Comfort Food: Old School Cabbage Rolls

One of my favorite dishes my Grandma used to make was cabbage rolls. She never left me the recipe but I have learned to make them myself over the years. The filling is the same I use for my stuffed peppers and essentially the same sauce. The only difference is the use of cabbage as the wrapper. I feel like I am remembering my Grandma through my cooking. I hope to pass my dishes on to my kids and like they will have this blog to look back at. It's my gift to them in a way.

Cabbage Rolls

10-12 leaves of cabbage
1 lb ground beef
1 1/2 cup cooked and cooled long grain rice
1 small can of tomato soup
1 TBSP vinegar
1/2 can water
salt and pepper
4-5 TBSP reserved tomato soup

Firstly get a pot of water boiling. Carefully peel the cabbage leaves off a head of cabbage. Use a knife to make a v shaped cut at the stem (it is tough and doesn't cook well) Next use a tongs and put 2-3 cabbage leaves in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. You want them to soften. The color will change to bright green. Remove and let cool before adding filling.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl combine the ground beef and rice along with salt and pepper. Reserve about 4 TBSP of  the tomato soup. Mix the remaining tomato soup and a half can of water. Add to the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

Begin to roll the cabbage rolls by placing a handful of the meat down one edge of the cabbage roll. Roll it much like you would a burrito. Place seam down in the baking dish  Top each with the reserved tomato soup. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour or until center is no longer pink.