Summer Dublin Coddle

Since my family is trying to eat better & cleaner, there have been some switch up in dishes & recipes. Even though we haven't given up EVERYTHING...we have been working hard to work in some better-for-you stuffs &/or changing up some of the ingredients we use.

With that said, I still had some overstock of mixed greens (find out my leafy greens mix HERE), so I was trying to figure out what to use. After doing the cleaner eating research, I knew it was pretty good to get some turkey in the mix. And since I had some cabbage & kale to use, I decided revisit my Dublin Coddle (recipe HERE)! However, it's pretty heavy & perfect for fall & winter eating. With my previous recipe, there were some things missing that could help lighten it up! Well...I changed that a bit.

Here's what I did:

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SUMMER DUBLIN CODDLE

Ingredients:

~ 1 pkg. turkey Lit'l Smokies
~ 1/4 C turkey bacon bits
~ 1 lb. baby potatoes, quartered
~ 1 small onion, sliced
~ 6 C brewed green tea
~ 2 chicken bouillon cubes
~ 1/8 C chopped parsley
~ 2 medium carrots, sliced
~ 2 red cabbage leaves, torn or chopped
~ 3 green cabbage leaves, torn or chopped
~ 2 curly kale stems (just use the leaves), torn or chopped & massaged in lemon juice & sea salt
~ 2 T marjoram
~ 2 T dried (crushed) rosemary
~ 2 T dried thyme
~ 2 T minced garlic
~ salt & black pepper to taste

Directions:

* Place all prepared ingredients into a large pot on medium-hi heat

* Bring coddle to a boil, then slightly lower burner temp (medium-lo), stir occasionally

* Allow to boil for about 15-30 minutes until potatoes & carrots are tender, stirring occasionally

* Turn burner down to lo to allow to simmer & until the cabbage leaves are tender & kale is slightly wilted

* Serve

Yield: about 4 servings

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When I made this, I could only get a hold of ruby potatoes. I really like a mixture of colors, but it was still really pretty! Imagine if I'd thrown in some Yukon &/or purple potatoes!

Also, if you have other root veggies to throw in, do it! If you have some parsnips or turnips to throw in, cut 'em up & do it. The more, the merrier! And, if you use turnips, throw in the turnip greens, too! Some mustard greens work in this coddle, also.

It's lighter, it's pretty, and it lends to that cleaner eating. My hubby liked it, too!  I'm thinking this one needs to be done again! And it's a lighter version, perfect for Spring or Summer dishes!

Short on time that day? Throw it all in the lazy cooker & let it cook on low for about 6-8 hours.
TA-DA!

ENJOY!

Mixed Leafy Greens

Lately, we (my hubby & I) have noticed that we still aren't doing as well in our family eating. Eating? Yes. Good stuff? No.

Not that we have been doing horribly, but there was plenty of room for improvement. And I've mentioned that it's hard when you have kids who like & dislike all different things. But a foot is being put down!

Now then, when we have things like tacos, salad or sandwiches (and sometimes burgers), we have lettuce. Makes sense, right? But we would just get a bag of shredded iceberg lettuce for everything except the salad...but we'd deal with a bag of shredded salad mix which included iceberg lettuce with carrot shreds, choppy cabbage pieces & maybe another kind of lettuce. But we decided to change this.

In the midst of deciding to try to eat cleaner, we decided to work in more greens & salads. And, if you have seen some of my past posts, I really like pretty & colorful food! So I thought thru how to work out the leafy greens situation.

After some research, I figured out that I could get the freshest produce for cheaper, but stock up on it...and...I discovered that I could freeze it!! (Check out my source for freezing lettuce HERE at livestrong.com)

I went to the store & got a bunch (no pun necessarily intended) of leafy veggies. So, not really a recipe, but a tip on a mix.

Here's what I did:

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Mixed Leafy Greens

Ingredients:

~ 1 head green leaf lettuce
~ 1 head red leaf lettuce
~ 1 bunch romaine lettuce
~ 1 bunch curly kale
~ 1/2 head green cabbage
~ 1/2 head red cabbage


Directions:

* separate & wash off all leaves

* tear or chop all leaves into small pieces; discard all big stems

* if using kale, be sure to massage it with sea salt & lemon juice first, to begin breakdown early

* toss all greens together & make sure all leaves all dry

* separate into several freezer bags (as in link, above)

* use as necessary in meals

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One thing I did was spend a little bit on a salad/lettuce spinner to help with getting rid of the moisture. Plus...it's totally fun to use! Then, be sure, because it is IMPORTANT, to lay out the spun greens & pat dry with paper towels. DO IT!!! The lesser the moisture before freezing, the better. Otherwise it will turn to nasty mush when you thaw it out.

Also, if you do not want to separate the different leaf varieties, freeze in much smaller bags so you can decide what to use at any given time while getting a small bag of each needed/wanted for any dish when you need it! Or just do it all in smaller freezer bags & pull out what you need in smaller portions.

And you can throw in some iceberg lettuce if you'd like, and any other leafy greens in any mix (mustard greens, collard greens, Napa cabbage, spinach, turnip greens, etc.).

And...it's gorgeous while giving different flavors, textures, and pumping up the nutrition factor when you use these!

So...salad anyone?

ENJOY!!