Sort Of Mennonite Borscht - Crock Pot

Borscht is traditionally made with beets. Unless you are using a Mennonite recipe.  Mennonites use tomato paste or sauce in their borscht.

This is my take on the soup.  It seems high in carbs, but the serving size is meal size. We had ours with some chicken breast fillets. It was extremely filling. The meat is on the sparse side, because we the next day was grocery shopping. You could add a pound of your favorite meat to the soup as well.

Ingredients:

Makes 4 meal size servings.

• 2 thick slices bacon

• 9 oz. rutabaga (about medium size), cut in small cubes.

• 1 tbsp butter.

• 1 tbsp vinegar

• 1 tbsp bacon fat

• 1.5 lbs cabbage (shredded)

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1/2 medium green pepper, chopped (I used red for some color)

• 4 cups water

• 6 oz tomato sauce
• 1 cup sour cream
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• 1. Cut the bacon into bite size pieces.
• 2. Cook over medium heat until crispy.
• 3. Drain off 1 Tbsp of fat.
• 4. Add everything to the crock pot, EXCEPT for the sour cream. Stir it well. If the water does not come to the top of the vegetables, add more.
• 5. Flavor, if you like, but it doesn't need much.
• 6. Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.
• 7. 15 minutes before serving; mix in the sour cream.
• 8. Heat through, then serve.
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• This is really nice on a cool day.
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• Nutrition Facts

• Serving Size 1 Serving (I think about 2 cups)
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories 306
• Fat 21.15  g
• Carbohydrate 24.17 g
• Fiber 6.7 g
• Sugars 13.06 g  
• Protein 8.14 g  

Parsnip Fritters

I remember growing up, my dad would come inside after the first frost with a hand full of parsnips. He would eat them sauteed in butter.  I never really thought much about them, growing up. They looked like a pale carrot.

After I had a family of my own, I rediscovered this vegetable. It's sweet, but not as sweet as a carrot (unless it has been left in the ground after the frost).

Interesting fact: Before cane sugar, Europeans used Parsnips for sweetener.

Parsnip Fritters

Servings: 4

4 parsnips
water
1 teaspoon flour
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon butter

Preparation:

• Boil parsnips.
• Allow to cool so you can touch them and remove the skin.
• Mash them, adding the flour and egg.
• Melt butter in a skillet
• Using a large spoon, drop equal amounts into the hot butter.
• Flatten and cook until brown, then turn. Cook until underside is brown.

Per serving
Calories: 145
Fat 4 g
Carb 24 g
Fiber 7 g
Sugars 6 g
Protein 3 g