School's out for Summer!

Lot's has happened since February! Gymnastics season has ended.  Baseball season began, and now we are playing in Little League All-Stars. We are moving away from Athens, so I have been cleaning out, and packing.  I haven't had much time for blogging, even though school has been out for a month.  Some quick, easy, and healthy dishes that we have had has been cabbage rolls, veggie pot pie and tortilla chip bake.  We are mostly eating salads, sandwiches, yogurt, and fruits.  We made a banana bread one day and it was delicious!  One of my best friends shared a kefir starter, and a kombucha starter with me today.  I was excited to get these, and plan to keep them going.  Health Benefits of Kombucha!  Health Benefits of Kefir!

Recipes:

Cabbage roll:
1/2 lb of combined ground deer meat and wild boar
1 onion
1 C. diced tomatoes
1/2 c. baby bella mushrooms
1/2 head cabbage
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 TBL butter
1 C. brown rice

Directions: preheat oven 350
Cook ground meat.  While meat is cooking, boil water in a large pot.  Pour one cup of water in small pot for rice.  Cut up veggies.  Once ground meat is complete, take off heat and let cool some.  Put 1/2 C rice in boiling water in small pot, give a quick stir, cover, and lower heat to simmer. Place cabbage in large boiling pot of water (cook for 5-8 minutes). Heat a buttered skillet for veggies.  Cook onions and garlic first for 5 min stirring so not to stick.  Add tomatoes and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes.  Turn off heat.  Drain cabbage, and take leaves off one at a time.  You need 8 whole leaves.  Rice should be ready.  Now, all you have to do is fill and wrap!  You can mix all ingredients first if you like and add salt and pepper to taste.  On a jelly roll pan, fill the leaves with the fillings and roll the cabbage.  Once all cabbage leaves are filled and rolled, place in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  As that is cooking, chop up remaining cabbage to serve on the side.  Season to taste! 

Aubrey loved this so much, she wanted it for lunch the next day!   *I really love tomatoes, so I put a little extra on top as it was cooking! 

 

After practice quick dinner: Tortilla Chip Bake w/ Veggies

 

Ingredients:

Store bought tortilla chips (I like On the Boarder restaurant style)

Left over ground meat (this came from frozen meat used for the cabbage rolls)

Cheese (we had mozzarella, so that's what was used!)
1 Onion chopped
1 Pepper sliced
1 tomato chopped in 1 in. cubes
EVOO

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Pour desired amount of tortilla chips on jelly roll pan. Sprinkle desired amount of meat and cheese over chips.  Place in oven to warm.  Leave in oven until cheese melts.  As this is in the oven, sauté onion, and pepper until soft in the heated EVOO.  Add tomatoes to sautéed onions and pepper.  Cover and let sit in warm pan.  Turn off heat.   Take chips out of oven if cheese is melted.  And voilà!  Dinner in 10-12 minutes.

Quick Veggie Pot Pie  serves 2 (286 calories)
(okay, I used chicken stock....that's all I had!) 

Ingredients:
1 canned or frozen mixed vegetables
1/4 C. veggie stock
2 tsp. corn starch
*to add more richness, you can add some butter, or cream of mushroom soup. 

1/2 C self rising flour -sifted, or you can whisk the flour for a second or two.  (I like White Lily flour for this!)
1 tsp butter
1/4-1/2 C milk

Directions: Preheat oven to 375
Mix corn starch and stock in small casserole dish. Make sure starch is mixed in well.  I usually only mix with a small amount of liquid to begin, and then add the rest of the stock. There will be clumps of corn starch otherwise. Add the vegetables. Add seasonings.  (I just used a little salt and pepper, but add whatever you like with veggies!) Set aside.

In mixing bowl, measure sifted four and 1 tsp butter.  Cut in butter using pastry blender, or fork. You are just incorporating the butter in the flour as evenly as possible.  Only takes about 30 seconds to incorporate. Pour in measured milk and mix with the fork just until all is wet and just barely pourable. Add more milk if needed.   

Pour flour mixture over vegetable mixture.  Put in oven for 20 minutes or until crust is browned.

This was quite satisfying!  You could always put any leftover veggies in this dish!

 Pictures of my Kombucha and Kefir:

Doesn't look like anything special today, but the Kombucha will be ready in 10-21 days. Then, I will add wonderful flavorings like fresh blueberries, pineapple, or relaxing chamomile leaves into individual glass bottles. 

The kefir will be ready in only 2 days!  I'm thinking about making a smoothie with it, or adding berries that have been blended with the immersion blender.