Polish Grandmas Stuffed Cabbage Recipes

Steps:

• Place the head of cabbage in a large pot over high heat and add water to cover. Boil cabbage for 15 minutes, or until it is pliable and soft. Drain and allow to cool completely. Remove the hard outer vein from the leaves.
• In a separate large bowl, combine the beef, rice, garlic powder and the egg, mixing well. Place a small amount, about the size of your palm, into the center of a cabbage leaf and fold leaf over, tucking in the sides of the leaf to keep meat mixture inside.
• Pile up the filled leaves in a large pot, putting the larger leaves on the bottom. Add the tomato juice, vinegar and sugar and enough water to cover. Simmer over medium low heat for about 60 minutes. (Note: Keep an eye on them, making sure the bottom of leaves do not burn.)

Steps:

• 1. Get a big stock pot started to boil on the stove, and add just a pinch of salt. While you are waiting for water to boil, wash and remove the core from two heads of cabbage. Once your water is boiling, add 1 head of cabbage to the boiling water let cabbage boil until the leaves begin to loosen and fall of easily from the head. Use a sturdy set of tongs or a long meat fork to start pulling them off as they are cooked and place them in a colander to cool. Keep pulling the leaves off one by one until you get to the really small leaves, because you only want leaves that are large enough to fill with meat. I save the rest of the small head in the fridge to use for Haluski later. After you are finished with the first head, repeat with the second. Save your cabbage water as you will use this for flavor later.
• 2. Now you will prepare the filling :} First you will prepare the minute rice according to the directions cooking the ENTIRE box. Yes, the entire box. Trust me on this. While rice is cooking you can put your ground meat in a large mixing bowl, and dice your onions to add to the meat. Add your cooked rice to the bowl after it has cooled a bit because you are going to mix this with your hands. Mix meat, onions, and rice until completely combined and add salt and pepper to taste. (My grandmother never measures..just a generous pinch of each)
• 3. Now it is time to fill and roll your cabbages. Everyone in my family has their own technique, but I will try to walk you through my easy method. 1. Get a cooled cabbage leaf and lay it flat on your workspace. Use a small sharp knife to "fillet" off the tough vein that you will find running through the center of it. 2. Grab a hand full of your meat filling about the size of a large egg and place on the leaf near the bottom. (you will be rolling from the bottom up) 3. Roll up filling in leaf about half-way and then you are going to fold in the left side and right sides of the cabbage to "tuck it in". 4. Roll up all of the way and start stacking these babies on a tray. Keep filling and rolling until you have used all of your leaves. 5. Any left over filling can be rolled into a ball place in the roaster to cook. We call these porcupine balls. Usually the kids who don't like cabbage will eat these :}
• 4. Now it is time to put it ALL together to bake. This recipe is extensive...but it is WORTH THE TIME! You will need a large roasting pan or a large electric roaster. 1. Open, drain,and,rinse your sauerkraut with water. 2. Slice your kielbassi into 1/2 inch slices. 3. Open your cans of tomato soup crushed tomatoes and mix them in a pitcher or something with a lip as you will be pouring this mixture into the roaster. Add 5 cups of your saved cabbage water to this mix. Use a spoon to stir this mix together. 4. Pour just enough of your tomato mixture into the bottom of the roasting pan to create a nice base for your cabbage rolls. 5. Layer your cabbage rolls neatly into the roaster. 6. Sprinkle some sauerkraut and kielbassi on top of the cabbage rolls, and pour some tomato mix on top of that. 7. Continue with another layer of cabbage, kraut, kielbassi and sauce. 8. Keep up this layering process until you have used all of your cabbage rolls. If you have leftover sauce, generously pour the remaining over the finished layers.
• 5. Make sure that your oven or roaster has been preheated to 350 degrees. Cover your roaster with a layer of foil to keep in the moisture first and then a lid. Now cook for about 2hr. and 30 min. and prepare for your house to smell WONDERFUL!.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil cabbages until leaves are falling off. Remove leaves from water as they peel off and set aside.
• Melt margarine in a large skillet. Cook onions in margarine until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Mix cooked onions, ground beef, chicken with rice soup, rice, eggs, marjoram, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
• Take a cabbage leaf, lay it flat, and trim the thickest part towards the bottom of the leaf to make it easier to roll; repeat with all leaves. Take the darker outside leaves and line the bottom of the roasting pan with them.
• Scoop a portion of the beef meat mixture into a leaf and wrap the leaf around the mixture, enveloping the meat completely. Repeat until all of the beef mixture is used. Arrange the stuffed cabbage leaves into the roasting pan. Top with any remaining cabbage leaves. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour 45 minutes. Remove aluminum foil, peel back the top layer of extra cabbage leaves, and pour golden mushroom soup over the stuffed cabbage leaves. Replace top cabbage leaves, return roasting pan to oven, and continue baking until the soup is hot, about 15 minutes.

