Thursday, February 19, 2015

Easy Dutch Oven Braised Cabbage

I love cabbage, in all forms. But my favorite is definitely sweet, tender, roasted cabbage. This dish was incredibly easily and it was really good under a nice meat with some sauce! It is equally as delicious and stands up well as a side dish. Go crazy---cabbage is cheap, healthy, and awesome!

Ingredients
1) 1 large head of cabbage
2) 1 medium onion, diced
3) 2 tablespoons cooking oil (ghee, coconut oil, tallow, etc)
4) 1 cup of chicken or beef stock
5) 1/2 tablespoon of salt

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put your dutch oven on the stove and turn on heat to medium-high.
2) Chop your onion, then add your cooking oil to the pan. Throw in your onions, and stir.
3) Add half of your salt to your onions and cook for 8-10 minutes, until starting to be translucent and soft.
4) While your onions are cooking, chop up your cabbage. It's easiest if you chop into quarters, take out the core, and then slice into ribbons, but you could throw in the food processor if you prefer.
5) After the onions have cooked, add in your cabbage. It will be very full at this point! Drizzle your 1 cup of stock on top, and your remaining salt.
6) Put the lid on and pop in the oven for 60 minutes, stirring at the half way point and taking the lid off for the last 30 minutes.


Saturday, February 14, 2015

Maple Nut Roasted Butternut Squash

When cooking a nice dinner for my love, I knew we needed a good side dish and I remembered we had bought a pack of butternut squash cubes at Costco. By the way, aren't those just so awesome and handy? Man, I am glad they are back in stock because they are delicious and so much easier than doing it yourself! Anyway, I was going to make roasted butternut squash with honey, like I usually do. But my love didn't want those at all, so I had to think on my feet. I thought adding a nutty topping might make it fun and different, so I gave it a try.

Verdict? Super awesome! Even with the maple syrup, it's not sweet like a thanksgiving dish. It just had a nice semi-sweet taste with a great crunch at the end. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Ingredients
1) 2 pounds of butternut squash, peeled and cubed (or one pre-cut pack from Costco)
2) 2 tablespoons ghee or butter, or coconut oil
3) 2 tablespoons maple syrup
4) 1/2 cup of nuts, your choice (I used hazelnuts, but almonds would be great too!)
5) 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) In a 9x13 pan, or a rimmed baking with silicone mat or parchment paper, add your chopped butternut squash.
3) In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of ghee and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. Stir well.
4) Pour the liquid mixture on top of your squash. Mix with your hands to ensure everything is evenly covered.
5) In a food processor or blender, grind the 1/2 cup of nuts down until small pieces, almost like flour.
6) Spread the ground nuts evenly over your squash. Sprinkle with salt.
7) Bake for 30-35 minutes, until tender to your liking.