Braised Red Cabbage- so delicious!

I went to Brown's Social House with a girlfriend and ordered the "Low Carb Spa Bowl" which is sooo yummy AND they claim it's 450 calories. The whole meal was delicious but I fell in love with the cabbage! It's sweet, tangy with a bit of spice. And, they top it with creamy goat cheese! YUM! I HAD to know how to make it. I spent half the dinner trying to figure out what was in it. I couldn't find any knock off recipes on the internet. So, I played around and after a few try's, I got it! (or something similar.)

I hope you try this! Hubby was again completely prepared to HATE this (especially because I served it with marinated and grilled tofu and a green salad.) But, much to his surprise, he loved it! "I'll give you this one" he said as he gobbled it up! :)

Braised Red Cabbage

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Half and core one red cabbage. Thinly slice the cabbage; making long thin strips. Pile the sliced cabbage in a large casserole or roasting pan. (Don't worry, it cooks down a lot! So, just pile it in the pan.)

Make dressing:
1/2 cup balsamic
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg
few grinds of salt and pepper

Pour the dressing over the cabbage and roast in the oven for 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes or so. (or the top will get all dry) If all the liquid evaporates from the bottom of the pan and more cooking time is required, add a little more water. To serve, top with crumbled goat cheese or feta.

I'm sure you could make this in the slow cooker, but i haven't tried it yet. This serves at least 6 people. I like the leftovers :) It reheats well. So, you can easily make ahead if that's more convenient.

I promise! It's so yummy, you won't know it's healthy! And, it's a great option for sides if you are trying to watch your calories/carbs!

And, in case you were interested in the tofu I mentioned earlier, here it is:
Marinade extra firm tofu (cut into slabs) in shallow dish for one hour or overnight.
Marinade: 3/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup orange juice, a little hot sauce if desired. Brush grill and tofu with veggie oil. grill on high heat a few minutes each side until they have nice grill marks. :) This marinade is good with chicken too. Serve with fresh greens in an Asian dressing to complete the "Spa Bowl" idea.

Bacon Wrapped Dates Stuffed With Chorizo Sausage- try it, you'll like it :)

A friend brought these to my house and they were a hit! So, I made them for some events over the holidays and EVERYONE wanted the recipe. (After I convinced them to try one, admittedly some people were weirded out about the whole meat and dried fruit combo.) Friends and family decided that this recipe should go onto the blog as they were getting gobbled up. So, I grabbed a few remaining dates and took a picture. (hence the fact that there are only three dates on a little plate in the shot!)

Get some nice large and soft pitted dried dates. Cut up cured (cooked and ready to eat) chorizo sausage into small enough pieces to stuff into the dried dates. (Chorizo sausage is available at most Italian deli's.) The dates have a natural place where they will open so the sausage can be stuffed in. Squeeze the date back together in your hand so the sausage is hidden inside. Cut a package of bacon in half. Wrap each date with 1/2 a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Bake covered at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, and then uncovered for 20 minutes to crisp up the bacon.

*note, I made up a whole bunch of these and froze them raw. Then, I had ready made appetizers to bring to holiday functions :) Just be sure to thaw them before baking.