Cabbage Rolls and an Unplanned Visit to the School

I recently bought a head of cabbage.  And there is sat on my counter for a whole week, begging to be used. I ventured to  my fav shopping spots and came across an interesting item  -- ground chicken sausage. Yes, please. Now what to do with it?!? And then an epiphany. Cabbage Rolls!

I knew exactly what cookbook to use, since I had recently made a cabbage roll-ey casserole thing. Pretty much faux cabbage rolls. But, alas not cabbage rolls.

I have had very little dealings with cabbage. But, thankfully right above the chosen recipe there was a helpful hint on how to get those darn leaves off without too much fuss.  I boiled a big pot of water and then speared the cabbage with a large fork and then put the whole thing in the pot.  After 3-5 minutes the leaves loosened and were able to be removed without any damage. Of course, you had to repeat this a billion times, to get all those darn leaves off. I am sure there is a better easier way, but, this way was slightly amusing. Plus it gave me some time to run around and do other things while I boiled the cabbage.

A big pile of leaves.

The Taste of Home Cookbook : Cooks Who Care Edition, on page 143. I quadrupled the recipe, since it was only for two people and I was planning on feeding my Mom and S#4 and then bringing the leftovers to my besties house.  Therefore I definitely needed more servings.

Ingredients

• 4 large cabbage leaves  MORE!
• 1/4 pound ground beef
• 1/4 pound bulk pork sausage Chicken sausage worked great!!
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard I could not find the Dijon, so I used regular yellow.
• 1 egg
• 1 cup tomato juice I had some V-8 juice which worked just fine.
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, optional
• Directions

• In a large saucepan, cook the cabbage leaves in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown the beef, sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is not longer pink; drain. Stir in rice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and egg; mix well.
• Spoon about 1/3 cup onto each cabbage leaf. Fold in sides and roll up leaf; place with seam side down in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish -- I used a large baking dish, since I had a lot more leaves to cook.
• Pour juice over rolls; sprinkle with brown sugar if desired. I used a large can of petite diced tomatoes to cover the entire thing. I like it way more saucy!
• Cover and bake at 350° for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer. Yield: 2 servings.

The final product! Delicious!!

S#4 had never had cabbage rolls. She ate them, but, I'm not sure she loved them. I thought they tasted great. I told the hubby and kids what I made and they were less than impressed.  Lucky for them, I didn't make it for them.

That afternoon my darling C#2 informed me that she had to be back at the school by 5pm. "You what?!?! Do you have a note?!? What is going on!?!?" Come to find out she has been working on a thingy for the younger children in her school district. She has known for weeks!  And when I mentioned her lack of information to her teacher (definitely NOT blaming the teacher, but, the daughter), I got the impression there were many a note that never made it home. *sigh*

I talked to one of her BFFs Mom's and she said that he hadn't told her about it until the previous night. What is with kids these days?!? Anyway, it all worked out and she appeared to have a good time doing whatever she was doing.  I warned her that things might not work out as well if this happened again. But, alas, we shall see.

That's it for today. Till next time....