It has been so long since I posted anything, but apologizing for not posting more frequently is something I want to stop doing. I’m a mom, you know?

Here are some things we’ll be talking about in this post: bagels, oat bars, enchiladas, kale salad, broccoli, cabbage stew

Yes, I’ve been making bagels from scratch. It does seem like one of those things that it’s better to buy. But we’re on a budget these days and one way I’ve been cutting back is by making most of our bread, instead of buying. Listen: making bagels at home is not that hard! I used this recipe. Sesame all the way.

I’m always looking for healthy snacks and I’ve found a winner in Leanne Brown’s Peanut Butter and Jelly Granola Bars (we call them oat bars in our house). The recipe is from her book Good and Cheap. I love the idea of this book, but I haven’t made anything else from it yet. I’ve made these bars several times and I think my favorite way is by subbing medjool dates (soaked in hot water if dry, then ground in a food processor) in place of the jelly. Sometimes it seems like my kids are 85% oats.

The other day I had all the ingredients to make enchilada sauce, so we had some black bean and butternut squash enchiladas (yes, I made the tortillas, too). Dudes, this sauce is delicious and easy.

At Christmas I made a kale salad, which normally I kind of scoff at, but this recipe really changed my mind. It’s more of a jumping off point, I’ve made it a couple more times varying the ingredients but keeping the dressing and the very important preparation instructions.

I made this broccoli cooked forever a while ago and we were unimpressed. I only used half the oil because I just can’t bring myself to use that much olive oil on a single dish. Maybe that was the problem. Mark described it as “overcooked.”

Cabbage stew is some real-deal budget food. We’ve been getting a lot of cabbage in our farm share, so I’ve made this twice now. (I’ve also made this cabbage with mustard seeds and curtido, both of which were good.) Cabbage stew is definitely something that is better than it sounds, and better than it looks. So, no pictures.

Cabbage Stew
Adapted from Simply Recipes and Food and Wine
Servings: 8

4 oz bacon, diced, or Italian sausage, casing removed
1-2 T olive oil
1 lg onion or 3 lg leeks, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c dry white wine (or broth and a bit of lemon juice)
1 lb small thin-skin potatoes, chopped
1-2 carrots, sliced
2 bay leaves
thyme
1-1.5 quarts broth
1 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
2 c cooked beans (I’ve used canned great northern and home cooked pinto)
salt and pepper
chives, parsley, grated Parmesan for topping

Saute bacon or sausage over medium heat until cooked. Remove meat.
Add oil and saute onion/leeks for about 10 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and saute a minute or two more. Add wine and cook until most of the wine has evaporated.
Add potatoes, carrots, bay leaves, thyme and broth to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered or partially covered, about 10 minutes until potatoes start to get tender.
Add cabbage and more broth if necessary. Cover and simmer until cabbage is partially cooked down.
Return meat to pot, add beans and salt and pepper to taste. Add more broth (or bean cooking liquid) if necessary.
Simmer a bit longer.
Serve with chives, parsley, Parmesan.

You could probably also add the cabbage with the potatoes and carrots. I haven’t tried that yet.