Bounty Rice

This week I tried a couple of new recipes to work on the backlog of veggies we had in the fridge.  One was a flop and the other a great success.  (I measure success by the fact that Henry had seconds and Nora had thirds!)  Our flop recipe was a squash, greens, and leek gratin recipe that we got from our CSA.  It just didn't work for our family.  It looked lovely in the pan, and in theory, was a great idea.  It was really disappointing when the reality didn't stack up.  Not one of us liked it.  We didn't even save the leftovers.

This recipe though, was great.  Pretty easy to do and it all came together in one pot on the stovetop.  It was terrific as-is, but Neal and I were brainstorming and we thought that shredded carrots and frozen peas would be a great addition to make it stretch into more meals and add even more veggie goodness.  We will have two full dinners out of this one and by adding the extra veggies, we would be able to have plenty of leftovers for lunches as well.

The original recipe called for less cheese and the addition of 1/2 cup sour cream to be stirred in at the time I mixed in my cheese but we were out of both sour cream and yogurt so I made due with some extra cheese.

This would be a great meal for a cool fall evening.

Bounty Rice
Adapted from Simply in Season

1 pound ground beef (ground turkey or soy crumbles would work great in this)
1 cup onion chopped
1 cup bell pepper chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes (use tomatoes and juice from both cans)
4 cups shredded cabbage
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
2 cups shredded cheese of your choice (we used cheddar and farmer cheese)

Brown the meat in a large pan or pot.  Add the peppers and onions and saute with the meat until soft.
Add the spices and herbs and cook for 1 minute.
Add the rest of the ingredients except for the cheese, mix well, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.  (Adjust cooking time based on how you like your cabbage cooked.)
Stir in half of the cheese and then sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.  Cover until the cheese is melted.