Cabbage, Ground Meat and Brown Rice Roll Ups Recipe

By far one of my favorite meals is cabbage, ground meat and brown rice rolls ups. I remember eating one after another when my mom made them. They are so delicious. We called them “pigs in a blanket” but that name applies to other food as well so I thought I would use a more precise name for them.

You can always use a higher percentage of fat in your ground meat to get a juicer version but I’m trying to keep the calories down. Also, I switched to the low sodium version of soy sauce.

Today the organically grown cabbage was on sale for the same price as regular cabbage, so who could resist buying it. It was so fresh and vibrant looking.

Ingredients for Cabbage, Ground Meat, and Brown Rice Roll Ups

• 1 Medium Sized Head of Organically Grown Green Cabbage
• 2 Pounds of Ground Meat, 85% Lean/15% Fat
• 1 Cup of Instant Brown Rice
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 Tablespoon of Less Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1/2 Cup of Red or Yellow Onion, Chopped
• 2-3 Garlic Cloves, Finely Minced
• 1 Teaspoon of Dry Dill
• 1 Tablespoon of Dry Parsley
• Dash of Ground Pepper
• Dash of Onion Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Better than Bouillon, Beef Flavor
• 2 Green Spring Onions, both White and Green Parts Chopped
• 15 Ounces of Vegetable or Tomato Juice
• 2-3 Cups of Water

Directions

1. Place a large pan of water on the stove and when the water boils, place the head of cabbage in the water. With a long serving fork and kitchen tongs, roll the cabbage around until the leaves are slightly wilted. Cut off the outer leaves and place the leaves on a dish. Do the rest of the leaves this way until no cabbage leaves remain. When the cabbage leaves are cool to the touch, take a sharp knife and slice off the tough stem part at the lower end of the leaf.

2. Mix the ground meat, brown rice, eggs, soy sauce, onions, garlic, dried parsley, dried dill, black pepper, onion salt, Better than Bouillon, and spring onions together. It is generally easier to use your gloved hands at this point to make sure everything is mixed.

3. Take approximately 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the prepared meat mixture and roll into a log like shape. Place the meat log on the bottom of one cabbage leaf and roll up to the top. Then tuck the two ends into the center of the log. Proceed the same way with the rest of the meat and cabbage leaves.

4. When you are out of meat, you will probably have extra cabbage leaves remaining. Prepare a large lidded roasting pan by spraying the bottom and sides generously with non-stick spray. Then line the pan with the remaining cabbage leaves. Add the roll ups. Pour the vegetable or tomato juice over the cabbage roll ups along with water. Sprinkle top with dried parsley and pepper. Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately one and half hours or until done.

5. The rice in the cabbage will increase the size of the roll-up. Makes about nine generous sized roll-ups.

I’ve made my Cabbage, Ground Meat and Brown Rice Roll Ups on the large size, but you certainly can make them smaller in size and adjust the baking time.

I like to serve my Cabbage, Ground Meat and Brown Rice Roll Ups with mashed yellow potatoes and green beans.

We generally have left overs which can be served the next day or frozen for another time.

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