Tag Archives: stuffed cabbage

Administrative, Holidays, Informative

Another chapter in my life

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To all the readers who are in the New England praying fervently for spring to finally be here, so the snow mountains can begin melting and we can reclaim half the roads, I am one of you now!

Yes, that’s right, the Budget Epicurean has physically relocated across the country from Denver, Colorado to New Haven, Connecticut.

I question my sanity too, join the club.

Jobs brought us out here, but I already have a sneaking suspicion the beauty and ocean may make us happy about the change. Of course, driving a UHaul with a car being trailered behind it and two dogs in the cab for 32 hours, the final 12 of which are a force-you-to-do-20-on-the-highway blizzard isn’t exactly a picnic. But we made it!

I am quite excited to try all that the New Haven area has to offer, and it seems there is so much here! Of course, you may experience an uptick in seafood-related reviews and recipes. Cannot tell you how excited I am that the ocean is only 30 minutes away! And NYC only 2 hours by train. Lots of exploring to be done this year.

So dear readers, that’s the scoop. Hope you stick around for whatever comes next.

 

I’ll leave you with some ideas for St. Patrick’s Day this Tuesday. These recipes also work great for St. Patrick’s Day leftovers like leftover mashed potatoes, or leftover cabbage.

Casseroles, Crock pot, Healthy, Main Dishes

Stuffed cabbage casserole – SNAP meal

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This is the last of my posts of meals I made while doing the SNAP Challenge. You can look back to see recipes for Vegan Stuffed Green Bell Peppers, Turkey BLT, Turkey Frittata, and many more meal ideas. All these meals were made with about $28 for one week.

This is one of my favorite recipes of all time. One grandmother is Slovak & Hungarian and my other is Slovak & Polish, so this is a classic in my family. Usually made with ground beef, they can also be stuffed. I am usually too lazy to take the large amount of time to boil the cabbage until the leaves are soft, cool them down, carefully roll each little package, then cook.

I figure you’re just gonna cut them up into mush anyways. And I have still never figured out just what makes my grandmother’s cabbage rolls so mind-blowingly addicting. Maybe with a few decades more practice…

This recipe substitutes lentils for the ground beef, because let’s face it lentils are about $3 cheaper per pound. Everything else is pretty much the same. I also used turkey bacon rather than regular pork bacon because 1. it was on sale, and 2. it is healthier for your heart. All around, this meal is super cheap and also very healthy.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup lentils, cooked
  • 1 cup rice, cooked
  • 1/2 small head of green cabbage, sliced
  • 1-2 cans tomato sauce (some people use 1 sauce and 1 paste)
  • 5 slices turkey bacon
  • Garlic salt to taste

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I made this in a crock pot on low for 6 hours, you can use a baking pan in the oven for 1 1/2 hours if you prefer.

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Step 1: Layer the sliced cabbage, lentils, rice, bacon and sauce. Sprinkle in as much garlic salt as you like. Top with some extra sauce and/or water and remaining cabbage.

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Step 2: Bake on low in a slow cooker for 4-6 hours, or at 350 in an oven for 90 minutes.

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This makes a HUGE batch, so be prepared to either freeze individual portions for later or feed a lot of people at once. Or just eat it five days in a row…

This entire pot of casserole, cost $1.76. I kid you not. I ended up with about six servings, making each serving $0.29.  Can’t really beat that.

 

 

**UPDATE: The SNAP Challenge is complete, with many lessons learned! All SNAP Meal Recipes listed below:

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Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

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A Slovak classic, cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and ground beef. There are of course many variations on the recipe, including ground pork or turkey or sausage, various forms of tomato sauce/paste, etc. This is my take on what I could remember from my grandmother’s recipe.

ROLLS

  • 1 large head cabbage
  • 1.5 lb ground beef
  • 1 med onion
  • 1.5 cups rice
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • Spices – garlic, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, paprika

SAUCE

  • 1 large can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar

Step 1: Boil a huge pot of water. Carefully remove the outer large leaves and blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes or until soft. Remove and drain.

Step 2: Add all sauce ingredients and simmer on low. Brown the ground beef. I also made mashed potatoes to go with the rolls. Just peel and dice up several potatoes and boil until soft.

The picture looks foggy bc there was so much steam from boiling the cabbage and rice

Step 3: If you’re making mashed potatoes too, add butter, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup sour cream and some salt, and mash together.

Then I put the potatoes in a small crock pot to keep warm because I was transporting them. Also I sprinkled some paprika on top.

Mashed potatoes are always a good choice. Especially with anything tomato-ey involved.

Step 4: Drain the ground beef. Add diced onions and cook 5 more minutes until soft, and add any desired spices. Also, boil or microwave the rice. Mix beef, rice, and tomato paste together. Fill cabbage leaves with about 1/4 cup (fist-sized) of mix. Fold over one end, tuck both sides, and then roll tightly.

Step 5: The extra cabbage from inside I also boiled, poured some tomato sauce over, and added to the bottom of a sprayed crock pot. The rolls I began layering over the cabbage.

Step 6: Pour the sauce over the rolls, and then enjoy! (I was taking them to class for lunch. Lucky classmates right?!)