Runza's!

So I am well aware that I am WAY behind on my posts (moving and wedding planning has kind of taken over my life a bit).  But we got our invitations out on Tuesday morning and all the big stuff is finished so now I'm thinking I'll have more time to cook.  :)  Lately a turkey sandwich with some pepperoni's thrown in for something different is as creative as I've been able to be lately.  Here is one that I have been meaning to put up for a while now.

Earlier this year Raymond and I did a raw food detox.  When I first did the detox a year or so ago I ate a ton of cabbage, so the day before we started I bought two heads of cabbage, with the full intention of eating it all.  I ate two cabbage salads and I was done.  :-|  Therefore after the detox I started looking for things to make with the leftover cabbage, and I stumbled upon Runza's.  Runza's originated in Russia during the 1800's, were brought to Germany, then finally made their way to the U.S.  They are very popular in the Northern US, but to my knowledge, they haven't really made it very far south.  I made them for super bowl weekend and I am glad I did, they were definately a hit!

Ingredients

Dough:

4 1/2 cups flour

5 Tbs. sugar

2 (.25 oz) packages active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup shortening

2 eggs

Filling:

1 lb lean ground buffalo

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium green pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups cabbage, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Shredded cheese, optional

Egg Wash:

1 egg

2 Tbs. water

Sea Salt

Directions

For the Dough:
In a large mixing bowl, mix 1 3/4 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. 

Heat milk, water, and shortening to 120-130 degrees F and pour over the flour mixture. 

Add the eggs and beat with an electric mixer on low until blended, and then beat an additional 3 minutes on high. 

Add in the remaining flour, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. 

Placed dough in a greased bowl. 

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

For the Filling:

Meanwhile saute onions, pepper, and garlic in a bit of oil until just translucent. 

Add the buffalo meat and saute until no longer pink.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Drain away the grease, and return to the pan. 

Cover the mixture with the shredded cabbage and cook until the cabbage is done.  Stir occasionally.  This could take about 30-45 minutes or so.

Once the dough rises, roll out the dough into 12 6"x6" squares.



Not all of mine were perfect squares, but they can be stretched into submission.



Add about 1/3 cup of filling to each square. 

Add cheese if desired and fold over. 
(Both Raymond and I agree'd that you couldn't really taste the cheese, so if you like cheese and want to add some, I'd recommend adding more than this which was about 2 Tbs.)

Seal with a fork. 
(If you have a hard time sealing the dough pocket, use a bit of water and it should seal nicely.)

Add the Runza's to a baking sheet.  

Prepare egg wash by mixing one egg with 2 Tbs of water and brush onto each Runza, and then sprinkle with some sea salt.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

Serve hot with pizza sauce for dipping.

Amanda's Tips:

Runza's freeze extremely well!  Allow the Runza's to cool completelly, uncovered.  Once they are cool, wrap them in aluminum foil and then place into a ziplock bag to freeze.  To reheat, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F, put frozen Runza's, still wrapped in foil into the oven for 20-25 minutes.  The last 5 minutes, remove the foil.