Stuffed Cabbage Casserole Recipe

So I have to first say that we LOVE LOVE LOVED this recipe. You get tons of food for so low calories, and it's DELICIOUS!!!! Definitely will be making this again sometime. It's a LOT of work to prepare, but SOOOO worth it!

I found this recipe on Skinny Taste, however when you visit the link below to see it, take note that it's not her recipe either, she was trying out a recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen.

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

You Will Need:
-2 teaspoons olive oil, divided (I believe I substituted olive oil spray for most of it to save on calories)
-1 pound lean ground beef
-1 large onion, chopped fine
-1 tablespoon finely minced garlic (I don't use fresh, I use the jarred garlic in olive oil)
-1/2 teaspoon thyme (I left this out because I don't like buying spices that I use for one recipe and never touch again)
-1 teaspoon sweet hungarian paprika (I just used regular paprika)
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 1/2 heads of cabbage, coarsely chopped
-1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes with juice
-1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
-1/4 cup water
-2 cups cooked brown rice (I couldn't find brown rice at the time I was making this so I just used regular white rice)
-2 cups shredded mozarella (optional, but totally recommended!)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350. Spray your baking dish with cooking spray. (I used a 13x9 pan).
-Brown your beef in a large frying pan, until cooked through. Remove the beef and set it aside.
-In the SAME pan add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and the onion and cook until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic, thyme, and paprika and cook another 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, the cooked ground beef, and the water. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 15-20 minutes.
-Mix the rice into the meat mixture once it's removed from the stove.
-Heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan or dutch oven. Put in the cabbage and cook until it's wilted and half cooked, and season with the salt and pepper.
-In your sprayed baking dish, layer half the cabbage, then half of the meat mixture, then the rest of the cabbage, then the rest of the meat mixture on top. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes or until it starts to bubble around the edges.



-Remove the foil, add the cheese, and bake an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to brown.

If you split this into 8 servings, it's only 270 calories! And it almost overfills a 13x9 pan, so that in itself is a large piece. My husband and I both EACH ate a whole fourth of a 13x9 pan of this stuff in ONE sitting, only 540 calories! We were STUFFED! I SO suggest you all try this!