Texasholly’s Cheeseburger Runzas with BONUS Cinnamon Rolls

One of my very favorite must reads is TexasHolly she is a sassy mom to 3 boys, a stick figure artist and last but not least,  fellow Texan.  She writes brilliantly about her coccyx and her fruit bowl and she runs a North Texas mom site that makes me wish I lived in North Texas. I’m tickled pink that she is babysitting the Fairytale blog for the day and I am floored that she posted a recipe!!! So y’all are getting a double bonus today:  You’re getting TexasHolly and food, it doesn’t get much sweeter than that.

Y’all be nice now… y’hear?!

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I don’t cook.  Really, I don’t.

So when I DO cook it has to be EASY and taste GOOD or else it isn’t worth the PAIN.

This is one of my favorite recipes to eat.  It is something I have modified over time from the original Runza recipe I used to make as a child that was beef (in my case, veggie-beef) and cabbage.  Over time it became more beef, then real beef and less cabbage, then no cabbage, and then…why not add cheese!

Wah-la! The Cheeseburger Runza. I have also seen these named cheeseburger bierocks or cheeseburger buns, but I grew up in Nebraska where these type of things are called Runzas.  So that is what they are.

This recipe calls for bread dough so you can pick up some frozen/refrigerated at the grocery store OR pull out your 1991 Bread Machine that you got as a wedding present that resembles R2-D2:

Here is the dough recipe – it can be thrown into the bread machine all at once without any prep:

1 1/4 cup of milk

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

3 cups of bread flour

2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
I set my bread machine on a non-baking cycle.  I start this in the morning and haven’t had trouble with it even if I don’t get to it by mid-afternoon.

The filling is simply ground beef, onions, tomato sauce and some cheese.

If you want to use all the dough then make this full recipe.*

If you want to save a portion of the dough for cinnamon rolls, then just cut this recipe in half:

2 pounds of beef

1-2 onions chopped

1 can (15 oz.) of tomato sauce

Brown the beef and add the onions.  Let the onions get a bit tender and add the tomato sauce.

You are ready to fill your dough!

Out of a full recipe I usually get around 24+ runzas of various sizes.  I like to make really small ones for the kids and larger ones for the adults.

Roll the dough out very thin, add the filling and then sprinkle on the cheese – my favorite is sharp cheddar.

Fold the sides in and make a little package.

Flip them over and put on greased baking sheet.  If you pause for a little while and let them rise the final product will look a little better.  Often I just pop them straight into the oven at this point because I am trying to get dinner on the table ASAP.

Bake them at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Now, if you only did a 1/2 recipe then it is time for cinnamon rolls.  You will need lots of help.

First spread the left over dough with melted butter.
Then sprinkle sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon on top and spread it around.

Send all your helpers to the sink to clean up, roll up the dough, cut and bake at 400 for 10-18 minutes depending on your cinnamon roll size and pan density.

Alrighty people, time to eat.

Behold the Runza.

Behold the rolls of cinnamon.

*One argument against the cinnamon roll is that the left over runzas are yummy.  You can heat them up in the toaster oven at 400 for about 6 minutes or eat them cold.  Either way, I like mine dipped in ketchup.

Thanks Rachel for letting me take over in your kitchen. Everyone is invited over to my place, June Cleaver Nirvana, but be warned you want to pick up food from HERE first.

Thanks for doing the dishes, Holly!  I appreciate it!!!!!