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.

Chips and dip, ammiright? I love them. Any idea of not eating too much goes out the window pretty quickly when there are chips and dip involved. Salty, crunchy chips meet creamy, or cheesy, or spicy, or…whatever. I don’t care. Just pass it over.

Guacamole is one of those magic dips that is versatile enough to double as a condiment, and even as a salad topping. Really, the possibilities are endless for this super healthy dip that is traditionally made with avocados, jalapenos, cilantro, and lime juice.

I’ve searched for what seems like forever for the perfect Guac recipe, and thanks to my big brother and and sis-in-law’s recipe, I think I’ve finally found it. It seems like every time I’ve tried to make guacamole in the past, it just didn’t have enough flavor. It seemed bland and had no depth. Turns out, I just needed to simplify my recipe and go back to (almost) basics. I guess older siblings sometimes know what they’re talking about, huh?

How to Make the Perfect Guacamole:

Grab 6 avocados and a large, sharp knife (such as a chef’s knife). Slice, pit, and cube the avocado, removing the cubes into a large bowl with a spoon. For step-by-step instructions on how to seed and slice an avocado, visit this post from my friend over at My Fearless Kitchen. Don’t be intimidated! It’s really easy once you get the hang of it! Instead of just slicing the avocado like she suggests, cut it into a diamond pattern by first slicing in one direction and then the other for this recipe. And there’s no need to be extra careful when you’re spooning it into the bowl; you’re just going to be mushing it all anyway.

Once you’ve got all of the avocado into the bowl, add the other ingredients: diced tomato and onion, finely minced garlic-I like to use a garlic press-, the juice of two limes, diced jalapeno, and some chopped cilantro. Using a fork, start mashing it all together. Once you’ve got it started, add some sea salt or kosher salt. Mash and mix a little more, and keep doing this until you’ve got the consistency and salt level you want. Dig in with some tortilla chips or spoon it on to your taco or salad! Enjoy!

Looking for other Mexican inspired recipes? Try one of these!:

Instant Pot Pork Carnitas

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Zucchini and Hamburger Taco Skillet

Chicken Fajita Salad with Homemade Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing

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Easy Guacamole

Your search for the perfect easy Guacamole ends here! The perfect dip, condiment, and salad topper, this traditional recipe is sure to become a favorite!

Course Appetizer, Side

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Avocado, Mexican, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 6 Avocados
• 2 Roma Tomatoes
• 1/4 White Onion, Chopped
• 1 Jalapeno, Diced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 Limes, Juiced
• 3 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro, Chopped
• Sea Salt or Kosher Salt, To Taste

Instructions

• Pit and cube 6 avocados. Using a spoon, scoop pieces into a large bowl. Add the juice of 2 limes, diced tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos, along with the garlic and cilantro.
• Using a fork, mash all of the ingredients together. Stir in some salt and taste for seasoning. Continue mashing until the guacamole reaches the desired consistency.

The post Easy Guacamole appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

I don’t know about you all, but my garden has EXPLODED over the past couple of weeks! We finally got some good rain, and that combined with the humid Indiana weather has resulted in my little garden beds not quite being able to contain all the vegetabley goodness that’s happening. And, well, truth be told…I may have over planted for the size of my beds. Whoops.

LJ and “her” tomatoes, pre-freakish growth explosion.

Trust me, I’m not complaining…after a couple of years of not having a real garden, I’m loving going out there every day and checking to see what goodies are ready. I also love being able to decide what to do with all of that fresh goodness! Eat now, freeze, can? So many possibilities!

For me, the biggest trick has been figuring out what in the world to do with the bajillions of cucumbers I’ve been getting. It’s like one day I checked and there were a couple that were close, but then the next day out of no where I had a bunch ready to go. Everyone in my house loves cucumbers, but you can only get through so many by just slicing them and eating them raw with a little salt on them.

Holy cucumbers, Batman!

That’s where this delicious Creamy Cucumber Salad comes in! It’s a great way to use up a lot of cucumbers, and is so delicious I could (and have) eat a whole bowl in one sitting! Plus, it’s just so dang simple!! And if you make a little too much dressing, the extra makes a super yummy chip dip, just saying!

Peel and slice your cucumbers to your desired thickness…I like mine pretty thin, but if you prefer thicker slices, have at it! Depending on the size of seeds in the cucumbers, you might want to slice them in half and scoop out the seeds, too. I usually don’t worry about this unless the seeds are really big. Put the sliced cucumbers in a bowl along with some sliced red onion. Now, here’s another place where you can go rogue: if you don’t have any red onion on hand, or don’t care for it and want something a little more mild, feel free to substitute your favorite type of onion. Really, anything other than green onion (scallions) will work. I use what I’ve got on hand, but red onions sure do look pretty!

In a separate bowl, combing the sour cream, sugar, salt, pepper, and dill. Give it a taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. Right before you’re ready to serve, add the dressing to the cucumber and onions. This is definitely one of those salads you want to wait until the last minute to dress because the salt in the dressing will pull the moisture out of the cucumbers, making everything sort of watery and mushy. No body wants mushy cucumbers, trust me! I would also suggest adding the dressing a little bit at a time until everything is well coated, but not swimming. If you end up with some leftover dressing, grab a bag of chips and go to town!

Looking for another great summer salad idea? Try either my Salmon Salad or this Chicken Fajita Salad with Homemade Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing!

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