RACHEL RAY DUTCH OVEN RECIPES

Steps:

• In a medium sauce pan, brown meat and season with salt. When cooked drain in colander to remove any fat.
• Add olive oil to the pan and saute garlic and onions about 2 minutes. Return the meat to the pan, add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer on low for at least 30-40minutes, covered. Do not add extra water, the sauce should be thick.
• Meanwhile, slice zucchini into 1/8" thick slices, add lightly salt and set aside or 10 minutes. Zucchini has a lot of water when cooked, salting it takes out a lot of moisture. After 10 minutes, blot excess moisture with a paper towel.
• Preheat a gas grill or grill pan to medium high, and grill 2 to 3 minutes per side, until slightly browned. Place on paper towels to soak any excess moisture.
• Preheat oven to 375F.
• In a medium bowl mix ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and egg. Stir well.
• In a 9x12 casserole spread 1/2 cup of sauce on the bottom and layer the zucchini to cover. Spread 1/2 cup of the ricotta cheese mixture, then top with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and repeat the process until all your ingredients are used up. The last layer top with remaining zucchini and sauce, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover the foil and bake 20 minutes (to dry up the sauce) then place the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and bake until melted, 10 minutes.
• Let stand about 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a large glass casserole dish with non-stick spray. (My dish was 13" x 10")
• Heat a large frying pan on medium heat; add ground beef and cook until it's browned and cooked through, breaking it apart as it cooks. Remove ground beef and set aside.
• In the same pan, add 1 tsp olive oil, chopped onion and cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent and starting to brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add the minced garlic, dried thyme, and paprika and cook about 2 minutes more. Then add the diced tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, and ground beef.
• Add water to the pan. Simmer until it's hot and slightly thickened, about 15-20 minutes.
• While it simmers, cut cabbage in half, cut out the core, and remove any wilted outer leaves; chop the cabbage coarsely into 1 inch pieces.
• Heat remaining olive oil in a large frying pan or dutch oven; add the cabbage and cook over medium-high heat until the cabbage is wilted and about half cooked, turning it over several times so it all wilts and cooks. Season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
• When the meat and tomato sauce mixture has cooked and thickened a bit, stir in the 2 cups of cooked rice and gently combine.
• Spray casserole dish with non-stick spray and the layer half the cabbage, half the meat mixture, remaining cabbage, and remaining meat mixture.
• Cover tightly with foil and bake 40 minutes, or until the mixture is just starting to bubble on the edges.
• Remove foil and sprinkle on cheese (if using.) Bake uncovered an additional 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starting to slightly brown. Cut into 10 slices and serve hot.