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.

Independence Day Cupcakes

A light fluffy cupcake filled with cool vanilla pudding offers a light alternative to a traditional cupcake. Substitute applesauce for a healthy alternative to shortening.

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ cups white sugar

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup vegetable shortening

• 3 egg whites

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 cup milk

• 1 (1 ounce) package instant sugar-free vanilla pudding mix

• 2 cups skim milk

• 1 (7 ounce) container light whipped cream

• 12 thinly sliced strawberries, or as needed

• 24 fresh blueberries

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

• Step 2

  With a pastry cutter, chop the shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture becomes crumbly, then beat in the egg whites, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of milk to make a smooth batter. Spoon batter into the paper-lined cupcake cups, filling them about 2/3 full.

• Step 3

  Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 22 to 26 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely.

• Step 4

  In a bowl, beat together the pudding mix and 2 cups of skim milk until the pudding is thickened, about 2 minutes. Allow to stand for 5 minutes to finish thickening. Spoon the pudding into a pastry bag with a medium tip.

• Step 5

  To fill and decorate cupcakes, use a thin paring knife to cut a small hole, about 1/2 inch in diameter, into the top of a cupcake. Insert the knife about 3/4 of the way down into the cupcake, and remove the core. Use the pastry bag to fill the hole with pudding, piping in enough pudding to fill the hole flush with the top of the cupcake. Frost the tops of the filled cupcakes with light whipped cream, spreading it into a smooth layer.

• Step 6

  Place a blueberry in the center of each cupcake. Around the blueberry, arrange 5 slices of strawberry, pointed ends outward, to make a star shape. Store in refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Squares

This incredibly simple desert is the perfect accompaniment for a cookout potluck.

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ½ cup margarine, melted

• ¼ cup white sugar (for topping)

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

2. Press one can of the crescent rolls into the bottom of the prepared pan.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

4. Spread over the crescent layer.

5. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and lay them on top of the cream cheese layer. Do not press down.

6. Pour the melted margarine over the entire pan.

7. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top.

8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is crisp and golden.

Campfire Meal: Hobo's Delight

This recipe combines hamburgers with onions, baby carrots, and potatoes in individually cooked foil packets. It’s easy cleanup makes it the perfect meal for camping.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean ground beef

• 1 onion, sliced

• 1 (16 ounce) package baby carrots

• 4 potatoes, peeled and sliced

• seasoned salt to taste

• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat grill for medium-high heat.

• Step 2

  Form the ground beef into individual patties, and place each patty on a piece of foil large enough to hold the patty and some vegetables. Layer each patty with onion slices, carrots, and potato slices. Season with seasoned salt, salt, and pepper to taste. Wrap foil around food, and seal each packet tightly.

• Step 3

  Grill 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Carefully open each packet (the steam that escapes will be very hot), and serve.

Grilled Tarragon Mustard Chicken

If you're looking to grill some chicken but are tired of the traditional grilling sauces, try this. It's flavorful and doesn't require time to marinate.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

• 1 tablespoon dried tarragon

• 1 teaspoon honey

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat grill for medium heat and lightly oil grate.

• Step 2

  Whisk mustard, garlic, tarragon, honey, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Pat chicken breasts dry with a paper towel; coat one side of each breast with mustard sauce.

• Step 3

  Place chicken, coated side down, on grill; cover with remaining sauce and close grill lid. Turn chicken over after 10 minutes. Cook chicken breasts until no longer pink in the center and juices run clear, about 20 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F.

Pizza Pasta

This is an easy and quick dish that the kids are sure to love.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces rotini pasta

• 1 pound lean ground beef

• 1 small onion, diced

• 1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

• 4 ounces sliced pepperoni sausage

• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

• Step 2

  Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

• Step 3

  In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef with onion until beef is brown. Drain. Combine beef mixture with spaghetti sauce, pepperoni and cooked pasta and pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with mozzarella.

• Step 4

  Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and golden.