Cabbage and Noodles

When I was living with my grandma she often stopped at this pierogi place and buy a bag of pre-made cabbage and noodles. It was my favorite. Who knew cabbage and noodles could taste so good. I've been struggling to cook here in Russia because I'm not familiar with a lot of the ingredients and they make a lot of stuff from scratch (like I had to make my own evaporate milk once). I've been trying to find recipes with as few ingredients as possible. Russians love their cabbage and pasta, so it's a bonus if I can find recipes including these items. I stumbled across this really simple cabbage and noodle recipe and was so happy with the results. For just a few ingredients it was very flavorful.

This was the second time I attempted this recipe and both times it turned out great (except the first time I added WAY too much pepper. Check and double check the amount you need to add and don't add 3 teaspoons of pepper like I did).

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

I went home to Cleveland once again. This time to finally get my license plates for my car (my new car :)). I made another meal for my parents. This time it was a cheesy chicken and rice bake. You can also find the recipe here! I'm going to give the regular recipe. I doubled it thinking that it wasn't going to be enough. Not true. The regular recipe serves 5, so no worries!

What you need:

• 2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 cups cooked brown rice
• 3/4 cup frozen corn
• 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 4 oz can green chilis
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
• 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cut fat off chicken as necessary. Put in sauce pan with a little oil and cook thoroughly.
3. As the chicken is cooling cook rice as recommended on the box.
4. As the rice is cooking put all ingredients, except for the cilantro, together in a large bowl.
5. Shred the chicken as you like. I pulled it apart with my hands, but you can chop it up too.
6. Add the chicken and rice and mix everything together, also add salt and pepper if desired.
7. Put in an oven safe dish and top with cheese.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until heated thoroughly.
9. Garnish with chopped cilantro and enjoy!

Sausage Pepper Penne

When I was creating a small menu for my mom I looked to Mackenzie for help because she is always cooking up something. I found this recipe here. The thing I like about cooking is that you can easily change something up and still have it taste delicious. I pretty much followed her recipe but did a few things differently.

What you need:

• 3 peppers, chopped (go with the colorful ones!)
• 4-5 spicy Italian sausages
• 3-4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• Basil leave spice
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil
• Penne pasta
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Put balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a sauce pan (enough to cove the bottom like I have pictured). Sprinkle the basil leaves, salt, and pepper to the mixture. Steep on low heat for 10 minutes.
   
   
2. Cook the sausages in another sauce pan with a little oil and the garlic. Make sure to turn the pieces over so each side cooks.
   
   
3. As the sausage was cooking I cut up the peppers and the onion. I then added it to the balsamic vinegar and olive oil mixture. I turned up the heat to medium-high heat and cooked it for 6-8 minutes.
   
   
4. When the 6-8 minutes was up I turned the heat low and let it sit to keep it warm.
5. Remove the sausage and start boiling water for the pasta. Cook the pasta following the box directions.
6. At this point I cut up the sausage into pieces. It still wasn't cooked all the way so I added it to the pepper mixture to finish cooking.
   
   
7. When pasta is finish, drain.
8. Put the pasta in bowls and top with the peppers and sausage.
9. Enjoy!