Hi everyone! Jess here to share about the wonders of cabbage rolls, and how you can enjoy them without all the fuss! 
For those of you that have followed this blog since the beginning, you may recall my grandmother’s recipe for cabbage rolls, pulled from our family cookbook. She is proud that her recipe held the record for the highest number of hits on this website for quite a long time. Here are her hands mixing the meat as they’ve done many times before.
The cabbage rolls I grew up with are very tasty, but they take a lot of TLC to make.
Ready for the stewpot!
I was in search of a short cut for these, and found one back in November of this year.
I decided to try a recipe for cabbage roll casserole, which was basically the regular recipe for cabbage rolls in a different form. I adapted this recipe from Taste of Home.
I shredded one of those small frost harvest cabbages into a 9×13 baking dish. Meanwhile I browned a pound of ground beef with a small onion and garlic clove, stirred in a cup of cooked rice, some thin snips of fresh sage and thyme, a dash of cayenne and pinch of salt. As Nan was eating over the night I tried this, I subbed my quart of jarred tomatoes for 2 cans of Campbell’s tomato soup (blasphemy, I know, but part of the original recipe). Once everything was in the pan and incorporated I poured it over the cabbage and sprinkled on some mozzarella and crumbled Springdell bacon bits. Similar to lasagna, I cooked at 375 for 45 minutes covered and took the foil off for the last 10-20 minutes to melt and brown the cheese. Nan (a traditionalist) and Glen (not a fan of cabbage) both had seconds. Success, and so much easier than the traditional cabbage roll!
It’s a little messy, but I loved the texture and flavor!
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Fast forward to the Winter CSA, and I tried this recipe again with a pound of ground pork and beef. I also reduced the Campbells soup to one can, instead adding a jar of summer tomatoes to the mix, and tweaked the herbs a bit to fit with what I had left on hand in my winter stash. This recipe remains a winner, and I’m grateful to have the same tasty dish I grew up with, without the extra work!
