Grandma Elaine'S Unstuffed Sweet & Sour Cabbage - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs green cabbage
2 lbs lean ground beef
4 medium onions (1 finely chopped 3 sliced)
3 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs
2 tablespoons white rice
3 tablespoons water
28 ounces canned tomatoes (whole)
15 ounces tomato sauce
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (packed) or 1/2 cup white sugar (packed)
1 lemon, juice of
1/3 cup raisins ((1/3 to 1/2)
1 tablespoon honey ((1 to 2)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation

Use Large Stock Pot and wooden spoon.
Wash cabbage, cut off core. Cut cabbage in half horizontally. Take core out and cut.
cabbage in 3 inch chunks.
Cook sliced onions in oil until translucent.
Add can of whole tomatoes, stir and chop slightly with spoon. Add tomato sauce, half of salt, half of pepper, and mix.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stir occasionally so it doesn't burn.
Then add cabbage and stir and push cabbage down into the sauce.
Cover pot and continue to simmer approx 1 hour till you can mix cabbage around in the sauce.
In large bowl mix ground beef with chopped onion, 1 1/2 level teaspoons salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 2 eggs, rice, and water. Mix well with hands.
If too mushy, add a little more rice. Form golf ball size meat balls, and then store briefly in refrigerator to get firmer.
Place meatballs on top of cabbage on sauce. Cover and simmer approx 15 minutes till meatballs feel firm.
Then gently mix meat balls into sauce. Let pot simmer for approx 45 minutes, then add lemon. Taste for lemon taste, if not add more lemon.
Then add raisins, honey, and then sugar a little at time to taste. Cook for another 15 minutes, then mix gently, uncover and remove from heat.
Try not to eat right away so flavors can infuse. Tastes better when eaten the second day, but don't overheat. Only reheat what you will eat at that sitting.
This freezes well.