Unstuffed Cabbage

My mother's parents are of Polish descent {yes that makes me part Pollock ;-)} My mom learned very early on how to cook. Grandma didn't much enjoy cooking, and it was either cook (for a family of 7) or clean up (after same family of 7!) Mom loved to cook (and still does) She is the BEST cook I know! I strive to be half as good as her. One dish I remember fondly having on occasion is Guampki. These are basically cabbage leaves, stuffed with a meat mixture and cooked in a tomato based sauce. To make them even more divine, salt pork is rendered and the crispy bits are sprinkled on each serving. MMMMmmmmm! I came across this Unstuffed Cabbage recipe recently at My Tasty Treasures ***{warning this food blog is for mature audiences only. If you get offended easily or talks of a sexual nature embarrass you... choose not to follow this link. I happen to think she is a great cook and can overlook her naughtiness in order to access her wonderful recipes. (k, so in reality I'm laughing my head off most of the time) }***

Back to the recipe! I was intrigued by the concept of this dish. My family LOVED it! I loved how easy it is, and that it only used one pot. We did still top ours with some ketchup and I didn't think about using salt pork until after the fact. I do believe next time I make this dish... I will buy the salt pork! (Bacon could be substituted, if you are not familiar with or don't want to use salt pork.) Since I still have an abundance of wild game, I used a pound of ground deer and a pound of ground beef. The deer was undetectable in this dish. I hope you enjoy my slightly tweaked version of this recipe!

Cool Kitchen Gadget: I LOVE using the Pampered Chef mix n chop tool for breaking down hamburger. After my burger was put in the colander to drain off the grease, I put my stewed tomatoes in the stockpot and used the tool to break up the tomatoes as well!
Unstuffed Cabbage

2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 1/4 C water
1 T dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 small head cabbage, shredded

Brown the ground beef, onion and garlic in a stockpot. Drain the grease and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil then simmer covered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.