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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Mad About Food: Fast flavor
Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls offer same flavor — they just get to the table faster
We are three months into 2024 which means there are a few festivities and family field events on the calendar this month. I’m not sure how this year started out for everyone else, but for me, it’s been a little rocky. However, life is life, and thankfully, we all get to live it. Even in the down times, I found things to be thankful for and life is one of them — the other is food.
In times of uncertainty, comfort foods are a must for me. Neither weather nor holidays dictate what I choose to eat quite like troubled times. If it’s cold outside and my comfort craving is frozen custard, I’m headed straight to Culver’s. This time I wanted something more weather and holiday appropriate for my comfort food fix, and so I went with a deconstructed, or as I call it unstuffed cabbage rolls.
It’s a quick way to make a classic dish that can be time consuming. With this dish you get all the flavor that would take hours to make in one pot in about an hour.
You also can shorten your time by buying already chopped vegetables. A few other tasty ingredients that can be added is cheese, jalapenos and other proteins like chicken or seafood. You could even leave meat out all together or make it into a casserole.
Your options on this one dish is vast. so don’t be afraid to try your own favorite ingredients.
Now, let’s roll up our sleeves, wash our hands and get to creating our very own version of Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls.
Recipe
Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients:
1 medium head cabbage, shredded but not too fine
1 small can tomato paste
1 small can crushed tomatoes
1 pound ground turkey, browned
1 package beef smoked sausage cut into bite-sized rounds and cooked
1 yellow bell pepper sliced
1 red bell pepper sliced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 package taco seasoning
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup rice
1 cup water or chicken broth
Directions:
In a large pot or preferably a wok brown the ground turkey and sausage in the olive oil on medium heat. Add the prepared peppers and saute until vegetables are tender but not too soft.
Next add the seasonings and water/chicken broth and stir until well mixed. Simmer for 15 minutes covered while checking to be sure it’s not sticking to the wok. At this point more liquid might be needed due to the rice absorbing the liquid, so add some as needed but not a lot because it’s not soup.
Lastly, add the shredded cabbage and continue cooking covered for another 15 minutes or until the cabbage is at your preferred tenderness. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Enjoy!
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