Cabbage Rolls Revisited

The tomato harvest ended here this past week so local tomatoes are still available in the grocery stores and some farm markets. Local cabbage is in season meaning beautiful large heads of cabbage at rock bottom prices. It's time to make sauerkraut and cabbage soup as well as enjoy cabbage simply sautéed in butter or boiled. Cabbage boiled with potatoes then mashed eliminates the need for adding milk or other fats so it can be a good, low calorie addition. There is no doubt that cabbage is a budget stretching vegetable. Store a few heads of unwrapped cabbage in a root cellar or refrigerator at 5-8ºC (41-46ºF) for fresh eating. With the cooler weather this is a perfect combination for cabbage rolls! The oven will add a little heat to the house as well.

Cabbage Rolls

I first wrote about cabbage rolls last May. This is such an easy and economic casserole to make especially if you make it when both local tomatoes and cabbage are available.

In terms of economics, 7 large cabbage rolls cost me the price of half of the cabbage (about 29¢), the cheese (about $2), electricity (about 31¢). ground beef ($1.49) and rice* (about 39¢) for a total of $4.48 or 64¢ per serving. That puts this casserole well into the budget stretching and frugal meals categories. If you do not grow your own tomatoes the price will increase by the cost of the tomatoes and sauce divided by 7 that should add at most $1.98 to the total cost or 28¢ per serving still falling into the frugal and budget stretching range.

The best thing about cabbage rolls aside of how good they taste is they freeze nicely! What I do is make up a few tin foil trays but you can use regular casserole pans. The trays are made exactly as you would for cooking but instead of putting in the oven I top with a sheet of wax paper then tinfoil and seal well. Then I label and put in the freezer.

To reheat: Remove the tinfoil and wax paper. Replace the tinfoil loosely. Bake at 350ºF until the cabbage rolls are warmed through and cheese bubbles. Serve and enjoy.

* 1 lb uncooked rice = 2.5 cups