A hit with hubby.

Can I just say right off the bat that this recipe does not qualify for my "Healthy Eating" label? If however I were to create a "Happy Hubby" label, and I probably should... yeah... okay I will, the recipe does qualify for that one.

While on the phone with my daughter Melissa, she told me about a recipe she had made the night before for her family. They really liked it. That was not a big surprise since she can cook, and she makes the kind of down home food that most everyone enjoys. I am however considered the family "foodie" the "health nut". I was raised on and taught down home cooking, ie. biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, real mashed potatoes, baked goods including bread from scratch, casseroles, homemade soups etc. You get the idea. Oh, no bars held in the fat, sugar or white flour areas. In fact, the only rule was that it had to taste good... really good, and it always did. In the midst of all of that however, my father who taught me to cook and bake, did have a bent toward fresh fruits, vegetables and meat as well as using "real" ingredients like butter, milk, the freshest eggs and cheese in town, and no mixes or dehydrated things like instant rice or potatoes, or imitations like imitation vanilla or that colored corn syrup they call pancake syrup and try to pass off as an economical alternative to real maple syrup. In the end, that bent of fresh and pure became my focus in cooking and baking. I realize most prefer the down home country style cooking, but I do more of the fresh ingredient style cooking. Jon is okay to eat that way, but he prefers Melissa's culinary creations if the truth be told. So, if I want to make something quick, easy, inexpensive and to please Jon's palate, I only need to make whatever Melissa has been preparing for her family. Melissa is a Rachael Ray fan. This is one of Rachael Ray's recipes, and I will print it here exactly as it appears on her web site.

Cheeseburger Bread

Pre-heat oven to 375°F.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 pound ground sirloin
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoons chili powder
Salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup beef stock
1 tube frozen pizza dough, defrosted
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or cornmeal
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten with
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

• Place large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the meat to the pan and cook until golden brown, 5-6 minutes.
• Add the onion and chili powder to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the onion is tender, 4-5 minutes.
• Add the mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and beef stock to the pot, bring up to a bubble and simmer until thickened, 4-5 minutes. Let cool.
• Dust your hands and lightly coat the pizza dough with flour or cornmeal before rolling it out onto a work surface.
• Roll out the dough slightly so it's approximately 11x16".
• Top the dough with the cooled meat mixture and top that with the cheese. Leave a one-inch border on each side.
• Fold all the borders in and over onto an inch of the meat mixture. Roll the dough up into a log shape forming a spiral in the middle.
• Brush the roll with egg wash and sprinkle it with sesame seeds. Transfer the roll to a baking sheet and bake until dough is evenly golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• To serve, slice up the cheeseburger bread and serve with a side of ketchup for dipping. Like a cheeseburger and a pizza all rolled together!

Browned meat, onions and seasoning placed on pizza dough.


Cheese spread on seasoned meat and onions, dough folded around.


Done baking.


Jon likes his hamburgers to have mayonnaise and classic yellow mustard on them. He likes pickles every now and then, so added them. Iced tea and dinner is done! In Melissa's culinary world vegetables are always a negotiable item... emphasis on the neg in negotiable. Keeping in the tradition of enjoying Melissa's cuisine, Jon was pleased to let the pickles suffice as greens.
Me? I did sample a bite. It was what it was, and for this kind of thing (which is not my preference) it was good. This is just not my kind of thing. But Jon really enjoyed it as did Melissa's family.

I used Pillsbury's thick crust pizza dough that is in the refrigerator section of your grocery. I dissolved a bouillon cube in a cup of hot water primarily because I had no beef stock or broth on hand. Also, I will not any salt next time. We don't use much salt around here and I thought it was too salty. Most of the recipes I have tried of Rachael Ray's seem to be that way and so I guess a good rule of thumb might be to re~think the salt in any of her recipes I may consider using for our house. Overall, I recommend this one for a family dinner or I would not be sharing it here. If you try this, be sure to let me know what you and~or your family think.