Roasted Cabbage with Bacon

I think I found the easiest side dish ever! I was running out of ideas for making a side dish from a head of cabbage the other day when I decided to try roasting it. I'd heard of people doing this, but I'd never tried it. But I couldn't just throw it on a roasting pan, I had to jazz it up a bit. And what's better to jazz things up that bacon?!? So I put a slice of bacon on top of each cabbage wedge, drizzled it with a little olive oil and vinegar and roasted it. YUM! I think next time I might add more bacon, but other than that, it was perfect!

Roasted Cabbage with Bacon
1 head of cabbage (I used green cabbage)
4-8 slices of bacon
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C vinegar of choice (I used apple cider vinegar)
salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 375F. Wash cabbage and cut head into quarters. In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper then place cabbage in the bowl. Coat cabbage with vinaigrette then place cut side down on a cookie sheet. Lay 1-2 strips of bacon over each cabbage wedge. Roast for about 30 minutes or until bacon is crisp and cabbage is softened.

Roasted Beets and Sunchokes with Rosemary

My veggie box has recently arrived containing a vegetable I had heard of only on cooking shows: the sunchoke also known as the Jerusalem Artichoke. I really had no idea what to do with this vegetable; so the first time it arrived I chopped it and put it in soup. The taste was similar to potato. This time, I decided to roast it along with beets that came in the box as well. I added some olive oil and some fresh rosemary and salt. Let me tell you, roasting is the way to cook a Sunchoke! ...beets, too!
 

Roasted Sunchokes and Beets with Rosemary
1 lb golden and/or red beets (about 6 large or 10 small)
1 lb sunchokes (about a dozen)
3 Tbs Olive oil
2 Tbs fresh rosemary (or about 1 Tbs dried)
salt and pepper to taste

 

Preheat oven to 410F. Scrub beets and sunchokes then cut into 1 inch pieces - no need to peel them! Put veggies into a bowl with rosemary, salt, pepper and olive oil. Massage oil and rosemary into veggies with your hands...or you can just use a wooden spoon to stir. Place veggies in a single layer on a cookie sheet and roast for about 40 minutes or until you can easily pierce the veggies with a fork.

Meatball Soup

I love soup! It's a super easy dish that lasts for several meals in my house, it cooks mostly unattended and there's just something comforting about a steaming bowl of soup on a dreary Northwest day.

I also have an abundance of tasty ground beef thanks to my rancher friend, Ava, who delivers the best grass-fed meat on the planet. So, the other day I decided to combine 2 of my favorite things into one simmering pot of goodness. I guess you would say this soup is similar to Italian Wedding Soup without the orzo, but whatever you call it, it was very tasty!

Meatball Soup (AKA Italian Wedding Soup)
32 oz of chicken stock (make your own or use good quality pre-made)
1 onion chopped
3-4 chopped carrots (mine were rainbow carrots)
Juice from 1 lemon (about 1/4 C)
1/4 C fresh chopped parsley (or 2 T dried parsley)
1 t garlic powder (or 2 t minced garlic)
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb bulk sausage (I used chicken sausage)
salt and pepper to taste

Bring chicken stock to a boil then add onion, carrots and cook for about 10 minutes or until carrots are starting to get tender. While carrots and onions are cooking, mix beef and sausage together with your hands then form into many 1 inch diameter balls. Add meatballs to the stock,  adding extra hot water as needed to keep everything covered. Add lemon juice, garlic powder and parsley. Simmer soup for about 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.