Cooking 101 #15/52 Halupki Casserole

Last week was for Michelle, today was fro me.  Halupkis (I refuse to call it stuffed cabbage!).  I grew up with my mom making these many times a year.  It wasn't until I was a teenager that I started to appreciate the cabbage, before that I would just eat the filling.  Michelle had made them for me a few times, but she wasn't a huge fan.  At a family gathering we had a simplified halupki casserole made with sauerkraut.  It was actually very good and Michelle made that version a few times.  That all came to a stop about five years ago.  She made them one night when she had a stomach bug and ever since the simple thought of the meal turned her stomach.  A few days ago I asked her if she'd be willing to give it a go again.  She was up for an attempt.

Well, I looked for a recipe that appealed to me and actually ended up taking some ideas from a few and combining it into this meal:

1 lb ground beef
1/2 head of cabbage
1 small to medium onion
1 clove garlic
2/3 cup of uncooked rice
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
16 oz tomato sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute the ground beef, onion, and garlic until the beef is browned.  Cook the rice.  Boil the cabbage until it begins to soften.  Combine all of these items in a casserole dish.  Mix the tomato sauce, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce and then spread over the top of the casserole.  Bake at 350 for one hour.

There you go!  Much easier to make than actual halupkis but all the flavor and texture is there.  I loved it and plan on making another batch to use up the rest of the cabbage this weekend.  Give it a shot, let me know what you think.

Cooking 101 #14/52 Fish Tacos

This week was another experiment for the benefit of Michelle, fish tacos.  I am not a seafood person myself.  I've been eating more of it in the pas 10 years or so but still limit myself to actual seafood, not freshwater fish.  I tend to like tuna, swordfish and tilapia steaks.  I figured I would give tilapia fish tacos a shot since Michelle absolutely loves fish tacos.  I found this recipe on a discussion board of one of my favorites sites, the absolute best site on the internet, [redacted, first rule violation detected].  It was a simple marinade of olive oil, fresh lime juice, garlic, pepper, tequila, and brown sugar.  Cooked until the fish was just to the point where it would fall apart with a tug of a fork.  Served on corn tortillas with fresh onion, cilantro, black bean and corn salsa, and a chipotle sour cream.  Michelle loved it, plans on making it again.  I could barely manage to get one down, my head simply was convincing my stomach that these content had no business being there.  Not sure why, I usually like tilapia, this just didn't sit well.

Cooking 101 #13/52 Chili

Decided to try my hand at some chili!  Not quite my favorite bowl of chili, a bit to spicy.  Easy enough to eat a bowl, but hot enough that I decided not to take a second bowl.  I'm also not a tomato fan so the stewed tomatoes probably weren't the best idea.  Even so, I've made some notes to modify the recipe and I think I will try another batch sometime soon.

Cooking 101 #12/52 Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas!  Well, it was worth a shot.  Wasn't wild with the results this time.  Just not a recipe that worked for me, taste wise.  I will give these a try some other time with a completely different recipe.

Cooking 101 #11/52 Hamburger BBQ

Sunday was my day for cooking this week.  And I mean the whole day.  I started off with a nice breakfast.  Skillet fried potatoes, onions, and garlic along with scrambled eggs, cheese, and salsa in a tortilla wrap.  No pics of that one as it wasn't my official project meal, it was a breakfast I've tossed together a few times before.

For dinner it was sloppy joes (or hamburger barbecue, as I prefer calling it) and a tossed salad.  Nothing fancy, but it was a new recipe.  Normally hamburger BBQ starts with ketchup and mustard and you go from there to make it your own.  This one called for soy sauce, no mustard.  I was worried but Michelle and I both thought it was one of the best versions we have had.  Simple recipe, minimal mess, minimal time to make.  Give it a try!

Here is the recipe, if you're interested!

Cooking 101 #10/52 Cowboy Grilled Chicken

Today's recipe was.... borrowed... from an old dinner at Ruby Tuesday's.  Years ago they had a meal call "Cowboy Grills Chicken" that was blackened chicken over garlic potatoes with steamed carrots, broccoli  and cauliflower and breaded onion straws.  It was my favorite meal there and I've rarely been back since it was dropped from the menu.   Michelle recreated this at home for me when we found they had removed it.

Our version is nearly identical except we use Durkee Fried Onions in place of the onion straws.  Not much of a recipe here to offer other than to say that I use Rick's Ragin Cajun rub to make the chicken.  Came out great!  Getting better at timing various items so they all finish together.