Miss Schmidt's Cabbage Roll Soup

Even though the wife and I both tire easily and have to take breaks we still have to eat and we don't like to eat fast foods except when we have to. Even after the doctor's appointment, taking breaks, we were able to make this yesterday afternoon. (Note: This makes a large batch, probably should cut it in half since I don't eat as much as I used to and I'll probably end up eating most of this myself. I may try freezing some but there are conflicting stories about how well cabbage freezes.)

I LOVE cabbage. And I love soups. Back in the days when I could breathe well while working with my hands, the wife and I would gather the ingredients and make cabbage rolls. Cabbage rolls became a struggle because I am so energy deficient these days. So, about 4 years ago my wife made up our cabbage soup recipe. It's just chopping and dicing and you don't have to soften the cabbage leaves and then meticulously wrap them around the rest of the ingredients which is also time consuming.    My wife will eat it about once because she is not a cabbage lover and she's not real fond of leftovers. So making a big batch is a win-win for me. Cabbage roll soup AND more for me. Win for the wife because during the time it takes for me to finish off a batch of soup, she makes some of her favorite Mexican recipes ... yuck.

 Miss Schmidt's Cabbage Roll Soup

Ingredients:

2 tsp. butter or olive oil
1 lb. lean ground pork
1 large yellow onion, medium dice
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, coined then halved or quartered
1/2 cabbage cut in short strips
4 cup vegetable stock
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 cans whole tomatoes
1 cup (uncooked) white rice
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. light brown sugar

Instructions:

In a large pot, caramelize onions in butter/olive oil adding garlic when onions are done. Add ground pork, medium-high heat. Cook until the meat is no longer pink.
Add in carrots, cabbage, vegetable stock, tomato sauce, tomatoes, white rice, bay leaf, and brown sugar to the pot and add salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for 25 minutes, or until rice and cabbage are fully cooked.
Take out the bay leaf and serve.

(Not my picture because I cut my cabbage smaller AND I don't sprinkle lawn clippings on ANY food I make.)