Stuffed Cabbage without the Work

I love stuffed cabbage but rolling the meat in the cabbage leaves is too time consuming for a weeknight family dinner; so instead, I reworked the recipe so that it’s easy, fast and of course, deliciously light.  It does bake 3 hours in the oven but you can also make this in a crock pot instead – cooking it on high for 3 – 3 ½ hours so you can do whatever while it slow simmers. 

If you like stuffed cabbage I think you’ll like this just as much.  Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Meat and Cabbage Casserole

Preheat oven 350^o

Ingredients:

2 small onions – chopped

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

¾ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic – minced

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ pound ground turkey breast meat

½ pound 93% lean ground beef

½ cup light sour cream

1 small head cabbage

Directions:

1. Prepare the sauce: Heat a large saucepan and spray with cooking spray.  Add half of the onion and sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until soft and browned.  Add brown sugar and vinegar and sauté until sugar is dissolved.  Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and simmer sauce.
2. While sauce is simmering, cook the meat:  Heat a large sauté pan, spray with cooking spray and add the remaining onions.  Sauté for about 5 minutes or until soft and browned.  Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.  Add ground turkey and beef and sauté for about 10 minutes or until fully cooked.  Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
3. Cut cabbage in half and separate leaves, cutting the base of the cabbage and discarding. 
4. To assemble: Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of a large Dutch oven.  Layer half of the cabbage leaves on top of the sauce, then add the turkey and beef mixture.  Add 1/3 more sauce on top of meat mixture then top with cabbage leaves and finish with remaining sauce.
5. Bake at 350^o for 1 hour then reduce oven to 325^o and bake an additional 2 hours.

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