Caramelized Cabbage and Onions with Kielbasa and Bacon (TNT)

Caramelized Cabbage and Onions with Kielbasa and Bacon 

8 slices of bacon
1 head of cabbage (cored and coarsely chopped)

1/4 cup chopped sweet onion*
1 TBS White Sugar
Salt and Pepper to Taste
3 TBS Butter
1 pound Kielbasa or Smoked Sausage

Fry up the bacon in a deep skillet, remove and set aside (do not drain the grease).  Add the chopped cabbage and onion to the pan, stir to coat with the bacon grease as best you can, add in the butter, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Cover and cook the cabbage and chopped onion on medium heat, stirring often for about 20 minutes (the cabbage/onion mix should be lightly caramelized, limp yet a little crunchy still).

When its just about done to your liking, slice the kielbasa (or whichever type of sausage you choose) into 2" slices and place right on top of the cabbage, cover and cook another 10 minutes or so.  Before serving, crunch up the bacon bits, sprinkle on top of the cabbage/sausage mix, and serve. 
 

Gail's Notes:  This is the closest recipe I've found that matches a similiar fried cabbage recipe that I managed to lose over the years!  This is very tasty, but also very fattening (so you probably shouldn't serve this too often).   The flavor of the cabbage when it caramelizes along with the onion in all that grease is just incredible--tossing in the sausage and bacon kicks it up to pure deliciousness!