About a thousand years ago, or not (but sometimes it seems that way), I was on my way home from college for Christmas break. A friend from high school days drove me as far as some friends' house and dropped me off so I could spend the evening with them before they drove me the rest of the way home. Actually, I remember the year, 1969, because one of the things I had with me was a pink satin formal (which my high school friend, Bob, called my "gown" as he carefully moved it into and out of his car) and I know that the only time I wore it was to the Navy Ball in December of 1969. But I digress...
My friend, Maggie, had dinner waiting when I arrived and it was my first taste of cabbage rolls. They were delicious! Maggie graciously typed out the recipe for me and a few years later, when I was married, I made her recipe numerous times to rave reviews by all tasters. The recipe takes a while to put together, however, and it was left to languish in my recipe box all the years I was teaching. I needed speedier suppers.
Lately I've been seeing various bloggers and Facebook friends mention "Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls." Basically, cabbage roll ingredients but the cabbage is just chopped and added to the meat and sauce. I actually remembered to buy a cabbage when I was at the store yesterday, and tonight was the night to experiment. I googled Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls and looked at several recipes and then had a thought: make it using Maggie's recipe. Amazingly, I found it in my recipe box, typed out on a yellow 3 x 5 note card. I made a few changes; I used uncooked rice and used some chicken broth I had open in the fridge to add extra liquid for the rice to cook.
It was a success!! Dan loved it and so did I. I made it virtually salt free for me, so Dan added a little at the table. Here's a picture of our leftovers for another night.
And here's the recipe:
Maggie's Cabbage
Rolls--Deconstructed
1 small head of
cabbage, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
3 8-oz cans of salt free tomato sauce
2 T brown sugar
2 T vinegar
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
1 cup salt free chicken broth
Brown ground beef in 4-Qt Dutch oven, adding pepper and salt
and a dash of Montreal Steak Seasoning. Mix tomato sauce, brown sugar and vinegar together. Add uncooked rice to ground beef and stir. Add chopped cabbage and pour sauce over and
stir well. Add chicken broth, 1/2 cup at
a time and stir well. Cover and let
simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes six generous servings. ♥
EDITED to add a photo of me about the same time. And yes, I still wear my hair the same way!
The photo was taken at a park in Spokane when my roommate, her boyfriend (who took the picture) and my Navy ball date and I drove up to spend the day. I guess it was about a thousand years ago! ♥♥
I like cabbage in a variety of ways -- Chinese cabbage salad, sauteed in butter, in stir fry, even boiled. (No sauerkraut, please.) I made cabbage rolls once and didn't care for that particular filling, and that was that. I'll give this recipe a try.
ReplyDeleteThat's right. We don't have to be so precise. Just chop it up. As my grandfather said, "It all goes to the same place."
I think I like this one so much because it's a little sweet because of the brown sugar. It was just as delicious reheated. :-)
ReplyDeleteAh yes! Sugar! It makes everything better. I put brown sugar in chili.
DeleteSo many blended dishes are just as good -- if not better -- when reheated.
I put brown sugar in my chili, too! Just brings out the flavor.
DeleteI thought the cabbage rolls would be an Asian dish, but this doesn't look like what I was expecting. I was thinking it would be like spring rolls.
ReplyDeleteFun photo! What are you holding on to? Is it the longest swing in the world?
I think cabbage rolls are eastern European. The original recipe calls for cooking the cabbage whole, peeling off the leaves and filling each one with the meat mixture, rolling them up and securing with a toothpick, then covering with the sauce and cooking. That's a lot of work, hence this re-do of the recipe, which tastes pretty much the same without all the work.
DeleteYup, I'm on a swing!
Yoohoo Chris! Are you and Dan still eating left-over cabbage rolls?
ReplyDeleteMunch, munch... We left eastern European food for Mexican and now we're onto the far east... LOL
DeleteI'll get a new post out one of these days.