Stovetop Beef & Cabbage Enchilada

Now, I found this recipe originally on Healthy Living How-To here http://www.healthylivinghowto.com/1/post/2012/01/winner-winner-beef-enchilada-dinner.html#comments 

This is how the idea started out...

The picture looked delicious, and I'm a complete sucker for all things Mexican.  Oh, how I have tried to re-create a grain-free tortilla, really I have tried.  But they always come out....dry as the sands of the desert, or just eggy like an omlette and it's just not right.  Then I found this recipe, and thought--hey, wrap the enchilada filling in cabbage?  That sounds brilliant!  So we tried it (and perhaps we are kitchen-disabled), but it took us an hour to get the cabbage cooked soft enough, to get them out of the pot without burning ourselves or shredding the cabbage leaves, and then rolled around the meat without tearing them even more.  They baked up fine, but then, with two of us in braces, we could not easily cut and chew those tough cabbage leaves and the kids, despite liking cabbage, just removed the meat from the filling and ate the filling because, well, because they could...

 ...And then I remembered.  I've seen this game before.  My kids were masters at de-cabbaging a cabbage roll.  But then I also remembered (I can play this game, too)--I have a recipe that we all love and ate frequently before going paleo/primal--"Cabbage Roll Stir-Fry" by using shredded cabbage.  Good luck seperating the cabbage from the meat when it's shredded and cooked down!!  My cabbage roll stir-fry recipe is totally convertable to paleo-approved eating by just omitting the rice.  (Maybe I'll post that recipe sometime soon--it's my favorite take on the cabbage roll with only a half hour worth of effort...)   Was it possible to make this a half-hour meal?  You betcha!  I'm all about the speedy cooking.  I work a regular full-time job--and don't we all come home tired at the end of the day?  Who wants to spend hours in the kitchen after a full day of work??  So this idea for a one-pot stovetop beef enchilada with cabbage began...

Just a quick note--if like Mexican flavours, but you don't like spicy, the enchilada sauce that Vanessa makes (follow the link) is absolutely perfect.  It is delicious and she gets it dead-perfect.  But me?  I can't resist messing with a recipe.  I like fire.  My son dares me to make something hot enough that he'll actually admit is hot.  Even with everything I added to this, he still doused it in X-tra Hot Frank's Hot Sauce (and discovered the next day, for the first time, what happens when you eat something THAT spicy...lol)

Serves about 5 large meals.
Takes about 1/2 hour

The Enchilada Sauce:

1 5-oz can tomato paste

1 cup beef broth

2 tbs chili powder

1 tbs liquid from jarred jalapenos

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp chipotle

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp mexican coriander (optional)

2 tbs olive oil

Add all ingredients except oil to pot and bring to boil over medium heat.  Once it comes to a boil, remove from heat and stir in oil.  Set aside.

The Meat Mixture:

2 lbs ground beef

1/4 spanish onion

1 clove garlic

4-5 jarred jalapeno rings, minced with garlic press

2 tbs lime juice

1 tbs chipotle hot sauce

4-5 cups cabbage, shredded

1/3 c fresh cilantro/coriander

cheese, full-fat yogurt and avacado for garnish

In very large skillet or in a dutch oven, on med-high heat, cook beef, onion and hot sauce until beef is no longer pink.  Add garlic and jalapeno and cook for 1 minute more.  Add cabbage and enchilada sauce, stirring to combine.  You may want to add about a cup of water to keep everything moist until the cabbage begins to cook down.  Cover, reduce heat to med-low, and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender.  Remove from heat, taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary, stir in lime juice and chopped cilantro, serve and add garnishes.

  

Enjoy!  Add more hot sauce if you like things spicy, like I do!  Just not too much.  Or you'll regret it the next day.  You know what I mean....