Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Deb Saks of 5:00am Concord fame sent in the original recipe for Stuffed Cabbage Casserole. I revised it a bit to fit into PPW eating plan. (protein, produce, and water (a tall glass of water served with the meal is not included below))  Thanks Deb for another hit with our family! Drew said he loved this (and that’s saying something!)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• 1 Tablespoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• 8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 head green cabbage, coarsely chopped
• 1 can (14.5 ounce) petite diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 can (28 ounce) crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups low fat mozzarella cheese

To Prepare:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a large glass casserole dish (I used an 11 x 13).

Heat a frying pan on medium heat; add the ground beef and the onion. Cook until it is brown. Once done add the garlic, thyme, and paprika and cook about 2 minutes more. Then add both cans of tomatoes. Simmer until it is hot.

While it is cooking, cut the cabbage into coarse pieces roughly 1 inch.

Remove the tomatoes mixture from frying pan and set aside. In the same frying pan add the cabbage and cook until it starts to wilt. It will finish cooking in the oven.

Layer half the cabbage in the casserole dish, top with half the meat/tomato mixture, then repeat. Cover with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble.

Remove foil and top with cheese. Bake uncovered for an additional 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve hot, and keep in mind leftovers can be frozen.