2 solid large heads of cabbage
2 cups long grain rice
3 pounds lamb or beef or a combination
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Cinnamon to taste
Allspice to taste
8 tablespoons melted butter
8 ounce can of tomato sauce for each pot
14 ounce can of diced tomatoes for each pot

This recipe will make about two pots of cabbage rolls.  After the rolls are cooked, you can freeze the rolls in freezer bags for future use.

Core the cabbage and submerge in a large pot of boiling water.  As the cabbage cooks, peel off outer layer leaves with a pair of tongs and submerge the leaves in the water until each leaf is tender.  Continue to do this until all leaves are peeled and tender.  With a paring knife, cut each leaf in half or thirds and remove the middle vein of the leaf.

Wash and drain rice.  In a large bowl, mix meat, rice, spices and melted butter.  Mixing using your hands is the best way to get all the ingredients incorporated.  As you are mixing and adding the ingredients, look at the mixture to check if you have a nice ratio of meat to rice and you should be able to see the spices in the mixture.  You can take a small piece of the mixture and cook it in the microwave to check the taste.  My mom never measured these ingredients and neither do I.

Using a few large leaves or the cut off cabbage veins, line the bottom of your pot.  You can also use lamb bones on the bottom of the pot.  Begin rolling the cabbage by taking about one tablespoon of the meat mixture and placing it on the inside of the cabbage leaf and roll it up.  With the seam side down, place the rolls side-by-side in the pot and fill in the sides with additional rolls.  Continue filling up the pot with additional layers of rolls by alternating the direction of each layer.

Leave some space at the top of the pot and add in the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.  Add salt and pepper and then cover the cabbage rolls with water.  Do not overfill the pot with water.  Use a small inverted plate to hold down the rolls in the pot.  Cover and bring to a simmer and then lower the heat and cook for about an hour or cook the rolls in a pressure cooker for 8 minutes.  Enjoy!
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