watching the kids and she texts me:
Ma: dinner?
which is Ma speak for 'do you want me to make something b/c you are working and didn't put anything in a crockpot b/f you left'
Suze: Ck in the freezer, cabbage in the fridge
Ma: baked how? cabbage what?
Ma is not a friend of cabbage either (still not)
Suze: DKG style chicken, cut up cabbage in semi small pieces, I'll roast it when I get home.
Ma: K.

For the record DKG style is 'salt, pepper, granulated garlic, some butter, splash of water' and frozen chicken breasts into the oven at 350 for about 4 hours. Perfect each time.
Her translation of 'semi small pieces' of cabbage, turned into confetti though. She seriously mini-choppered a WHOLE head of cabbage. I mean like chopped..like 2x2 or 1x1...
however her Cabbage Confetti is now the staple. Even Hubs who criticizes my Ma's cooking for the salt content, has decreed from hence forth, the cabbage has to be made "Like your Mom" made it. Well, ok then.

If you have a food processor, it works bigger batches than the mini chopper. I still laugh at the image of the WHOLE head of cabbage in tiny little batches. Anyway.


Cabbage Confetti

Oven at 425-
One head of cabbage..run through a food processor, smaller than KFC coleslaw people.
BIG pan..I usually roast it off in my 11x14 metal cake pan, lined with parchment.

Put all your cabbage into the lined pan, then put it into the oven. If it is a HUGE cabbage, you can roast two pans at a time.
About 10 minutes in. Take it out and toss it about. You'll notice some pieces are starting to brown up a bit.
In about another 10 minutes, repeat.
And let it go until you are happy with the 'doneness'.
If your pieces go black..you went to far..that is burnt..and burnt cabbage does not taste good. Shoot for a light brown..but still some green. You want it to look like the picture.

The result? The brown bits are carmelly and sweet. The green is still slightly crunchy. And served along side some baked chicken..you shovel it in thinking it is rice. It kinda looks like rice. It doesn't taste overly cabbagey. It has ZERO carbs..and not that many calories either.

Truth..it's a pain to make...BUT if you are wanting an alternative to starch..it's awesome.

Honey Mustard Sauce

It seemed easy enough...Honey + Mustard SHOULD equal 'honey mustard'..just like it tastes at a restaurant...but it didn't.
So I went to Honey+Sugar and CALLED it 'honey mustard'..but it still wasn't.
Played with it some more and FINALLY found a combo that to me, makes for the best "Honey" Mustard dipping sauce. Chicken nuggets and pizza rolls...meet your maker!

Honey Mustard Sauce

1/2 cup yellow mustard
2-3 Tablespoons mayonaise or Miracle Whip
2-3 Tablespoons honey
dash of lemon pepper

Mix to combine and dip away!

Potato Stick(Chip) Butterscotch Cookies

It's a combo of salty and sweet, and a great way to clean out the pantry. Please tell me I am not the only one with random 1/2 bags of chocolate, butterscotch, etc, baking chips laying around?

Potato Stick (Chip) Butterscotch Cookies (adapted from Landee)

2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 t vanilla
2 large eggs (I used duck eggs)
2 1/4 cups self rising flour
3 cups potato sticks/chips crushed
1 cup butterscotch chips

Oven at 350
Cream butter and sugars
Add vanilla and eggs-mix well
Add flour
Mix in 2 cups of potato sticks and your butterscotch chips. You don't have to worry about the sticks breaking b/c they work better crunched up anyway.
Roll into small balls (about 1 1/2 inches?) then roll those into left over potato sticks. Place on lined (or greased) baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 13 minutes.
Remove from oven and let set up for a couple minutes before you remove to a cooling rack.

KISS Pasta

Ok, so there really isn't any 'kissing' involved...and it wasn't our Valentine's Day dish...KISS-Keep it Simple Sweetie. I find that alot of times I try to go above and beyond. Take a recipe and make it  my own, try this, add that, and sometimes it turns out good..and sometimes it doesn't. But when it comes down to it..sometimes the most 'simple' prep works the best. Yesterday Hubs had put italian sausage, tomatoes, and onions into the crockpot. And well...after smelling it all day, it just wasn't what I wanted for dinner..do you ever do that? The kids didn't want it either and requested spaghetti..but they didn't want the sauce from the crockpot, they just wanted it plain.
Well..'plain' noodles just stick together. So I added a couple things that originally was just to keep them from sticking, and ended up being really good.
And Hubs who is traditionally anti-lemon pepper, LOVED it as well. I love sneaking things in on him he 'thinks' he doesn't like. *snickers*

KISS Pasta

Spaghetti noodles cooked*
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
shredded mozzarella cheese for sprinkling

You'll have to decide how many noodles you need. What does that mean? Well..how 'wet' do you want the pasta? I cooked the whole box of noodles, then added my butter and oil to the already warm pan (that I just cooked in) then added noodles until it looked coated enough. I didn't want it dripping w/butter and oil, so I added noodles until it looked just moist enough, then added in the garlic and lemon pepper. Then topped w/a little cheese once it was on the plate.

It's fairly light for pasta really. The kids still thought it was 'plain noodles' and Hubs enjoyed it with his italian sausage crockpot stuff. Nothing fancy about it at all, and simple..that's the key. I'm thinking I need more of the KISS stuff. :)