I tried another new recipe last weekend–anything to try to use up the last of this wonderful CSA cabbage and not let it go to waste! 
My mom made cabbage rolls a few times when I was growing up, but it’s something I’d never made myself–just seemed a little too putzy for me.
But at some point this summer as I was perusing recipe books at the lake, I came across this recipe for stuffed cabbage rolls that are cooked in the slow-cooker, which seemed like a good way to do it. (Not that it affects the prep time, but slow-cooker recipes are always appealing to me.)
The actual stuffing and rolling of the cabbage was, as predicted, a bit putzy and time-consuming. Partly because I had a hard time actually getting the leaves off the head without tearing them in half. Trevor finally suggested that I steam the whole head a bit and then trying peeling off the leaves at that point.
He was right–I steamed the whole head for just a couple of minutes and the leaves peeled off much more easily. Then I steamed them for another couple of minutes before putting the filling on them and rolling them up.
I used our grass-fed beef hamburger, of course, and then the CSA cabbage–it was delicious!
Stuffed cabbage roll
I would definitely make this recipe again–here it is, for those who would like to try it out. (I honestly can’t remember where I found it, so I can’t give credit to the source. But I’ve made a few adjustments so really it’s sort of my own at this point.) 
Slow-cooker Cabbage Rolls
1 lg head cabbage
1 egg, beaten
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
a handful of chopped sundried or oven-roasted tomatoes (more on these Friday)
3/4 cup quick-cooking rice
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup crushed saltines
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 pounds grass-fed ground beef
Mix all of these ingredients together (except the cabbage). Steam the cabbage leaves (about a dozen of them) until they’re limp. Put about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filling in each cabbage leaf and roll up. Place the rolls in the slow-cooker.
Cover the rolls with about 46 ounces of tomato sauce or juice–I actually used a mixture of V8 and pizza sauce (for a little extra flavor). Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until filling reaches 160 degrees.
I’ve always done mine in the slow cooker. Didn’t your mom do them that way?
Haha–I don’t remember. But if YOUR mom did, mine probably did, too.
Did we HAVE a slow-cooker? Hahaha! Just kidding. I really don’t remember having cabbage rolls more than once or twice. . . of course, my memory could be faulty.
Maybe I’m making the whole thing up in my head.
This is probably obvious, but do you use raw rice or cooked? Thanks!
No, that’s a good question–you use raw. But since the recipe does specify “quick-cooking rice” I used Minute Rice.