Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

You know what's awesome? Stuffed cabbage. This is a big stuffed cabbage slop, minus most of the prep work. Plus cheese. I adapted another Skinny Taste recipe for this, and it was very good!

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Ingredients:
4 t. olive oil, divided
1 onion, finely chopped
1 c. chopped carrots
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 head cabbage, cored and chopped
1/2 t. dried thyme
1 1/2 t. paprika
1 t. sugar
salt and pepper
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 large can/jar spaghetti sauce (28 oz or so)
2 c. cooked brown rice
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Spray some Pam on a large rectangular baking dish

Put half the olive oil in a large frying pan. When it's hot, sautee the onion and carrot over medium heat. When the onion starts to get translucent, add the ground beef, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the beef is browned. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, thyme, paprika, and sugar.

While that simmers, heat up the oil in a large dutch oven. Add the cabbage and stir, cooking the cabbage until it's about half-cooked, about 15 minutes.

Remove the sauce and cabbage from heat. Stir the rice into the meat/tomato mixture.

Put half the cabbage down in an even layer in the baking dish. Add half the tomatoes, then the remaining cabbage, and then the last of the beef mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil, add the cheese (you could easily use less) and cook an additional 15 minutes uncovered.