Chicken Cabbage Stir fry

CHICKEN CABBAGE STIR FRY (Kathy Quinn Manning)

Anything with ginger sounds healthy delicious...

Ingredients:

3 chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon oil of your liking
3 cups green cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup diced red bell peppers
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1⁄2 cup water
Soy sauce to taste

Directions:

1. Cut chicken breasts into strips.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan.
3. Add chicken strips and stir fry over medium-high heat, turning constantly until done.
4. Add cabbage and red peppers and sauté 2 minutes until cabbage is crisp-tender.
5. Mix cornstarch and seasonings; add water and soy sauce, and mix until smooth.
6. Stir sauce into chicken/cabbage mixture.
7. Cook until sauce has thickened and chicken is coated, about 1 minute.
8. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours. 

(Add onions and red peppers to taste)

Cast Iron Seasoning

I've always put my cast iron pan in the oven for an hour, oiled, to fully re-season. This is an alternate method I want to remember, from this website:  5 Reasons to cook with Cast Iron Pans  

"The best and simplest method I’ve found to clean and season my cast iron is as follows:

* Cover the bottom of the pan with a healthy layer of kosher salt and add about a half inch of cooking oil. Heat the skillet until the oil gets hot enough to begin smoking then remove from heat. Carefully dump the oil and salt into a bowl and use a ball of paper towels to rub the inside of the pan until it is smooth and clean. Allow to cool before returning to the cupboard."

Briefly, the 5 reasons include: Health (using less oil to cook); health (because of iron added to diet); health (chemical-free cooking that non-stick pans don't offer); economy (the pans are fairly reasonably priced); longevity (they last longer than a lifetime).

The main thing is to learn the proper care of cast iron pans, never letting them soak in water and lightly oiling them after each clean-up.

Brussels Sprouts Made Right

Paleogrubs Provided this recipe

Brussels Sprouts

Let’s not blame the Brussels sprouts for some unimaginative cooks. Instead, let’s get those wee little cabbage-head looking things tender on the inside and crispy on the outside and treat them to a sprinkling of wonderful flavors, and *then* see what we think!

This recipe does exactly that. The quick (emphasis on “quick”) boiling bath gets them tender to the core. But the baking is where the flavor really gets developed. Of course, we add some flavor – the garlic and cayenne – which takes things to a new level, but the actual process of baking creates flavor as well. When a food is exposed to heat and it browns, it’s called caramelization. Basically, it means the sugars in the food you are heating are breaking down. The result is the brown, caramel-like color, and the creation of a rich, nutty flavor.

Ingredients

1. 1 pounds Brussels sprouts
2. 2 garlic cloves, minced
3. ½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
4. 4 tbsp olive oil
5. 2 tsp lemon juice
6. salt to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add the Brussels sprouts and cook for two minutes. Drain well and place the Brussels sprouts in a large bowl.
3. Add the minced garlic, cayenne pepper and olive oil and gently toss to coat. Transfer the Brussels sprouts to a baking pan and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes, shaking pan occasionally, until sprouts are quite brown and crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.
4. Adjust the taste with more salt if necessary, drizzle with lemon juice, toss to combine and serve.

By Harper