Spaghetti with Savoy Cabbage

{Meatless Monday}

Better late than never??  ; )

This recipe was quite a surprise!  I saw it and thought it looked interesting...so I tore it out of my Martha Stewart Living magazine.  It was on the side of my fridge for many months, when I finally had half a head of cabbage that needed to be used and I remembered this recipe.

I did not use Savoy cabbage...I just used the plain cabbage from the grocery store.

I really liked the cabbage once it was sautéed.  And the breadcrumbs really added to the flavor.  I took their suggestion and topped the whole bowl with some fried eggs.  And we ended up really liking it.  In fact.... (drum roll, please....)  ALL of my kids ate their plate full without a word of complaint and my youngest asked for seconds and thirds!  That sealed the deal...it's a KEEPER!

Here's what you need!

• 8 ounces spaghetti or angel hair pasta
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 garlic clove, very thinly sliced or minced
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (I just used our own whole wheat bread)
• 9 cups thinly sliced savoy cabbage (from 1 medium head)
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (1 ounce), plus more for garnish
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 
  
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to directions.  Drain, but 
• reserve 1/2 cup liquid.
• Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet. Cook garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in breadcrumbs. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring, until breadcrumbs are golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.  Set aside.  
• Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a large high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add cabbage, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss to coat. Cook, stirring, until slightly wilted, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water. Cook, covered, until tender, about 4 minutes. Uncover, and let any water in the skillet evaporate. Stir in cream. Cook until sauce is reduced and thick enough to coat cabbage, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
• 
  

• Add pasta and reserved 1/2 cup cooking liquid to cabbage. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in cheese. Transfer to a platter. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over top, and garnish with more cheese.  Top with fried eggs, if desired.

 If I were serving this for someone other than my family, I would have fried the eggs in a prettier fashion.  But I just threw four eggs in the breadcrumb skillet (so they'd have all that yummy flavoring), then basically cut them apart to flip and then top off the bowl.  Here's what it looked like before I served it.

I loved that most of the liquid was water and pasta water with just a few tablespoons of the cream.  I really can't wait to make this again.  Try it...it is really quite easy and I loved the different textures.  And best of all...there was no mutiny at the dinner table!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Before I get started on my MANY hours of cooking, I thought I would do a quick post.

I am thankful for so many things today...
Family
Friends
Health
The Gospel of Jesus Christ
and all the other wonderful blessings I enjoy in my life.  Life is good.  Somedays it is harder to remember than others.  That is why I LOVE Thanksgiving.  But I must confess that my love of today is often muddied by the hours and hours of cooking I have to do just for our small family to have one meal.  We have so many years (like this year) where it is just us...and it is hard to simplify since there are so many favorites and we ONLY make them at Thanksgiving.

So this is what we have decided on...
Turkey Breast--cooking right now in the crock pot!! Hooray!  So EASY!! I was adamant that I did not want to do a big bird.  I am a person that doesn't want turkey leftovers, so I just bought the smallest one.
I put it in breast side down with some minced onion, salt and pepper, one can vegetable broth and about 3 T butter.  (p.s.  It was AMAZING.  Hands-down the most moist turkey breast we've ever had.  We have found a new tradition!!)

Sourdough Artichoke Stuffing--my FAVORITE thing.  I never liked stuffing until I found this!

Corn with Wild Rice--from the Pioneer Woman...she really should have been on my list of things I am grateful for!!  ; P  My whole family L.O.V.E.S. this recipe!  It is a must have!

Mashed Potatoes--this has become strictly my husband's affair.  While I avert my eyes, he adds all sorts of yumminess including butter and cream cheese.  I just can't bring myself to pour in the amounts that he likes, so I just try to turn a blind eye and add a few extra minutes to my workout the next day!  ; )

Sweet Potatoes--I have done these all sorts of different ways.  Growing up, my mom made a sweet potato and apple dish that I loved.  But when I make it, I am the ONLY one who eats it and it is just not worth the effort!  This year, I was just planning on some brown sugar/marshmallow goodness.
(p.s.  My neighbor ended up calling me right after I posted offering a pan of her sweet potatoes that she had quadrupled.  They were mashed with lots of butter, I'm sure, and topped with brown sugar and pecans and they were a HIT!  They were the only thing I went back to for seconds, thirds, and much much more than I should have eaten! ; )

Whole Wheat Rolls--Homemade of course!!  Those were the ONLY thing I got done yesterday...well, and I made the crust for the MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE WHOLE MEAL....

THE PIES....We are doing three pies this year...

Lemon Meringue...my kids favorite thing to make!  It really is a fun recipe to involve your kids in.  They love watching the filling go clear and get thick.  And then watching the egg whites beat into creamy white fluff and getting to spread it over the pie...what's not to love?  My four-year-old did the peaks all by himself...he was so very proud!  I have always thought that this was the prettiest pie of all!

Apple...I can my own apple pie filling every fall, so this one is SUPER easy.  I make the crust, dump in a jar, and top it with crumb topping.

Pumpkin...we LOVE pumpkin pie around here and this year I am trying a new recipe.  I got it off of a blog I follow...Ancestral Pumpkin Pie.  I'll let you know what we think!!  (p.s.  YUM...very rich and flavorful.  I think it's a keeper!)

Hope you all have a wonderful day!  If you'd like to see some cute and simple Thanksgiving crafts my kids did,  check out my other blog post HERE.

Broken computer!

I am sorry that I have gone missing for the last month...my desktop computer went kaput, and I haven't even had time to try and get it fixed. My hubby has a laptop from work...so if it is ever free, I will try to upload some pics. I do have 2 new recipes to post...but most of all I wanted to post my four-week menu plan that has changed my life this last month! I LOVE IT! Menus are all written out, as are the shopping lists, and all the thinking has been done in advance. It really has made dinner time SO much easier. I will be sharing that soon.

First I have to deal with my computer...I have been avoiding it because I don't want to face the reality that it might have crashed and I might have lost a lot of stuff! :(

One downside of the meal plan is that I am not trying new recipes as often as I used to...so I don't think I will be able to post a new recipe every Monday...but I am aiming for twice a month, so we'll see how it goes!

Thanks for your patience...and hopefully I will be back soon!