Crockpot Cabbage Rolls

Awhile back, I made cabbage rolls in my crockpot. I made a double batch of the meat mixture and used half for the cabbage rolls and half for meatballs. It did not take a lot of extra work to do it this way and saved me time yesterday when I used the meatballs.

Please remember, I don't measure much, so amounts are approximate. Feel free to adjust amounts as you deem appropriate.

Cabbage Rolls for the Crockpot

Ingredients

2 lbs. ground beef
2 cups bread crumbs
1 tablespoon oregano
1 small onion, chopped
3 eggs
1-2 tsp. salt
1/2-1 tsp. pepper
1 head of cabbage
1 pkg Lipton's Onion -Mushroom Soup mix
1 cup water
1-2 tablespoons flour
1-3 tablespoons water

Steps:

1. Mix all ingredients except the cabbage. Or, use your favorite meatloaf recipe for the filling (don't forget to double it if you are going to make meatballs).

2. Remove core from cabbage. Bring a large pot of water to boiling. Stick a large fork into cabbage where you removed the core. Dip cabbage into boiling water for a moment. Carefully loosen the outer leaf. (Be careful with the leaves and be careful with your hands over the boiling water!) Let the loosened leaves stay in the boiling water for about a minute more - just blanch, don't cook all the way. Repeat until you have the number of leaves you want.

3. When the leaves have cooled, place about a "golf-ball" sized amount of meat mixture on a leaf and roll up "envelope style". Repeat until you have used up about half of your meat mixture. Place cabbage rolls in greased crockpot.

4. Mix soup mix and 1 cup water together and pour over cabbage rolls. Cook on HIGH for about 3-4 hours (depending on your crockpot, time may vary).

5. With the rest of the meat mixture, make meatballs and place on cookie sheet. Bake in 350 degree oven about 20 minutes or until done and slightly browned. Let them cool and then you can freeze them.

6. When cabbage rolls are done, remove them to a warm dish. Leave the juices in crockpot. Mix flour and 1-3 tablespoons water to make a slurry. Stir into juices left in crockpot, cover and cook an additional 10-15 minutes until thickened.

Notes:

I served these cabbage rolls with mashed potatoes. I added an extra potato in order to have leftovers. I saved the leftover mashed potatoes in the refrigerator for use in "Cheesy Cream of Broccoli Soup" (recipe coming soon).

Done this way, I now have dinner, and starters for two more meals!