Ground Beef and Cabbage Casserole

In my last minute effort to find something that sounded good to make for dinner last night, I came across this recipe and we loved it. It tastes just like a cabbage roll only in a casserole format. I liked it because the flavors mixed well and the tomato was not overpowering. It is also very good as leftovers! I didn't get a picture of the cooking process and a picture of our leftovers wouldn't do it justice, but I hope you try it anyway!

FILLING:

1 med. onion, chopped
2 tbsp. butter
1 lb. ground chuck (ground pork could be used as a substitute)
1 c. cooked rice
1 sm. cabbage, shredded

Saute onion in butter until soft. Add beef and rice and cook briskly about 3 minutes, stirring. Turn into shallow 2 1/2 quart covered casserole. Shred cabbage finely and arrange over meat mixture.

SAUCE:

2 tbsp. flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. catsup
1 c. canned tomatoes
1 c. water
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 tbsp. butter

Melt 4 tablespoons butter and blend in flour. Cook until bubbly, remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer stirring about 5 minutes. Pour over cabbage. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.

Asian Night

Dinner menus at my house are planned with three things in mind usually:
1. What have I made before that sounds good?
2. What can I make using only ingredients that I have? (This is the main one usually and this week it is potatoes :))
3. Experimenting and trying something new.

So I tried 2 new recipes yesterday for dinner, which is always a little frightening on a Sunday dinner, but it was delicious so enjoy!!

Both recipes were from here.

The first was fried rice, which cooking the rice actually took the longest in this meal. (Use your food processor if you can both these recipes!)

Fried Rice
Recipe from Disneyworld's Ohana Restaurant

2 c. white rice + 4 c. water (OR 4 c. cold, leftover rice, which is actually better)
3 Tbsp. butter
1/4 c. minced red onion
2 Tbsp. chopped green onions
1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 c. chopped carrots
1/2 c. chopped mushrooms
8 oz. (1/2 bag) of coleslaw mix
3-4 generous Tbsp. soy sauce

SEASONING:
1 Tbsp. dried onion
1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 ½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. celery salt
1 ½ tsp. sugar


Boil water and add rice. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. This step can be done even up to 2-3 days in advance (and for some reason, fried rice tastes better when the rice is cold). Heat butter over medium heat and saute onions, carrots, and cabbage until carrots are tender. Add cooked rice, soy sauce, and seasoning to taste (you won't even come close to using all of it; save the rest for future fried rice or use as you would seasoning salt.)

OPTIONAL ADD-INS:

--Peas, snap peas, or pea pods
--Ham
--Shrimp