Not a pleasant smell, but a great meal!

Really, I would like to get back on schedule.  Hubby should be at work at least 5 days each week, so the blogging should become more regular again.  It was a very successful semester.  It is not official but I think that hubby maintained his outstanding GPA.  Friday night was a lot of fun.  Hubby was back in his military uniform and looking quite handsome.  There is part of the military that will always be a part of him.  He likes order and discipline.  I realized that it is not merely the uniform that "twitterpates" me, but it is the image of a man who is confident, who takes care of his body and health, and who dresses well, and who has made a commitment and kept to it. 

I decided to make stuffed cabbage rolls on Sunday for my hubby.  I am not a big cabbage fan, so I make these about once a year for hubby and with the goal of becoming less "picky" in my eating.  Cabbage is in season and cheap at the grocery store, so... we had them.  They were really GOOD!  We may have them again before next May!  I think I liked them better this time because I used hot sausage for the pork!

The funny part of this meal was Sunday morning.  Hubby was going around the house spraying odor neutralizer because he thought that the sewer was acting up.  When we got home from church and smelled lunch cooking in the crock pot, he said, "Oh, that's what I was smelling this morning!"  We had a good laugh that our lunch required air freshener!

Old-Fashioned Cabbage Rolls

1 medium head cabbage (3 lbs)

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce, divided

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 c uncooked long grain rice

1 T dried parsley flakes

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dill weed

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 tsp sugar

In dutch oven, cook cabbage in boiling water until leaves fall off head.  Set aside 12 large leaves for rolls.  Cut out the thick vein form the bottom of each reserved leaf, making a V-shaped cut.  Set aside remaining cabbage.

In a small bowl, combine the beef, pork, 1/2 c tomato sauce, onion, rice, parsley, salt, dill and cayenne.  Mix well.  Place 1/4 c meat mixture on each cabbage leaf; overlap cut ends of leaf.  fold in sides, beginning from the cut end.  Roll up completely to enclose filling. (Sometimes I roll with 2 leaves so that I have less extra cabbage on the bottom of the dish)

Slice the remaining cabbage; place in dutch oven or crock pot.  Arrange the cabbage rolls seam side down over sliced cabbage.  Combine the tomatoes, sugar and remaining tomato sauce; pour over the rolls.

Cover and bake at 350* for 1 1/2 hours or heat in crockpot on low for 6-8 hours.

Tonight I try another experimental recipe ... BBQ lentils in the crockpot.  Hopefully it is edible!