In case I haven’t mentioned it before, this summer we became members of a CSA for the first time.  I am going to do a post some time this week that talks a little bit about a CSA– what it is, how it works, etc.  One of the blessings and challenges is getting produce that I normally wouldn’t pick out for my family.  I like the challenge.

Cabbage has been one of those things.  I have honestly never bought cabbage at the grocery store.  I like cole slaw– some kinds– but have never cared to make it.  I’ve done a couple of things with the cabbage we got, and this one turned out really good.

I got this recipe for Cabbage Roll Casserole from the farmer’s wife at our CSA’s farm.  I think she got it from Keeper of the Home’s blog.

Here’s how I did it [concise recipe below]:

1.  Heat olive oil and add onion.  Cook until soft, tender, and slightly brown.

2.  Add minced garlic.  Cook for about 1 minute.

3.  Add ground turkey and cook until browned.

4.  Meanwhile, cook rice according to directions on box.

5.  Once rice is cooked and turkey is browned, add rice to the turkey mixture.

6.  Add beaten egg to turkey and rice mixture and stir well.

7.  In a bowl, combine tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, & tomato paste.  Stir in apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, and chili powder or cayenne.

8.  Coarsely chop about 8 cups of cabbage.  This is about 1/2 to 1/3 of a large cabbage.

9.  Spray Pam in a large casserole dish.  Use at least 9×13 but bigger is even better.

10.  Begin to add layers in dish.  Layer like this

–  cabbage

–  meat and rice mixture

–  tomato sauce

–  cabbage
–  meat and rice mixture
–  tomato sauce
[if you have any left]
–  cabbage
–  tomato sauce

11.  Cover and bake for about one hour.

Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef [I used ground turkey]

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 egg, beaten

1-2 cups cooked brown rice

1 jar of spaghetti sauce

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 T honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Dash of chili powder or cayenne pepper

8 cups coarsely chopped cabbage

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1.  Heat olive oil and add onion.  Cook until soft, tender, and slightly brown.

2.  Add minced garlic.  Cook for about 1 minute.

3.  Add ground turkey and cook until browned.

4.  Meanwhile, cook rice according to directions on box.

5.  Once rice is cooked and turkey is browned, add rice to the turkey mixture.

6.  Add beaten egg to turkey and rice mixture and stir well.

7.  In a bowl, combine tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, & tomato paste.  Stir in apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, and chili powder or cayenne.

8.  Coarsely chop about 8 cups of cabbage.  This is about 1/2 to 1/3 of a large cabbage.

9.  Spray Pam in a large casserole dish.  Use at least 9×13 but bigger is even better.

10.  Begin to add layers in dish.  Layer like this

–  cabbage
–  meat and rice mixture
–  tomato sauce
–  cabbage
–  meat and rice mixture
–  tomato sauce
[if you have any left]
–  cabbage
–  tomato sauce

11.  Cover and bake for about one hour.

–  This dish is really good with sour cream.  It’s healthier if you don’t do the sour cream, but I found the sour cream helped with the heaviness of this dish.

–  I wouldn’t ever choose this as my birthday meal, but as a way to use cabbage and have a healthy dinner for my family, it really was pretty good and easy to make.

Hope you enjoy!