Beef Skewers with Cabbage and Bacon

It's that time again; dinner time.  That time yet again to decide what is on tonight's menu.  I happen to have an extremely picky toddler in my house.  A few months ago, purely by accident, I happened to find out that he enjoys food on a stick. Yes very cave man of him, lol.  He normally restricts his food choices to peanut butter and jelly, hot dogs and chicken nuggets.  Isn't that lovely!  So you can imagine my absolute delight when he picked up a skewer with Venison, and declared it delicious.  That was a mommy celebration moment.  I may have him eating the rest of my delights soon, but for today I will settle with this small victory.

I remembered those tasty appetizer meatballs you sometimes have a tailgate parties with chili sauce and grape jelly, and just improvised with a healthier version based on that. The dish in the saute pan to the left is cabbage and bacon with a slight twist, lemon zest.
 Lastly, basmati rice in the back right to serve with the meat. I also sliced up some cucumbers to add one more veggie with minimal effort.
Here's the recipes; hope you enjoy!

Beef  Skewers

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs beef (any kind will do cut thinly against the grain)
Wooden Skewers soaked in water
1/2 cup organic ketchup
1/2 cup local preserves (I used cherry)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Combine ketchup, preservers, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix to incorporate. Add sliced meat to this mixture. Using skewers weave meat through skewer. Set aside.
Heat skillet or medium sized saute pan to medium high heat. Once skillet is hot drizzle with 1 TB grape seed or canola oil. Place beef skewers on pan and cook on each side approx. 10min.

Cabbage and Bacon

Ingredients:

1/2 large cabbage or one small (sliced thin)
1/2lb bacon (cut into small pieces
1 lemon (zest only)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat large saute pan to medium heat. Add bacon; cook till crispy. Add cabbage. Drizzle 1TB olive oil on top. Add salt and pepper to taste; about 1/2 TB of each. Continue to stir throughout cooking process; I usually use tongs to rotate so I won't flip any cabbage out of the pan.
Cook for 30min. Last few minutes of cooking add your lemon zest. Incorporate into cabbage/bacon mixture. It will give a slight flavor boost that really brings this dish together.

ENJOY!