Easy Meat & Rice Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Short ‘n sweet, ain’t nobody got time for a novel today. 

Since I’ve been dying a slow death over here, and since my rear end is basically now covered in bed sores from being completely immobile and an almost waste of life, and having overloaded my nights on Hot Toddy’s I decided I needed a pick me up and something solid to absorb the bourbon belly that I’ve been rockin’. And since I can’t exactly leave the house a) because I look like Marilyn Manson (full makeup)  & b) I’ve totally given up on covering my mouth when coughing (think daffy duck), I’ve decided on simple ingredients (that I usually have in my fridge/freezer) for some at home comfort. 

I think my slow death could be comparable to anyone who goes into work on a Monday. So this dish might be right up your alley. 

Beef, pork & rice stuffed cabbage rolls with a little fresh tomato sauce on top. Incredibly satisfying and very easy to make. 

Note: If you want to lighten this up, skip the rice all together OR make cauliflower rice (which I think would taste fantastic) and you can see how to do that in my Indian Spiced Cauliflower Rice recipe. I still recommend keeping the pork, but maybe you can sub the beef out for ground turkey. 

Easy Meat & Rice Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Prep time:  25 mins

Cook time:  40 mins

Total time:  1 hour 5 mins

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Ingredients

• For the Cabbage Rolls:
• 1 head cabbage
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 lb italian sausage (sweet or hot), casings removed
• 2 cups cooked rice (I recommend sushi)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp cumin
• For the Tomato Sauce:
• 28 oz can plum tomatoes (I like to use whole and then squish with hands)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp honey
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. First preheat your oven to 375.
2. Next bring a large pot of water to a boil and then add your head of cabbage. Let boil for about 15 minutes, remove and let drain in a colander.
3. While cabbage is draining in a large skillet over medium high heat add your ground beef & pork. Cook until browned. Turn off heat and drain fat and then add your two cups of your already cooked rice. Add egg. Mix together. Add the paprika, garlic powder and cumin and mix until incorporated. Set aside.
4. Next in a medium bowl add your tomatoes. Squish with hands until desired texture (I like large tomato chunks for this recipe). Stir in salt, oregano, honey and pepper flakes.
5. Add ½ cup of sauce to beef/pork/rice mixture. Stir. Set aside.
6. Next very carefully unwrap your cabbage, one layer at a time. The first 8 layers you unwrap will be used for the rolls so go slowly as not to completely tear each one in half (I still tore a lot of my leaves, but little tears here and there are fine).
7. One you have removed the 8 larger layers, tear a couple more leaves (you don't have to be careful) and add a thin layer to the bottom of a 13" x 9" baking dish. Add about a ¼ cup of the sauce on top.
8. Next take about ⅓-1/2 cup of your meat/rice filling and place in a large cabbage layer. Starting from the top roll & tuck tightly, then tuck in the left & right side of cabbage leaf, then continue to tuck and roll forward. Place tucked side down on baking dish and continue to roll the rest of the cabbage rolls. This will probably leave you with a little leftover filling, in which case you can go ahead and make your own little meatballs, or add into baking dish at the end of rolling.
9. Once cabbage is all rolled and in dish, add remaining sauce on top. Place in oven for about 40 minutes. Remove and serve.

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