Aunt Mary's Cabbage Soup.

Tomorrow's leftovers are going to be killer! This soup is seriously good & before I even tell you about how great it is, and I promise it is, you need to commit to making this really soon.

I have no idea who Aunt Mary is, but if she's anything like her soup she rocks! Aunt Mary's recipe was found on the back of a can of Dei Fratelli tomatoes awhile back and I'm glad I finally got around to making this. Cabbage soup is a classic winter soup, which was perfect for dinner since we're currently snowed & iced in. The cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes & kielbasa all come together to make a flavorful pot of wonderfulness! It's rustic, healthy - even more so if you omit the kielbasa (which of course then makes the soup vegetarian), hearty and makes enough to feed an army. Seriously what more could you want from a soup? Now if only the beer bread I made had turned out as well.



Aunt Mary's Cabbage Soup

1 Tbs. oil
1 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. smoked kielbasa
3 medium carrots, cut in 1/2 slices
8 c. coarsely shredded cabbage
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 1/2 qt. water
1 (15 oz) can seasoned diced tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. pepper
3 medium potatoes, peel and cut into 1" cubes
2 Tbs. oil
1/3 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. paprika
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

1. In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion softens. Cut kielbasa in chunks and add to pan. Add prepared vegetables (except potatoes), water, seasoned diced tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes over medium heat. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer, then add potatoes. Cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until cabbage is tender.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil and stir in flour. Cook, stirring until golden brown. Stir in paprika and remove from heat. Ladle 1 cup of liquid from soup pot and whisk into the oil and flour. Continue whisking while adding tomato sauce until mixture is smooth. Stir into soup.


Yield: 10-12 servings
Source: Dei Fratelli


Thoughts: aside from halving the recipe, I only adjusted the seasoning. I used dried onion because I was out of fresh onion, but the fresh onion is the one ingredient I felt the recipe lacked. I ended up adding a lot more fresh garlic, pepper and paprika, as well as garlic powder, a bit of chili powder and some dried parsley.

Lazy Man's Cabbage Rolls

We are usually pretty busy on the weekends and often times I don't have enough time or patience to make a good weekend meal. This is the biggest hurdle facing me as I try to make the last few recipes from my cooking group, as they all take a bit longer to prepare and cook. My friend Amber (check out her real estate blog) posted this recipe and it's perfect for the cold dreary weather we're experiencing, it's also a good hearty meal to eat while watching college football. Which is what we've done all day,well minus a nap or two!

Lazy Man's Cabbage Rolls

1 1/2 lbs ground meat
1/2 chopped onion
1 lg. can tomato sauce
1 head of cabbage, chopped
1 c. uncooked brown rice
1 tsp. salt
2 - 14 oz. cans beef broth
pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350. Brown meat over medium heat. Drain off the fat.

2. In a 5 qt. (11x15") baking dish combine onion, tomato sauce, cabbage, rice, salt & pepper; add meat.

3. Pour broth over the mixture and bake covered for 1 hour.

4. Stir, replace cover, and bake an additional 30 minutes.


Yield: A lot! Probably 10-12 servings.

Thoughts: Amber said she generally uses a combination of ground beef & pork, I just used ground beef. I also cooked the onion along with the ground beef and only used half a head of cabbage. I followed Amber's suggestion for topping each individual serving with mozzarella cheese, though just about any type of cheese would be good! Someone in our group said she served the dish along with mashed potatoes and I thought that would be really good. Especially served over garlic mashed potatoes!