Stuffed cabbage or Pigs in a blanket

Saturday or Sunday I was watching Foodnetwork Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa.  She was making a traditional Jewish meal for her husband Jeffry.  When she said stuffed cabbage I nearly fell off the couch.  I hadn't had stuffed cabbage in YEARS!  She proceeds to tell and cook this "sweet and sour" style tomato sauce.  Her recipe
The more I would think about it the more I wanted it.  I knew my dear husband would have nothing to do with it.  It contained cabbage after all.  He refuses to eat cooked cabbage in most forms.  (only kind I have ever seen him consume was in Chinese foods when I don't think he realized what it was.)  When I was a child my mom would make these things called porcupine balls (the filling that went in to stuffed cabbage with out the cabbage) So it hit me.  I will make stuffed cabbage and I will make a separate container for Mike of just the meat.

All day today at work all I could think of was eating this meal.  I honestly must have said it 100 times at work today "I can't wait for dinner tonight" . 

So-  I am not one to read a recipe ... So I recalled the jist of the recipe.  (see above for her recipe) I knew I didn't have the red wine vinegar but I have many other kinds.  I decided to use Rice wine vinegar. -

I prepped my ingrediants for the sauce , I used my Immersion blender  with the mini chopper attachment to fine mince onion and carrot.  for in the meat mixture.   That was very handy.

This is what Mikes turned out like.   Not nearly as yummy looking as mine but- 

I made home made escalloped potatoes to go with. 

Let me get you a napkin. I'm sure you are drooling too!

This meal made me very happy.  The only thing that would have made it better is if everyone in the family would have loved them as much as me.  I guess its the cabbage that gets them. 

I have one container with potatoes and stuffed cabbage to take to work later in the week.  I have 3 leftover containers of just stuffed cabbage. I have already had one request for some.   mmmm This was so yummy.

Here is the list of ingredients I used to make mine. 

3 large carrots fine minced (with a processor ) 2 for in the filling 1 for the sauce
1 large onion (1/2 fine minced like the carrot 1/2 just diced)
2 lbs of ground beef
2 cups of long grain rice (not minute or instant)
2 large cans of diced tomatoes
3tbsp rice wine vinegar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large jars or cans of spaghetti sauce or 4 cups of a home made sauce)
2 tsp garlic minced
one head of cabbage.

salt n pepper

I will not give step by step how to make this.  If you need more instructions please read Ina's recipe.  I  will tell you that I mixed 2 of the minced carrots and the minced onions with the rice and 1 can of diced tomatoes with the ground beef.  I saute' the diced onion and remainder carrot  with a tbsp of oil till they are caramelized I then add the brown sugar and vinegar and diced tomatoes and boil rapidly to reduce moisture.  Meanwhile I had already cooked the head of cabbage for apx 10 -15 min to loosen the leafs.  I started rolling the cabbage with meat waiting on sauce to reduce then placed them in casserole dishes topping with sauce.  I baked them for 1.5 hours