Stuffed Cabbage in the Crock Pot (Paleo)

Crock pot recipes have always intimidated me. I don’t know why since most of the recipes are just “throw everything in and walk away.”

I guess images of coming home to my house burned down have just got in the way.

So, I’ve been taking it in baby steps. Following recipes to the T (which was an accomplishment in itself) and waiting for days I was home all day to make sure the house didn’t catch flame.

And, since I wait for days when I’m home, I’ve been starting to play around with recipes. Literally. Play around. As in the case of this stuffed cabbage. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed playing “doctor” and “mending up” cabbage leaves that had rips and holes in them.

Don’t ask.

So, in conclusion, I’ve become more at ease with my crock pot. Now, I just need to practice leaving the house while it’s on. Maybe I’ll drive around the block or something for practice…

Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Side note: since Dr. Seuss’s  birthday is tomorrow and green eggs are suddenly all the rage, I’ve reposted my green egg recipes at the bottom of this post 🙂

Stuffed Cabbage (Paleo) 

Ingredients:

1 head of cabbage

1.5 lbs organic, uncooked ground turkey (or beef)

1 cup raw cauliflower rice*

1/2 cup carrots, coined

1 onion

1 (28oz) can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp dried basil, divided

1 tbsp dried oregano, divided

1 tbsp garlic powder, divided

salt and pepper

*To make cauliflower rice, place raw cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until it resembles rice. For this recipe, don’t cook/steam the rice

Directions: 

Bring a pot of water to a boil, cover with a colander, and add in whole cabbage. Cover with a lid and let steam for 15-20 minutes. Afterwards, remove and let cool. Carefully remove the cabbage leaves (I find that cutting off the stem helps). If cabbage leaves are still stiff, place in the pot of boiling water in bunches for about 30 seconds. Set leaves aside. (Note: Don’t panic if the leaves rip or have holes- it’s easily repairable.)

Place uncooked meat and cauliflower rice in a large bowl and set aside. Place the carrots and onion in a food processor and pulse into small pieces. Add this to the meat and cauliflower.  Mix altogether and set aside.

Pour HALF of the tomatoes into the crock pot. Add in 1 tbsp basil, 1/2 tbsp oregano, 1/2 tbsp garlic powder, salt and pepper and stir. With the leftover seasonings, add this to the remaining can of tomatoes and stir. Set the can aside for later.

Now, Spread out cabbage leaves. If there are rips or holes, use extra leaves to cover and “patch up” the area. Place some of meat mixture onto a leaf and roll it on up, tucking in the sides once finished. The amount of meat you use depends on the leaf size- I just kinda eyeballed it. Place stuffed cabbage in the crock pot. Repeat until all meat is gone (I got 14 rolls out of this).

Once all rolled up and placed in the crock pot, top with the remaining crushed tomatoes. Cook in the crock pot on HIGH for 6 hours.

Dr. Seuss Recipes:

Natural-Colored Green Eggs (and Ham)

Avocado Deviled Eggs

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