New Year's Day Cabbage Casserole

Ok, so not everybody enjoys eating cabbage, but I do, and I make many different variations of cabbage casseroles.  This dish is actually really easy to switch up, using different meats and sauce combinations.  Today, I'm going with smoked sausage and caramelized onions, with a cheesy sauce.

If you want to try it, here's what you will need:

1 pkg Eckrich (or any kind you want to use) smoked sausage
1 large onion, diced
1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic (fresh, jarred, or powder will work, just not garlic salt)
1 large head of green cabbage, cut up
1 can broccoli cheese soup
2 tablespoons cream cheese (garden vegetable or plain)
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup finely shredded colby jack or other cheese (plus extra to top casserole with)
1 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil (to caramelize onion in)
Optional:  French's Fried Onions, crisped in the oven



I start out by slicing the smoked sausage and getting some nice color on it.  This not only enhances the flavor - it also just looks more appetizing.  Once you get it browned to your liking, set it aside.

Next, I caramelize a diced up large onion in my iron skillet.  I put 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet and cook the onion on medium high heat until it gets to the level of caramelization I want.  Is caramelization an actual word?  I'm not sure, but I don't especially care! Once you're about 30 seconds from "happy" with the onion, add 1 heaping teaspoon of minced garlic and stir it in, then remove from the heat and set aside. 

Here's the onion, sizzling right along... on it's way to being caramelized.

It's time to cook the cabbage.  For this dish, I don't bother with cooking it in broth or anything flavor enhanced, since all the flavor will be coming from the sauce.  Cook it how you like.  I just put about 2 inches of water into a large pot, chop up one large head of cabbage, toss it into the pot, cover it, and let it cook until it's tender but not tooooooo soft, since it's going into the oven and will cook more.  Be sure to drain the cooked cabbage well in a colander before adding it to the casserole.

While the cabbage is cooking, I prepare the sauce, which goes together pretty quickly.

Salt & pepper, cream cheese, a can of Broccoli Cheese soup, heavy whipping cream, and finely grated cheese.  I'm using Colby Jack here, but this is really good with Pepper Jack if you like it a little spicy.

Combine the soup, 2 heaping tablespoons of cream cheese (I'm using garden vegetable flavor here), 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup grated cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well, then add the caramelized onion / garlic and mix again.  That's it for the sauce! It should be thick, but easy to spread.

Now, a layering process begins.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Spread about 1/3 of the sauce into the bottom of it. 

Next, add half of the cabbage, and top the cabbage with about half of the sausage.

Then top the sausage with another 1/3 of the sauce and top with the remaining half of the cabbage and sausage.

Dollop the remaining sauce onto the sausage and spread it around.

Now just top it off with a sprinkling of grated cheese, and it's ready for the oven.

Everything in it is already fully cooked, so it only needs to bake until it's nice and hot.... all bubbly with the cheese melted on top.  About 25 minutes should do it! 

Done!

As you can see, the sauce remains thick and is not runny.

I like the crunch the fried onions lend to this dish.  I spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and pop them in the oven for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees, and they come out nice and crunchy and more flavorful.  I don't recommend just using them right out of the canister they come in. We just scoop some of them up from the baking sheet and sprinkle them over the top.  That way, you can get as much crunch as you want!  If you prefer to add them directly to the top of the casserole while it's baking, you would have to do it in the last 5 minutes or so to prevent burning, because they brown quickly.

If you're a cornbread person, this is really good served up with some good old Southern skillet cornbread. Since it is New Year's Day, some of you may notice there are no black eyed peas on the plate.  Alas, my husband doesn't like them, so I don't bother to cook them just for me.  It's a good thing I don't actually concern myself with matters of "luck", good or bad.

Happy New Year!!