Vegan cabbage casserole

I was inspired by the recipe posted below. I had tried this before with ground chicken and loved it. I thought Id give it a try with soy chorizo instead of ground chicken. It turned out even better! This is a great dish for leftovers and a healthy comfort meal.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/01/kalyns-stuffed-cabbage-casserole.html

Ingredients:
1 head of green cabbage, chopped into thin strips or squares.
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic glove, minced
1 can of diced tomatoes
15 oz of tomato sauce
12 oz of soy chorizo (organic and non gmo soy is healthier for you and easy to find at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.)
2 cups of brown rice, i suggest frozen or making the rice the night before for convenience
1/4 cup of water
1 tsp of olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of cheese (optional)


Instructions:
1. After preparing the vegetables, add 1 tsp of olive oil to a large pot.
2. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat and add in paprika and thyme.
3. Remove chorizo from packaging and casing and add into the onions and garlic.
4. Saute for about five minutes on medium-high heat.
5. Add can of tomatoes with juice into the chorizo and onions.
6. Add tomato sauce
7. Stir together and add in other spices, salt, and pepper
8. Add in 1/4 cup of water and let simmer for about 15 minutes until sauce thickens.
9. While sauce is cooking, add cabbage to a steamer pot to steam for about 15 minutes or steam in a sauce pan with about a half cup of water in the bottom and the pan covered on medium-high heat.
10. After 15-20 minutes, stir in 2 cups of cooked brown rice into the tomato and chorizo sauce.
11. Place half of the steamed cabbage on a 13 x 9 baking pan. Then ladel half of the rice, tomato, chorizo sauce on top of it like a lasagna. Repeat this with the other half of the cabbage and other half of sauce.
12. Cover with foil and place in the oven at 350 F for 40 minutes.
13. If you would like to add cheese, uncover the pan at 40 minutes and sprinkle cheese on top and continue to cook for another 20 minutes. If no cheese is added, keep pan uncovered and continue to cook for another 10-20 minutes to brown the top.