Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Being a good little Polish girl, Golumpki (gwumpki) is one of my favorite Polish meals, but I don't get it often. Who wants to actually stuff cabbage? Bring on a casserole.

Last night's dinner: Stuffed Cabbage Casserole courtesy of SkinnyTaste.com

The only actual ingredient substitution I made from the original recipe was to use turkey instead of ground beef. Other modifications: I didn't use olive oil, and used half of the cheese. I only had sweet and spicy Hungarian paprika (read: cayenne), so I used half of what the recipe called for and it gave it a nice kick! I also cut my dish in to 8 pieces, rather than 10. Because I used the turkey and cut the olive oil, the nutritional facts are still great!

Katie's Version of Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. 93/7 Ground Turkey
• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• 1 tbsp finely minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme1 tsp sweet Hungarian Paprika
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 heads green cabbage, coarsely chopped>
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) petite dice tomatoes with juice
• 1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
• 1/4 + 1/3 cup water, divided
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 cup low-fat mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a large glass casserole dish with non-stick spray. (My dish was 13" x 9").

Heat a large frying pan on medium heat; add ground beef and cook until it's browned and cooked through, breaking it apart as it cooks. Remove ground beef and set aside.

In the same pan, add chopped onion and cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic, dried thyme, and paprika and cook about 2 minutes more. Then add the diced tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, and ground beef. Add 1/4 c. water to the pan. Simmer until it's hot and slightly thickened, about 15-20 minutes.

While it simmers, cut cabbage in half, cut out the core, and remove any wilted outer leaves; chop the cabbage coarsely into 1 inch pieces.

In a large pot or pan, add the cabbage and 1/3 c. water. Cook over medium heat (steaming the cabbage with lid on) until the cabbage is wilted and about half cooked, turning it over several times so it all wilts and cooks. Season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.

When the meat and tomato sauce mixture has cooked and thickened a bit, stir in the 2 cups of cooked rice and gently combine.

Spray casserole dish with non-stick spray and the layer half the cabbage, half the meat mixture, remaining cabbage, and remaining meat mixture. Cover tightly with foil and bake 30 - 40 minutes, or until the mixture is just starting to bubble on the edges.

Remove foil and sprinkle on cheese. Bake uncovered an additional 15 - 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starting to slightly brown. Serve hot.

Recipe serves 8 (hearty servings)! 275 calories, 29 g carbs, 8 g fat, 22 g protein, 7 g fiber, 655 g sodium

This. Was. Delicious. Took a while to put together, but the end result was so worth it. It was also relatively inexpensive... Cabbage is so cheap to cook with. You really get the bang for your buck with this casserole. Try this, tonight! What is your favorite healthy casserole recipe? Please share!!