Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Who doesn't love comfort food?
From the moment the weather man says that ugly word....snow....all i can think about is warm comfort food. Well, it's true, we had snow last night. Dinner was, pure comfort food..... a stuffed cabbage casserole that I saw on SkinnyTaste. She made it healthy....i made it a little different, but healthy. The servings are large and filling. The leftovers are amazing! Here's my version.

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Recipe slightly modified from Kalyn's Kitchen and Skinnytaste.com

Servings: 10 • Serving Size: 1/10th

Calories: 300 • Fat: 9 g • Fiber: 6.5 g 
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground turkey breast
• 1 lb. italian turkey sausage ground or at least removed from casing 
• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• 1 tbsp finely minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 2 tsp splenda or truvia (or brown sugar, but it will add calories)
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 large head savoy cabbage, coarsely chopped  
• 2 cans (15 oz.) tomato sauce
• 1 can (8oz.) tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups cooked organic short grain brown rice
• 2 cups fat free shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13X10 inch glass casserole dish with non-stick spray.  Heat a very large frying pan on medium heat; add onion, paprika, garlic, thyme, truvia, salt, pepper, ground turkey and sausage and saute until it's browned and cooked through, breaking it apart as it cooks.

After brown, drain meat and then add tomato sauce and water. Cook 15-20 minutes until thick and bubbly. 

Place small amount of water in a large stock pot, add diced cabbage and heat until just wilted.

Add rice to tomato and beef mixture. Stir well.

In casserole dish, layer half of the cabbage and top with half of the meat mixture, repeat ending with meat.

Bake at 350 degrees covered with foil for 25 minutes. Remove foil, top with cheese and bake until cheese is melted. Sice into 10 pieces. Serve! Enjoy! It's even better the second day!