Or at least this mom does. I can throw a bunch of ingredients in a pan, bake it off and wah-lah dinner is served. I love dinners that cook themselves and I don't have to stand over a hot stove for a long time. This is a perfect example of that; and with the Steelers football game tonight, this is one fan who wants a supper with easy preparation and easy clean up! I got this recipe a few years back from
Taste of Home when I was looking for new things to try. Cabbage rolls have always sounded tasty to me, but I never went to the trouble of making them. Supposedly this gives all the same flavors, with a lot less effort. I still haven't tried the real thing, so I can't say rather they taste the same or not but for us this is such a great dish so maybe we'll never know!
Cabbage Roll Casserole
1 lb. hamburger
medium onion chopped
1-2 garlic cloves minced
1 15 oz tomato sauce- divided
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp sage
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup cooked rice (white or brown)
1 small head cabbage chopped
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
Cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat. Drain fat if necessary. Stir in 1/2 tomato sauce and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in rice and heat through. Remove from heat.
Layer 1/3 of cabbage in greased 9x13 pan. Top w/ 1/2 meat mixture. Repeat layers. Top w/ rest of cabbage and tomato sauce. Cover w/ foil and bake @ 375ยบ for 45 minutes. Uncover and top w/ cheese. Bake 10 more minutes.
Cabbage
I have to try this! I adore cabbage rolls but hate the process of making them. Trying to pre-cook the cabbage and keep the leaves intact just frustrates me. I'm putting this one on my "try this VERY soon" list!
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, when I lived in Indiana I was getting cabbage rolls in a small family run restaurant for dinner one night. The server asked me if I wanted the mashed potatoes with it. I was confused... I'd never heard of such and told her so. (Plus then I'd have 2 starches with the rice and potatoes) She assured me that people loved them together so I agreed to my order including the potatoes. It was wonderful! There's something so delicious about the sauce from the cabbage rolls seeping into the potatoes. Now I always eat them that way and spoon a bit of the sauce onto my potatoes as I make my plate.
That's kind of funny b/c 1.I enjoy chicken or beef and noodles over mashed potatoes, and when I posted that on FB and the blog some thought I was crazy b/c of the 2 starch thing. Plus, your story is funny to me b/c my mother makes something called "Porcupine Meatballs". Think of the inside of a stuffed pepper....rice in meatballs in a tomato sauce. Well, she always used to serve a veggie w/ them until her best friend told her that her mother always served mashed potatoes w/ hers. My mother in law tried it once and that was it. She's served them w/ mashed potatoes ever since. The tomato sauce w/ the potatoes is SO yummy! The first time she did it, we thought she was nuts, but now can't eat the apart :)
ReplyDeleteWould you mind posting your mom's recipe for porcupine meatballs, please? I used to have a great recipe for them years ago but can't find anything close to it anywhere. Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteIt's actually my mother in law's but I will try to get it for you :)
ReplyDeleteTried this tonight, and we loved it! Great comfort food, will definitely be making this again, thank-you!
ReplyDeleteKrista,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to know there are others in the world! ;)
Try adding a few tablespoons of brown sugar! Yummy!!
ReplyDeleteThat's too funny about the "multiple starches"! I always serve beef stew (with potatoes in it) over rice and with biscuits. I've gotten comments before of "Potatoes AND rice AND biscuits??? Sheesh, could you have any more starch in that???" About the only one missing is pasta! :)
ReplyDeleteFor my golden birthday party, we had porcupine meatballs and garlic mashed potatoes. Goes great together!