Cabbage Rolls

Yum! Warm and comforting--stuffed cabbage rolls: a mixture of beef, rice, onions, tomato paste, and allspice rolled into steamed cabbage leaves and simmered in tomato sauce. So easy and fun to put together and so satisfying! Thanks to the wonderful blog, Smitten Kitchen, for the idea to make these again. My husband's mom makes a variation of these "piggies," as she calls them, in the winter and lets them stew all day in the crock pot. Enjoy! Continue for recipe.



Cabbage Rolls

1 head of cabbage
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup uncooked rice
1/2 onion
2-3 T tomato paste
pinch of allspice
pinch of cinnamon
salt and pepper
your favorite tomato sauce

Steam cabbage in boiling water until leaves are soft.
Saute diced onion in large saucepan until translucent.
Mix beef, rice, onion, tomato paste and spices in bowl (you can dice and add some of the leftover cabbage to this mixture.)
Remove cabbage leaves and cut out center vein.
Place a dollop of beef mixture in the cabbage leaf and roll like a burrito. (You should get 2 rolls per leaf.)
Place rolls in saucepan that you cooked the onions in. Cover with tomato sauce.
Simmer gently for about 1 hour.