LAZY CABBAGE ROLLS – A second generation Ukrainian hack

I have a confession to make.

I love good food, but hate fussing in the kitchen. In my mind, food preparation needs to be simple.

I’m very attached to my slow cooker. The delicious smell of a ready dinner when we arrived home after work was always enticing.

My mother is an excellent cook. When I was growing up on the farm, our stove had a tendency to burn things. To this day, I love cabbage rolls that are slightly singed. My slow cooker suits me just fine in this regard, since one side of my slow cooker often yields slightly singed food.

Here’s my recipe for lazy cabbage rolls that taste almost like my Mom’s. They’re a favorite potluck dish too.

You can assemble all of the following ingredients directly in your slow cooker; just make sure to mix everything thoroughly:

Lazy Cabbage Rolls
1 cup of rice (we use Basmati)
1 large can (680ml) of Hunt’s tomato sauce, or similar
1 bag of shredded coleslaw, 400 g size  (or ½ head of shredded red or green cabbage)
2 tsp Montreal Steak Spice
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 medium-sized onion, diced
1 pound of good quality sausage, diced.
Optional: ¼ cup of wild rice

Slow cook on High setting for 4 hours.

Note: These Lazy Cabbage Rolls are gluten free. Of course, you can make this recipe vegetarian by omitting the sausage. 

Please don’t tell your Baba.

If you enjoy my blog – it’s full of historical references and Ukrainian lore – you might like to read my recently published book Heart Stones – A Ukrainian Immigration Story of Love and Hope. I’ve written my family story as historical fiction and the novel is about my grandparents’ nine-year separation during and after WWI. You can download a free copy of Chapter One while you’re here.

Look elsewhere on my website  www.christinenykoluk.com to read Heart Stones book reviews.