Speaking of Fried Cabbage and other dishes

15 years ago

I fried some cabbage for supper tonight with a little bacon grease, some chopped onion, salt and fresh ground pepper and some crushed red pepper flakes. Delish! You would think I was cooking for farm hands by the quantity of food we had. I had cooked a pot of pinto beans and some macaroni, fire roasted tomatoes and onion with a little bacon grease. I could have fed 6 or 8 easily...oh and corn muffins.

I don't cook the macaroni, tomato, onion dish very often but like it once in a while.

Now, the question....any suggestions what I could add to the macaroni dish to pep it up. There's a car load of it. I won't have a problem throwing it out but thought there might be something to perk it up as it was rather bland.

That fried cabbage sure was good!!

jude

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Comments (17)

claire_de_luna
15 years ago
Jude, I don't know about the macaroni, but wondered if you ate all the cabbage. Does it reheat well if you have some left? I think I'm making some this weekend!
lindac
15 years ago
Macaroni tomatoes and onions? No garlic? no tomato paste? No basil? No roasted red peppers?....and some cheese?
And perhaps some fried and crumbled Italian sweet sausage added to it as well.
Linda C
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teresa_nc7
15 years ago
Jude, we love macaroni and tomatoes in my family! It is comfort food for sure, but we don't use the fire roasted version, we use stewed tomatoes or plain canned tomatoes. My mom always puts a little butter and a pinch of sugar and salt/pepper in the tomatoes after she adds them to the cooked elbows.

Oh, Jude, I can tell you are Southern for sure with that menu! A gal after my own heart!

Teresa
jude31
Original Author
15 years ago
Cdl, we did not eat all the cabbage, but did a pretty good job. I think it will reheat okay.

LindaC, I thought something like that but when you're eating fried cabbage and pinto beans, Italian just seems wrong, at that particular time. Thanks for that suggestion. I told Bob I thought Italian seasoning would kick it up a notch but not with those sides.

Looks like I won't have to wonder about what to cook for a couple of meals...and that's a good thing.

Thanks, guys.

jude
jude31
Original Author
15 years ago
Teresa, I had never used fire-roasted tomatoes either, but that was what was in my pantry. I thought about a little sugar but opted out and of course I used bacon drippings instead of butter. Southern? Yep, sure am!!!

LindaC, I am really wanting to make your apple cake with the gravy but we don't eat much in the way of desserts and I would hate for it to go to waste. My kids don't eat desserts either and a son-in-law who loves them is border line diabetic so I dasn't tempt him. But wait, I just remembered...I don't bake!

jude
annie1992
15 years ago
LOL, Jude, go for the cake. We won't tell anyone you baked. (grin)

CdL, the fried cabbage re-heats just fine, so go for it.

Now, for the macaroni and tomato dish. That used to be one of Dad's favorites, just a quart of home canned tomatoes, mixed with some cooked elbow macaroni, and salt and pepper. I liked it kicked up a bit with the addition of some onions and bacon, and if you added some italian sausage and cheese, it would be kind of a baked ziti type of dish, so it's not just leftovers, it's a whole new dinner.

My brother used to eat big bowls full of macaroni and tomatoes, with copious amounts of sugar sprinkled on top, but it's not something I'd suggest.

Annie
lindac
15 years ago
Oh and there's no sugar in that cake....and certainly not in the gravy....;-Q
So heat up the macaroni and morph it into an Italian-ish dish
sally2_gw
15 years ago
If you want to go another direction with that macaroni dish, spice it up with chile powder, cumin, and cayenne, whatever chili-like spices you have on hand. You could add some browned ground beef, or rather, add all those spices to the ground beef while it's browning, and basically make chile, then combined with the tomatoes and macaroni, you'll have chile-mac. When I was a kid, we used to make chile and use it as a sauce for macaroni, and that's what we called it, chile-mac. Add some good sharp cheddar or cheese of your choice as a topping.

Sally
teresa_nc7
15 years ago
Excuse me.....but you are all WRONG! LOL! The macaroni and tomatoes dish is fine just the way it is. The beauty and deliciousness of it lie in its simplicity, people. This is the food to comfort you; this is a dish to fill your tummy when you don't know what to fix or when it's the end of the month and there isn't much in the house to fix for dinner. If you add a bunch of other flavors....it's not macaroni and tomatoes anymore. There is a time to leave well-enough alone.

We now return you to your regular CF programming.

Teresa - who sometimes must take a stand when she knows herself to be right! ;o)
jude31
Original Author
15 years ago
Teresa, there is probably enough of it to do both.LOL

Annie and LindaC, you all are enablers for the sweet stuff. I'm still the same person who set her oven on fire with the summer torte...the first time I made it and the second time it was just not right for some reason. At this point there hasn't been a third time. If I have a specialty in the baking department it's cornbread and biscuits, which with some homemade jellies, jams or preserves can easily be dessert. I have lots of different kinds of those.

jude
Rusty
15 years ago
"Excuse me.....but you are all WRONG! LOL! The macaroni and tomatoes dish is fine just the way it is. The beauty and deliciousness of it lie in its simplicity, people. This is the food to comfort you; this is a dish to fill your tummy when you don't know what to fix or when it's the end of the month and there isn't much in the house to fix for dinner. If you add a bunch of other flavors....it's not macaroni and tomatoes anymore. There is a time to leave well-enough alone."

Exactly! ! !

VERY well said, Teresa_nc7!

Rusty (who also feels the need to take a stand for what is right)
:>)
jude31
Original Author
15 years ago
Southerners unite, for the cause of macaroni and tomatoes!!!!
sissyz
15 years ago
As a Chicagoan that was transplanted to Louisville and Nashville and Memphis for 20 years, it was difficult for me to understand the macaroni and tomato thing at first. I mean, I'd never seen such a dish. Elbow macaroni, stewed tomatoes, a bit of vinegar and a pinch of sugar. Was this a mistake? Where was the meat? The cheese? The basil??
It is just one of those regional things, I think.
I got the same look from the southerners when I opened up the package from Usingers in front of the Memphis neighbors. Inside, we found sausages and cheese curds. A neighbor held up the bag of curds and asked what it was. I told her and the entire room laughed at my curds. (one woman even gagged!!)
BeverlyAL
15 years ago
I'm southern to the core, but macaroni and tomatoes - no way I can eat that. Glad ya'll like it!

Beverly
jude31
Original Author
15 years ago
Oh Beverly, you're too far west.LOL Don't knock it if you haven't tried it.
lsr2002
15 years ago
Teresa. I cracked up when I read your post. My mother used to make that when I was a child - just canned tomatoes, a little sauteed onion and macaroni, baked. She didn't have an ounce of Southern blood in her, but somehow it was one of her favorite side dishes.

I haven't had it in decades - think I'll make it soon. And yes, I'll keep it simple.

Lee
carrie2
15 years ago
A friend once served a side dish of fried cabbage with sour cream. She learned to make it in the Philippines and the cabbage was either cooked in bacon grease or butter. It was sinfully delicious.

Speaking of Fried Cabbage and other dishes

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