Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

I've seen a number of these recipes on the Internet.  Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls are so easy and so yummy.  Bonus: it's a one-pot meal.  I chopped the onion and cabbage this afternoon, then went to work out.  Came home, threw it all together and had a satisfying, hot dinner in 30 minutes.  Here's my version.

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls


Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1.5 pounds extra lean ground sirloin
• 1 small head of cabbage, chopped
• 1 large (28 oz.) can of diced tomatoes
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 to 2 cups water
• a few dashes of worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and stir until translucent.  Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds until fragrant.  Stir in ground beef and cook, stirring often, until nicely browned.
• Add the cabbage, diced tomatoes and lemon juice to the pot.  Add 1 cup water if you like it a little thicker.  My daughter likes to eat it like soup, so I add another cup of water to make it extra saucy.  Add the worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste.  
• Bring to a boil, then put a lid on the pot and reduce to simmer for about 20 minutes until cabbage is tender.  (Don't overcook or the cabbage becomes mushy!)

We like to serve it over brown rice.

Italian Peasant Soup with Cabbage, Beans and Cheese

This soup is simple and delicious. Instead of one big slice of bread in the middle, I cubed mine into crouton-size pieces.  And I had regular green cabbage on hand, not savoy.  And I used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, again because that's what I had in the pantry.

I bet this would also be very satisfying with some shredded rotisserie chicken added in.

Italian Peasant Soup with Cabbage, Beans and Cheese
Taken directly from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 15-oz. cans cannellinii beans, washed and drained
• olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 medium head of cabbage, shredded
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 clove garlic, halved
• 5 cups vegetable or chicken broth (I used chicken)
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• slices of toasted crusty bread (I used sourdough)
• parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Mash half the beans and set aside.
• In a dutch oven, saute the onions on medium heat in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the cabbage and garlic.  Cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until the cabbage wilts.  Add in the beans (both mashed and whole) and broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially-covered, for about 15 minutes until the cabbage is tender.  Season with TSSS and black pepper.
• Arrange bread in soup bowls.  Ladle the soup over the bread.  Grate some parmesan cheese over the top and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.  Serve immediately.

Cabbage Rolls

Deeeelish!

Cabbage Rolls
Adapted from this recipe.


Ingredients:

• one medium head of cabbage
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 1 pound ground sirloin (or other lean ground meat)
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar (Splenda if you're strictly SBDing)
• juice of a small lemon
• few dashes of worcestershire sauce

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
• Carefully remove a dozen or so of the large outer cabbage leaves and wash them. Microwave on high for a minute or two with a splash of water, until the leaves are soft.  Set aside.
• Core the remainder of the head of lettuce, and chop into bite-size pieces.  Spread the chopped cabbage across the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
• In a mixing bowl, combine rice, egg, milk, onion, ground sirloin, TSSS and pepper.
• One at a time, place 2 huge heaping tablespoons of meat mixture in the center of each cabbage leaf and roll.  Place in a single layer on top of the chopped cabbage in the baking dish.  Sprinkle TSSS and ground pepper over the top.
• In a separate bowl, mix tomato sauce, sugar, lemon juice and worcestershire sauce.  Pour over cabbage rolls.
• Cover baking dish with foil and bake in preheated oven for1 hour.