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Both Jim’s mother and my mother never made cabbage rolls but we have many family members cook cabbage rolls as a family tradition. This past fall both Jim and I had a taste for cabbage rolls and I decided to make a large batch so I would have extra in the freezer for an easy make-ahead meal. My hairdresser is very Italian and I talked to her about her family’s recipe for cabbage rolls. When I reviewed the recipe with Jim he said that it was very much like the recipe his family members use to make

 

I made a full batch, we ate one batch for dinner that night and I froze the other two batches. On the two pans that I froze, I placed plastic wrap on top then wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in the freezer. On long fall days after work and taking care of the house, these premade cabbage rolls were a delicious shortcut dinner.

 

 

Simple Delicious Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients:
1 Large Head of Cabbage
2 Lbs Ground Beef
2 Cups Cooked Rice
1 small Onion chopped
4 cans tomato soup
2 cans of water
1/2 Stick of Butter

First, cook the 2 cups of rice and 4 cups of water and set aside.

Next, start a large pot of water boiling to blanch the head of cabbage. Cut out some of the core of the cabbage to make the removal of the leaves easier as they are in the boiling water.

Place the entire head of cabbage into the boiling water and remove the large cabbage leaves hole, carefully with tongs take off the cabbage leaves as whole as possible. It will take 4 to 6 minutes before the first leaves will be soft enough to remove.
Set these leaves aside as you continue to carefully remove the large hole leaves of cabbage from the head.

Mix the uncooked ground beef with the 2 cups of rice salt-and-pepper and finely chopped onion. This mixture is what goes inside the cabbage leaves.

In a large bowl mix the 4 cans of tomato soup and 2 cans of water.

Now it is time to assemble your pans and sprayed with a spray oil. I used one 13 x 9 pan and two smaller 8 x 8 pans for this whole recipe. I was able to freeze the two smaller pans for a quick and easy fall night dinner. Take one cabbage leaf and a large spoonful of meat mixture and place in the center of the leaf then rolling the leaf up and set in the prepared pans. When all of the cabbage leaves have been filled with the meat mixture, pour the tomato soup mixture on top.

Place a few pats of butter on top of the cabbage rolls. Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake in the oven at 350° for 2 1/2 and a half hours. Take the internal temperature of the largest cabbage roll to a temperature of 160°

Enjoy these delicious cabbage rolls from a traditional Italian family.