Waste Not, Want Not

After all the cabbage we caught at the parade on Sunday, I had to get really creative with new ways to use it all up! I'm not about to waste free food, but I also don't want to eat the same meal every day. To start, I made a potato salad, Salmon Potato Cakes and baked potatoes with the bag of potatoes we had. Then I made coleslaw and put it on top of shredded chicken tostadas. Super easy and really delicious!! Tostada shells, beans, chicken, cheese and slaw. Yum.

Next up was "Fat Burning Cabbage Tortilla Soup"

when I saw this on pinterest it looked perfect to me, since we indulged the entire trip this would be a good way to make up for that.

I changed it up a little to use what I had on hand and I loved how it came out!

Fat Burning Cabbage Tortilla Soup

(adapted from here)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 small onions, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

Sauté all ingredients in a large soup pot over medium heat until softened. Then add:

1 1/2 cup mild red salsa

1 1/2 cup mild green salsa

1/2 teaspoon EACH chili powder, oregano and coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

8 cups chicken stock

1 beef boullion cube

2 (11.5 ounce) cans tomato juice

Simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. Using an immersion blender, or a standard blender working in batches, puree the soup. Then add:

1 head of chopped cabbage

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes

Simmer until cabbage is softened (about 30 minutes) and serve with lime wedges, cilantro and green onion. This could easily be made in the slow cooker as well!