We love Mexican food and because some of those in my house are gluten free, I wanted to come up with something that everyone could eat. So what do you get when you marry enchiladas plus cabbage rolls? Mexican Cabbage Rolls!
There are a few steps involved in making these but it is SO worth it! The flavor is superb and knowing that this is a healthy meal makes this mama happy! It's also gluten free and low carb.
I started off bringing a pot of water to a boil and carefully removed the leaves of cabbage from the head. I submerged the leaves for about 45 seconds. This is done to softened the cabbage so you can later fold the leaf around the filling. I also removed the stem of each leaf (the hard part). After boiling the leaves, I left them on a dish towel and started the next step.
In a large skillet, I browned ground beef then added in the peppers, onion, garlic and jalapenos.
In a saucepan, I heated up the olive oil and sauteed some garlic, added the cornstarch & whisked for a minute. I slowly whisked the milk in and brought it to a boil. I then added the tomato sauce, chili powder and cumin.
Once the filling is cooked, the next step is to fill the cabbage leaves. Depending on your size leaves will determine how much filling to use. I folded the cabbage like I would a burrito ensuring all ends were closed in.
From here, I laid all my filled cabbage leaves on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper to flash freeze them as I was freezing them for grab & go lunches. Once they were frozen, I laid each filled cabbage on a piece of foil and divided up the sauce then popped it back in the freezer. After the sauce was frozen, I simply wrapped the foil around each one then popped them into a freezer bag. When I want to eat one, I'll pull it out of the freezer, thaw & bake!
If you don't want to freeze them, simply put a little sauce in the bottom of a baking dish, lay the cabbage rolls on the sauce then spread the rest of the sauce on top.
Seeing as this was a new recipe, the kids and I were really wanting to know just how it tasted so I kept one out to bake right away.
I topped it with some shredded cheese and baked it at 375 uncovered for about 25 minutes.
YUM!!!
Mexican Cabbage Rolls
10-12 cabbage leaves
1 lb of ground beef
1 small onion diced
1/2 red pepper diced
1/2 green pepper diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
3 tsp cumin
2 jalapenos diced (leave seeds in if you like a little heat)
2 Tbsp water
2 tsp cornstarch
Enchilada Sauce
2 garlic cloves minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp of cornstarch
1 cup of milk
1 3/4 cup of tomato or spaghetti sauce
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
shredded cheese
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil then boil cabbage leaves for about 45 seconds (will probably only be able to fit a few in at a time.) Set aside to let cool.
In a skillet, brown the ground beef and add to it the peppers, onion, garlic & jalapenos. Once veggies are softened, add the chili powder, cumin, water & cornstarch. Simmer for about 5 minutes. (I let this then slightly cool as it made it easier to handle the cabbage for stuffing so I didn't burn myself).
In a sauce pan, heat up the olive oil then saute the garlic. Whisk in cornstarch and cook for a minute. Slowly whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Then add in the tomato sauce, chili powder and cumin. Let simmer about 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Carefully fill each cabbage leaf, folding the ends in and tucking them in as you roll it (like a burrito). Place some of the sauce in the bottom of a baking pan and place the cabbage roll seam side down. Pour rest of the sauce on top of the cabbage and shredded cheese on top of the sauce and bake at 375 uncovered for about 25 min.
Those look really yummy! I think I may try these since I am also off of gluten. :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome! :)
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