I liked the idea of such an easy dish, but I took the laziness a step further, when I make this (twice now and third time will be tonight), Just brown the meat and onion in a large pot, then drain and put it back in, add the rest of the ingredients and put a lid on it. 15 minutes later the cabbage is steamed, the rice is perfect and I just glop it in bowl with a dallop of sour cream. Must be the busy mom in me that gets so shortcutty! You can use chicken broth instead of beef.
This was really tasty! I read through a ton of reviews and two things stood out — the dish needs more seasoning and it can become mushy when cooked 1-1/2 hrs. Taking that into consideration, I socked the seasoning to the meat/onion while it was browning — salt & pepper, a lot of garlic, oregano and basil and a heavy dose of both red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper. Also sprinkled some of all those things over the cabbage I’d chopped (I estimate 10-12 cups, fairly large head). To avoid “mushy” cabbage, I gave the rice a head start — added the tomato sauce & half the broth to the browned meat/onion, then stirred in the rice, turned the burner off and let it hang out for about 10-15 mins. I tossed it all together in a large bowl, poured into lasagna dish (way too much for 9×13) and baked covered for 50 mins. Excellent! Rice cooked perfectly and cabbage, while softened, still had a slight crunch. Try this one, and don’t be afraid to add a LOT of seasonings! 🙂
INGREDIENTS
1 large head cabbage, shredded (about 12 cups)
1 onion, chopped
6 tablespoons butter, divided
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
8 ounces process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
DIRECTIONS
Cook cabbage in boiling water until tender; drain thoroughly. In a large skillet, saute onion in 5 tablespoons butter until tender. Stir in soup. Add cheese; stir until melted. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cabbage, salt and pepper.
Transfer to an ungreased 2-qt. baking dish. In a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Cook and stir crumbs in butter until lightly browned; sprinkle over casserole.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6-8 servings.
