Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Some people cringe at cabbage, but it is so good for you and if you cook it the right way it really is delicious.  I know there are skeptics right now having flash backs to grandma boiling the crap out of cabbage and stinking up the whole house or your mom forcing you to eat it along side your corned beef for St. Paddy's Day.  Anyway, this recipe is nothing like that at all.  I love my cabbage usually crisp and tossed as a salad but this is probably, besides certain style soups and stir fry, the only way I eat cooked cabbage.  You can always change what is stuffed inside too.  First time I ever made this was with ground chicken for a healthier option.  The cauliflower makes a great addition with no carbs.  Honestly, you don't even really taste it as cauliflower but it helps create a nice texture for the stuffing, as well as also being good for you.

I also prepared this the night before and just refrigerated it overnight.  Then next day I just had my fiance pop in the oven and it was ready to eat when I got home from work.

Cabbage is a low calorie food that is packed with nutrition. Did I mention it's also super cheap! One cup of cabbage has only about 15 calories! It might be low cal, but it's high in Vitamins A, B, C and E, along with fiber and iron. This helps with digestion, skin, eyes, metabolism, and your immune system.

Ingredients

• One large head of cabbage.  I used Savoy this time, but I have also used just regular plain green cabbage.
• about 2-3 pounds of your choice of ground meat- I used beef
• 1 small head of cauliflower, chopped small
• about one loose cup of Parmesan cheese (or two big handfuls)
• 1 (28oz) can of tomatoes (I used crushed, but use whatever you use for tomato sauce)
• 1-2 tsp of garlic powder
• 1-2 tsp of red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper for the "stuffing" and the sauce

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
2. Combine the meat, cauliflower, cheese and fresh black pepper in a bowl, set aside.

3. Get a large pot of water hot- it doesn't have to boil, we are just using it to soften the leaves of the cabbage so they come off easily and we don't rip them.

4. When the water is hot, cut the core out of the cabbage and put the whole head of cabbage in the pot.  As the leaves soften, either carefully using your hands or gently with tongs, peel the leaves off and set aside to drain and cool before we stuff and roll.
5. In a casserole dish or large pan (I had to use two pans to hold all my rolls) pour in and combine the tomatoes, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Salt and pepper to taste.  I also mix it up with a splash of water if it looks too thick.  The sauce is just to help it cook without drying it out.  I reserve a bit to put up on top before I cook.
6. When the leaves are cool enough to handle we just stuff and roll the filling like a burrito.  I usually like to cut the large vein part out of the leaf so it is easier to roll but that is optional.

7. Just roll and stuff (as you get down to the center of the cabbage obviously the leaves become smaller so you will use a smaller amount of stuffing.


8. To roll: Place the meat on the rounded uncut end of the leaf, firmly but gently roll once, tuck in sides and roll again.  Place seam side down in the pan.  Just like a wrap or burrito.




9. When all your rolls are rolled, top with a bit of reserved tomato sauce and cover with tinfoil.

10. Bake covered for about 1- 1 1/2 hours.
11. I served along side some jasmine rice mixed with bulgar wheat.  You could also have stuffed the rice inside- just precook a cup to a cup and a half of rice and swap it with the cauliflower in the stuffing.