Japanese-Style Cabbage Salad

This Japanese-style cabbage salad is comparable to what is served in Japanese restaurants. It's vegan, tastes great, and goes well with Japanese and American food instead of coleslaw.

Ingredients

• ½ large head cabbage, cored and shredded

• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

• 1 cup almond slivers

• ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds

Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons sesame oil

• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon white sugar (Optional)

• 1 clove garlic, minced (Optional)

• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root (Optional)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Combine cabbage, green onions, almond, and sesame seeds in a large bowl.

2. Make dressing: Whisk together sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved.

3. Pour dressing over cabbage mixture and toss until well combined.

Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage

There’s nothing better than warm stuffed cabbage on a cool fall day.

Ingredients

• 1 head cabbage

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• ¾ cup uncooked white rice, rinsed

• 1 pound ground beef

• 1 pound ground pork sausage 

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1 (32 ounce) can tomato juice

Directions

• Step 1

  Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook cabbage in boiling water until outer leaves pull away easily from the head, 3 to 5 minutes. Separate leaves and let cool. Reserve 1 1/2 cup cooking water.

• Step 2

  Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in wet rice; cook and stir until moisture evaporates, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool, about 5 minutes.

• Step 3

  Mix beef, sausage, and egg together in a large bowl. Stir in cooled rice mixture.

• Step 4

  Place a golfball-sized amount of the beef mixture on the ribbed end of a cabbage leaf; roll up, tucking in the sides. Repeat with remaining beef mixture and cabbage leaves.

• Step 5

  Place rolls seam-side down in a slow cooker. Cover with tomato juice. Pour reserved cooking water on top.

• Step 6

  Cook on High for 30 minutes. Switch to Low and cook for 6 1/2 hours.

Cabbage Balushka

Are you looking for something different, but cabbage-related for this New Year’s Eve? Try this Hungarian favorite.

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package egg noodles

• ½ cup butter

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 1 head cabbage, cored and chopped

• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in egg noodles and return to a boil. Cook noodles uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender but still slightly firm, about 5 minutes. Drain well.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet or wok over medium heat; cook and stir onion until browned, about 8 minutes.

3. Cook and stir cabbage into onions until cabbage has wilted, another 5 to 8 minutes.

4. Gently stir cooked noodles into cabbage mixture; season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Beef and Cabbage One Pot Meal

This is a budget-friendly, one pot ground beef and cabbage meal. It is a simple meal that can easily be modified with more veggies and seasonings.

Ingredients

• ground beef (1 lbs)

• onion

• garlic (1 clove, chopped fine)

• cabbage (1 head)

• diced tomatoes (1 can)

• tomato sauce (1 can)

• Salt & Pepper

• Italian Seasoning Blend (optional)

Directions

1. Chop the onion and garlic.

2. Sauté until translucent.

3. Add the ground beef, spices, salt, pepper.

4. Cook until the beef is browned.

5. Add the canned tomatoes and cabbage.

6. Simmer for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Beer Braised Irish Stew and Colcannon

This is a yummy alternative to corned beef for St. Patty's Day and a wonderful anytime dish!

Ingredients

Irish Stew:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1 (3 pound) beef chuck roast, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 cup coarsely chopped onion

• 1 cup coarsely chopped carrot

• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle dark beer

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Colcannon:

• 3 slices bacon

• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

• 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage

• ¼ cup milk, warmed

• 2 tablespoons butter

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

• Step 2

  Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until very hot, and brown the meat in 2 batches, stirring to brown the cubes on all sides. Return all the meat to the Dutch oven, sprinkle with flour, and stir lightly to coat the meat with flour. Stir in onion, carrots, dark beer, bay leaves, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, and cover.

• Step 3

  Place the Dutch oven into the preheated oven, and cook for 45 minutes; uncover, stir the stew, and cook until the beef is very tender and the liquid is reduced by half, about 45 more minutes.

• Step 4

  Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Crumble the bacon and set aside.

• Step 5

  About 30 minutes before the stew is ready, make the colcannon: Place the potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two.

• Step 6

  Place the cabbage into a microwave-safe bowl, and add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and microwave on High for about 2 1/2 minutes; uncover (watch out for steam) and stir the cabbage. Cover and microwave for about 2 1/2 more minutes, until the cabbage is slightly tender but not mushy. Drain excess liquid, and set the cabbage aside, covered.

• Step 7

  Place the potatoes into a large bowl, and add milk, butter, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Beat the potatoes with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Stir in the cabbage, crumbled bacon, and parsley until well combined.

• Step 8

  To serve, place a scoop of colcannon onto a plate, make a hollow, and fill with braised beef stew.

Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

My wife and I made this recipe over the weekend. However, we scaled it up so we would have 4 pans to freeze for later meals. If you scale up the recipe, I recommend also increasing the amount of tomato sauce. We found that we came up a little short on the sauce distribution.

Ingredients

For the sauce:

- 13.5 fl oz tomato sauce

- 3.4 fl oz vegetable stock

- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- 2 tbsp sugar

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1 pinch salt

- 1 pinch pepper

For the stuffed cabbage rolls:

- 1 cabbage head

- 17.5 oz ground meat

- 2 eggs

- 4.2 oz jasmine rice

- 1 diced onion

- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

- 1 cup parsley, chopped

- 1 pinch salt

- 1 pinch pepper

Directions

1. To prepare the sauce, mix the tomato sauce with the stock, balsamic vinegar, and seasoning. Now spoon the sauce into a casserole dish; the bottom of the dish on the inside should be completely covered in sauce.

2. Next, remove the cabbage stem and boil the entire cabbage in salted water for 10 minutes. Take it out of the water and remove the leaves that are already soft. Keep boiling the cabbage and removing leaves until you have enough for your shells. Refresh the leaves in cold water and leave them to dry. To finish, cut away the stem at each corner.

3. It's now time to make the filling. First, add the ground meat, eggs, jasmine rice, onions, garlic, and parsley in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients by carefully kneading them with your hands. Now mold a handful of the mixture into a roll using your hands.

4. Now we come to rolling up those rolls. Place a meat roll in the center of a cabbage leaf, fold in its sides, and roll the leaf from the bottom so that the meat is completely covered. Repeat this process until you've used up all the meat mix and leaves.

5. Place the finished cabbage rolls in the casserole dish, keeping them tightly packed. Then spoon the rest of the sauce on top.

6. Bake the stuffed leaves at 320°F for 45 minutes in a convection oven.