Sometimes, You Just Don’t Want to Stuff Cabbage

And that’s the perfect time to make unstuffed cabbage! It’s a great comfort food (have you noticed my life requires a lot of comfort foods?), and one of my favorites to take to friends when they need a break from cooking or daily life in general.

This is a recipe I first saw in either Family Circle or Woman’s Day, about a year ago. However, I couldn’t find it again by searching online, for whatever reason, after the first time I made it. This is the recreated version…I think it’s pretty much spot on, and, even the things I’ve changed only make it better, I think!

My mom made stuffed cabbage frequently for Sunday lunch at my grandmother’s house, getting up early and letting it cook while we were at church. Looking back, I realize it was a little odd that the small town in rural Oklahoma where I grew up had a rather large Lebanese population. In the steakhouses there, cabbage rolls are served as an appetizer, and so delicious. My mom made entree-sized ones, but they were just as tasty, if not more so!

This recipe has most of her ingredients, minus rice. That’s because I serve it over mashed potatoes, so it doesn’t need a starch in it. Enough blathering and ‘splaining myself…just try it, you’ll like it!

Unstuffed Cabbage

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic

2 cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes (or any diced tomatoes)

1 1/2 cups water (I fill a tomato can about 3/4 full)

1 can tomato paste (6 oz.)

1 Tbsp oregano

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

12 oz bag coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)

Brown the beef and onions together in a Dutch oven. Add garlic and cook another minute or so. Stir in remaining ingredients, except coleslaw mix. Bring to a simmer, then add coleslaw mix, making sure it’s all coated with the tomato mixture. Cover and bring to a boil. After about 5 minutes, stir cabbage down into tomato mixture. Cover and simmer for about an hour, until the cabbage is soft.

Serve over mashed potatoes, with steamed green beans as a side. Or whatever you want. I’m certainly not the boss of you and your sides! For our side in this photo, I steamed fresh green beans, squeezed half a lemon over them, drizzled on a little olive oil, and seasoned them with salt and pepper. It’s our favorite way to eat them!