UN-stuffed Cabbage Soup!

Phil and I both have Polish blood running through our veins so naturally our food cravings support that.  Stuffed cabbage is definitely at the top of my list, closely followed by pirogies. Since gluten has got me down on my pirogi game, stuffed cabbage has no competition at this point. 
If I could point out one flaw in such an amazing food, it would be the amount of work it takes to get that dang cabbage cut up into small enough pieces so I don't end up with a mouth full of cabbage or saucy fingers from ripping it apart because a knife and fork can never do their job right when it come to cabbage! 
Anyways, the Polish in me was getting the best of my appetite lately so it was stuffed cabbage time. Now if you have ever made stuffed cabbage you know it can sometimes be a lengthly process. Cook the meat, make the sauce, steam the cabbage, roll, roll, ROLL and about 30 toothpicks later let it all cook together. Dare I say it? AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT! 
Ahh soup, my favorite winter food. A fact about soup is you can make pretty much any food into a soup. It's (usually) quicker to prepare and you only need ONE POT. 

So here we go folks, un-stuffed cabbage soup!

Here is what you will need: 

Hey look my Shakeology snuck in the back..sneaky. 

1 tablespoon coconut oil (not pictured) 

1 medium white onion

1 1/2 - 2 pounds ground beef..or ground turkey, but umm no ;) not with stuffed cabbage!

3-4 cloves garlic

2 15oz cans diced tomatoes (undrained) 

1 15oz can tomato sauce 

1 head of chopped cabbage 

1/2 cup white rice 

2-3 cups water or beef stock (you'll know if you need or want it)

And a big 'ole stock pot!

Let's get cookin'! 

1. Heat stock pot with the tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Meanwhile, chop your onion and toss it in when the pot is hot enough. Let them sizzle for a few minutes so they can soak up most of the oil. 

2. Add the beef! Chop it all up and let it cook until all the pink is gone. 

3. After all my meat was cooked I whipped out a ladle and drained a little over half of the grease from the bottom of the pan. You might be saying FLAVOR, I say barf. I'm at least gonna TRY and keep it kinda healthy. Just push the meat to one side and tip the pot to the other side until it pools and scoop away. 

4. Add the diced tomatoes, and the tomato sauce along with at least an extra cup or two of water or stock. 

5. Now for the chopped cabbage. Add it all! It may seem like a lot but as it cooks down you'll be glad you did. 

6. Don't forget the rice! 1/2 cup is PLENTY. 

7. Stir and let cook on medium heat for about 25-30 minutes. After that I left mine on the stove at medium low heat for at least another hour to let it all stew together. I then moved it to low heat and let it hang out until Phil got home ;) then NOM!

Oh hello beautiful. 

A nice big bowl was in order. YUMM!

Enjoy with some rye bread unless gluten hates you as much as it hates me then, DON'T. Truthfully you don't even need it! ENJOY FRIENDS!!