Gramma’s Stuffed Cabbage, with a Russian twist

Last weekend, I was craving Polish food, especially Gramma’s piggies and mashed potatoes. After I made it, oh was it heaven!

Here’s the recipe. I wish I took pictures.

• 1 1/2 pounds ground meat (we use a combination beef, pork and veal; but beef or turkey will work)
• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 egg
• salt, pepper
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce

Mix these ingredients together. They will be your mix for inside the vegetables.

• 1 head green cabbage
• 1-2 peppers (green, red or yellow)
• 1 large tomato

Boil a large pot of water. Wilt the cabbage leaves in the water, and cut the large vein out of each leaf. Put aside.

Slice each pepper and tomato about 1/2 inch from the top to create a top and a bottom. Dig out all of the seeds and veins so each vegetable is just an empty vessel. Cut out the middle of the pepper top to remove stem.

Take the meat mixture and stuff each vegetable. Only fill the peppers or tomatoes about 2/3 of the way to the top to allow for expansion with the rice. Put about 1/4-1/3 cup of meat mixture in each cabbage leaf and roll up like an enchilada.

• 2 large (28oz or larger) cans of tomato sauce
• 2 T lemon or lime juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 T worcheshire sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (white is possible, but brown tastes a little better)

Mix sauce together. Cover the bottom of a crockpot, stockpot, dutch oven or baking dish with tomato sauce.

Place each vegetable roll in the sauce, layering tomato sauce between each layer. Ensure that the top has sufficient sauce on it, or else it will get crispy and possibly burn.

• 1 gala, red or green apple

A Russian mom would peel and cut the apple into thick slivers. Place them around the top of the pot. This gives it a little sweeter taste. I’ve always done this and I love it.

Cooking times:

• Baking dish in Oven–350 for 3-4 hours
• Dutch oven– Boil first on the stove, then oven 350F for approx 2 hours
• Crock pot– high for between 6-9 hours (mine takes about

You will know it is done when the rice is cooked.

Serve with mashed potatoes. My favorite recipe for mashed potatoes with this is:

• 3# red potatoes, cut and boiled
• 1 stick I-Can’t-Believe-It’s-Not-Butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• Splash of salt and pepper

Whip with beaters and serve with a little of the tomato sauce on top. YUMMY!!

 

Saving, saving, saving. . .

So many of you know, Dan & I have been saving for our home. With the rising gas prices, longer commutes, and rising prices of everything else, we have to really step up our savings plan.

Today Ava & I went grocery shopping– I got everything we needed for the next week for the most part. We budget $150/wk for groceries, and this week an entire cart of food came to $143. Cha-ching!

It helped that diapers, Lean Cuisines, Ava’s lunches, popcorn and brownie mixes were on sale. All are items we use regularly, and some were on sale for $1 (savings of more than $1.20 per item!) Whoohoo!

So we’re decided that from now on, I go shopping alone. It’s easier, I get what we need, and I figure out how to save the $$. Thanks Jess for teaching me all the skills of grocery store savings!

 

Ava at a Mets Game

It was cold, but she loved it.

 

Ava at 2

Ava is now two years old and a pure joy to have around. It’s been a while since I’ve posted here, and have put up pictures of her, and of us. Here are a few recent pictures of Ava. Enjoy.

Ava loves books. She spends hours poring over them, and she loves the children’s section at Barnes and Noble.

For a long while, this was the morning routine on the subways.

She may be a good firewoman some day.

She had a bad fever. Totally out of it.

Yeah, she wants the BMW convertible. If she is good enough, she might just get one, though it has to be approved by Mommy.

It finally warmed up enough to go to the beach. But not enough. The wind took away any heat the sun gave out.

With her cousin Nathaniel.

They had lots of fun.

Her cousin Bella gives her a kiss.

Lookin’ hip.

Having lots of fun with Mamma.

Celebrating her 2nd birthday with Crumbs cupcakes.

 

She’s 2!

Dear Little Ava,

It’s happy 2nd birthday! I can’t believe today has come.  How far we are away from PA where you were born, but it seems like just yesterday that you were wearing those adorable 3-6 month dresses.

Your bright, beaming personality is such a joy for our family.  The way you get excited about Cars, Finding Nemo, or Dora the Explorer cracks me up to no end. When Dora asks a question, you’re quick to answer.

