What's for Dinner

I always have more recipes than I could ever make. I love to look at cook books and magazines and imagine the food. Over the years I have gotten pretty good at judging a recipe without even making it.

I saw this one in an old Taste of Home magazine and knew it would be good. Turns out they were better than good, especially after I took my son's suggestion halfway through assembly. When he heard the ingredients he said "No pickles?" so I chopped up some hamburger dills and stirred them in. This little addition made them incredible. We spent the entire dinner talking about what else we could put in this dough. Chris suggested hashbrowns, sausage and scrambled eggs....Sounds like Christmas breakfast to me :)


Bacon Cheeseburger Buns
Taste of Home
24 buns (12 servings)

Dough:
2 packages (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
2/3 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup shortening (I used butter flavor)
2 eggs (I used ½ cup egg beaters)
2 teaspoons salt
4 ½ - 5 Cups Flour

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, sugar, shortening, eggs, salt and 3-½ cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Filling:
1 pound sliced bacon, diced
2 pounds ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons salt (I used 1 teaspoon sea salt)
½ teaspoon pepper
1 pound Velveeta, cubed
Optional, ½ cup chopped hamburger dill pickles

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain off fat and set bacon aside. Cook the beef, onion, salt and pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain off fat. Stir in bacon and cheese; cook and stir until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and stir in pickles if desired.

Assembly:
Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and divide into fourths. Roll each portion into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle; cut each into 6 squares. Place ¼ cup meat (I used my middle size Pampered Chef Scoop) in the center of each square. Bring corners together and pinch to seal. Place 2 inches apart, seam side down, on greased baking sheets. Brush with melted butter if desired. Bake at 400 for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned.

Serve warm with ketchup or Barbecue sauce.