I get bored with my own cooking.

I love to cook, and there are recipes I keep going back to. But sometimes I get tired of eating the same thing, or I feel the need for new flavors or textures. Also, I’m always on the lookout for new and inventive ways to have more vegetables in our meals.

This is how I ended up with a recipe for cabbage casserole.

Admittedly, I was a little skeptical at first. But then I looked at the ingredients, and I saw that it was basically the same as my mom’s shepherd pie, except with cabbage instead of potatoes.

My first attempt left much to be desired. I made a mistake and didn’t chop the cabbage leaves enough. I used sausages because I needed the ground beef for something else. And I used chopped tomatoes instead of tomato sauce.

Still, it had cheese, leafy greens and meat. My family was fed. Good enough for me!

Ingredients

• Cabbage, chopped
• Onion
• Garlic
• Sausage (or your preferred meat), chopped
• Tomatoes
• Cheese

Procedure

1. Put cabbage in a pot. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Let it simmer until all cabbage leaves are soft.
2. In another pan, add oil and saute onion and garlic. Add meat and tomato. Stir occasionally, until cooked.
3. In a baking dish, use about half of the cabbage to make a base layer.
4. Add the meat. Sprinkle with cheese.
5. Add the remaining cabbage. Sprinkle with more cheese!
6. Bake until cheese is melted.

I think this would work with crusty bread. We had it with rice, and the big chunks of sausage and cabbage made it a bit difficult to eat.

Next time I’ll use ground meat, as the recipe indicated, and diced tomatoes instead of chopped fresh tomatoes. And I should chop the cabbage into smaller bits, to make it easier to boil and layer.

Stay tuned for attempt #2!