Unwrapped Cabbage Rolls

This little ditty started because of two reasons. 1. I have a HUGE head of cabbage my mom gave me from her garden. 2. My gal, Andrea, posted a pic of hers on Facebook the other day and my mouth started watering! So she sent me over a pic of the recipe (which is wonderful as it stands) but y'all know me: I can't do anything according to the original recipe. The original has a small can of tomato paste added to it and was about twice the size (which is great if you want leftovers) but the hubs isn't a fan of "tomato" in the form of paste. So that got dropped ASAP.

I have to say, this totally tasted like hamburger helper (to me) but with cabbage which is 10000 times more awesome than pasta. Also, you can easily use ground turkey or chicken. I suggest adding extra cumin and maybe paprika if you do that during the browning stage. I stayed with a super lean ground sirloin (again, playing to the hubs "wants"). 

If you need a carb: add an extra cup of water and cup of brown rice when you put the tomotoes and cabbage in the pan to cook. I found this filling enough without it!

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Unwrapped Cabbage Rolls

3/4-1 lb. of lean ground sirloin

1 small red onion - diced

1 tbsp. EVOO

2 tsp. garlic powder

OR 1 clove of garlic - minced

1 small head of white cabbage - chopped (about 2-3 cups-ish)

1 can diced tomatoes (I used organic and green chile flavor)

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 c. Water

In a deep frying pan, heat the EVOO and add meat, onions and garlic. Brown those puppies. 

When brown, add the can of tomatoes, more garlic (if you're into that), salt, pepper, cumin. Stir first, THEN add the cabbage and 1/2 cup of water. Cover and reduce temp to a simmer. Stir every 5 minutes to help incorporate the cabbage as it cooks down. Cook for 25-30 minutes. 

Eat that awesomeness!

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SUPER SIMPLE. Clean and easy and filling and flavorful! And Alice didn't try it. BOOOOOOO! I think she would have liked it.

Challenge-Friendly: YES! Great for Cleanse and Max.

Blanched Garlic Lime Chicken

One of the easiest ways to do chicken is to boil the crap out of it! I like it because it keeps the chicken moist and tender plus adds flavor. I use blanched chicken for salads, "tacos," ... whenever I need easy prepped chicken to add protein.

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Blanched Garlic Lime Chicken

2-4 Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 cloves of garlic chopped/minced
1/2 real lime (squeeze over the meat while it's defrosting to marinade)

These are optional:
1 tbsp. Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
1 tbsp. Tastefully Simple Simply Salsa
1 tbsp. Tastefully Simple Onion Onion

(I am a TS fan since they use all natural ingredients!)

Place the chicken (thawed or not) in a big pan. Throw in the spices, garlic, half a lime. Fill the pan with water as high as you can where it won't boil over (or at least covering the chicken). Put a lid on top, turn the heat up and let that meat cook. I literally cook all the water out or leave just a touch in the bottom. This leaves the chicken moist with lots of flavor and you know it's fully cooked. Try to skim off the fat that cooks out of the chicken as it boils down. When it boils about half way, turn the chicken over and take a fork to poke some holes in it. Cut into a couple of smaller chucks too if you are worried about it cooking all the way.

After it boils down, take out the lime half (scrap out the soft insides into the pan). Break the chicken apart using 2 forks (essentially "shredding"). Toss the shredded chicken around the pan to incorporate any left over garlic, onions etc. that are left in the pan from boiling. Want more flavor? Squeeze in the other half of the lime for extra moisture and LOTS more flavor.

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Simple and easy and you have plenty for quick salads!


Challenge Friendly: YES

Fridge Oatmeal

This is a re-post from my old Challenge blog.
Yes this is Challenge friendly and was my breakfast for 10-days! Lots of variations to try, too. Check out the Pinterest Challenge Board for a Chai version!

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The recipe and idea I based this off is Overnight, No-Cook Refrigerator Oatmeal from The Yummy Life.

I bought the Freezer Storage 8 oz. Ball Jars to use. LOVE the fact Ball makes jars in plastic now so they are light and the lids won't rust, of course! The grains I used are from my local Health Food store so they are organic and sold in bulk. Everything is mostly an estimate. The only time I really use "measuring" is when I need precise liquids.

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Fridge Oatmeal

1/8 c. Steel Oats
1/4 c. Rolled Oats
A Squirt of Agave (natural sweetener)
Fruit
Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

Throw in the grains. They should fill an 8 oz. cup about half way or so. Chop up a fruit (I used 1-2 strawberries) and add to the top. Squirt in agave (we aren't supposed to have sugars ... but plain ole oatmeal with no butter or sugar is pretty PLAIN). Fill the cup to almost full with the Almond Milk. Put the lid on; shake; put in the fridge for at least 10-12 hours. Grab from the fridge on your way out the door.

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Note: you can use all rolled oats too. No big deal!
Challenge Friendly: YES

Super Simple Tuna Salad

It's amazing how after you have retrained your palate, some foods just don't taste right anymore. Take Miracle Whip, for example. I grew up with that awesomeness on my bologna sandwiches, in my egg salad, tuna salad, potato salad ... and now I try to use it and it's waaaaaay to sweet and creamy! *sadness* BUT I have found ways around it by using Greek yogurt to add the creaminess to my dishes so I'm totally comfortable with the substitution. The only thing with yogurt is that you have to flavor it up a touch.

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Super Simple Tuna Salad

1 small can albacore tuna
1 tbsp. Greek yogurt
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. dill (I <3 dill!!)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard (or just a squirt)
1 tbsp. sweet relish

Mix together. Place in tomato for lunch or throw into a wrap.

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I'm a pickle whore. I lovvvve pickle or relish in my cold salad mix and it not only adds flavor, but those 4 grams of sugar are enough to satiate my sweet tooth now.

You may catch a glimpse of cheese at the bottom of my wrap. It's not necessary! But I wanted it today (some habits die hard even if I'm not using Miracle Whip!). And there is a smear of hummus on the very bottom for some extra flavor.

No matter what: don't forget your veggies! It may be tempting to leave them off ... But your body needs them :)