Mern

Questions:

How about if the package says natural cheese rather than processed cheese. Is that OK?

And how about soy sauce? Completely taboo or is reduced sodium OK?

Jennybeeb

Woo Hoo! Thank you for the recipes Mern and Stacey - these will be wonderful!

I took my whole chicken out of the freezer on Monday, and put it in the refrigerator to thaw a bit...I think I will put it in the crockpot tomorrow and see how this turns out I'm hoping it will be great!

Thanks

cjohnson728

Thanks for the recipes, all...they look great! Making me hungry

Mern, I think with soy sauce (and anything else), it's a trade off. No food police are going to come smite you if you use something that others try to avoid; if it (or anything) is really important to you, go ahead and use it. If you can find a substitute you're happy with, do that. We all have some things we just won't give up; other things are easy to swap out. Only you can decide those. We can't all eat perfectly all the time!

Jennybeeb

I think natural cheese is fine personally, I don't see why it wouldn't be I guess?

Also for the Soy Sauce...I don't think that's horrible either, especially if used in moderation.

If you are interested in a substitute, Bragg's Liquid Aminos are a pretty healthy one and lower in sodium than most regular soy sauces I think?

Link removed

HankG

I'm not making my own pasta but would love to start. I do a lot of things from scratch that are baking related: pancakes, bread, ice cream, soup. It's amazing what you can do with a handful of key ingredients. I also do my own wine and beer, but those are from kits so not sure I'd count that yet.

Mern

Jenny, thanks for your input on the cheese and soy sauce, too. So nice to know there are no food police here. LOL Also thanks for the info and link for Bragg's. If I find that in my grocery store, I'll buy it there, otherwise I'll just continue to buy the lowest sodium brand I can buy since I use soy sauce so seldom. The link may be very valuable to others, though. Great thing about this thread is that it will be so helpful to so many people.

Hank, I hope you find some new thoughts and ideas here, and we surely would love it if you'd share some of your own recipes. I don't make bread or pasta, but we do have some bakers in the Women's Motivational thread.

Mern

POTSTICKER PATTIES

Cabbage Mixture
3/4 lb. to 1 lb. shredded green cabbage
Onion: 2 tablespoons dehydrated minced onion OR 1/3 cup fresh minced OR 1
medium onion chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tablespoon oil

Meat Mixture:
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. ground turkey or chicken
1/8 tsp. garlic powder OR 1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce (I use lower sodium)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 egg
3 tablespoon chopped onion
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
1 tablespoons oil (optional--use if grinding very lean pork)
extra oil if you're going to fry them. I haven't tried baking them.

Directions:
Shred cabbage, add rest of ingredients except oil, and saute lightly in oil--a
little more soft than crisp-tender. Set aside.

Meanwhile, mix all of the meat mixture ingredients, except the oil, in a large
bowl. Mix with your hands until the egg no longer feels slimy. Stir in the
cabbage until well blended. Divide the mixture into 8 equal size patties. Fry, 4
at a time, in oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook about 8 minutes
per side or until done in the center.

Per Serving including the optional oil and oil for frying: about 308 Calories;
20g Fat; 25g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

HankG

I agree nothing wrong with real cheeses or soy sauce. Bragg's needs to fire their marketing division though. "Liquid Aminos"? Sounds yummy!

Mern

I agree, Frank. Liquid Aminos does sound funny.

I DID find Bragg Liquid Aminos (thanks Jenny!) at my Kroger grocery chain this afternoon. There was none in the International food section with the other brands of soy sauce, but I found it in the health food section. It was $2.29 for a 6 ounce spray bottle (clever idea) but only $2.99 for a whole 16 ounce bottle. The ingredients, serving size, and nutrition lables were exactly the same on both the 6 oz. and 16 oz. bottles. So I opted for the larger--if I ever want to spray it, I'm sure I can find a spray nozzle from another food in my fridge that will work.

When I got home I compared the flavor of Bragg Liquid Aminos with my Kroger Lite Soy Sauce. Bragg has way better depth of flavor, tastes like soy sauce, and has way less sodium. Kroger Lite 265mg for 1/2 teaspoon and Bragg 160mg. Ingredients in Bragg only "vegetable protein from Soybeans and purified water."

Jennybeeb

I am so happy you were able to find the Liquid Aminos! I definitely agree that it is probably not the best name, but at least they (it?) tastes good! ha ha

When I first found out about them I was a bit skeptical on what they would be like, but tried them and was pleasantly surprised...they have replaced my use of actual "soy sauce" altogether!

Good to know the more stores are carrying them, for a while you could only find them at the health foody type stores...But I've notice the Healthy food sections at most grocery stores around here (in MD) carry them, so it's good to know that they carry them elsewhere too