Lazy Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls

With time going as fast as the speed of light in these modern days it seems we have less time to spend in the kitchen so we have to find ways to still feed ourselves well whether it's getting take-out meals or cooking something up fast at home.

I attend a lot of events and most of the time the food is heavy on the fat, salt, sugar and light on the old home comfort food.  I have been craving old school comfort food more and more lately.  Maybe it's my age and the fact that I am surrounded by Asian Food in my neighbourhood so I just want a little retro food every now and then.

When I was living with my brother he found some recipe for deconstructed cabbage rolls.  My brother is very lazy and he made the recipe and kind of butchered it but it still tasted pretty good.  I wouldn't say that all of the things he made came out that well.  So it stuck with me as a great way to have Cabbage Rolls without all the boiling and rolling.  I call it Lazy Cabbage Rolls because when I told a coworker who is Eastern European she said they call it Lazy Cabbage Rolls.

I don't have the recipe and I decided to wing it my way this week and it turned out amazing so I decided to share it with you.

It's basically a One Pot meal.  If you have a Dutch Oven (Le Creuset) or similar that is ideal but I am sure you can find a casserole dish and make some adjustments.

Here is the RECIPE for LAZY CABBAGE ROLLS

Ingredients:

1/2 head of White Cabbage (cubed)
1 can of chopped Tomatoes
1 pound of  ground Beef/pork mixture
2 Italian Sausages (uncooked and remove casing)
1 small onion
1 cup parboiled rice (uncooked)
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tbsp paprika
1/2- 1 tbsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 -1/2 cups water or stock
1 tbsp Canola Oil
1Tbsp butter

Directions:

Cut the Cabbage into cubes about 1 inch and rinse and set aside.
Cut the onions into small diced pieces and set aside.  Chop garlic and reserve.
Open your can of tomatoes and set aside.

In a Large Dutch Oven heat it on medium to high heat on the stove,  I used my Le Creuset Pot because it's oven proof and you can brown the meat in it before putting everything in the oven.
When the pot gets hot add the oil and add the ground meat and the sausage meat and break it up into small chunks.  Let it brown on both sides but don't cook through.  Once both sides are brown add the onions and mix through.  Cook for a minute and then add the chopped Cabbage and the garlic and mix through again.   Cook for another couple of minutes and add the rest of the seasonings.  Then add the cup of rice and mix to distribute the rice throughout and coat the grains of rice.  Add the chopped tomatoes and then fill the empty can with water and pour that in.  Make sure there is enough liquid so that you can actually see it but it's not a soup.  You need enough for the rice to cook and spread.  You can use chicken, beef or vegetable stock if you have some instead of water.  I used a bit of beef stock and water.  Add the one can of water and see if you need to add more water once you mix everything through and the water comes to the top of the whole mixture.   Add the butter for a creamy flavour texture if you like.

Place the cover on the pot and put it in a preheated oven set at 350F for about 20 minutes.    You can check at the 15 minute mark and mix it through and see if there is enough liquid.  Add more if the rice isn't cooked and there isn't any liquid left.

It shouldn't take more than an hour from start to finish to make this and it's all in One Pot.

It makes at least 4 large servings.

I had some for dinner and lunch the next day and have at least 2 more portions left.

It's great the next day and you could probably freeze it if you add a tiny bit more liquid to it.