Bubby’s Succulent Stuffed Cabbage

1 large cabbage head

Filling:
1½ pounds chopped meat
½ cup uncooked rice
1 medium onion, grated
1 egg
1½ tablespoons ketchup
½ teaspoon salt

Sauce:
1 (46 oz.) can tomato juice
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
Dash onion powder

1. Freeze the cabbage two or three days in advance of actually making the stuffed cabbage. Remove from freezer to defrost at least 5 hours before making into rolls. The leaves will become soft and flexible.
2. Separate the head into individual leaves and check each one and rinse.
3. Make the filling. Combine ground meat, rice, grated onion, egg, ketchup, and salt.
4. Place a heaping tablespoon of the filling mixture onto each leaf, near the base.
5. Fold base of leaf over filling and roll once. Then fold the sides of the leaf into  the center so that you enclose the meat. Continue rolling until you have a completely closed roll.
6. Prepare the sauce. Combine tomato juice, tomato sauce, water, brown sugar, lemon juice, salt, and onion powder in a large pot. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Add cabbage rolls carefully, one by one, into the sauce.
8. Lower heat and let the rolls cook for 1½ hours.

Yield: 18 cabbage rolls

shortcut: A trick I learned after years of making this recipe…stuffed cabbage comes out just as good baked in the oven! Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a large disposable aluminum pan and place the cabbage rolls into the pan. Bake at 350⁰F for 1½ hours and voilà—stuffed cabbage, rich and tasty! And no big pot to clean!