Part Two
As I wrote in part one, stuffed cabbage rolls are a great choice for two for the price. Use your favorite cabbage roll recipe and make double or in my case, triple. Use a recipe that is generous on the rice as part of the stuffing because rice is cheap and takes on the savory flavor that you are creating. Because you are using cabbage, be sure and get it on special and freeze the extras for quick meals. I always wait until I have a couple of cups of leftover rice from another meal and then I defrost ground beef and make the rolls. The excess stuffing I keep for other meals.
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Many Ways
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground sausage
Large head of cabbage
2 medium onions, diced
4 tablespoons minced garlic, kosher salt and pepper to takes, 1 tablespoon onion power, 2 teaspoons parsley
Tomato sauce 24 ounces
Method:
Blanch the larger cabbage leaves in boiling water until limp and pliable. This takes about three minutes. Let cool slightly. Meanwhile fry up the ground beef and sausage until brown and then drain well. Suate the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil and mix into the ground beef and sausage once golden. Season with all the spices and mix well. Cool slightly and then roll up the beef mixture in the cabbage leaves. To serve: sear off the stuffed leaves on the stove top to brown. Place in a oven proof dish, top with tomato sauce and bake for 30 minutes at 350-F deg. Alternately, freeze rolls in tightly packed containers or freezer zipper top bags. When ready to serve, defrost and then sear off and follow directions above. Will keep in the freezer for up to three months.
Two for the Price:
The extra cabbage can be used in endless ways including making coleslaw, sautéed cabbage, sauerkraut, salad and more.
The filling I generally use to make a very freezable Shepards pie which is basically just adding some sauteed diced potatoes, carrots and celery and a cream sauce to the filling and spooning it all into a freshly baked pie crust. I have also used the filling to make tasty breakfast burritos, sloppy Joes, homemade hamburger helper and more. Again, the options here are endless. If I am out of time or imagination, I will simply freeze the left-over stuffing and thaw it out when I have more time and patience for creating another meal. I have even used it to make SOS (‘stuff’ on a shingle) which is basically ground meat mixed with a can of evaporated milk, thickened on the stovetop and spooned over toasted bread (a.k.a., the shingle). My partner loves this meal for some reason, maybe it harkens back to his early Army days, but he definitely loves it.
You can also use the stuffing to make dirty smothered potatoes which is essentially just warming up the stuffing, adding some sautéed and browned coins of sliced kielbasa and then topping it all with cut up potatoes and steaming the whole thing in some chicken broth until the potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes over medium heat on the stove top. You can also sub the potatoes out for sliced cabbage which you should have on hand anyway. Makes for a great, hearty meal. Oh, and top everything with some shredded cheese of course.
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the house behind 