Cabbage Roll Recipe

Ingredients:  

• 1 cabbage (small-medium size)
  
• 1 cup raw rice
  
• 3-4 cups tomato juice
  
• 1 lb. ground beef
  
• 1 onion (medium size)
  
• salt
  
• pepper
  
• vegetable oil
  

Directions:

(Cabbage Leaves)

1. Remove the hard core of the cabbage head.  Be careful not to cut yourself.  Once you have removed as much of the core as you can, put the cabbage in to a large pot.  The core end of the cabbage should be facing down.  Fill the pot with about 2 inches of water.  Cover the pot with a lid and let the water boil.  Once the water is boiling, reduce heat to about medium simmer, keeping the pot covered.
   
2. Remove the outer layers of leaves as they begin to wilt. These should be soft enough for you to be able to roll. (I used bacon tongs to peel of the outer layer of the hot cabbage leaves.)
   
3. Keep doing this until all the cabbage head is done.  Make sure that you don't over cook.  Let the leaves cool.  (You can slice off some core from the bottom of the leaf so that it isn't too thick.)
   

(Filling for Cabbage)

1. Cook 1 cup of raw rice in 2 cups of water in a pot until it is about 3/4 done.  
   
2. In a mixing bowl, add 1 Lb. of ground beef and salt & pepper to taste.
   
3. Dice the onion and saute in a pan with vegetable oil.
   
4. Add the onion and rice to the ground beef, mixing well.
   
5. Take 2 TB. of filling and place at the bottom of a cabbage leaf.  Roll once then fold the sides in and keep rolling to the end of the leaf.  Place in the bottom of a roaster or a large casserole dish.  Keep rolling until you have used up all of the filling.
   
6. If there are any leaves left, place them on top of the rolls.
   
7. Pour about 3-4 cups of tomato juice over the rolls or else until they are about 3/4 of the way covered.
   
8. Bake in the oven at 325˙ for about 1 hour 30 minutes.