Cabbage Rolls

1 large savoy cabbage
2 lbs lean ground beef
2 medium to large onions
2 T canola or olive oil or butter
1 C white or brown rice and 2 cups water
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 cans tomato soup
2 small bottles (individual serving sizes) tomato juice or vegetable cocktail, like V8
1 can or small carton chicken broth

Consider that you will take two days to make these so you will need to plan ahead for family gatherings. It is wonderful to pull them out of the refrigerator to warm up.

In the bag that you brought your savoy cabbage home, place the cabbage in the freezer and leave for 12 hours or overnight.  Remove and leave to thaw at room temperature.  This will take a while, so I often take it the night before the day I want to make the cabbage rolls. The leaves will be soft and easy to use without having to boil them. In a small saucepan or a microwave safe covered dish, cook the rice and set aside to cool. The rice can be made the day ahead and kept chilled in the refrigerator overnight. Chop the onions fine and sauté them slowly until they are golden brown. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, break apart the ground beef, add the salt, pepper, eggs, sauteed onions, and the rice. Mix together until combined using your hands. Remove the leaves from the cabbage, cutting away the tough part closest to the core. Spray your large casserole or two small casserole dishes with cooking spray. Put about a 1/3 to 1/2 cup meat mixture at the bottom of the leaf and roll up. The meat amount varies depending on the size of the leaf. Repeat until all the meat is used up. In a large mixing bowl, combine the tomato soup, juice, and broth. Pour evenly over the cabbage rolls. Cover with foil or the lid. Bake the cabbage rolls slowly at 325 degrees for two hours. Serve or cool on the counter. Remove the foil (if you don't you will have little bits of foil on your cabbage rolls wherever it touches). Cover with plastic wrap and either refrigerate or freeze. For reheating, thaw first if frozen. Remove the plastic wrap and cover with a lid or foil and just reheat in the oven for about an hour at 325 degrees. Or if you want, they can be reheated beautifully in the microwave on sensor reheat.