A Good and Versatile Autumn Cabbage Casserole

"If you are interested in cooking,

you're also just naturally interested in art, in love and in culture!"

~Madame Jehane Benoit

The Divine Miss M has shared one of her "go-to" casseroles that she enjoys making for her family. As she was telling me what she was making for dinner the other night, during one of our numerous daily phone calls, I stated, "that sounds scrumptious!" I asked her to take pictures and I would post them as one of Estelle's daily blogs! I think she did a great job, don't you? Although.....her husband was rather perplexed as to why she was taking pictures of her step- by- step preparation!!

Now, my daughter's version uses quick-cooking brown rice and reduced fat tomato soup. This delicious recipe came from her pregnancy cookbook and she has prepared some amazingly good and healthy recipes out of this! I used ingredients I had in the pantry and Mom's version was hearty and delicious also! I love a casserole that can be versatile like this, don't you?

Unstuffed Cabbage Casserole

2 cups boiling chicken broth

1 cup rice, uncooked

4 Tbsp butter

1/2  head of cabbage, chopped

1 lb lean ground beef

2-3 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup medium onion, chopped

Seasonings to your taste:  salt, fresh ground pepper, Italian seasoning, etc.

1 can hearty Progresso condensed tomato soup

½ can chicken broth

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Add 1 cup of boiling broth and rice to dish. Cover while preparing rest of the ingredients.
 Melt butter in skillet. Add cabbage and stir-fry until limp and lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cabbage to the casserole dish. Brown meat with garlic and onion add desired seasonings. Add to the casserole dish. Mix soup with broth and pour over other ingredients. Gently stir to mix.
Cover and bake for 55 minutes or until rice is cooked through and cabbage is tender. Top with shredded cheddar cheese the last five minutes of baking.