Mare's Stuffed Cabbage (Comfort Food)

1 lb of ground turkey broken up with a fork in a bowl

1/4 cup grated parmesan/and or romano and/or grated mozzarella cheese
1 egg beaten
1/2 pepper (green, red any color) seeded & diced
1 small onion diced (i like red onions)
1 cup cooked rice, OR 1 cup uncooked oatmeal OR 1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
some olive or grapeseed oil or cooking spray
1 small head of cabbage (cut out the core)
1 tall can hunts 3 cheese spaghetti sauce -mix in 2 tablespoons sugar (this sauce is the best)

directions-
if making in a crockpot (see below for baking dish) -Put about 2 tblsp of olive oil or grapeseed oil in the
bottom of the crockpot. cut 1/3 of the raw cabbage up & put in bottom of crockpot cover with some of
the sauce.
mix first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. form into meatballs, place in crock pot until they are almost to
the top of the crock pot. last layer cover with more cabbage, finish off with sauce & parmesan cheese.
( make sure you cover all the cabbage with sauce. )cover & cook on high for 4 hours or until done. (take
one out & see if it's cooked & see if cabbage is soft to test)
If you have leftover cabbage, & meat mix & sauce. Put it in a meatloaf or bread pan the same way you
put ingredients in the crockpot. & make a meatloaf. bake at 350 degrees for at least an hour & 15 min
or until done.
You can usually smell when it's done. that's what Martha Stewart says. The more you cook- You can
train your sense of smell to know...
**served best with mashed potatoes. spoon the sauce over top

If making in a 9x 12BAKING DISH In a sauce pan-Boil the cabbage until soft but not mushy. It won't smell
great while boiling, but will smell great while it's baking in the oven. (If you don't want the smell so
much- take some vanilla & put it in a small dish or bowl on your counter, it will soak up the smell)
Drain boiled cabbage in a colander. let cold water run over it so it will cool off enough for you to handle.
Mix the ingredients (as above) Spray an oven proof baking dish with cooking spray or put some olive oil
or grapeseed oil in it & take a cabbage leaf in one hand & put a tablespoon of meatball in the cabbage
leaf with the other hand.. wrap it so it seals , tucking under any loose parts of the leaf. place in baking
dish until you have used up all your cabbage & meat mix Pour sauce mixed with sugar over the top, (add
water to the can of sauce if you start running out of sauce.)
add parmesan cheese on top and/or grated mozarella.
(if you have extra ingredients see ** above or make up another baking dish full.) put on a cookie sheet
to keep sauce from spilling over while baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 1hour & 15 min. cut one open to
see if the meat is cooked & the cabbage is soft.
** served best with mashed potatoes. spoon the sauce over top

ENJOY!