St. Paddy’s Day perfect recipe : Ground beef and cabbage
Most cabbage recipes call for onions and surprisingly, a few call for apple slices cooked or baked along with the cabbage. These are a few recipes I’ve found in my recipe boxes; just a few among many: Cabbage Skillet, Fresh Simmered Cabbage, Polish Cabbage and Noodles, Ham, Cabbage and Potatoes. Every family has a list of favorites.
Ground Beef and Cabbage: Linda La Bue, September 1978
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 6 cups cabbage coarsely shredded
- 1 can (12 ½ ounces) condensed tomato soup
- Salt and Pepper
Sauté onion in butter. Add ground beef and brown lightly. Season with salt and pepper. Spread 3 cups cabbage in 2 quart baking dish, cover with meat mixture. Top with remaining cabbage. Pour tomato soup over top. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Yields six serves.
Notes on the card: Good. Top with cheese. Loma adds chili beans.
My thoughts: Cook the ground beef first and drain. Add oil or butter to pan and sauté onions. At the time this recipe was written, ground beef was not drained after cooking. Cooks considered fat essential for flavor. If the cook wanted to remove the fat, the dish was allowed to cool and then the solidified fat was removed.
Everyone knows when cabbage is cooking over the kitchen stove. It has its own distinct aroma. Here are a couple of helpful hints. “To absorb cabbage odor while cooking, place a small cup of vinegar on the range. Or add a wedge of lemon to the pot.” Best of Helpful Kitchen Hints, Pinkham, 1980s.
Warm Cabbage: 1970s, Pennsylvania
- Slaw cabbage fine (approximately 6 cups).
- Boil in salt water 15 or 20 minutes.
- Pour off most of the salt water.
- Add spoon (tablespoon) lard or butter. Mix
Mix half cup or more of sour cream, small amount of flour, approximately 2 tablespoons, 1 or 2 tablespoons of vinegar, to suite your taste.
Put in with cabbage.
Heat.
Serve warm.
Anything that grows under the ground start off in cold water-potatoes, beets, carrots, etc. Anything that grows above ground, start off in boiling water-English peas, greens, beans, etc. Sharing our Best Recipe Book
It’s still winter out there. Don’t forget to have a scarf handy.
“A scarf will save wear on the neckline, besides helping to keep it free of creams, powders and “collar smudge.” 1003 Household Hints, 1948
Ann Marie Bezayiff received her BA and MEd from the University of Washington in Seattle. She is an author, blogger, columnist and speaker. Her columns, “From the Olive Orchard” and “Recycled Recipes from Vintage Boxes”, appear in newspapers, newsletters and on Internet sites. Ann Marie has also demonstrated her recipes on local television. Currently she divides her time between Western Maryland and Texas.