♫ On the first day of Au-tumn ♫

I had picked up a large head of cabbage from our local farmer's market recently that needed to be used, and today a sweet friend gave me two beautiful smaller heads from her garden. I've been in the mood to make stuffed cabbage rolls and today I did!  I'd forgotten how easy this dinner is to make.  Here's how:

I rinsed off the cabbages and peeled away the top layer.  Then I placed them  in a  large pot and covered them with water.  I put a lid on the pot and brought the water to boil.  I turned the heat off and just let them steam for about 10 minutes.  I carefully drained the water off and let the cabbages cool until I could handle them.  I know everyone has an idea of the "easiest" way to do this, but this is my method and I'm content with it! 

 Once I could handle the cabbages, I took a sharp knife and cut a ring around the core, and gently pulled it out.  The cabbage leaves separate easily.

In a large bowl, I mixed the following:

2# ground chuck

1/2 c. uncooked regular white rice

1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion

1/2 c. water

Then I put about a tablespoon of the meat mixture on each leaf of cabbage, rolled them, tucking in the sides, and placed them seam side down in an oven proof crock or pan.

To make the sauce, I heated 2 Tablespoons of Crisco in a saucepan and added a Tablespoon of finely chopped onion.  When the onion started to get soft, I added one Tablespoon of vinegar, one Tablespoon (Wondra) flour, a tsp. garlic salt, and a 48 oz can of tomato JUICE. I brought this to a boil and poured it on top of the stuffed cabbages.

Lastly, I covered the oven proof pan and baked the cabbage rolls at 375℉ for 1 1/2 hours.  I actually doubled this recipe which yielded a pan for us, a pan for the freezer, and a pan to give away!  

It was a good day for comfort food, just like Mom used to make!

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1