Runzas

If you've never had a Runza, well first you obviously haven't visited Nebraska, but furthermore you are missing out! Runzas are a delicious meal-soft bread dough encasing a warm mixture of melty cheese, cabbage & onions and flavorful beef! (Don't get too put off by the cabbage part-it takes on the flavor of the cheese and you won't even notice it's in there!)

So, if you haven't decided on what to put on the table for dinner tonight, have I convinced you to make these amazing little pockets?! I hope so!

Ingredients (makes about 12 good-sized Runzas) :

-Bread dough (can be made from scratch, or a frozen loaf works too)
     ~you will want about 20 ounces of dough
-1 lb. lean ground beef
-3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
-2 cups shredded cabbage
-chopped onion (vary the amount depending on your likings)
-salt & pepper (to taste)

Directions (well...more of just an assembly but still) :

chop up your cabbage very finely (if using onion chop that up during this step as well!)

brown your hamburger

add your onion and cabbage to your browning meat (if using salt and pepper, add that during this step)

take about 1 1/2 - 2 ounces of bread dough (or about the size of 2 golf balls) and roll it out into a long, flat surface

get your cheese ready!

Add your meat mixture to the flattened bread dough (about 1/4 cup of it to each dough slab)

Add 1-2 TBSP of your mozzarella to the top of the meat

Roll up the dough like a fancy burrito- first the two shorter sides in, then one long side, and finally close it up with the other long side

Lay each Runza face down in a greased baking dish

Bake for 20 minutes on 350*

Mmmm.... look at all the gooey melted cheese, smoothering the savory beef enclosed in a warm, soft and comforting blanket of bread! 

Nutritional Info: