Cabbage is a popular vegetable all over the world, and for good reason. Hearty, healthy, and able to stand up to strong flavors, it adds a little “something” to all kinds of meals.

In The Netherlands, one of the most popular ways of eating red cabbage is to slow braise it with aromatics like bay leaves, cloves, and cinnamon, along with some vinegar and tart apples for brightness. It is generally served with Hachee (stewed beef) and potatoes, but goes great with pork, as well. Really, it goes great with just about any rich main dish!

Not only is this dish delicious, but it’s loaded with health benefits as well! Red cabbage is loaded with antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins. I’ll never forget when my mama-in-law, Maria, found out that I was pregnant with her first grandbaby, she broke with our Sunday tradition of a simple meal with frietjes (fries) and went all out with hachee, mashed potatoes, and this cabbage recipe. When asked why she went to all the trouble, she said that she wanted to make sure I had a healthy meal and knew I didn’t feel up to cooking. So sweet…and my husband and father-in-law didn’t miss their beloved Sunday frietjes because the meal was so good!

Tips for Making Braised Red Cabbage with Apples (Rode Kool met Appeltjes):

-Feel free to use whatever type of apples you have on hand or prefer. I definitely recommend Granny Smiths or another type of sour apple, but I’ve also made it with sweeter types and it turned out just fine!

-Never wash your cabbage. Just take off the outer leaves. Also, make sure you cut out the core; it’s too tough.

-You can use plain white vinegar if you don’t have any apple cider vinegar on hand.

-This recipe uses ground cloves, but you can certainly use whole cloves if you prefer. Just make sure to remove them when you take out the bay leaves.

-You can absolutely make this recipe a day or so ahead…in fact, it tastes better the next day!

How to Make Braised Red Cabbage (Rode Kool met Appeltjes):

Take the outside leaves off of your head of red cabbage. If it is a smaller head, remove the core (cut the cabbage in half, and cut the core out of each half). If it is a large head, cut it in half and reserve one half for later use, making sure to remove the core from the half you’re using. Dice the cabbage and place it in a heavy bottomed pan.

Add enough water to almost cover the cabbage (about 1 1/2 cups in the pan I use), and add all of the spices, then bring to a boil. Stir in the sugar and vinegar. Cover and let simmer until the cabbage is tender, about 30 minutes.

Once the cabbage has cooked, add the peeled, diced apples and continue to cook until these are tender. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Taste for salt, sugar, and vinegar, adding more if needed. Stir in the butter. Finally, make a slurry with the cornstarch and stir this into the pot. Cook for a minute or two, until the braising liquid is slightly thickened.

Rode Kool met Appeltjes goes great with:

Hachee – Dutch Stewed Beef

Mama Maria’s Dutch Style Green Beans

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Rode Kool met Appeltjes (Dutch Red Cabbage with Apples)

A little savory, a little sweet, a little sour…and SO delicious! Rode Kool met Appeltjes (Red Cabbage with Apples) is a delicious and healthy side that brightens up any meal!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Dutch

Keyword apple cider vinegar, apples, cabbage, red cabbage, traditional recipes

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4 people

Author Meagan – The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 1/2 Head Red Cabbage, or 1 Small Head
• 1/2 Stick Cinnamon or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves or 2 Whole Cloves
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 1/2 Cups Water approx.
• 3 Tbsp Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 3 Sour Apples, such as Granny Smith, diced
• 2 tsp Butter
• 1 Tbsp Cornstarch + 1 Tbsp Water
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Remove the outer leaves from the head of cabbage, remove the core, and dice the cabbage. Place in a heavy bottomed pot, such as a Dutch oven. Add enough water to nearly cover the cabbage, along with the cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaves, and salt and pepper.
• Bring to a slow boil over medium high heat, then add the sugar and vinegar. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Allow to simmer to for 30 minutes, until the cabbage is tender.
• Add the apples and continue simmering until they are tender.
• Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Taste for salt, vinegar, and sugar, adding more as needed.
• Stir in the butter.
• Create a slurry by mixing the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir the slurry into the cabbage and allow to cook for another 2-3 minutes to thicken.

The post Rode Kool met Appeltjes – Red Cabbage with Apples appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

Is there anything that you grew up eating and calling one thing, only to realize that basically everyone else in the world calls it something else? About once a week for dinner, mom would make what we always called seasoned potatoes, better known as home fries. They were different from fried potatoes or hash browns. Seasoned potatoes were in big chunks rather than shredded or diced small, and they still had the skins on. Looking back, I’m pretty sure I know my mom’s reasoning behind that last bit: it was easier (peeling potatoes after a long day is not what I would call fun), the crispy skins tasted good, and it was just about the only way any of us kids would actually eat the skins. Smart woman, my mom.

These potatoes are incredibly easy to make. You just need to keep an eye on them and make sure there’s enough butter in the pan and that all side are browning evenly. And they’re super fast thanks to a special trick my mom came up with to lessen cooking time! They’re one of my favorite sides to make when I’m needing to throw dinner together quickly. I know most people enjoy home fries as a breakfast or brunch food, and you can certainly do the same with these, but we almost always have them at supper time.

Start by giving the whole potatoes a good scrub under cold water. Since you’re going to be leaving the skins on, you’ll want to make sure they’re good and clean. I usually figure about one medium to large sized potato per person. Once they’re washed, use a sharp knife to cut a small slit in the middle of each potato to allow steam to escape.

Then…get ready for this…put the potatoes in plastic baggies (however many will fit per bag. I can usually get 2 in) and partially seal the bags, but not all the way. Put the bags in the microwave in one layer, and heat the potatoes for 3-4 minutes. When the microwave dings, flip the potatoes over onto the other side (be careful, the bags will be hot!!) and heat them for another 3 minutes. Carefully remove the potatoes from the microwave using a dry kitchen towel or an oven mitt to protect your hands. Dump them out of the baggies onto a cutting board, and let them cool down until you can handle them.

When they’re cool enough to handle, use a very sharp knife (a dull one will rip the skins off), cube the potatoes in 1-2 inch cubes. You’ll want to keep the knife clean; I usually keep a paper towel on hand to wipe the blade down every so often because trust me, you want those skins on there! Melt a good tablespoon of butter in a non-stick skillet, and put your potatoes in it in a single layer. I usually start most of them on the skin side so it can get good and crispy. Season with seasoned salt and garlic salt, making sure to get a little on every potato.

Let them brown for a few minutes, then gently flip to another side. Keep an eye out; you’ll probably need to add a little more butter here and there as the potatoes cook.  Keep flipping until all of the sides have a nice, golden brown color to them. Grab you a plate full and dig in!

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Seasoned Potatoes (Home Fries)

Growing up, we always called them Seasoned Potatoes, but most would call them Home Fries. Either way, these potatoes, with their crispy outsides and soft insides, are lip smacking good!

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Side, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Fried Potatoes, Home Fries, Seasoned Potatoes

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 4 large potatoes
• 2 tbsp butter divided
• 2 tsp seasoned salt approximate
• 2 tsp garlic salt approximate

Instructions

• Wash the potatoes well under cold water. Cut a slit in the middle of each potato to release steam, and place into plastic baggies (usually 2 per bag).
• Microwave potatoes for about 3-4 minutes on both sides. Carefully remove from microwave and baggies, and allow to cool slightly.
• Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, use a very sharp knife to cut the potatoes into 2 inch cubes.
• Melt about a tablespoon of butter in a large non-stick skillet. Place the potatoes in the skillet in a single layer and brown on one side. Season with garlic salt and seasoned salt, making sure there is some seasoning on every potato.
• Gently turn potatoes every few minutes so that they brown on all sides.

The post Seasoned Potatoes – Home Fries appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

There are plenty of challenges that come with being married to someone that originally hails from a different country. The crazy thing is that it’s often the little things that you don’t even think about day-to-day that can trip you up. And that’s not even considering the language barrier that can sometimes occur, even with someone that is completely fluent. Oy vey.

One thing that isn’t challenging about loving someone from The Netherlands, though, is loving Dutch food. It’s not a cuisine that you hear talked about unless you know someone who is Dutch. Sometimes it even gets mixed up with German fare (such as in the case of Pennsylvania Dutch, which is actually German). But my goodness do the Dutch know how to eat! A lot of Dutch food falls into the comfort food, or meat and potatoes, category. Hutspot definitely fits that bill…it’s one of those deliciously filling meals that is best enjoyed on a cold winter’s day. But who am I kidding? I could eat the stuff all year long!

There’s an entire class of dishes in Dutch cuisine known as stamppot (literally translated to “mash pot”). Stamppot is essentially mashed potatoes combined with a little onion and some sort of pureed vegetable or the other. There’s boerenkool stamppot, which is made with kale, zuurkool stamppot, made with sauerkraut, one made with a bitter lettuce such as endive or romaine, and even a very regional version called “blote billetjes in het grass” (bare buttocks in the grass!) which is made with a variety of beans. Really you can take just about any leafy green or root vegetable and make a stamppot out of it. Then there’s my personal favorite, Hutspot, which is carrots and potatoes. YUM.

Stamppot is generally served with either sausages (the type depends on the type of stamppot), Dutch meatballs, or hachee (a slow cooked kind of roast beef stew..kind of), along with the juice/braising liquid from that meat. Some folks serve them with bacon (in our house, boerenkool is always served with bacon and mayonnaise), gherkins, and/or pickled pearl onions. We always do hutspot with brats (specifically beer brats) and some sort of green vegetable (try these Dutch Style Green Beans!).

Hutspot is really very easy to make once you get the hang of it. I use this method to figure amounts: I do one potato per person I’m serving, plus one. So if I’m cooking for 4 people, I use 5 good sized potatoes, and one carrot per potato. Start by cooking some chopped carrots and a little onion in some chicken broth. You want the the carrots chopped small enough that they’ll puree or mash easily.

While that’s going, start your mashed potatoes using whatever method you prefer to make them by. I start my cubed potatoes in cold water with some salt, pepper, and butter. Pro-tip: once you have the potatoes covered with the water, rim the pan with butter just above the water line. It’ll keep your pot from boiling over. Trust me..it works like a charm! I bring them to a boil and let them cook until they are completely tender when poked with a knife. Then I drain them, reserving some of the cooking liquid. I add just a bit of the cooking liquid back into the pot (not much…a few tablespoons?) and give them a smoosh with my electric mixer turned off. Then I turn it on and add a little warmed milk/half and half mixture at a time until I have a smooth, creamy consistency. Then I add about a tablespoon of butter and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Once your carrots are tender, drain them and give them a smoosh (the technical term, of course) until mashed to your desired consistency. I like a few small chunks. You could even do this in the food processor if you want them completely smooth, but let’s face it I’m WAY to lazy to do that many dishes. I just use my handy dandy old fashioned hand masher.

Dump the carrot puree in with the mashed potatoes and give them a enough of a mix to make sure everything is combined. Check for seasoning.

To serve: put a nice pile of hutspot on your plate, then with the spoon create a little well in the middle of the pile. Take some of the cooking liquid from the sausages and put it in that well, then serve with a side of sausages and whatever else you want on the plate. Oh, and if you want to go really Dutch, you should probably have some applesauce on the table, too. Enjoy!

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Hutspot - Dutch Mashed Potatoes with Carrots

Creamy mashed potatoes combine with naturally sweet carrot puree in this classic Dutch dish!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Dutch

Keyword Carrots, Hutspot, Mashed Potatoes

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 5 finely chopped carrots
• 5 medium potatoes
• 3 tbsp diced onions
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tbsp butter divided
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a small sauce pan, combine the carrots, onion, and enough chicken broth to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until very tender. Drain.
• Prepare the mashed potatoes. Place chopped, peeled potatoes and cover with cold water. Add salt, pepper, and about a tablespoon of butter. Bring to a boil and cook until very tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes.
• Combine the milk and half-and-half in a coffee mug and heat in the microwave for about 1 minute, until just warmed through.
• When the potatoes are tender, drain but reserve a little of the cooking liquid. Add about 3 tablespoons of the cooking liquid back into the potatoes, and mash by hand at first. Once the biggest chunks are broken down, turn on the the electric mixer and add the milk/half-and-half mixture until the desired consistency is reached. Note: you will not use all of the milk mixture.
• Add a tablespoon of butter and salt and pepper to taste to the potatoes. Mix well.
• Mash the cooked carrots by hand until mostly smooth. Add the carrots into the potatoes and mix well, adding more of the milk liquid if needed. Taste to check for seasoning.

The post Hutspot – Dutch Mashed Potatoes with Carrots appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

Chances are that if you grew up in the Midwest like me, you grew up eating green beans a certain way. In Indiana anyway, they’re usually cooked until very tender (aka soft) with either bacon or ham and onion. My mom always added a dollop of bacon grease and a pinch of sugar, too. Or, we’d have them in what’s called Hoosier Stew (essentially just smoked sausage, potatoes, and green beans all cooked in a pot together. YUM. Check out my friend The Farmwife Cook’s version here!). Both options are absolutely delicious and universally liked…in other words even picky kids will eat them up.

Not long after my Dutch husband and I started dating, he took me to his parents’ house for dinner. When asked what kind of veggies I preferred, I told them that green beans are one of my favorites. I figured that was a safe answer…I mean, it’s pretty hard to mess up green beans, right? I didn’t know yet that his mom, Maria, is an amazing cook. Anyway, I’ll never forget that as she was finishing throwing everything together, I watched in horror as she opened her spice cabinet, grabbed the nutmeg, and put a healthy portion into the green beans. …Nutmeg. In the green beans. What?!? Well, needless to say, it only took me one bight to realize that there was magic there. The beans were SO GOOD.

Of course I ended up asking her how she made them, and now I often make them the same way. I don’t want to say that green beans are cooked this way by everyone who is from The Netherlands; even in my trips there I haven’t had green beans, and haven’t had any other Dutchies prepare them for me, so I honestly can’t say if it is or not. But this is how Mama Maria makes them, and Maria is a master at her native Dutch dishes, so we’re going to go with it.

When you make green beans this way, you’ll want to use raw green beans instead of canned or frozen. I’ve tried them all ways, but the canned and frozen beans just don’t taste as good when prepared this way, nor do they have the right texture. If all I have are canned green beans, then I just make them the way I grew up eating them (no hardship there!). Other than that little tidbit, these green beans are so simple and tasty that you might just become a little bit of a convert, too!

Ingredients:

• Fresh Green Beans. Avoid the canned or frozen ones for this recipe. They don’t work well for this method.
• Water
• Salt
• Butter
• Nutmeg
• Gehakt Seasoning (optional)

How to Make Mama Maria’s Dutch Style Green Beans

Start by blanching your trimmed green beans in salted, boiling water. Cook them until they are tender but still have some firmness to them, usually in the neighborhood of 15 minutes or so. Drain and place the green beans in a bowl filled with ice water to stop the cooking. This will help them retain some texture, and also help them stay vibrant green. A few minutes before serving them, drain the ice water, and put them back in the pan you blanched them in to heat them back through. Add about 1/2 a tablespoon of butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Instead of the salt, I usually add some Verstegen brand Gehakt seasoning, which you can find here.

My husband finds this objectionable because it is technically a seasoning used for Dutch style meatballs, but I love the depth of flavor it gives the beans, and he only has an issue when he sees me do it. If he hasn’t been in the kitchen when I’m cooking, he says my green beans taste just like his mom’s. So there.

Anyway, that’s it! Super easy! I hope you enjoy Mama Maria’s Dutch Style Green Beans as much as we do!

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Mama Maria's Dutch Style Green Beans

Looking for little bit of a change in your green beans routine? Mama Maria's Dutch Style Green Beans are a deliciously easy way to eat your veggies!

Course Side

Cuisine Dutch

Keyword butter, green beans, nutmeg

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh green beans
• 4 cups water
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp Verstegen brand Gehakt Seasoning optional (see note)

Instructions

• Blanch green beans in salted, boiling water until tender but still slightly firm, about 15 minutes.
• Drain and add green beans to an ice bath.
• When ready to serve, drain ice bath off of green beans, and add them back to a pan to heat them through on medium-low to medium heat. Add butter, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste OR Verstegen brand Gehakt seasoning.
• Heat through, check for seasoning, and serve.

Notes

Note: If you use the Verstegen brand Gehakt seasoning, you do not need to add the salt called for in the third step. You can find the Gehakt seasoning here.

The post Mama Maria’s Dutch Style Green Beans appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

Ok, so there are about a bajillion versions of hash brown casserole out there, and I love them all. I mean come on! You’re combining potatoes and cheese, so of course it’s going to be good!

They all have the same basic formula: frozen hash brown potatoes, a creamy sauce made from some sort of “cream of” soup, topped with cheese, and baked until bubbly and delicious. Some have ham or bacon in them. Some have something crunchy on the top. All are delicious. 

I have to say, though, as much as I love just about every hash brown casserole out there, this particular recipe is my all-time favorite. It’s so good that I once cried because I had made it for a party and it was gone before I got any. Yes, I was pregnant at the time. And yes, I had been craving it for days. But still! I was SO sad. Bless my sweet little brother, who saw how upset I was (despite trying me trying to hide it) and decided to split the little he had left on his plate with me. He was my hero that day.

This recipe was originally my Aunt Jane’s but I’ve put few of my personal spins on it. A lot of hash brown casseroles used shredded hash browns as the base, but I really like using the square cut “Southern Style” hash browns in this one. They just seem to give it a little more of a substantial texture. Full disclosure, though? In the pictures you see shredded hash browns because I totally forgot to pick up the other version at the store and shredded were all I had on hand. Use what you have or what you prefer!

My aunt’s original recipe also called for cream of celery soup, but I prefer to use cream of mushroom. Cream of celery gives it a bit of a tangy flavor, while I feel like the cream of mushroom gives it a deeper, richer flavor. It would also be good with cream of chicken. Use store bought or make your own. Whatever floats your boat.

One of the beauties of this particular recipe is that you don’t have to thaw your potatoes first! Just make sure that there aren’t any big clumps after you’ve poured them in the baking dish, and you’re good to go!

More Tips for Making Hash Brown Casserole:

-Make sure you taste the “sauce” before putting it on the potatoes. It needs to taste slightly salty. Trust me on this one…you’re seasoning a lot of potatoes here and they LOVE salt.

-You’ll want to mix a little of the sauce in the with potatoes instead of just layering it, otherwise they’ll be kind of dry and bleh. Nobody wants dry, bleh potatoes.

Ingredients Needed for Hash Brown Casserole:

• Frozen Hash Browns. “Southern Style” (cubed) or Shredded. Pick your poison. No need to defrost!
• Cream of Mushroom soup. Or cream of chicken. Or Cream of celery. Again, pick your poison.
• Butter
• Shredded Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Green Onions. Otherwise known as scallions.
• Rice Krispies.

How to Make Hash Brown Casserole:

Preheat your oven to 360 degrees and butter your baking dish (I use a 9×13 glass baking dish like this one from Pyrex) on both the bottom and the side. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, green onions, melted butter, salt, pepper, and about a cup of the shredded cheese. Give it a taste (trying not to just eat it by the spoonful) and make sure it is seasoned well.

Add the frozen hash browns to the baking dish, making sure to break up any clumps. Mix about ½ of the sauce in with the potatoes, then layer the other half on top. Cover with the remaining cheese. In another mixing bowl, combine the rest of the melted butter with the 2 cups of Rice Krispies. Smell the buttery goodness, then spread the mixture evenly over the top of the bowl. Bake for 1 hour. You’ll want to keep an eye on it; if it looks like it’s getting to brown too fast, cover with aluminum foil for the rest of the baking time.

Looking for more delicious side dishes? Try one of these!

–Mama Maria’s Dutch Style Green Beans
–Rode Kool met Appeltjes (Dutch Braised Red Cabbage with Apples)

**As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

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Hashbrown Casserole

A lot of hash brown casseroles used shredded hash browns as the base, but I really like using the square cut “Southern Style” hash browns in this one.

Course Brunch, Side

Cuisine American

Keyword hashbrowns

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 8 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 2 lb Frozen Hash Browns 1 - 2lb bag
• 1/2 cup Melted Butter
• 16 oz Sour Cream
• 10.5 oz Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 2 Chopped Green Onions
• 2 cups Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese, separated
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Pepper
• 3/4 cup Melted Butter For topping
• 2 cup Rice Krispies For topping

Instructions

• Preheat Oven to 360 degrees and butter a glass baking dish.
• In a mixing bowl, combine sour cream, cream of mushroom, green onions, melted butter, 1 cup of cheese, and salt/pepper. Mix to combine and check seasoning.
• Pour the frozen hash browns into the baking dish, making sure to break up any clumps. Mix half of the sauce in with the potatoes. Layer the other half of the sauce on top. Cover with the remaining cheese.
• In another mixing bowl, combine the ¼ cup melted butter and Rice Krispies. 
• Bake for 1 hour, until Rice Krispies are golden brown and cheese is melted. Cover with foil part way through cooking if the Rice Krispies are getting too brown.

The post Hash Brown Casserole appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.