Sunday, July 13, 2014

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Stuffed cabbage has been a dish I’ve eaten since a child. It’s a family recipe and my mother is really the only one in our family that recreates my grandmother’s dish. My grandma was Polish and made the best golumpki … and my mother makes hands down THE best (so good, I won’t order them from a restaurant because I find I’m usually let down). Depending on what you put on them, they can be in a tomato sauce, plain … or as my mother makes them with crushed/diced tomatoes over the top.

I purchased a head of cabbage from one of my local grocery stores with truthfully, no real meal in mind. After jogging my memory to try to develop a meal plan … I decided to, why not take my mom’s recipe and transform it into a casserole? Same sort of meal, same flavor … but just in an easier (or lazier?) method. The few differences in cooking between my mom’s recipe and the one I make are 1) I had to cook the hamburger before putting into the dish, 2) I seasoned the beef and 3) I sautéed the cabbage down with olive oil instead of just boiling the leaves off.

The dish itself is easier compared to traditional stuffed cabbage, yet I have to admit this is slightly “messier”. The reason I say this is because the rolled version everything is contained within its cabbage wrap and if serving hot, the first few slices may crumble on its way to the plate.  The first 2 slices out of the pan are slightly troublesome unless you allow the dish to cool.

Potential crumbling aside … this is a delicious dish and one I will undoubtedly make again real soon.

Serves 8. 6 Points Plus.
Ingredients:
  • 1 ¼ pound uncooked lean 94% ground beef
  • 2 ½ pound cabbage, chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 cups cooked white rice
  • 14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp McCormick Montreal Steak seasoning
  • Salt, to taste
  • Pepper, to taste
  • Non-stick cooking spray
Cook 3 cups of white rice (I use a rice cooker which makes it easier). Or you can also use microwavable frozen white rice. Season rice with salt and a little bit of pepper.

In a medium non-stick pan, add hamburger, onion, and 1 tablespoon of McCormick Steak Seasoning.  Cook over medium high heat until hamburger is crumbled and browned.

Combine hamburger and rice and toss until well combined.

Chop cabbage into chunks. Once all chopped add 2 tsp olive oil to the bottom of a large pot. Add in raw cabbage and cook over medium-high heat until cabbage is wilted down. Season cabbage with salt and pepper.

Spray the bottom of a casserole or a roasting pan. Layer half of the cabbage onto the bottom of the pan., then top with the rice and hamburger mixture, follow-up by topping with the remaining cabbage.

Sprinkle a little black pepper over the top of the cabbage and top with can of diced tomatoes (juice and all).

Cover pan with tinfoil and bake 25 minutes. Remove tinfoil and bake an additional 15 minutes.

4 comments:

  1. Ok, I am now experiencing that weird but fun blogger phenomenon where somebody far away, who I don't really know, is coincidentally doing or thinking the same thing I am! Because I just bought a cabbage yesterday with the intention of making some kind of "unstuffed" cabbage dish in the next day or so! And because we are heading into the hottest time of year here in SoCal, I rarely use my oven, so I'm gonna try it in the crockpot.

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    1. Enjoy! I find I use my oven all year long ... even on nights where I'd rather grill but the mosquitos are killer, I'll just throw my stuff in the oven. I've been seeing a stuffed cabbage in the crock pot recipe on Facebook, but it's more along the lines of a soup. Haven't tried it ... do tell how you enjoyed it!

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  2. Ok, I made my crock pot version yesterday, and it turned out pretty good. I used a pound of lean ground turkey, 1/2 cup brown rice, sliced carrots, chopped onion, and a jar of Trader Joes organic low sodium marinara sauce. And a head of cabbage. I used this recipe as a guide for how to assemble.

    http://twopugsandanugget.com/2013/02/20/slow-cooker-lazy-cabbage-rolls/

    I usually make my stuffed cabbage with tomato sauce or marinara, and add a couple Tbs. Of brown sugar and a few squirts of lemon juice to taste, looking for a kind of sweet and sour flavor. Unfortunately, I was making this in kind of a hurry because I had to leave, and I made the mistake of brushing my teeth right before I made the sauce. You know how that affects the taste buds afterwards, so I was not able to adjust the sauce quite right, but it was still tasty.

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    1. That sounds like a good recipe ... I'll have to give it a go one day. I've always wanted to try a crock pot version of stuffed cabbage.

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