Steps:

• 1. Put cabbage leaves in a shallow pan and cover with boiling water, allow to soak in water just until leaves are tender (ANOTHER MEMBER, SHELLY WEIRAUCH, SHARED THIS TIP WITH ME AND I WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH ALL OF YOU:I wanted to share a trick I read elsewhere about working with the cabbage. Freeze the cabbage raw. When it defrosts, the leaves are easily workable and you do not have to worry about burning your fingers. No pre-cooking needed. This worked wonderfully! THANKS SHELLY GOING TO TRY THIS NEXT TIME I MAKE THEM!)
• 2. In a large bowl mix all ingredients except cabbage leaves, parmesian cheese and tomato soup until mixed well.
• 3. Using clean hands form meat mixture into oblong rolls and place each one on top of cabbage leaf. (seam side facing down) Over lap sides and ends of leaves over meat, tucking in edges to secure.
• 4. In a baking pan, pour tomato soup plus 1/2 can water for each can of soup. stir to mix water in completely. Add salt pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and parmesian cheese to soup and stir till mixed in.
• 5. Arrange stuffed cabbage rolls in baking pan with the folded side down. Sprinkle with additional parmesian
• 6. Cover and bake in 350 preheated oven for about an hour and half or until cooked thru (depends on size of rolls you made) (Baste every 15 or 20 minutes with the tomato soup juice)
• 7. Serve with my garlic mashed potatoes, using the tomato soup sauce as a gravy. Yum soooooooooooo delish!

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook and stir onions and garlic in hot oil until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Stir cabbage, vinegar, caraway seeds, and sugar with the onion mixture; bring to a simmer and cook until the cabbage is softened, about 15 minutes.
• Stir sausage, tomatoes, and salsa with the cabbage mixture; season with salt and pepper. Place a cover on the Dutch oven and cook until cabbage is completely tender, 45 to 60 minutes.

Steps:

• You should try to find the largest head of cabbage possible. The larger the head the more leaves large enough to stuff.
• Put a large pot of water on to boil.
• When it comes to a boil place cored cabbage in it to soften leaves.
• Mix together beef, pork, rice, egg, onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
• Peel off outer layers of cabbage when they are flexible. Cut out hard vein if needed.
• Lay leaves out flat put a portion of the meat mixture on the stem side of the leaf.
• fold leaf over the meat and fold in sides of leaf. Then roll up to the end. Make sure that you do not put so much meat that you can not roll it up.
• Place that roll into a deep oven safe dish or preferably a roaster with lid. Repeat until you have filled all the leaves large enough to stuff or you run out of meat filling.
• Mix together the tomato soup, tomato juice, and diced tomatoes.
• Pour the tomato sauce mixture on top of the rolls.
• Cover with foil or with roaster lid if available and bake for at least 90 minutes in a 350 degree oven. The longer and slower you cook these the better they are.
• Note: The cabbage rolls may be filled and rolled then frozen for later use. Thaw the rolls then continue on with the recipe.
• Note: This can also be made without the work of the traditional rolls. Make meatballs of the desired size, shred the cabbage and place in a layer on the bottom of the pan and then on the top of the meatballs before pouring the sauce over.
• Note: You may add sauerkraut to this recipe if you like. Just place it in a layer either under or over the cabbage rolls. This may be considered traditional but it is not how my family likes it.