Freezer Meal: Beef, Cabbage, and Rice

 

Beef, Cabbage, and Rice has been a meal at the top of my family's "Favorite Meal List" for a few decades. Back when we were really broke, I would have to use lentils instead of beef, or do half and half. I'm just sharing that to say: lentils will work in place of beef if that's your thing or that's your need.

You may use purple / red, or green cabbage. For the beef: a little tip ... Aldi's grass fed, grass finished, organic ground beef is SO DELICOUS and definitely worth the extra dollar or two if you can afford it. My rice of choice in general is: Aged [white] Basmati Rice. I choose the stuff that's grown in India and an Indian brand because in my mind surely they must know how to do it properly?! I could be totally wrong though. Whatever the case, aged basmati rice is gentle on your digestion and not as hard on your blood sugar as your typical white rice.

Ingredients for freezing:
*3lbs Lean Ground Beef, cooked (I do not drain my ground beef since it's so high quality)
*Small-diced cabbage color of choice - enough to fill up a glass 8c measuring bowl to heaping (so, I'm guessing here: ~10 full cups of small-diced cabbage). I cannot say "2 heads of cabbage" because every head of cabbage is different ... some are really tight and heavy while others are really loose and light. So, I'll say: 2 tight [medium] heads of cabbage or 3 loose [medium] ones. 
*1 stick of butter (I prefer grass fed, organic, etc)

Melt the stick of butter in a small, heavy-bottom stock pot. I use my 4qt stock pot which actually holds about 5qts. Add the small-diced cabbage and about 1T salt. Mix well. Once it really gets to cooking, turn the heat down to low or medium low (just be careful not to burn it) and allow to simmer for about 20-30 minutes. You might need to add 1/4c-1/2c of water just to make sure it does not burn. I prefer my cabbage WELL COOKED ... but you are welcome to cook yours to your liking.

Once it's cooked, remove from the heat and mix in the cooked ground beef. Allow to sit until completely cooled down (you do not want to put hot food into ziploc bags). 

Since I usually only feed myself and one other person at this season in my life, I put 2 servings in each bag. For me, that's 12oz total of beef & cabbage mixture, or about 2 cups. I used to label each bag, but now I label a gallon-size bag and put the smaller bags into the gallon-size bag. In the photo above: there IS one bag that is labeled, but that's to give to someone else.

LABEL: 
Beef & Cabbage
Make 3/4c dry rice 

To serve: I like to make rice in homemade bone broth for extra nutrition. For those who do not know how to make rice, here's my  method:
White rice -1:1.5 rice to liquid
Brown rice -1:2 rice to liquid
RINSE the rice well ... I rinse it about 3 times. Melt ghee or other heat-stable fat in a heavy-bottom pan (for my 3/4c amount I use my 1qt sauce pot). If you are making rice for something else and want to add some spices, first sauté the spices in the ghee. Add the strained rice and sauté until the rice begins to "toast" (you will notice a difference and it will smell yummy). Then add the liquid. Bring to a boil, cover, and turn down as low as you need to in order to achieve a gentle simmer. Do not remove the lid. Start the time once you know it's simmering properly. White rice: 20 minutes. Brown rice: 40 minutes. When the time is up, remove the sauce pan from the heat but allow it to sit for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Heat the beef and cabbage mixture in a pot that will fit the beef and cabbage AND the rice. To do this: I just add a little bit of water or stock to the bottom of a pan, then the beef and cabbage (thawed is much easier), a lid, and let it sit there on low while the rice is cooking.

Mix it all together. Serve with Bragg's, Tamari, or another soy sauce of choice.