When you were little did you ever have a cabbage patch kid?

I definitely did, I don’t remember her name but it was probably Reba.

Cabbage Patch Kids are little baby dolls that are born in the secret cabbage patch. Some fairies called bunnybees fly all around and sprinkle magic crystal dust on the mother cabbages and that magic causes Cabbage Patch Kids to be born in the Cabbage Patch. Then they just wait around in a cabbage patch to be adopted.

Now that I think about it, that’s a little odd. But I’m sure I still begged my parents for mine.

Begged and begged and begged, until I got it.

Anyways, I digress.

But speaking of cabbage, It’s freezing in Austin today and I had a hankering for some comfort food. This turkey cabbage bake is one of my go-to’s.

When I first lived on my own after college, but years before culinary school I cooked for myself a lot. I was very prone to making casseroles or pasta bakes and eating them for a few days at a time. This was one of the first hodge-podge bakes that I put together and I still love it.

 

This cabbage baby isn’t very photogenic, but she’s still lovable.

Ingredients: serves 6-8

1 pound ground turkey

1 head green cabbage, shredded fine

1 cup cooked quinoa

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup onion, diced

1-2 garlic cloves, diced

14 oz diced tomatoes

14 oz tomato sauce

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped fine

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped fine

 

Recipe:

Start by cooking your quinoa, 1/2 cup dry to 1 cup water until the water is absorbed. In a sauté pan heat the oil then add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the ground turkey and brown (you may need to spoon out some of the fat as it cooks.) Once the meat is browned add the diced tomatoes, cooked quinoa, red pepper flakes, thyme, parsley and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let this cook together for about 10 minutes.

Shred your cabbage while the turkey mix cooks (you can also cheat and use the preshredded cabbage in a bad if your grocery store has it)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a 9×13 baking dish layer the bottom evenly with cabbage, add a layer of the meat mixture, add a little more cabbage and a little more meat mixture and continue to do this until your meat is gone. Top with the tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Cover the dish with foil and bake about 30 minutes.

It’s also super healthy to boot!