Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

The other day I bought a head of cabbage, because it was on sale. I wanted to do something new . . . something out of the ordinary for me. I thought I would try my hand at Cabbage Rolls. I've never made them before, and I've only eaten them a couple of times. I did some research, looked up a few recipes and then decided to wing it. It turned out really well! My awesome husband told me, quite a few times, how much he enjoyed them. The kids ate it well, except the three year old. She wasn't fond of the cabbage, but ate the filling right up. (I completely pleased 5 out of 6 family members - and mostly pleased everyone - so that's a win in my book.)

    I was trying to get dinner done quickly, so I didn't take step by step pictures this time, but the meal was too good not to share the end result with you.
 
   If you've never enjoyed stuffed cabbage rolls before, I highly recommend it! It's cabbage leaves filled with a savory and slightly sweet mixture of ground meat (usually beef), onion, garlic and a little tomato. The cabbage rolls are cooked covered in a sweet tomato sauce. I made extra sauce and served it over some buttered noodles. It's so delicious I had seconds . . . and thirds. :)

   Try it out and let me know what you think!

Here's the recipe:

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

8 cabbage leaves (boiled until pliable), plus more for lining the pan
1 lb organic ground beef (or any ground meat)
2/3 cup cooked rice
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 package dry onion soup mix
1/4 cup Worchestershire Sauce
1 egg
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp brown sugar (I always use dark)
1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 10 3/4 oz can condensed tomato soup
2/3 cup water
freshly ground black pepper

Fill a large pot 1/2 way up with water and bring to a boil. Gently place a whole head of cabbage in the boiling water, and simmer for about 8 minutes (until the outer leaves are pliable and easy to peel away from the head). Cut and peel away at least 14 leaves, and reserve 8 of the largest leaves for filling.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the meat, rice, onion soup mix, Worchestershire, egg, garlic, sugar, black pepper and about 1/3 can of the crushed tomatoes. (I just mix it all together with my hands.) Preheat oven to 350F.
Line a 9x13 bakind dish with the smaller cabbage leaves. Pour over 1/3 of the can of crushed tomatoes over the cabbage leaves.
Take one of the largest reserved cabbage leaves and lay it out flat. Place 1/8th of the meat mixture into the cabbage leaf and roll the leaf around the filling (making sure to tuck in the sides). Place seam side down in the lined baking dish. Repeat 7 more times until you have 8 stuffed cabbage rolls.
Pour the last 1/3 of the crushed tomatoes on top, as well as the entire can of tomato soup. Spread it out evenly over all the cabbage rolls. Add 2/3 cup of water to the dish. Cover the rolls with more cabbage leaves. (These leaves will turn dark in the oven, but that's o.k. They are protecting the rolls underneath.) Bake @350F for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the filling is cooked through. Serve warm over buttered noodles.