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.