Cabbage Roll Casserole

When I was in Germany I really wanted cabbage rolls but being lazy and frustrated by my lack of ingredients (a can of Campbell's tomato soup cost over $5 there!!). I thought I would create something using the flavours but none of the work.  First, I pulled out my slow cooker because I was not going to be slaving over the stove all day... lazy day remember.  Second, I had a big head of cabbage to use up and I always had tomato juice on hand.  I pulled out some rice and got to work.  I made something delicious.  I didn't even cook the rice first, I just threw it all together with what I hoped was enough moisture and walked away.

I have since lost this recipe so I'll be recreating it at some point.  It was good, sooooo damn good.  It will come back.  So, in a pinch, I looked up someone else's recipe.  The problem with putting the word casserole in was that every recipe was pretty much drowning in cheese.  Cheese has no home in cabbage rolls right?  I found a recipe that looks interesting, doesn't call for a ton of cheese and I'm omitting most of what it does call for.  I have nothing against cheese but casseroles with tons of cheese in them can be really... filling? heavy? fattening? Something like that any way and I just wasn't feeling it (plus I used all mine up making Broccoli Cheddar soup, yum).

I went here: http://comfortablefood.com/cabbage-roll-casserole/ Looks pretty good right? I agreed so here is how it went.

We all know that good things start with onion and garlic.  Get those going first.

A couple of cans of tomato goodness.  I didn't use the juice from the whole tomatoes because I had a larger amount of sauce than the recipe called for.

Some spices and stuff.  Brown sugar, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, thyme, and paprika.

Can't have cabbage rolls without cabbage.  The recipe called for a whole large head.  I did about 3/4 of a large head.  

I had left over rice so I used that.  Easy peasy!

We bought our meat in bulk and froze it so I now I always have that awkward frozen brick to start with.  It actually made me remember cooking at my mom's because we bought in bulk at home too when I was growing up.

Finally!  Now we are ready to add the spices and seasonings.

Meanwhile, get the cabbage softening in a pan.  Just move it around now and then.

Now the fun part.  Add in the tomato sauce and I squish the tomatoes with my hands sometimes.  It's fun and faster than using a knife.  Plus that is what they are going to look like anyway.

After you clean up the tomato juice that squirted EVERYWHERE (that doesn't usually happen) you are ready to add in the rice.  Let the rice mixture cook a bit while the cabbage goes until about half cooked.  This was the time my pan spent spitting tomato spots all over my stove, floor, and me.  There was even some on the range hood!  That stuff was everywhere.

Now build it up in layers. 1/2 the cabbage 1/2 the rice mixture, repeat.

Cover tightly and into the oven.

If you are like me you'll drop the entire tin foil roll into the pan, not recommended but it's ok.

Bake for 45 minutes and add the cheese.

Bake for 10 minutes longer if you are using the cheddar too.  I just broiled for 5 minutes to melt the cheese and making it a bit crunchy. Mmmm... crunchy cheese. 

Time to dig in!  It was actually really great at sticking together.  Everything was cooked really nicely but there was a big taste of thyme.  Maybe I'm not a big fan of thyme but it was distracting.  If you like it stick with the recipe, I might only put one tsp in next time instead of the two it called for.

Overall it was delicious! I would absolutely make this again.  I served this with cottage cheese and a green salad.  Tomorrow, I'll make it with perogies and sour cream.  It would be great with Kolbasa and sauerkraut too but I don't have either of those. *Sad* 

What are you making for supper? Tell me in the comments!