From Sand to Gemstones

It’s been a wild last half of the week so I didn’t get to post the three blogs I was working on. It has also been forever and a day since I’ve done a post for this series. With the start of the new year I’ve got goals to accomplish. I spent part of my night the other night actually getting a custom domain. It only took me three plus years. I figure writing is gonna be pretty darn important this year which means I forced myself out of my comfort zone. If I’m going to pay for this domain I better make the money count.

Also, with the new year comes a start of a body reset. Normally the Daniel Fast is done but this year, in hopes my hubby would stick with me, we switched it up. In comes the Whole 30 and this amazeballs recipe.

Pigs In A Blanket. Stuffed Cabbage. Gołąbki. Whatever you call it, this was good. Done in the slow cooker it was an easy recipe. Jeremy’s nana would make pigs in a blanket for her kids growing up. I was introduced to it by Jeremy’s family. When I saw a Whole 30 version I about jumped up and down. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten it. When it was all said and done, I ate four rolls. Burned a lot of calories this morning on my workout, then gained it all back with dinner. But, totally worth it.

I must first admit I didn’t steam the cabbage. That was all Jeremy. I was too afraid I’d screw it up and I was ono for pigs in the blanket. I wasn’t about to chance messing that up.

As he got that going I made my cauliflower rice. Here is a little secret, I’ve never eaten cauliflower in my life. My husband had bought it for me to taste, but he ended up going to California before we could make it and it just sat in my fridge for two weeks. It went bad before he got back so in the garbage it went. I didn’t taste the cauliflower in the roll so I can’t tell you whether I like it or not, but I would give it anothe chance.

And grating the cauliflower after spending the morning grading potatoes wasn’t as bad as I thought. By the way, thanks Katie for the how to! Two cups of this was a cinch and looking forward to making more recipes now that I know how it’s done. As a side note for those who don’t know: you can get cauliflower rice frozen at a Walmart, Winco’s or Trader Joe’s. You can also get them fresh at Trader Joe’s.

I always thought this was a hard recipe so I never made it for my husband. I’ve since realized after making dinner I’ve monopolized his cravings. I’m probably adding this meal to my repertoire – and keeping it as the Whole 30 version. A total win-win for us both.

I followed the recipe in regards to ingredients to use but I didn’t necessarily follow the amounts. I added a little more diced tomatoes because I love the stuff. I use preminced garlic so I didn’t measure because, like tomatoes, I love garlic. Using a regular spoon, I used two wallops of garlic. Same with the Italian Seasoning – it was heaping. I only have fresh ground black pepper in my house which meant I just kept grounding until I thought it was enough. On top of all of that, I had some tomato paste from a previous dinner in my fridge so I mixed it with water and added it to the bottom of the crock pot and a little over the rolls. Ya, I know. I kinda made my own adventure here. But, for serious, it turned out great and I’m glad I did it!

If you try this recipe, let me know how it goes! I like being on the Whole 30 because I’m eating healthy but still eating good. xoxo

Whole 30 Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat
1 head cabbage
2 cups cauliflower rice
15 ounces diced tomatoes
1 mall onion, diced
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 garlic clovers

Instructions:

1. Prepare your cabbage by boiling it in a large pot of water for about five to seven minutes. Carefully pull back each layer whole. If the layers are hard to pull off, boil it a bit longer.
2. In a large bowl, mix together ground meat, cauliflower rice, onion, seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic.
3. Add a thin layer of diced tomatoes on the bottom of the slow cooker.
4. Fill each leaf with about a quarter cup of meat mixture.
5. Roll cabbage leaf like a burrito, making sure to tuck the sides.
6. Add to slow cooker with seam side down.
7. Pour rest of diced tomatoes on roll.
8. Cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-6 hours.
9. Devour. 🙂