Cabbage Roll Casserole

Years ago when I used to hold a giant Easter Egg Hunt at our place, Alison Roberts made this dish for her potluck contribution and it was an instant hit with everyone!  My children loved it so much that it is a staple in our house ~ and since cabbage season is soon approaching and green cabbage should be appearing in our CSA box from Cooper's CSA Farm & Maze, I thought I would post this quick and delicious casserole!

CABBAGE ROLL CASSEROLE

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef

2 medium onions, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

 1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 14oz can of tomato sauce

14oz water

1/2 cup long grain rice, uncooked

4 cups cabbage, shredded

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the beef, onions, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Once the beef is browned, add the tomato sauce and bring to a boil.
• Once boiling, stir in the rice, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
• Place 2 cups of the shredded cabbage (I chop mine using my food processor as it is faster!), in a greased 9"x13" lasagna dish.  Cover the cabbage with 1/2 the rice mixture and repeat the layers.
• Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour.
• Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with sour cream.
• ENJOY!   

Spanakopita Lasagna

I first enjoyed this dish while on a scrapbooking retreat ~ Martha is a fantastic chef and owner of "Selwyn Shores" which is located in Lakefield, ON.  For me, being such a foodie, I enjoy the meals that Martha prepares as much as the time to focus on my scrapbooking!  At the end of each weekend that we go there, she lays out the recipes for all the meals she has prepared for us so we can copy them and make the dishes ourselves at home (and since she keeps meticulous records, we are never served the same dish twice!)  This lasagna was so simple and so flavourful I not only copied it, but make it quite frequently for my family!

SPANAKOPITA LASAGNA

Ingredients:

227g baby spinach

1 cup crumbled feta

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

1 bunch fresh parsley

1/2 cup EVOO

4 cups tomato sauce

Fresh lasagna noodles (I use Olivetti whole wheat ones)

2 cups grated mozzarella

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Cook spinach in the microwave or in a skillet until wilted.  Drain and squeeze dry.
• Whisk 3/4 cup of feta into the eggs and set aside.
• Chop spinach, onion, and parsley in a food processor until the consistency of a pesto.  I slowly drizzle the olive oil in the bowl while the food processor is running to help smooth out the spinach mixture.
• Add the spinach mixture to the eggs.
• Pour a thin layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9"x13" lasagna dish.  Cover with a single layer of noodles.  Spoon half the spinach mixture over top the noodles.  Cover with another thin layer of sauce, then another layer of noodles.  Spoon the remaining spinach mixture over the noodles and cover with a final layer of sauce.
• Top with the remaining feta cheese (1/4 cup) plus the 2 cups of grated mozzarella.
• Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
• ENJOY!