Day 15 - Stuffed Cabbage

Today is another slow cooker recipe from A Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Adventures.  She has step by step directions with pictures if you want to head over to Hopes blog.

Stuffed Cabbage

Ingredients:

1 head of Green Cabbage

Filling:

1 lb. ground beef

1 cup Uncooked rice (I used brown because I had just enough to use up!)

1 large onion, chopped

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped

1/2 cup Lemon Juice

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. garlic powder

Directions:

First, brown the ground beef with the onions.  Once it is cooked, combine all the remaining "filling" ingredients in a big bowl.  It will be beautiful and colorful like this!

Next, peel off the outer layers of the head of cabbage that are dirty.  Cut the stem off as best you can.

Either parboil or steam your head of cabbage.  I chose to steam it in a steamer.

As the head steams or parboils, peel off the outer layer of leaves very carefully as they become soft enough.  Usually you can get 2-3 off at a time.  Just place the head back into the pot and let it steam or parboil a little longer each time until the leaves become too small to stuff.

Once all you have all your leaves, you will need to thin the vein in each leaf.  Turn the leaf with the "bumpy side" up on your cutting board.  

Next, starting at the thin part of the vein, run the tip of your knife very carefully toward the thickest part, thinning the vein so it makes the leaf more pliable.

Once all the leaves' veins are thinned, it's time to stuff them.  Place the leaf so that the leaf curves upward, like a cup.  Place about 3-4 Tbsp. of filling into the leaf (depending on the size of the leaf, use your judgement.  It may hold more of less!)  

Next, fold the horizontal (left and right) ends in first.  

Then, fold the top over toward the bottom.

Lastly, fold the bottom up toward the top to complete your beautiful little cabbage package!

You're going to make layers in the bottom of your slow cooker of TIGHTLY packed cabbage rolls.  

The very last thing you need to do is cover these with water.  I poured in about 2 1/2 cups in my 3 Quart Slow Cooker.  It worked perfectly!  You don't want your Cabbage Rolls "floating" so don't overfill with water!

Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.