Roll Back

The long weekend, what a beautiful thing.

While I do know this weekend wasn't a true long weekend, it was almost better than an extra day. It was just such an unexpected treat to sleep in or get something done that I wouldn't otherwise have had time to do. 

Plus, the entire next week is going to feel better because I'll be getting up an hour later, biking to work an hour later, and ok, so maybe getting home an hour isn't so great. But you get my point. There are lots of great things associated with the clocks rolling back. 

One thing you could have done with your extra hour was make Cabbage Rolls. Check out my recipe if you're in need of a great one! 

Cabbage Rolls 

1 medium/large head of cabbage 

1 1/2 cups brown rice, cooked

1 medium sweet onion, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lb of lean ground beef

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

2 cups of zucchini, grated and drained

2 jars of tomato sauce 

1 pinch of salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. 

2. Use a knife to core the cabbage (just run the knife in an angled circle around the core and pull it out), and place cabbage in the pot of water to cook. The cabbage will start to lose leaves and once they are tender, remove them from the water. Keep the rest of the cabbage in the pot so the inner leaves can continue to cook. 

3. While cabbage is cooking, prepare the filling. Cook the onion and garlic in a large pan with the oil at medium heat until the onion starts to sweat. Add the beef and paprika and continue to cook until beef is evenly browned and cooked through. 

4. Pour beef mixture into a large bowl. Add rice and zucchini. Mix to combine. 

5. Now roll up your Cabbage Rolls! Cut the stem of each leaf away and scoop a spoon of the beef mixture into a leaf. Fold the leaf as you would wrap a gift and roll away. 

6. Continue to make and pack rolls tightly together into 2 large glass baking dishes until you run out of cabbage or the beef mixture.

7. Cover with tomato sauce and bake for about 1 - 2 hours or until cabbage is very tender when poked with a knife and sauce is bubbling. Enjoy!

These seem like more work than they actually are, but they are worth it. 

Plus you could put the second baking dish in the freezer for a rainy day that doesn't have 25 hours in it.