In the past week or so, you’ve learned how to put yourself to sleep after reading a few books with me.  You insist on sleeping in your big girl bed, and even trying to use the Dora potty once in a while.  You now speak in nearly full sentences, and have an ever expanding vocabulary.

Who knew you’d have such a love of sea turtles, airplanes, cars, trains or school buses? The sweet lady at the checkout said cars aren’t for girls, but you prove her wrong.  You love them all, often looking out the window to see the airplane or train going by at all hours.

And on the other hand you’re the biggest shoe fiend under the age of 15 that I’ve ever met.  You know the importance of picking gorgeous shoes for each occasion and wearing them well.  In fact, it’s a rare day to see you without shoes on, even in the house!

Your sense of humor is classic– Mama says, “Ava’s 2!” and you promptly reply, “No, 1–Ava’s 1!”  You know the benefits of comedy and aren’t afraid to crack a joke here and there.

As you learn and grow, I’m so proud to be your Mama.  You get more beautiful and intelligent by the day. I love you and look forward to watching you grow up.

Love,

Your Mama

 

Don’t Shop At Wal-Mart

Read this story and see if you can even consider doing business with Wal-Mart ever again. This is disgusting. Wal-Mart makes the worst excuse here that they can’t solve this little problem. A woman gets brain injury in a car accident. It costs $400,000 some odd dollars. Her insurance with Wal-Mart paid for it. She got awarded in a settlement in the car accident. Wal-Mart’s “fine print” says that they can recoup their costs if the victims won a settlement. Legally speaking they are correct. And all the courts agreed with Wal-Mart. But here’s the rub of the whole thing. Wal-Mart makes $90 billion some odd dollars of PROFIT annually. While legally speaking they are in the right to opt the money, there is no law or policy that would restrict Wal-Mart from simply making a “charitable donation” to this grieving family, is there? They can take the legally valid money from the settlement and give it to their insurance company and out of all those profits simply give this family a nice charitable donation to show that Wal-Mart has a heart.

But they don’t.

They are as heartless as the banking world.

 

Dear Ava-Doodles,

I wrote this about a week ago, but haven’t had time to post. I love this girl.

Oh how I love you! Someone once said to me that any child under 3 is just a blob. I can’t disagree more!

You have so much effervescent personality. You’re magnetic; someone everyone wants to know and say hi to. Every morning on the train, at least 2 people sing the ABC song with you, and a few more play peek-a-boo with you. You thrive on the attention, and ham it up hiding behind the sunshade to the stroller.

When I’ve been sick, you’ve been so independent and content. Sure you came over to snuggle and hug, but the majority of the time you played with your toys on your own while I watched you. You even spent 45 minutes putting on Daddy’s socks and shoes, and walking around the house in them. It was by far one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.

You didn’t complain at all when Mama had to nap, and peacefully watched Finding Nemo next to Mama on the bed, since you’ve now decided you’re too big for naps.

As my week of vacation comes to a close, I’ve enjoyed spending so much time with you–whether it’s playing guessing games while the Postal Workers took their sweet time at the Post Office for 45 minutes, or while watching Finding Nemo for the 8th 8040th time each day.

I love you dearly,

Your Mama

 

She’s cookin’!

That’s what the triage nurse said to us last night when we got to the Children’s ER. Ava had a temp of 104.7 F.  It was a rough night, but she’s cleared of all major infections, and she’s back home sleeping peacefully. She was a definite trooper throughout it all.

Hopefully she’ll kick this virus quickly!

 

Update on Adrianna

I wish I had pictures, but I haven’t seen her lately.  She went down to Delaware to see the specialist for the first time.  She does have acid reflux, and now is on medicine (she hates it!).  She’ll be doing a sleep test soon and seeing an orthopedic specialist to check out her bones to make sure she’s on the right track.

Jess has been doing well, despite 3 sick kids. I don’t know how she does it. But that’s why she’s SuperMom and I’m just the working mom of 1.

 

Higher Ed becomes more affordable

Most people want their children to have a high quality education at the best university possible.  Sometimes that’s the parents’ alma mater and sometimes that’s one of the nation’s top tier universities.

The most expensive universities in the nation have been revising their fee structures and financial aid packages.  For a great run down of the new structures, see Urban School Principal’s Blog.