Since Morgan and I have decided to work towards being as self-sufficient as possible I have decided to try recipes with the items we will hopefully have in the root cellar next winter.
Tonight I made a great Cabbage Stew that was flavorful, healthy, and that will freeze well for a hot soup lunch later in the month.
Here is a step by step guide with a list of nutritional information.
A medium head of cabbage,1/2 a package of Eckrich Smoked Sausage, a tsp of butter, salt, and pepper is all you will need.
I save the other 1/2 of the package of Smoked Sausage. I cut it up, put it in a freezer bag with the date and freeze it for later use.
I cut the Smoked Sausage in pretty small pieces. I do this so there is enough to go throughout the stew and give it a good flavor. No need to put it in a bowl or anything. I just throw it in the pot I will be cooking it all in.
I cut the cabbage into pieces that will be manageable to eat after they are cooked. Since it is a stew the pieces need to be relatively small and manageable. Throw the cabbage on top of the meat in the pot and just stir the two items together so that the meat is throughout the cabbage and put in the teaspoon of butter (I used the I can't believe it's not butter spread to save on calories and fat grams), and salt and pepper to taste. Throw it on the stove and cook it on medium heat. Cook until the cabbage is done to your likeness.
Once the stew is done I like to let it set for just a bit until it cools. It seems to allow the flavors to settle together for a bit. This IS NOT a really spicy stew. I add pepper sauce to my bowl while I am eating it because I prefer it to be spicy. If your whole family enjoys the spice feel free to throw some pepper juice in while your cooking it.
The outer leaves of the cabbage that I pull off before using it do not go to waste. If you have pigs, chickens, rabbits, goats, or other animals feel free to feed it to them. If you do not have animals the compost pile is a great place for the unused cabbage leaves. As you can see below I had a good amount of leaves I pulled from the outer area of the cabbage. If you are composting these it is better if you cut them up some before throwing them in so that they are better able to break down but if you choose not to do that step they will eventually turn into compost regardless of size.
Nothing in our house goes unused. If I use the last sleeve gof crackers I save the box they came in for the wood stove. If I have leftovers of something it goes to the animals or compost. The ashes from the wood stove are added to compost. Using everything that it is possible to use will help you get the most out of your land and animals without costing you anything extra.
So I promised nutritional and cost value:
The stew made eight 1 cup servings.The whole package of sausage cost just $2.87. Since I only used half of that it cut my cost to $1.44 for this recipe. The cabbage averaged about 39 cents per pound at 3 pounds for a total cost of $1.17. I am going to add $0.20 for the butter, although I don't think it cost me that much. The total cost for the whole pot of stew $2.81. Since there were roughly 8 servings in this pot that brings the cost per serving down to just $0.35 per serving. That is an amazing cost for feeding your family. What is even greater is that I will be able to freeze the left overs and make a 2nd meal out of this.
The nutritional value is listed below
Calories 116.5g
Total Fat 7.9g
Cholesterol 155mg
Sodium 586.9g
Total Carbs 8.1g
Dietary Fiber 2.7g
Protein ` 4.3g
Low-Fat. Low-Cal, Low-Carb...now that is a feast fit for a farm queen.
