Cabbage Rolls

Originally published on December 3, 2009

Cabbage rolls do take quite a bit of work but it’s always well worth it! I’m the only one who likes them in my family so when I make them, I freeze most of the tray in smaller portions and have them ready for whenever I want them. Instead of freezing the cabbage to loosen the leaves, you can also drop it in rolling boiling water for about 60 seconds and then give it enough time to cool so you can pull the leaves off. I’ve done it both ways and usually use the freezer method only because I find it easiest.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef  
2 cups cooked rice  
1/2 cup bread crumbs  
1 medium onion, chopped  
6 cloves garlic, minced  
1 head green cabbage 
1 can diced tomatoes, drained  

Directions:

1.) The night before, make sure your head of cabbage is in the freezer, whole and in tact. The next morning, take out the cabbage and allow it to thaw. Once it has thawed, peel off the leaves and cut of the hard stem at the bottom of each leaf.

2.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

3.) Mix all ingredients except for the cabbage and the diced tomatoes in a large bowl.

4.) Take one of the separated cabbage leaves and hold it in your hand so that you can see the inside of the leaf. Place into the leaf a small amount of meat mixture. Fold one side of the cabbage roll over and then tuck the end over the folded piece. Fold the other side in over the tucked in edge piece and fold the other end over so that the entire cabbage leaf has enclosed over the meat mixture.

5.) Lay the finished cabbage roll in a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish and continue on with the rest of the cabbage leaves, filling them with the meat mixture and laying them in the prepared pan. Make sure you lay the cabbage rolls down in the pan seam-side down to ensure that they don’t pop open while cooking.

6.) Spoon the tomatoes evenly over the cabbage rolls.

7.) Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 90 – 105 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes after removing them from the oven.

8.) Serve and enjoy!