German Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

German Red Cabbage aka Rotkohl (pronounced rote-cole)

 Servings: about 8

This is a great dish to accompany beef, pork, or brats.  Patience is required because this dish is slow cooked but is well worth the wait!  Sweet, tangy, and colorful, it’s also a health food as it’s high in antioxidants and vitamin C.  I was asked to bring this to a German dinner party.  I can’t believe that I’ve never made this tasty side dish; so I turned to the internet and social media.  I ended up combining two recipes, one from a German friend and another from Allrecipes.  The result was delicious and got lots of “thumbs up” at the dinner party.  (a side note is that if you add too much salt, the cabbage will turn blue-ish)

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tablespoons butter

1 large head red cabbage, cored and finely shredded

1 medium red onion, diced

2 large Granny Smith apples, diced

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1/3 cup apple juice or apple cider (a bit more if necessary)

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce with juice

DIRECTIONS:

Place butter and onion in large pot or Dutch oven, and cook until onions are tender.

Add cabbage, apples, vinegar, and apple juice.

Season with salt, pepper and cloves.

Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat to low.

Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender, 1 ½ to 2 hours. (the cabbage should be moist, not soupy; if necessary, add more apple juice during the simmer process).

Nicoise Chicken Stew

 Serves 6

Wow is this ever delicious!  This slow cooked tender chicken, in a tomato broth with wonderful black olives is a new favorite of mine and goes straight to the top of my "keeper" list.  It's easy, elegant, and oh so tasty.  Thanks to my friend, Paula, for introducing me to this yummilicious French stew!  You'd better be prepared for guests as the aroma while this is baking in the oven fills the neighborhood!  Served with potatoes or rice, a loaf of crusty French bread, and a tossed green salad with French dressing and you'll be transported to Paris! Tres tres bon! As an added bonus, this is paleo and whole-30 friendly!

INGREDIENTS:

·         3 lbs. chicken pieces (I used boneless and skinless breasts)

·         10 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

·         25 to 30 nicoise (or kalamata) olives (or a 9.5-ounce jar, drained)

·         3 14.5-ounce cans fire roasted diced tomatoes with juice

·         2 cups chicken broth

·         2 to 3Tablespoons herbes de Provence

·         2-3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

·         Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.     Preheat your oven to 325 F.

2.    Season each chicken piece with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3.    Place olive oil in an ovenproof casserole dish (Dutch oven) over a medium-high heat.

4.    Brown the chicken pieces for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

5.    Add the garlic to the casserole dish and cook until browned.

6.    Add the tomatoes, olives, chicken stock, and herbes de Provence. Cover and bake in oven for one hour.

7.    Remove cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour more.

Canadian Maple Pecan Pie

   (From Canadian Living, volume 1 #1)

Thanks to a fellow Cruise Critic roll call member for this recipe which hails from Canada!  Pecan pie is one of my most favorite desserts; but, I must confess that I have never made one with maple syrup!  My mom's recipe, her tried and true original, uses Karo syrup and her recipe is the one that I most always turn to for pecan pie (in keeping with family tradition).   Maple syrup and pecans are both manna from heaven so I made this recipe yesterday.  Fortunately a big crock of Canadian maple syrup from Costco was in my pantry!  According to my friend, this recipe comes from Canadian Living magazine, volume 1:1.  Well, it's definitely another recipe for my treasure trove of most loved recipes!  

“A sweet pie chock-full of pecans and richly flavored with maple syrup is pretty hard to resist.  The pecans, arranged in the pie shell before adding the filling, will rise to the surface as the pie bakes.”   This will make one 9-inch pie or about 10 individual mini pies (I used VIP frozen mini pastry shells).

INGREDIENTS:

Pastry for 9-inch single crust pie

1 ½ cups pecan halves

4 eggs

1 cup maple syrup

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Roll out pastry to 1/8-inch thickness and fit into pie plate; trim excess and flute edges.

Arrange pecans over pastry and refrigerate while preparing the filling.

Beat together eggs, maple syrup, granulated and brown sugars, butter and vanilla just until blended.

Spoon into pie shell

Bake at 375 degrees F for 40 to 45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is set.

Pumpkin-shaped Cheese Ball

Summer is ending and fall is here!  It's pumpkin season!  This cheese ball does not actually include pumpkin, but it is shaped like a pumpkin and is fun to serve during the Fall season, for Halloween get-togethers, or for Thanksgiving.  It's a great cheese ball that's easy and yummy.  You can use it anytime, by shaping it into a  when it's not shaped as a pumpkin!  You can roll it in chopped pecans or crushed tortilla chips.  I made this for a dinner party and it got great reviews.  It's fun to be a bit artistic with your food!  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened (I used low fat)

1 carton (8-ounce) spreadable chive and onion cream cheese (I used low fat)

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 teaspoons paprika

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 celery rib or broccoli stalk

1 spinach leaf

Sliced apples and assorted crackers

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, beat cream cheeses until smooth.

Stir in cheddar cheese, paprika and cayenne.

Shape into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm.

With a knife, add vertical lines to the cheese ball to resemble a pumpkin; insert a celery rib or broccoli stalk for the stem.

Serve with apples and crackers