Stuffed Cabbage – Deconstructed (or as it is more commonly known, Soup)

Step One is always music.

Brown up a pound of ground beef in a nice BIG pot, probably on low/medium heat. Be sure to drizzle the pot with a tablespoon of olive oil first. Otherwise, face the wrath of a burnt pan.

Add in one small onion (chopped) and two cloves of garlic (minced) and keep browning it until the meat is no longer pink.

One tablespoon soy sauce (yes, really), one tablespoon parsley, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, salt and a generous amount of pepper.

 You’ll need a SMALL head of cabbage. The one I bought was a bit too large. Learn from my mistakes.

Chop that cabbage. You’ll want it kind of small and thin, for two reasons. 1) smaller pieces cook faster and 2) no one wants a giant chunk of something in their soup.

(Oh look, a typo. Clearly today is my day…) 20 ounces of crushed tomato.

Once this is all mixed together, it’ll look a little weird and not at all like soup. Don’t worry, that part is coming.

One cup beef broth, 2 1/2 cups water, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1 cup cooked white rice. Now, it should be soup consistency.

Reduce heat to a simmer and cover pot. Cook for 45-60 minutes, until the cabbage is cooked (aka not crunchy or hard to chew anymore). Dance while you wait.

Yep, that’s it. Easy, fast, delicious soup.

Here’s a recap:

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

1 lb. ground beef
1 tbls. olive oil
Small head of green cabbage
Small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbls soy sauce
1 tbls parsley
1/4 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper
20 oz crushed tomatoes
1 cup beef broth
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup cooked white rice

Drizzle a large pot with olive oil and begin to brown beef. Add in onion and garlic. Continue browning until meat is fully cooked (NOT pink).
Add in soy sauce and spices, followed by chopped cabbage (use your judgement here) and crushed tomatoes. 
Mix in the beef broth, water, and rice. Cover the pot and reduce heat. Simmer the soup for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking at the bottom of the pot. 
When cabbage is soft and fully cooked, remove from heat and serve. 

No Words Needed – Pumpkin Beer Bread

 

 

Pierogi Lasagna

I must admit, I was pretty skeptical on this one. Perogi are amazing. Lasagna is no where near the same shape or flavor. But, alas, I gave it a try and I’m beyond happy that I did.

I have a love/hate relationship with this pasta pot. It has a built in strainer, which is brilliant in theory, but boils over all the time, which is less than brilliant. Also, the handles get hot enough to burn you, which is just plain dumb. Get a pot you have a better relationship with and boil some water.

The recipe calls for FIVE onions. I used two and was perfectly happy with the end result. My advice is to use two onions, unless you want an onion lasagna. Chop ’em up nice and small.

And also, preheat your oven. 350 degrees.

Coat a nice cassarole dish, cooking spray will do.

Fry up your onions in vegetable oil, just until they’re soft and a little golden.

There’s some down time in this recipe. Might as well take advantage of it.

Supposedly, you’ll need 12 lasagna noodles. I just cooked the whole box.

You’ll also need 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. I poured them in the same bowl for ease.

Boil the lasagna noodles. This is yet another reason I’m not on good terms with that pasta pot, it’s not even large enough for noodles.

So, I switched to another pot.

Cook the noodles according to the package directions. You want them already cooked before you assemble your lasagna.

Ok, so in theory, you SHOULD make your own mashed potatoes, but ain’t nobody got time for that.

This works just as well. You’ll need six cups, which it turns out is an ENTIRE BOX of instant mashed potatoes.

Add in your pepper and cheese mixture. Stir until it melts.

Add your beautiful onions and mix in well.

Now, its time to layer!

Noodles, potatoes, noodles, potatoes…

About three layers. Put some onions on the top if you want. I actually had some mashed potato mixture leftover, which made an amazing side dish later in the week.

Bake the whole monstrosity (seriously, it’s heavy) for about 25 minutes.

And serve! If you end with a noodle layer on top, it may be a bit too dry, so just discard it (or crunch away, I won’t judge).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat bottom of casserole dish (9′ x 13′) with cooking spray.

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Set aside.

Prepare your mashed potatoes.

Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium-high heat, add oil. Add in the chopped onions and salt and saute for 8-10 minutes (until lightly golden, of course).

Add onions, cheese, and pepper to the potatoes. Mix well to melt the cheese.

Layer your noodles and potato mixture, alternating each. (C’mon, I know you can figure this part out).

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Eat all the carbs!