Foodie Fridays: Sautéed Cabbage with Farfalle and Diced Turkey

Happy New Year, everyone!  True to form, the end of 2020 was just as disastrous as the year as a whole for me.  A phone technician was scheduled to take a look at our landline phone connection, which was working but not usable due to loud static.  He figured out the problem but could not fix it on his own, so he requested a repair team be sent out next week to deal with the issue.  Unfortunately, when he reconnected our service neither the phone nor the internet connection worked (the internet had been working just fine before he came).  I spent pretty much all of yesterday trying to get the phone company to restart the internet service, and finally contacted someone after midnight who seemed to know what to do.  My service was finally restored this morning, but the connection is not that great so hopefully when the phone repair is done on Monday the internet service will also be back to normal.  My car also chose the last day of the year to develop a radiator hose leak, but luckily I was able to get my car in before the repair shop closed and the mechanic tightened the radiator hose clamp, which so far seems to have done the trick.  So for now 2021 is off to a hopeful if rocky start, which is probably the way the rest of the year will go - at least it should be an improvement over 2020!

For New Year's Day I decided to make a meal that reminded me of the Pittsburgh tradition of serving kielbasa with sauerkraut (I grew up in a suburb of the Steel City).  I can no longer eat pork (allergies) and I did not have sauerkraut, but I did have shredded coleslaw mix and a chunk of hickory smoked turkey, so I was at least able to throw together a meal with similar flavors.  I added some pasta to take the place of more traditional potatoes (often in the form of potato-filled pierogi in my home town).  This is actually a variation of my recipe for Noodles with Cabbage and Ham, which I can no longer eat because of the ham, but I think I really do prefer the smoked turkey to the ham.  For a dish that was thrown together rather haphazardly, it was surprisingly good, and I will definitely make it again!

Sautéed Cabbage with Farfalle and Diced Turkey

8 oz. whole wheat farfalle pasta, cooked and drained
2 T. vegetable oil
1 bag (16 oz.) tri-color coleslaw mix
4 T. butter
1 tsp. caraway seeds
1/4 tsp. salt
2 C. diced cooked turkey (I used JENNIE-O Hickory Smoked Turkey Breast)

Cook the pasta according to package directions.  While the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the coleslaw mix and sauté until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the butter and stir until the butter melts.  Mix in the caraways seeds, salt, and turkey and heat through.  Add the drained pasta and stir until combined.  Serve immediately.  Serves 6.

🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉

Here's hoping that 2021 will be a year that we can all enjoy!