Rainbow Cabbage Stew

2 large onions, chopped (I used sweet)
2 lbs white cabbage, chopped
1 lb. red cabbage, chopped
2, 26 oz. cans Del Monte green pepper and onion pasta sauce
2, 14.5 oz. cans Del Monte basil, oregano, and garlic diced tomatoes, undrained
1-2 zucchini, cut in strips, like used in stir fry
1 c. carrots, sliced
1/2 c. celery, diced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 T. Tony Chachere's creole seasoning (or to taste)
1/2 head cauliflower, broken into small florets
1/2 head broccoli, broken into small florets
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced

Place liner in 6 qt crockpot. Add pasta sauce and tomatoes. Add all veggies except broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms. Add sausage. Add seasoning. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Stirring occasionally. Add broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms. Cook additional 2 hours. This is a very hearty and filling stew (if you want it to be more of a soup, add some broth or water to it). I served it with homemade chicken salad.

*May add 2/3 c. rice or serve over rice, if desired. I didn't.
**We had recently been to a Parkinson's support group meeting and the speaker had said that people needed to "eat the rainbow" more, so that's what inspired me to come up with this recipe.
***Other veggies may be used or substituted as you desire. I waited to add the broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms so they wouldn't get too mushy and might retain some of their color. May add beef or chicken broth, or water, if desired, I didn't add anything.

1st picture: before cooking started, a very colorful stew. This picture shows the broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms on it, but it was just to show the rainbow of color.

2nd picture: The stew was all mainly the same color, but the nutrients were still there which was what we were going for.

Kathy's Holubki Soup

2 lbs. lean ground beef
2 large onions
3 lbs. cabbage, chopped
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 c. beef broth
2-28 oz. cans tomato sauce + 2 cans of water
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
2/3 c. dry rice, optional

Brown beef and onions in skillet, drain grease. Place all ingredients in crockpot and cook on medium setting for 4 hours.

*My crockpot doesn't have a medium setting, so I would cook it on low for 6-8 hours.

**Holubki (or Golabki in Poland) is Slovak for stuffed cabbage rolls.

Homemade Whipped Cream #2

1 c. heavy cream
1 t. vanilla
2 T. confectioners sugar

Place metal mixing bowl and whisk in freezer for 10 minutes.  Place heavy cream in bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Beat in vanilla and confectioners sugar until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat or cream will become lumpy and like butter.

Lemon Blueberry Trifle

16 oz. cool whip, thawed*
1 angel food cake, cut into cubes
2 cans lemon pie filling, I used Lucky Leaf brand, no high fructose corn syrup
2 c. lemon yogurt**
3 c. blueberries

Reserve 1/4 c. blueberries for garnish. In a large bowl combine pie filling and yogurt.  Set aside. In a 3 1/2 qt clear serving bowl, layer cake, lemon mixture, blueberries, and cool whip. Repeat layers ending with cool whip. Garnish with blueberries. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Yum!

*You can make homemade whipped cream instead if desired:
1 c. heavy cream
1 t. vanilla
2 T. confectioners sugar

Place metal mixing bowl and whisk in freezer for 10 minutes.  Place heavy cream in bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Beat in vanilla and confectioners sugar until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat or cream will become lumpy and like butter.

**I couldn't find lemon yogurt at our store so I just used 2 c. vanilla yogurt and folded in 4 individual (from a snack pack) lemon puddings instead.

1st picture: side view of trifle. 2nd picture served up on plate.

Rolo Pretzel Treats

mini pretzels (original, square, circle, star, your choice)
Rolo's candy, unwrapped
halved pecans

Preheat oven to 350. place pretzels on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Place rolos on top of pretzels. Bake for 3 minutes only. They should not be melted, just softened. Remove from oven and press pecan half on top about halfway. May be placed in refrigerator to set up faster, but do not store in refrigerator.

*mini Reese's peanut butter cups can be substituted for he Rolo's if desired.

1st picture is before baking. 2nd picture is after baking and adding pecan.

How to Melt Almond Bark in Microwave

Break almond bark into small pieces (may have to use a knife for large blocks) and place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on full power for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir. Heat at full power for 15 seconds. Stir. Keep doing this until it is the right consistency for dipping, pouring, coating, etc...If the almond bark gets too hot it may scorch or thicken up. Do not add water or milk, instead, add a drop or two of vegetable oil and stir.

Kathy Foster's Lemon Cookies

1 c. butter
1/3 c. powdered sugar
1 c. flour
2/3 c. cornstarch
Icing:
6 T. butter
1 lb. powdered sugar
zest of 1 lemon
lemon juice, for consistency

Cream butter and sugar together. Sift flour and cornstarch into butter mixture. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes. Cookie will not be brown. While cookies are baking, combine icing ingredients, using lemon juice to get icing to the right spreading consistency.  Allow cookies to cool before adding icing. Delicious!

Mary's Butterscotch Squares

1/2 butter
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder, optional
1 c. nuts, optional

Melt butter and add sugar. Add eggs one at a time, add vanilla, flour, baking powder and nuts. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Topping:
1 c. powdered sugar
dash of cinnamon
water to make spreadable

Combine ingredients. Spread on hot squares.

Mary's Vanilla Wafer Cake

1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
6 eggs
12 oz. box vanilla wafer cookies, crushed
1/2 c. milk
1 c. moist coconut, optional
1 c. pecans

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Add wafers and milk. Beat until smooth about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl often. Add coconut and pecans. Grease or spray a tube or jelly roll pan. Bake at 275 for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Mary's Applesauce Salad

1 small pkg lime jello
3/4 c. boiling water
2 c. applesauce
1 c. crushed pineapple
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1 c. chopped celery

Dissolve jello in water.Add applesauce. Cool until thickened. Stir in pineapple, nuts and celery. Let set until firm.