Cabbage Rolls and Pretty Dresses

I'd been wanting to make cabbage rolls for a LONG time now, and finally got up the nerve to do it. I remember talking to my mom about this recipe and she told me as much as I like porcupine meatballs, the only difference is really the cabbage, and as much as I like cabbage I would probably love it. (Ask anyone on my dad's side of the family-any time my we had dinner at Mammaw and Pappaw's house and coleslaw was involved, Mammaw would cut off a big hunk of cabbage and I would just eat it raw and plain. Isn't that funny?)

I've been on this cooking/baking kick in the last few months, wanting to try new things and bake things from scratch. Not sure what that's all about...I've always liked cooking, but I guess you could say that I've sort-of taken it up as a hobby. I think I just feel guilty even wanting to have any sort of hobby since Evan sacrifices golf, fishing, Razorbacks (sort-of) in order to make things work while he is in school. With cooking, it's justifiable since we HAVE to eat. :)

I looked at a couple of different recipes before I made the cabbage rolls, and finally just did a combination of the two. I'll post the main recipe I went by, then go back and say the things I will do differently next time. Evan really liked them and in fact, preferred them over porcupine meatballs. He said the cabbage added just the right flavor to the meat and sauce. Kendall also cleaned her plate and asked for seconds!

8 cabbage leaves
1 pound of ground sausage or ground beef
1 small onion, diced
3/4 cup of uncooked rice
1-2 teaspoons curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 16 oz. cans tomatoes

Cook the cabbage in 1 inch boiling, salted water in a covered saucepan for 5 minutes. Brown sausage in the skillet, drain. Combine sausage mixture with onion, rice, curry powder, salt and pepper in a bowl, mix well. Spoon mixture on to cabbage leaves. Roll up and secure with toothpicks. Place in skillet. Pour undrained tomatoes over the top. Simmer, covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, adding additional tomato juice if desired.

I used pork and thought that part of it was great. The meat was so lean, that I didn't even have to drain it. Curry is one of the spices that I do not prefer, so I just substituted with some Season-All, but it really wasn't enough. I think next time, I will use either chili powder or paprika (or a combination of both) and/or possibly use Italian sausage. It just needed a little something special. I also prefer tomato sauce instead of whole tomatoes, so used that instead. If anyone tries them, let me know.

I find great joy in dressing my daughter. It's just fun. I love picking out things for her to wear and putting cute little outfits together. Today, she wore one of my very favorite dresses EVER to church and when we got home I made sure I caught some sweet pictures of her in it.

Isn't that dress ADORABLE!?!?!?!? Isn't the little girl in it even more so???