Bear Paw Meanderings

It is much cooler this fall and it is a great time to get out that recipe for cabbage rolls which are a perfect food for this time of year.

I have a new way of getting the cabbage leaves off the cabbage. More about that shortly. For now here is what you will need to make around fifteen large cabbage rolls.

• One pound hamburger

• One pound breakfast sausage

• Your favorite rice mix in a box cooked off

• Salt and pepper to taste

• One large jar sauerkraut, washed and drained

• One large onion chopped fine

• 1 pint tomato juice

• 1 large cabbage

• ¾ cup brown sugar

You have cooked the rice mix and it is sitting there ready to use. Sometimes cabbage rolls tend to be bland so using a flavored rice mixture is a good way to sort of spice them up just a tad.

Get a big vat of water boiling. Wash your large cabbage and hollow out the core down at least four inches. Stick a large kitchen fork into the center of the hollowed out core, place the cabbage in the boiling water and just twirl it around and leaves will start to fall off. Using tongs take the leaves out of the boiling water and lay them on a cookie sheet, drying them off before using them. One more thing with the leaves, maybe cut the bottom inch of that tough ribbon out of each leaf. It makes them much easier to roll.

To your sausage, hamburger and rice mixture salt and pepper to taste. It should be raw at this point and well mixed with the rice mixture. Now you are ready to roll.

From what is left of the core of the cabbage, cut some pieces of cabbage off the core and cover the bottom of your roaster or baking dish. Add enough tomato juice to cover the bottom of the roaster.

Put a gob of the meat and rice mixture in each cabbage leaf, roll and place seam side down in the roaster. If they are loose, don’t worry as when baked the leaves will naturally tighten up around the meat. Roll until you have used up all the meat mixture and all the leaves which should make around fifteen rolls. On top of the rolls make a couple of rows of your drained sauerkraut and sprinkle brown sugar over that. Maybe layer some onions in the middle, pour over the rest of your tomato juice and bake for three hours at 350. Make sure they are covered.

Bon Appétit!