Some Days Call For Comfort Food

Cabbage Casserole

On Monday we got the very edge of Hurricane Irma. Howling winds. Sideways rain. Lots of limbs and twigs down. But no real damage like other parts of the southeast. There were many places around us that lost power but we only had our lights flicker a few times.

So while the storm raged outside, I stayed inside. I made soup for lunch, then I made cabbage casserole for dinner. It is the ultimate comfort food. The name "cabbage casserole" doesn't do it justice. Just know it's delicious. It's easy. It makes plenty for leftovers the next day. At least for us, it does.

I tend to make this recipe the same week as I make the "not quite free" soup. This time I made them the same day. Soup for lunch and casserole for dinner. Both recipes call for a half head of cabbage and it works perfectly to use it all up. This time I made the soup first. Then while the cabbage was out for the soup prep, I chopped the second half of the cabbage and the onion for this recipe and put it in ziplock baggies. I had even browned the ground beef the night before because it needed to be cooked sooner rather than later. So at dinner time, putting this together was a breeze. Remember it take an hour and a half in the oven. Make sure you start it in time.

CABBAGE CASSEROLE

1/2 head of cabbage (medium-size), finely chopped

salt

1/2 cup uncooked rice

1/2 cup diced onion

1 lb. lean ground beef, browned

salt & pepper

1-1/2 cups tomato juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread half of cabbage in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with salt. (Don't be too skimpy.) Add rice, onion and ground beef in layers over cabbage. Spread remaining cabbage over top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour tomato juice over all. 

Cover dish with foil. Bake for 1-1/2 hours, or until done. Let stand, covered, a few minutes after you remove it from the oven. 

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I just looked to see when I posted this recipe last. It was just over six months ago. Daddy-O went back for thirds at supper time on Monday, so that makes it worthy of a quick repost. In my notes, I said I doubt I would serve it to company.

Well, this past weekend Jessica and her fiancé were here. I decided he's "almost family" and I could get away with making this recipe. But I guess I don't know him well enough yet. I didn't know he does not care for cabbage. I'm sure he would have been polite about having this for dinner. But in the interest of not running him off before the wedding, we changed plans and went out for dinner instead. 

I think it's entirely possible that he would have loved it if I had served it. But we had a wonderful time having a progressive dinner in our tiny little town at three new establishments that have opened in recent months. (Wine bar, barbecue restaurant, ice cream shop.)

I think this recipe could really use a name makeover. Any suggestions for what to call this dish besides "cabbage casserole?"