Cabbage casserole

So, this is a little late, but figured I'd post my new St. Patrick's Day cabbage recipe. We really enjoyed this, and there are so many variations you could do to make it fit your lifestyle. As usual, I changed it up from the recipe I originally stumbled across, mainly in an effort to get it to fit fully within our "lean and green" meal requirements. But also to fit with what was actually in my pantry! I have never, ever wanted anything to do with cooked cabbage ... but I  have changed my tune since eating this meal! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.


Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef (I got a GREAT deal on the 97% lean ground beef straight from the butcher's block - but you could also use the super lean ground turkey for an even leaner meat)
1 tsp olive oil
1-2 tsp onion powder
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp salt (or salt substitute)
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup brown minute rice (this part was not within our current lean & green, but we splurged, because the recipe really needed something to help absorb the wet ingredients)
2 10-oz cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes
3 cups coarsely chopped cabbage (I had the pre-bagged dry coleslaw mix on hand that I'd gotten for 49 cents a package, so I just used 1-1.5 bags of it)


Preparation
In a large frying pan, stir and break up the ground beef in oil for 1-2 minutes (I actually just substituted olive-oil flavored cooking spray to cut back on the fat). Add onion powder, salt, pepper, mushrooms and rice. Mix well and continue sweating for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and stir well. Put cabbage into bottom of a greased baking dish. Pour meat mixture over raw cabbage and bake covered at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.


Extra bonus tip: You can easily double the recipe and store in tupperware containers and freeze for up to a couple months. Have an easy meal to pull out of the freezer on a day when you don't have time for the extra effort!


Meal prepared as listed above cost me about $6 to make, or $3 a serving.