KITCHEN: Runza's and the quicker Runza Alternative!!!

traditional Runzas  with regular dough

Runza Recipe ( oven 375 degrees)

(filling)
1 medium cabbage (coursely chopped or thinly sliced)
4 medium onions, chopped (I use less)
1 pound lean hamburger
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt

The trick to the filling is the pre-cooking part--you want the meat cooked,
but NOT the cabbage. A very large skillet is preferred. Most people start
with the chopped onions, but I like to let them "sweat" in the partially
cooked meat (crumbled). The onions will have less chance to burn. Add
the salt and pepper (you can adjust this if you need to). When the
hamburger is cooked (just barely) and the onions are transparent, you can
add the coursely chopped cabbage. Stir to keep it from weeping too
much. You are not trying to cook the cabbage, only "sweat" it just a tad
so you can manage it as a filling. When it is no more than halfway done,
remove it from the heat. Stir it to cool it more quickly--you are trying to
keep the cabbage from cooking and getting soggy. If you can cool it
quickly and get it into the fridge--that would be good. 

Dough:
1 pkg active dry yeast (or equivalent) (usually a TB)
1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
2 cups milk (scalded--NOT boiled
5 TB sugar
1 TB salt
6 TB oil (olive or canola or whatever)
7-8 cups of flour

(This is a very versatile dough. I make dinner rolls with it and have made
dessert runzas with fruit (especially apples) fillings. I even use it for
cinnamon rolls--very good.)

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water--to hurry this process sprinkle just a
bit of sugar on it. Set that aside to start getting "frothy". Scald the milk.
(To test for the scald point-gently blow across the top to see if a film has
begun to form--you will see little wrinkles in it when you blow) (Don't ask
me why you scald the milk--I don't know, and I am not sure we even have
to do it--it's just what the recipe calls for) As the scalded milk is cooling,
add the sugar, salt, and oil to it. Stir and let it cool to the 110-115
degrees that the yeast likes. Once it has reached that point you can place
the milk mixture in a large mixing bowl and add the yeast mixture. Stir.
Take 3-4 cup of the flour and dump it into the liquid. Stir with a fork or a
spoon (I use a fork). This will be a lumpy yucky mess. Continue to add
the flour one cup at a time, mixing it in after each addition. It will get
more and more difficult to blend it in. (due to fluctuations in the the
amount of moisture in the flour and the air etc. you will have to judge
whether you stop at 7 cups of flour, or 8 cups. I usually have no trouble
getting in 7 cups and then use the 8th cup to work the dough as I knead it.
After the dough has kind of become one mass, it is time to pour it out on
a floured surface and begin getting the lumps out by kneading. I usually
knead the dough for at least 10 minutes and sometimes 15 minutes. The
dough should become smooth and spring back readily if poked or gently
pinched. It should be very elastic. Oil the original mixing bowl--about 2-3
tsp should do it. No, you don't need to wash the bowl first. (But, you
should remove any loose stuff if you didn't quite get all the flour mixed in.)
Plop the dough mass into the bowl and use it like a sponge to move the
oil around the insides of the bowl and make sure to cover all the dough
with the oil. Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap, and set the
bowl in a warm area to allow the dough to double in size. (This should
take anywhere from 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours) (Always make sure you have a
large enough bowl or it will spill over and be a big mess!)
When it has doubled, you can pound it down and knead the air bubbles out
of it--you should have to knead very long. Traditionally, I think most
people make their runzas long, kind of like a sub roll. I never mastered
that technique and use an alternative. Divide the dough. (I can work with
half at a time, but if you have never made them, you may want to work
with 1/4 of the dough at a time. I roll out the dough to about 1/4" thick
and cut squares about 7" or 8" out of it. (Try not to have to roll it out
again, it doesn't perform well then) The filling--doesn't have to be cold,
just cooled enough to handle. A large serving spoon is heaped on the
center of the square and then I bring up the sides to meet at a point in the
middle on top. (Make sure you have drained any liquid from it) (Like an
apple dumpling) Then I press the edges together and twist the center
points into a little knot. The seams make it easier to break open for
reheating in the microwave and adding the butter or the mustard (I only
put butter on mine, but I know many people use mustard) 
These can tend to be a little messy when in the oven, so I usually place
them on aluminum foil on the cookie sheet. Place 6-8 on cookie sheet
and bake them in the oven for about 15-18 minutes. Check to see if they
are beginning to brown on the top. You want them to be a nice light
brown, so check them every few minutes. My oven seems to take longer,
so I am only giving you an approximate time. I serve this with potato
cheese soup or celery soup (homemade), if I serve anything else with it.
These will freeze well. Wrap each cooled runza with a heavy plastic
wrap, like STRETCH-TITE, doubling it over. You can thaw them in the
fridge and re-heat them (without the plastic wrap) wrapped in a paper
towel. You can also reheat them in the microwave when they are frozen,
but you will have to experiment, as the filling likes to stay frozen.
Breaking it open along the seams will help.
If you have questions, just ask....



Cinnamon Rolls, Runzas and dinner rolls from the same recipe!

And now for the super alternative to the long version!

EGG ROLL RUNZAS!!

 Using the same Runza filling as above...place in egg roll wrappers, folding and sealing as directed on the package.  I opt for the BAKED version...brushing a little olive oil on the top of each egg roll (to allow for browning)...and using my small (but efficient) tabletop oven, in a very few minutes we can have our Runza Alternatives!!  I use lower salt beef broth, a little butter, some chopped green onion, a little parsley...thicken slightly (corn starch or arrowroot), and use that as a dipping sauce.  You can get a little experimental and try adding some carrot shreds, or summer squash shreds to the filling, just to change it up a bit.  These were a huge hit since the regular runzas need a normal oven and it heats up the kitchen to do that...we only make runzas in the cooler weather...and in Phoenix...there's not a lot of that!