My coworker recently had a whole box of cabbage heads that she was giving away. Never able to pass up free food, I took it home...then I wondered what the heck I was going to do with it! Luckily, it lasted awhile (I washed it, quartered it, and stored it in paper towels in a ziploc bag), which gave me some time to get creative. I decided to try and use it with meals I was already making. Here is what I came up with:
1. Add It to Casseroles
Once a month, I make a chicken broccoli casserole that is really tasty. I figured it couldn't hurt to add more vegetables, and I was right! It turned out wonderfully. I just mixed the broccoli florets with a quarter head of sliced cabbage, and added it to the casserole as I normally would the broccoli. It nearly doubled the size of the casserole, so I just added more sauce. (You wouldn't have thought I made such a large dish, though, because it was gone in one day!) The thing I liked about this dish was that both broccoli and cabbage have a similar flavor when cooked, so they paired well. I imagine this would also go well in casseroles like chicken and vegetable pot pies.
2. Add It to Meatloaf
Once a month, I also make meatloaf. I'm not very good at meatloaf yet, so I was excited to try the cabbage in it. I used an eighth head of chopped cabbage, and added it to my turkey loaf, which was also sporting chopped tomatoes that day. The cabbage created a lot of water in the pan, but I just drained it out, and the meatloaf was extremely moist because of it. It was really good!
3. Add It to Mashed Potatoes
Golden Grahams is famous for sneaking in steamed cabbage to her whipped potatoes when the grandkids come over. She is proud that it offers more vitamins and nutrition than just plain potatoes. I love it when she does this, because it gives the mashed potatoes a very good flavor, and you can hardly tell they're in there (except that the potatoes turn out a teeny bit green). I suggest adding a quarter head of steamed cabbage to a batch of 6 potatoes, and blending it into the potatoes with a hand mixer. Don't forget the butter and sour cream!
4. Add It to Soup
My favorite soup in the entire world is minestrone soup, which generally calls for cabbage. In my opinion, you can't have minestrone soup without the cabbage. I add it near the end when the soup is simmering and serve the soup right when the cabbage is tender. I believe you could also successfully add it to chicken-based soups, or beef stew, as well! Usually an eighth head of sliced cabbage is sufficient for a medium to large pot of soup.
5. Have A Picnic
I love picnic food, and I especially love coleslaw! Its cold crunchiness adds so much texture to accompany baked beans and pulled pork. Carolina barbeque is famous for piling cole slaw right onto their spicy pork sandwiches, and the cole slaw doesn't have to be that fancy. It is the perfect addition to a barbeque sandwich. If you are cooking for 2 or so, a quarter head of cabbage is a good size for a side of cole slaw.
That took care of my one head of cabbage: 1/4 for the casserole, 1/8 for the meatloaf, 1/4 for the mashed potatoes, 1/8 for the soup, and 1/4 for the cole slaw. But if you still need a few more ideas...
6. Add It to A Stir Fry
A stir fry with fresh, tender vegetables and a tangy sauce is just so perfect any time of year. You don't have to buy the exotic Chinese cabbage to add this lovely vegetable to the pan, either. You can use the boring old green or purple kind. I suggest preparing a stir fry over sticky rice with teriyaki sauce, adding broccoli, red bell peppers, julienned carrots, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, and sliced cabbage. My mouth is watering as I type this.
7. Prepare It as A Side Dish
Cabbage is incredibly simple to prepare, and when it's done right, it is super tasty, too.
Fry a 1/2 package of bacon in a deep skillet, then remove and chop the bacon. Cut the cabbage in to large chunks and add it to the fry grease. Turn periodically until the cabbage is tender, then add the bacon bits. My Southern friend swears by this method.
Or, you can steam the cabbage until just fork tender, then add some butter, salt, and pepper...please pass the hot sauce!
8. Make An Oriental Salad
One of my favorite potluck foods is Chinese chicken salad with Ramen noodles. Usually I just buy the packaged cole slaw mix in the produce section, but it's not that hard to thinly slice a quarter to half head of cabbage and shred a few carrots for the mix, especially when you have a whole head of cabbage on hand to use up.
If I'm feeling a bit more fancy, I go all out: chopped romain lettuce, thinly sliced cabbage, shredded carrots, toasted sliced or slivered almonds, julienned red bell peppers, mandarin oranges, and those crunchy little oriental noodles you get in a can to put on top. Toss with an oriental sesame dressing, and you're in business. My mouth is watering again. Can you tell I love vegetables? I have tried several store-bought Asian-style dressings, and they've all been pretty good so far. You can also make your own oriental salad dressing; just follow the teriyaki sauce recipe, leave out the corn starch, and add vinegar, olive oil, water, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.
9. Create A Variation on Stuffed Vegetables
Stuffed vegetables like bell peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, and eggplant are delectable with a basic stuffing of rice, ground meat, and seasonings. Tomatoes, tomato sauce, cheese, and corn are optional.
For stuffed cabbage, or cabbage rolls, the idea is very much the same. The highest-recommended recipes I have found always use rice, ground meat (beef, turkey, or sausage), minced onion, and spices (S&P, smoked paprika, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and even cinnamon). I haven't tried this yet, but once my coworker is giving away cabbages again, I'm game!
10. Be Gourmet. Make Pot Stickers!
Mix ground pork, garlic, ginger, shredded cabbage, and S&P into small balls. Into the little pot sticker wrappers they go (you can buy them in the Asian section or at the Asian market). Boil or pan fry. Homemade pot stickers are so yummy!
