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Before you jump to Stuffed Grape Leaves recipe, you may want to read this short interesting healthy tips about Choosing Fast Food That’s Very good For You.
Almost every single article about weight loss and getting healthy informs readers to avoid drive through windows like the plague and that they need to do all of their own cooking. This is certainly very good advice. Once in a while, though, you definitely do not want to make a full meal for your family or even just for yourself. Sometimes you just want to hit the drive through en route to your home and call it a day. There is no reason that you shouldn’t be able to make it happen once in a while and be free of the guilt usually associated with “diet slips”. This is because most popular fast food restaurants on the market are trying to “healthy up” their choices. Here is how one can find healthy food choices at the drive through.
Milk, juice and water are the best options for beverages. When you drink a large soft drink you are introducing a whole bunch of empty calories to your day. One portion of soda pop is eight ounces. That portion normally contains at least a hundred calories and more than a few tablespoons of sugar. A fast food soda is almost always not less than twenty ounces. It is most often a minimum of 30 ounces. This shows that your drink alone will put dozens of ounces of sugar into your body as well as several thousand empty calories. Milk, fruit juices or plain water are much healthier choices.
Basic reason states that the simplest way to lose fat and get healthy is to ban fast food from your diet entirely. Most of the time this is a good concept but if you make great choices, there is not any reason you can’t visit your drive through from time to time. Sometimes the thing you need is to let someone else produce your dinner. When you choose wholesome menu items, you do not have to feel bad about visiting the drive through.
We hope you got benefit from reading it, now let’s go back to stuffed grape leaves recipe. To cook stuffed grape leaves you only need 21 ingredients and 22 steps. Here is how you achieve it.
The ingredients needed to prepare Stuffed Grape Leaves:
- Get Meat Filling Mixture
- Prepare 3 1/2 lb ground meat (turkey, beef, lamb, deer)
- Use 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- Get 1/4 tsp salt
- Get 1 cup brown rice, rinsed
- Prepare 2 tsp garlic, minced
- Provide 1/4 cup onion, minced
- Provide Grape Leaves
- Use 1 large jar of grape leaves (90 count)
- Provide Sauce
- You need 3 cup chicken broth
- Prepare 1 quart Tomato sauce (Spaghetti sauce)
- Use 1/4 cup onion, minced
- Provide 2 tsp garlic, minced
- Use water or more chicken broth
- You need Utensils
- Use 8 quart lidded stock pot
- Take 1 heat proof plate, cast iron lid
- Prepare 1 weight or cup of water
- Get 2 large plates
- Use 1 sharp knife
Instructions to make Stuffed Grape Leaves:
- Mix with your hand all the meat, onion, and rinsed brown rice, garlic, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup onion.
- Set aside. ( I use 19oz. Pkg ground turkey, a little more than a lb. of ground beef and ground deer meat. The combo to me makes it taste somewhat like lamb. I have used all ground beef. Use what you like best.)
- Open your grape leaves , drain, and pull out a bundle. This jar has three. It is a little tricky, don't worry if you tear some on the first bundle.
- Trim stems and large veins.
- Trim the stems from one bunch of grape leaves. ( I do one bunch and fill them, then move on to the next bunch )
- You may use as much or as little meat as you like, if you use too much it will be hard to fold and not come out like a neat bundle, don't worry just take out some of the meat filling and reroll.
- This is a large leaf. Some will be odd shaped or torn, set those aside until last. Pointed side is at bottom. Fold top down over meat.
- Fold sides in keeping leaf snug around meat.
- Roll down to bottom to make a stuffed tight bundle. Continue until you use your pile of grape leaves.
- Put the finished ones on a large plate. I do these a bundle at a time because I stand at the counter and my back needs a break every so often. If you sit at your table you may be able to work straight through. Stuff and roll til you run out of something.
- You will get large and small leaves. You can separate large and small when you trim the stems off.
- I had 14 leaves left when I ran out of meat. You could put these in a freezer bag, removing the air, and keep for a month in the freezer OR you can lay a few of them in the bottom of your large pot to protect your bundles from possible burning.
- Now we will assemble and get ready to cook
- Take a large pot with a lid, I use an 8 quart size. Layer 6-8 of your left over grape leaves on the bottom of pot. Since you can't stir while cooking, sometimes it burns a little if your fire is too high.
- Pour enough tomato sauce to just cover your leaves in the bottom of pot.
- Layer your bundles in a flat layer snugly. Repeat layering of bundles until you have put all stuffed grape leaves into pot.
- I had 3 layers, about 77. You want them snug because in the sauce they may float, open and your filling will come out. That is why in a few more steps we will lay a plate or weight on top of them.
- Pour the rest of the tomato juice, the onion, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, and the 3 cups of chicken stock over the bundles slowly.
- ***Place a small metal or plastic plate or cast iron lid ( I couldn't find mine) on top of the bundles with a cup of water if it needs some weight. My Grandfather did this with the stock pot smaller lid and a metal weight. ***I usually don't do this but a lot of recipes call for it so I thought I would try it this time.!!!!!! My plate and water were not heavy enough to stay in place while cooking. Cast iron or a steel trivot would work. Almost all stayed wrapped anyway.!!!!
- Use low flame. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer. Add more broth or water if the sauce gets below the bundles. We need to cook the meat and the rice and still have sauce left for when we eat them.( I didn't need extra water)
- Cook for 2 hours then check to see if your rice is cooked by cutting one in half and tasting. If not cook 30 minutes more on low. (I cooked mine for 3 hours because I was waiting for the hubby to get home, they were perfect, not overcooked at all and not burned)
- Serve with a little sauce spooned over them. Some buttered crusty bread and a salad.
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