Thursday, August 25, 2011

Not Your Average Cabbage....

Stir Fry, that is! I found myself staring into the nearly empty fridge tonight, trying to come up with something appetizing for dinner, and I noticed the cabbage I still had left from my trip to the farmers market. It was a beautiful cabbage, and we'd only used a few leaves.. I wish I'd taken pictures before cutting into it, it was just that pretty! I'd been thinking of a stir fry with cabbage for some time (thank goodness they don't go bad as quickly as the grapes we can never seem to get through!) so I decided to go for it. Below is the recipe that resulted. Since the girls were already chowing down on what Dale had cooked for dinner, the measurements are just for one person, so keep in mind to double or quadruple or what have you, should you decide to try my recipe. And I think you should.

By the way, I didn't dislike what Dale had cooked for dinner, there just wasn't enough left for all three of us girls after he took what he needed to work.

Cabbage and Beef Stir Fry

1/4 small cabbage, sliced into 1/2 inch slices (from top to bottom, so you have strips, not chunks)
1/4 lb ground beef
EVOO
1/4 white onion, thinly sliced
3 small green onions, diced into 1 inch pieces, including the green tops
freshly ground black pepper
soy sauce
cooked brown rice

Brown ground beef in large frying pan or wok. Drain the fat. Add a very small drizzle of the olive oil, and throw in the white onion, cabbage, and pepper. Stir over medium high heat until the cabbage has softened to just have a bit of crunch left to it. Throw in the green onions and continue to stir for about 30 seconds. Season with soy sauce to taste and serve over brown rice.

Now, here are my thoughts and other notes for changing the recipe up: This was VERY meaty, I only used so much because the only beef we have is the costco frozen beef patties, so I just used one of those. When I drain the fat from my beef, I also rinse it in hot water to get more off. When I cook this for everyone (I will have to overcook some cabbage for LL, I'll probably just steam hers) I will use less beef, as we try to do anyways. I will also add the pepper after the fact to mine and K's, since Dale can't have pepper. Things that I think would be great to add to this dish: Bean sprouts, at the very end. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Throw in very thinly sliced fresh ginger with the onion and cabbage. (I was wishing I had some while I was cooking, yum!) Also, I love quinoa instead of rice, but this is REALLY a brown rice kind of recipe! So just don't go there.

That's about all I've got folks.


Monday, May 30, 2011

Something Green On LL's Tush...

And it's a lot more adorable than any disposable diaper you're going to find! I think many moms will agree that dealing with poopy is exponentially easier the cuter your little one's tush is! This is LL a couple of months ago, so about 9 months old and she is wearing a Bum Genius sized diaper (size medium, to be specific) in Ribbit. One of my favorite Bum Genius colors, I LOVE vibrant greens! This is a great diaper, fits many different builds well, including my skinny girl, and is one of the easiest to change, just off and on! Very daddy and grandparent friendly! I am hesitant to use the term "daddy friendly" when it comes to cloth diapers though, because hubby is great with the cloth diapers! (as long as he doesn't have to wash them) He knows how to use any and every cloth diaper we have, and he was in fact the one who convinced me that it wasn't crazy to buy our own diapers and wash them at home.... how's that for different!? I'll go in to the beginnings of our cloth diaper journey soon, and if there is interest I will do multiple posts on the basics of cloth diapering as well as reviews of the many different diapers we have with photos and details on how to apply them to tiny wriggling bottoms, washing variables, price ranges, pros and cons. Let me know if that is something you would be interested in? I would love to share my extensive knowledge of cloth diapers with everyone and perhaps make the research process shorter for anyone considering cloth!!