Cajun-style Cabbage Rolls

In my house, we often use variations of one particular phrase (typically in reaction to some of the silly things Walle (our puppy) will do...the situations he seems to manage to create):

- oh my (surprise/exclamation)
- oh my goodness (super exclamation)
- oh m' goodness gracious me (reserved for the real serious stuff...you know it has to be serious when all you can muster up is a shortened utterance of the word "my")

For example, you walk in to this...

...and you say "oh m' goodness gracious me"

Well this meal is SERIOUS STUFF, folks. So oh m' goodness gracious me, somebody go make this! Please. Do it for me (just because I know you'll thank me later). Ugh. So good.

In my house, we seem to have some sort of rating system. Really, nothing gets rated unless it is in about the top five favorite dishes/meals of each individual in the household. Though he desperately wants to, Walle doesn't count, as he can no longer get fed from the table (sad day). Last night I made one of Sam's top meals: Ground beef sauteed with onion and seasoning and served with melted shredded cheese, cabbage, and beans (last night's beans were of the Ranch Style variety). YUM. So....here's the predicament: every time I make cabbage we have leftovers. Well, cooked cabbage tastes and looks alright reheated the next day, but any length of time after that and you're looking at a questionable dish. So I set out on yesterday's endeavor with a strategy: save some of the big leaves of cabbage and try to make cabbage rolls today. Rock on! I've come across several recipes in the last month, so I began today thinking that I'd combine a couple of the recipes and give it a shot. Well....I'm cheap, remember? Couple that with the fact that I want to make things as simple as possible, and you end up with a lady using whatever she has in the freezer and/or cabinet to make a new dish (BIG GRIN). So I had some frozen andouille sausage that I typically use to make Amy's New Orleans Chili (don't worry...will share this soon). Given the fact that none of the recipes I could find for cabbage rolls say ANYTHING about Cajun style, I decided I'd strike out on my own. The result: a PHENOMENAL supper. That's right *TOOOOOT TOOOOOOOT* (my own horn again!) The final point to this story: this dish (served with fried cornbread/hoecakes) is now in my top 5.

INGREDIENTS:

- 6 large leaves of cabbage
- 2 c. andouille sausage, chopped (I use HEB's Hill Country Fare brand, as it is labeled GF. Don't forget to remove the casing!)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic (or I use 1 tsp. minced garlic - even though I LOVE cooking, I HATE when my fingers smell like garlic for several days...even after washing and rewashing then scrubbing with lemon and washing again!)
- 1/2 c. cooked rice
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- salt and pepper to taste (I use course ground black pepper)

- 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning

- 1 can diced tomatoes (I use the fire-roasted garlic kind)
- 3/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- In a large pot, boil the cabbage leaves for 3 minutes
- Remove from the pot, and set the leaves aside to cool
- Heat/brown the sausage with the onion and garlic
- In a bowl, combine the meat mix, rice, seasonings, cheese, and egg

- Place a couple of heaping spoonfuls (1/6 of mixture) in the middle of a cabbage leaf

- Fold in two of the edges....

- Then close up the roll (like a box or wrapping a present!)

- Repeat with the rest of the leaves and the remainder of the mixture
- Place cabbage rolls in a 2 qt (8x8) baking dish

- In bowl, combine the can of diced tomatoes and the water
- Once mixed, pour this over the cabbage rolls

- Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour
- Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes
- Remove from oven and let cool for just a few minutes before serving.

What's funny is that, before tonight, I had never once eaten a cabbage roll. If you look around, it is hard to find an appealing photo. Despite all that, these. taste. mmmmmm-azing. That's right. I will, without a doubt, be making these again...as soon as humanly possible.

YUM.