Nelda's Cabbage Casserole!

This "Cabbage Casserole" is just a good old country recipe.  It transforms cabbage into something that even some who are not so crazy about cabbage will eat!  Every time I make this casserole, I think about a sweet friend of mine I grew up with in church, who passed away a few years ago.  She was not well most of her adult life, and when she would not be feeling well or would seem down, I would ask her what I could do to help her out.  She sometimes would ask if I would cut her hair and fix it for her, but  most of the time, she would ask if I would just make her this cabbage casserole.  Of course, I would say yes and even if I offered to cook her something I thought was more filling or more of a meal, she would say no, she just wanted the cabbage casserole.   I decided it only fitting to name this, "Nelda's Cabbage Casserole" in honor of  her!

Here is what you will need for this casserole:

1/2 head of a large green cabbage or 1 whole small cabbage, chopped in bite size pieces (not too fine)

1 medium sweet onion, diced

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 (10.5 oz.) can of cream of celery soup (can substitute cream of chicken)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup butter, divided (1 stick)

6 slices Velveeta Cheese or 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

Layer the shredded cabbage in a 2 quart casserole dish.  Sprinkle the top with the diced onion.  Sprinkle with the seasoned salt and the black pepper.  In a separate bowl, combine the soup, sour cream and 1/2 of the butter that has been melted. 

 Spread this mixture over the top of the cabbage and onion covering it all to the edges of the dish.

Lay the slices of Velveeta over the soup layer.  If you are one of those people that thinks Velveeta is the devil or it's 'disgusting'...lol, use shredded cheddar cheese instead.  However, I will tell you that the Velveeta makes this better, because when it melts it's so creamy! 

Sprinkle the top with the crushed Ritz crackers over the top and dot with the rest of the butter.

Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes.   The top will be brown.  If it starts to brown too much just lay a piece of foil on top toward the end. 

This is really good with pork chops, pinto beans and cornbread!  Are you hungry yet?