Mepster's Cabbage Rolls

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 1 large green cabbage, for 12 leaves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar (i use whatever's in the house)
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic (optional)

Recipe

• 1 core cabbage head: steam in a large pot with about 2-3 inches of water at the bottom.
• 2 remove outer leaves as they soften.
• 3 remove remaining cabbage and set aside.
• 4 in a skillet, in hot butter, cook onion 5 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally.
• 5 add tomato sauce, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.
• 6 mix well and set aside.
• 7 meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.
• 8 divide mixture into 12 portions.
• 9 in the center of each cabbage leaf, place a portion of the meat mixture.
• 10 fold 2 sides of the leaf toward the center.
• 11 from one narrow edge, roll up jelly-roll fashion.
• 12 secure them with toothpicks (but make sure they're noticeable).
• 13 place the sauce with some chopped up cabbage that you reserved in an electric frying pan or roasting pan with a lid.
• 14 cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour in the fry pan- same for the oven at 350*.