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Stuffed Cabbage and Peppers

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Now that Fall is here, we've switched from lighter grilled meals to heartier stovetop meals. What I love about Stuffed Cabbage and Peppers is, while it's a one-pot, hearty, stovetop meal, it's still on the lighter side. 


I have 2 stuffed cabbage recipes that I normally make. This one loosely resembles the recipe made by my mother as far back as I can remember. I don't know her measurements (there probably aren't any), nor do I know her exact ingredients, but I do remember piling all the wrapped cabbage and stuffed peppers in a pot, adding potatoes and covering them all with tomatoes. I took that memory and created a recipe around it and this is what I came up with. Enjoy!

Here is what you'll need:
  • 7 outer cabbage leaves
  • 3 cubanelle peppers
  • 1 lb. ground sirloin
  • 1 tsp oregano 
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup bread crumbs (or minute rice)
  • 1/4 large onion, finely diced
  • 1/4 head of cabbage, chopped
  • 1 cubanelle pepper, diced
  • 8 small potatoes, halved or quartered
  • 8 small tomatoes, quartered
  • 8 oz. tomato sauce
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
Fill a large pot with water and boil the 7 outer cabbage leaves until they are softened and partially cooked. Drain and set aside.

Hollow out 3 cubanelle peppers by cutting a circle around the stem and emptying out the seeds. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl add ground sirloin, oregano, salt, pepper, egg, Worcestershire, bread crumbs and onion. Combine until just mixed. Divide meat mixture into 10 portions.

Wrap 1 portion of meat mixture inside each of the cabbage leaves as if you were making a burrito. Stuff the remaining portions of meat into each of the cubanelle peppers.

Place wrapped cabbage and stuffed peppers in a large pot. Add chopped cabbage, diced pepper, potatoes, and tomatoes to the pot.

In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, brown sugar and garlic. Mix well and pour over all ingredients in the pot. Cover.

Turn stove to medium/medium-high heat until the liquid begins to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 35-45 minutes, or until meat is cooked through and potatoes are tender. Serves 4-5.
Source: Adventures In My Kitchen Original

What's Baking: Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

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This month's What's Baking is being hosted by Eva at Eva Bakes. There couldn't be a more fitting October theme than pumpkins and/or sweet potatoes. I was really excited about this theme becuase I have a slight addiction to sweet potatoes.


If you haven't noticed already, I normally end up baking a sweet each month for What's Baking, but this month I decided to use the sweet potato theme and bake a side dish. Jr loves sweet potato casserole, so I decided to do a switch up on that casserole and make Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes.

These were really great, and what I especially like about them is that it's easier to make exactly what you need and in individual portions. Also, you can taylor them to individual tastes like we did (some with and some without marshmallows). These are great for a weeknight, but would be a great side dish for Thanksgiving as well.


Be sure to head on over to Eva Bakes to look for this month's roundup which is sure to have a lot of inspiration for the upcoming holidays!


Here is what you'll need:
  • 3 medium sweet potatoes
  • 1 Tbsp butter, melted
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar, divided
  • 2 tsp real maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • Marshmallows, optional
Preheat oven to 375F degrees.

Cook Sweet potatoes by either baking them or microwaving them until

Split sweet potatoes in half, scoop out insides of potatoes, leaving skins intact, and place in a bowl. Set sweet potato skins to the side.

Add butter, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, maple syrup and seasonings to the bowl with the sweet potato flesh. Combine well. Scoop mixture into the reserved potato skins. Sprinkle tops with remaining  brown sugar. Place on a baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes.

Cut marshmallows in half if you are using regular size ones (you don't need to do this if using mini marshmallows). Remove baking sheet with sweet potatoes from the oven. Place marshmallows on top of each sweet potato (2-3 marshmallow halves per potato depending on the size of your potatoes). Place potatoes back in the oven and bake another 10 minutes, or until browned.

Source: Inspired by Guy Fieri

Potato Crust Quiche

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It's been a while since I've participated in the recipe swaps, and I'm really glad to be back participating with the group. This round was Blogger's Choice, and the blog I was assigned was Prevention RD. I love Nicole's blog, having tried many recipes from it in the past. 


I was initially looking for a meat-free dinner option, and almost made this Eggplant Zucchini Bolognese (minus the meat), but I just couldn't get into the mood for making it this week. I was really craving breakfast type foods, but JR isn't a believer in breakfast for dinner. When I came across this Potato Crust Quiche, I was pretty sure we could have breakfast for dinner without complaints. I was right! He ate it for dinner, and lunch the next day!

While there is nothing like the buttery crust of a quiche, this was a nice alternative and definitely satisfied my breakfast cravings. I went ahead and subbed ham and spinach, where Nicole used bacon and broccoli. This is one of the reasons I love quiche so much, you can make so many variations.

I mentioned early in this post that it has been a while since I participated in the swaps and in that time a few improvements were made. At the bottom of this post you will find a linkup of the recipes made during this swap.

I hope you'll give this quiche a try. This would be perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner this upcoming weekend.

Here is what you'll need:

For the Crust:
  • 3 cups coarsely shredded uncooked potatoes (I used frozen ones, defrosted)
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 10-inch cheesecake pan or pie plate and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine crust ingredients. Press into prepared cheesecake pan or pie plate. Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven. Reduce heat to 350F.

For the Filling:
  • 3 oz cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 4 oz. ham, diced (or other meat of your choice)
  • 1 box frozen spinach, defrosted and strained (or other vegetable or your choice)
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup fat-free half-and-half
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • dash ground nutmeg
Layer cheese, onion, ham, and spinach onto crust. 

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, half-and-half, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour egg mixture over ingredients and crust.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6 for a breakfast or with side (we had 4 dinner servings with no sides).

Source: Adapted from Prevention RD