Day 163.
I've never had cabbage rolls before. I didn't even know they existed until I started this blog and kept seeing them pop up here and there on different slow-cooking sites. The very first cabbage roll recipe that I bookmarked, was Sandra's, on a Slow-Cooking Thursday. I thought they sounded intriguing, but couldn't imagine that they tasted good. In my mind cabbage was for the cabbage soup diet.
I was way wrong.
Cabbage was invented for cabbage rolls. And for hiding babies. Or is it growing babies? Or for producing babies whose bodies are too big to fit into any regular doll clothes so you need to go out and get a specific type of doll clothes just for that one doll.
hmmph.
Anyhow, these cabbage rolls were wonderful. And since it's day 4 of Retro Week, you should make them. My photo did not come out anywhere near as good as Sandra's so just pretend that they look better. Because they taste awesome.
The Ingredients.
--1 head of cabbage
--1 egg
--1 8oz can tomato sauce
--1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
--1 envelope onion soup mix
--1 lb lean ground turkey
--1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
--2 cups**(see note below) regular V8 juice
The Directions.
--core your cabbage, and save it for the guinea pigs.
--very carefully, peel off large cabbage leaves (8-12, I used 8, Sandra used 12) and wash them. You need to lightly steam the cabbage leaves to wilt them enough to handle. I put the leaves in a covered casserole dish and microwaved on high for 2 minutes. They were perfect.
--in a mixing bowl, combine the turkey meat, raw rice, the egg, the onion soup mix, the cheese, and the can of tomato sauce. Mix well---the mixture will be like very gloppy meatloaf.
--Using a spoon, scoop about 1/3 of a cup of mixture into each cabbage leaf and roll or fold. Put the stuffed cabbage leaves into the bottom of your crockpot, seam side down.
If your cabbage has a bunch of nice leaves, use them all. I was stuck with only 8 good ones, and got frustrated and fed the rest of the cabbage to the guinea pigs.
It's okay to stack the rolls on top of each other in the crock.
**Top with 2 cups of V8 Juice. I used 2 cups of juice because I made 8 rolls. If you are using more rolls, use another cup of juice. The original recipe called for an entire 46 oz bottle of V8 which is an awful lot. I didn't want to use that much, and did not fully submerge my cabbage rolls. They steamed and cooked fine in less juice.
Cover crock and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Ours cooked for exactly 6 hours, and the meat was cooked and the rice was tender. That's what you're looking for.
The Verdict.
I didn't think I would like these, but I really did. I am greatly looking forward to making them again. Adam and I each ate 3. The kids had packaged macaroni and cheese. I offered it to them, and was not surprised when they ran away. The rolls look really weird, but they taste fantastic.
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