Unstuffed Cabbage

I grew up in a very ethnic town.  Polish and eastern European friends and families introduced us "Italians" to the golumpki or golabki, along with pierogi and garagekis.  Never heard of garagekis?  That's what you used to use to open the garage door - before they invented remote controlkis.  Groan.

Well,  this cabbage dish is for lazy cooks.  It has all the right elements for golumpki but is a lot less work.  I made it for New Year's Eve.  Serves eight.  You'll need a pound and a half of ground beef; one small head of green cabbage, an onion, one and a half cups of (raw) rice, two small cans of Hunt's tomato sauce (not spaghetti sauce unless thats all you have), some seasonings.

Chop the onion and saute it in a little oil and butter in a large cast iron skillet.
Add the ground beef, salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste and cook, breaking up the meat until the meat is cooked through.  Remove the meat from the pan.

Prepare the rice by melting a tablespoon of butter or oil in a sauce pan.  Add the rice and stir to coat the rice in butter/oil.  Add three cups of water and some salt.  Bring the rice to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until all the water is absorbed (about 12-15 minutes).  Remove from heat and fluff the rice.

Core and shred the cabbage like you were making cole slaw.  Add a little oil to the skillet along with any juices from the beef.  Braise the cabbage, stirring it until it is well wilted and softened.  Return the ground beef to the skillet, add the tomato sauce and cook the cabbage, sauce and beef together for 5 or 10 minutes.

Transfer the meat mixture to a large roasting pan or casserole, add the cooked rice, mix it all together evenly and place in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Serve Hot. Yum.
Photo not available just yet - the guys ate it (the Unstuffed Cabbage, not the photo) before I even thought to take a picture!