There is just something about cooking with cabbage that makes me feel rustic. Like I’m Laura Ingalls Wilder living life out in my little house on the prairie. Maybe it’s the smell, maybe it’s the way my knife sounds when I chop through it. I don’t know what it is, all I know is that the vegetable that I once feared has become a close friend. Many of you messaged me on FB asking for my Runza Casserole link, but the truth is, it comes from an old Milford Elementary School cookbook from the 80’s – hence no link. So I figured I’d put it on here for all to enjoy!
There is a story behind Runza Casserole and how it happened to come into our home. For starters, I am passionate about many things. God is my number one – He lives in my heart and without Him, the rest of my passions just aren’t as passionate. I think that’s how He designed it to be 🙂 The second is my family and close friend – I am blessed with the most amazing of both, and if you mess with them, I am a force to be reckoned with. I say with a friendly warning to be kind to those I hold most dear. Eric always says that he feels sorry for anyone who steps wrongly in my path once they have hurt my beloveds. Bless the good Lord that He is working on my loyal heart. The third is our home – my FAVORITE time of the day is when Eric comes home from work, hands down. I love creating our house into a home and I love when the three of us are together. It just makes my heart happy. The fourth is coffee and coke – I believe that God is also involved in this, as he gave some brilliant minds the knowledge to create these precious gifts so that I could consume them daily and function. Amen and Amen.
The fifth is cooking and food – this brings me to my point (finally, right?). I love cooking for large groups of people, family, a few close friends, whoever. But mainly I LOVE cooking for my man. He has an appetite brought all the way from the farmhouse in Milford, NE. When we got married I had to learn how to cook, and I had to learn how to cook fast. One of the things that Eric loves the most are Runzas. Now, if your from his side of the family, they are called just that, or meat buns. If your from my side of the family, they are called Fleisch Perishky. The recipe if from my wonderful Auntie Kathy (who I am SO EXCITED to say that I will be seeing this summer when we visit British Columbia for my folks 30th wedding anniversary! Whoopie!!!!) Whatever you want to call them, they are divine. However, they do take a bit of time to make. So one day while visiting Nebraska, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a Runza casserole you could make that didn’t take so darn long?” So I went to the cupboard above my mother in laws stove and started looking through her old cookbooks. And what do you know….there, indeed, was a recipe for Runza casserole. Eric was thrilled, to say the least. It makes for a pretty manly meal in my opinion. So here is how you make it:
1. Line a greased 9×13 pan with one can of crescent rolls.
2. Brown 1.5 pounds of hamburger with one large diced onion. Drain off grease.
3. Chop up 4 cups of cabbage and throw it into the hot pan then dump your hamburger/onion mixture back on top. Cook until your cabbage is pretty well cooked down.
3. Stir in one can of cream of mushroom soup, one cup of cheddar cheese and one tsp salt
4. Spoon mixture over crescent rolls and layer one more can of crescent rolls over top of mixture.
5. Pop it in the oven at 350 for about 20-25 minutes or until the rolls are done.
Tonight I’m serving this with a white cheese sauce – except omiting the salt and adding 1.5 cups cheddar cheese instead. I hope it’s yummy!
Just for kicks, I’ll throw out what I’m making to go with it tonight – broccoli casserole!
1. cube up 1.5 cups Velveeta cheese. Then cut off and extra 1/4 cup, cube that up and snack on it while your cooking the rest of the casserole – you can thank me now.
2. Melt the Velveeta (that you haven’t eaten yet. ha!) and mix well with 3/4 cup cooked rice.
3. Cook 1 pkg frozen broccoli. Once cooked, mix with 2 TBSP butter.
4. Add one can of cream of celery soup to broccoli mixture (I always use a little less than a whole can, or else it gets too salty)
5. Combine broccoli/soup mixture with cheese/rice mixture and stir well – plop it into an 8×8 dish and cover with crushed potato chips – yes, potato chips.
6. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.
We were going to have left over strawberry shortcake for dessert tonight, but when I went to look (ok, get myself a piece for breakfast) I noticed that someone (ahem, Eric) took the rest of the dish for lunch. Looks like just strawberries for dessert tonight.
And I can’t leave a post with out a picture of this delightful little thing who PULLED HERSELF UP and STOOD by HERSELF in her crib this morning during her nap and had one leg over the edge of the crib trying to crawl out. Good thing I ran when I saw her on the monitor up in her knees. In the words of my Grandpa Helmut, Aye, yi, yi….
I go back into work at the clinic for a day tomorrow – I will miss that little stinker! But tonight, we will enjoy our yummy food and bask in all of it’s salty glamor.
Emily Hougland says
Oh friend I love it when you share your recipes!!! I still make the chicken and rice recipe you have me at least once a month!!! You should share recipes on your blog more often! I can't wait to try both of these recipes! Ill be praying for you tomorrow while your working! Love you and sweet Nora!!!