STACK BUNDLES RECIPES

Steps:

• Grind day-old bread in a blender, and add in seasonings (or possibly use pre-seasoned breadcrumbs). Grind the onion in a blender, or possibly if you're grinding your own hamburger and pork, add in the raw onion to the meat that is to be grnd. Put together all ingredients other than the cabbage. Remove the core of the cabbage. Find a large, heavy, carving fork (2 prongs) and put it through the center of the cabbage. Fill a very large stockpot with salted water and bring to a boil. Place the cabbage into the boiling water, leaving the fork extending. Simmer for a couple min and remove as the outer leaves begin to turn a bright green. The object is to cook the cabbage for as little time as possible, but long sufficient to tenderize the outer leaves. Remove from the water and allow to cool on a dish till the outer leaves are still hot but are cool sufficient to handle. Remove as many outer leaves as you can by cutting them off at the bottom, one at a time, with a sharp paring knife. Continue to remove leaves till you reach leaves which are not flexible. Return this uncooked portion of the inner cabbage to the boiling water pot and continue as before till all the leaves are steamed and removed and prepared for the filling. NOTE: As you remove leaves, some will tear and otherwise not be suitable for using as a wrapper. Don't throw away these, as they can be used to line the pot, or possibly you can shred them to add in to the filling mix. At the bottom of each leaf there will be a thick stem; sliver a slice off this to thin it out (some people cut a V-notch here). The purpose is to make the base flexible so which you can roll it up. Stuff each leaf with the filling mix. Starting at the bottom of the leaf, roll up one turn, then turn in the sides of the leaf to cover the filling, then roll up some more till you reach the top of the leaf and have a little bundle. Sprinkle with salt and dredge in flour. Brown in fat in a frying pan (This is an optional step if you have the time). You can now re-use the pan used to cook the cabbage rolls on your stove top or possibly you may cook these in your crock pot. Layer the bottom of the Crockpot or possibly pan with broken cabbage leaves (the ones which weren't complete or possibly too small to use for rolling). Stack the filled cabbage leaf bundles on top of the bed of leaves, a single layer at a time. Top each layer with a couple spoons of sauce or possibly tomato soup, and repeat with another layer of leaves, another layer of cabbage rolls, etc. Stack the bundles in their layers carefully with the end of each leaf underneath (some people fasten with a toothpick but this is not really required). Finish off the final layer with any remaining filling. Cover and simmer on the lowest heat setting of your stove top for 2-3 hrs or possibly in the crock pot for 4-5 hrs. Alternatively, you can bake these in the oven. To bake, stack bundles over cabbage leaves in a casserole dish, pour on the tomato sauce or possibly soup, cover with foil, and bake in a slow oven, 300 degrees F., for about 2 hrs. Whichever method you use to cook the cabbage rolls, be sure not to overcook, so test often and remove when the cabbage leaves are tender. If you use tomato sauce rather than tomato soup, add in a tsp catsup to the mix.