Kittencal's Cabbage Rolls With Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 large head green cabbage (frozen then completely thawed)
• 1/2 cup sauerkraut, hand-squeezed out to remove excess moisture (optional or adjust to taste)

MEAT FILLING

• 1 lb lean uncooked ground beef
• 1 lb lean uncooked ground pork (or use 2 pounds lean ground beef or 1 lb each seasoned bulk pork sausage and ground beef)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional but good to add in for for extra flavor)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder (or use 2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic)
• 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 1-2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)
• 1/2-3/4 cup uncooked instant Minute Rice (can increase to 1 cup)
• 3/4 cup tomato sauce

SAUCE

• 1 (10 ounce) can condensed tomato soup, undiluted

• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
• 1/2-1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (I like to also add in some cayenne pepper also for a little heat)

Directions

1. 1

   Set oven to 350 degrees F (second-lowest oven rack).

2. 2

   Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan or use a larger pan (for easier clean up I strongly advise to use a disposable heavy foil pan).

3. 3

   Make certain that the cabbage heads are completely thawed before using for this (to do this remove the heads of cabbage from freezer and place in a bowl then thaw at room temperature overnight).

4. 4

   Using a small sharp knife carefully remove the hard core/stem from the center of the head, then remove the leaves from the cabbage (you may need to keep slicing off some middle part to remove the leaves easier).

5. 5

   To speed up cooking time you may want to cook the leaves in boiling salted water for about 8-10 minutes this will give the cabbage rolls a head start and reduce cooking time slightly.

6. 6

   Using your hands gently squeeze out 2 to 3 leaves at a time to remove excess water, then place the leaves in a large bowl; set aside.

7. 7

   FOR MEAT FILLING; using clean hands mix all ingredients together for the meat filling in large bowl until thoroughly combined.

8. 8

   FOR SAUCE; in another bowl combine all sauce ingredients together until blended (adjust the salt and pepper to taste).

9. 9

   Line the bottom of the pan with cabbage leaves (due to the long cooking time this will protect the rolls from over browning/burning in the pan while cooking, you may also place leaves on top of the sauce then cover with foil but that is optional).

10. 10

    Using a large spoon or a ladle drizzle half of the sauce over the leaves then spread out to cover the leaves (does not have to cover the leaves completely).

11. 11

    Stuff the cabbage leaves tightly but carefully with the meat mixture (I use about 1/3-cup for larger leaves).

12. 12

    Roll up tightly and place the rolls in a single layer on top of the cabbage leaves and sauce in the baking dish.

13. 13

    Drizzle the remaining sauce over the rolls (using a butter knife separate the rolls slightly to insure the sauce settles between and around each roll).

14. 14

    Sprinkle about 1/2 cup or a little more sauerkraut over the sauce (if using).

15. 15

    At this point you may cover the rolls with more leaves if desired (this is optional but good to do).

16. 16

    Cover tightly with foil.

17. 17

    IMPORTANT; if you are using a 13 x 9-inch dish it will be very full so place on a large jelly-roll pan to catch any spills.

18. 18

    Cook at 350 degrees F (oven rack set to second-lowest position) for about 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until the cabbage is very tender, the cooking time will vary depending on how thick the cabbage leaves are and if you have pre-boiled the leaves firstly, I usually check after about 2 hours).