The cabbage made for delicious stuffed cabbage rolls...A Welcomed new favorite!!!

 

My Gardner Guy can grow the Cabbage...

 

Look what's ready to be picked....

I am looking forward to giving my kids some beautiful big cabbages...

The first year we planted a garden I mentioned to My Gardner Guy that I wanted some cabbage, he wasn't quite sure he would like eating this beautiful green treat but after fixing him a nice cole slaw he became hooked. My only problem now is getting him to plant a few at a time, (staggered the plantings) a few weeks apart by planting another crop, then another so that through out the summer we can enjoy the cabbage longer.... This is something we now are working on, every year we learn more about the art of gardening. Besides gardening I have also have enjoyed learning different ways to prepare the food we grow.  I have been wanting to make some stuffed cabbage rolls, years ago I tasted some that were pre made and sold through the diet center. I liked them, so it got me thinking about how I would make my own. I surf the internet for some  recipes, there is a lot of different ways to prepare cabbage rolls. I pull out  my radish green, beet greens, a zucchini, onion scapes, peppers, celery, garlic and beet greens. I figures this would make a great mixture with the lamb, round beef and turkey meats that I bought.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, prepare a flat baking dish or casserole with nonstick pan spray.



I use a mixture of the following above ingredients...sauté in oil lightly
Season to taste
I had about 1-1/2 cups of a mixture of sauté vegetables
 

I often use a mixture of meats when I make a meatloaf, I thought a mixture of meats would be a nice texture in my cabbage rolls. I also notice while surfing the internet many recipes use a variety of meats
 

Use the outer leaves of your cabbage

 

 

Blanch the cabbage leaves by immersing them in a pot of boiling water for 1 minute; drain and pat the leaves dry.

 

Divide the meat into  equal portions to match the cabbage leaves; if you desire and if the bottom of the cabbage leaf near the core is not soften by the blanching cut a V-shape into it and remove it. (not shown in this picture)

 

Roll or fold the leaves around filling; much like wrapping a burrito, if need be secure each cabbage roll with wooden toothpicks

 

Snug and all tucked in

 

I chose to use My Gardner Guys roasted red pepper sauce for the topping, many recipes call for diluted soup or tomato sauce the roasted red pepper sauce would be perfect....for his recipe see the following link...http://mygardnerguy.blogspot.com/2011/11/roasted-red-pepper-spread.html#links

 

Bake covered for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cabbage is tender to your liking...

 

 

There's a great divide among aficionados about the right way to make stuffed cabbage: enormous logs, small rolls, a variety of different red sauces, stove-simmered, oven-baked. The debate is endless, but there's no doubt that this deli classic can be a make-ahead favorite in your home. Much like the cabbage cole slaw that My Gardner Guy now loves he says these cabbage rolls are another dish to add to our home...