Thursday, July 13, 2017

Lazy Cabbage Rolls Recipe

Here is a recipe that I've made a couple of times for trips and it's worked really well. Be careful not to overdo the quantities. Although I've seen it elsewhere (can't recall where), it has been posted by "Tripper" on the MyCCR.com forums. I'm putting it here so that I can find it again more easily the net time I'm looking for it. I'm making it today, getting ready for net week's Reindeer Lake kayak trip.

http://www.myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=38377

My modifications will include using a powdered tomato sauce purchased from Thrive Life (I highly recommend their freeze-dried and dehydrated products for camping foods) and using minute rice.

Lazy Cabbage Rolls

  • 1 - small head of coarsely cut cabbage (dehydrated)
  • 2 - large cans of tomato sauce (dehydrated and ground into powder)
  • 1 - can diced tomatoes (dehydrated)
  • 1 - pound lean cooked ground beef (dehydrated)
  • 1 - package of Uncle Ben's precooked heat and serve rice
  • 1/3 cup - dried onion flakes
  • Some - salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika

NOTE:
When drying the cabbage, fill the trays up! The trays should be overfilled. Cabbage dries really well and you'll end up with next to nothing after it dries. You should end up with one medium freezer bag of dried cabbage for every single head of cabbage dried.

Layer the cabbage on each tray very thickly. One head will fit in a four tray dehydrator and look very overfilled as the trays will not nest properly if at all. Trust me, it will not look that way the next day after it dries. Cabbage dries down really small.

Dry the tomato sauce as leathers and grind them into powder using a blender or other similar device. Turning it into powder speeds up the re-hydration process. Store the powder in it's own bag.

How to Cook

Rehydrate the cabbage, diced tomatoes, ground beef and onion flakes in a single pot with warm water.

After about four hours or soaking bring the mixture to a boil to cook the cabbage. Cook until the cabbage is heated well but not cooked to the point of being soggy. El Dante is best.

Drain the water off into a separate pot leaving enough water equal to half the height of the mixture in the pot.

Stir in the tomato sauce powder a bit at a time. As the sauce thickens, slowly add in small amounts of the drained water as needed while adding the tomato powder until you get the desired consistency. Always add water sparingly. It's easier to add a bit of water than it is to boil it off.

Then add in the the package of rice, some salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika to taste.

Gently heat for another 5 to 10 minutes and serve.