The Funkstop

• 1 Head of Cabbage
• 1 medium size tomato, diced
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 1tbsp crushed garlic
• 450g Extra-lean ground beef
• 500mL Tomato Sauce
• 1 medium Jalapeno pepper, diced finely
• 1/2 can refried black beans (can omit or substitute non-refried)
• 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
• Oregano (as desired)

As you can see, over time, I’ve added some ‘non-standard’ items like the jalapeno pepper and substituted brown rice for white.  I even used Red cabbage this time for the first time – which, who knew, turns blue when you boil it!

The rest of the steps can be done in parallel – otherwise it can seem to take forever.

Step 1: Boil the Cabbage
In a big pot, dunk in a head of raw cabbage into boiling water. Once the cabbage is done (wait for a bright blue color) after about 25min, remove it from the pot, let it cool, and peel off as many leaves as you need. Best to cut the leaf from the base. If you need you can put the cabbage back in the water after rooming some leaves, to cook some more, and I suppose you could use the remainder water as food coloring too.

Step 2: Prepare filling
In a skillet, heat some oil, then add the onions, crushed garlic, and ground beef, continuing to stir occasionally until the beef is done.  Add in the diced tomato, jalapeno, refried black beans, brown rice, oregano, and a quarter cup water.  Mix it together thoroughly, and then let it simmer until the rice is done.

Step 3. Make the Rolls
This is a bit time consuming. First cover the bottom of a casserole dish with tomato sauce. Then divide the filling amongst the leaves.  I find it easiest to add the filling at the base of the leaf (the harder part), then roll it slowly, turning the sides in like a you would when making a wrap. As you finish a roll, place it into the dish, coat with the remaining tomato sauce, bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 30 min and Voila! High Fibre, low sugar, high protein – gone in 2 days…

Total time – about 1 hr 15 incl. prep time.