Cowboy Bundles

   My best friend is an AMAZING bread baker!  So, when she passed on this Cowboy Bundles recipe, and I saw the first ingredient said: 2 packets of yeast, I just sighed and tucked it away on the To Try pile.  She has totally conquered her fear of Yeast and left me in the dust, still battling it alone.

{Sigh}

  I hate yeast.  Yeast hates me, too. Except when I make butter crescents, but even they are ugly sometimes. 

  I can scarcely believe I am writing this, but I DID get these Cowboy Bundles to turn out: YAY!!!!  Soft, lofty and all the right kinds of chewy!   YUMMMMMMM!

Introducing COWBOY BUNDLES…….

  Think Meatloaf in an amazingly soft bread bundle. Did I already say, YUM?

Yes?

Ok, moving on.  Oh, but did I mention the bread was soft and nice?

 Yes?

Ok, just checking, cause it really was! Not flat and disgusting at all! Yipee!

(click title for easy printable)

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 packages (1/4 Ounce Each) Active Dry Yeast
• ⅔ cups Warm Water (110-115*)
• ⅔ cups Warm Milk (110-115*)
• ¼ cups Sugar
• ¼ cups Shortening
• 2 whole Eggs
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• 4-½ cups (up To 5 Cups) Of Flour (I Did A Mixture Of Whole Wheat And White)

Filling

• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 3 ounces, weight Package Of Real Bacon Pieces
• 1 whole Small Onion Chopped
• 1-½ teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Pepper
• 1 pound Velveeta Cheese, Cubed (next time I want to try a few cups of shredded colby jack instead)
• ¾ cups Ketchup And BBQ Mixed
• 3 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
• Ketchup Or BBQ Sauce For Dipping

In your Kitchen Aide bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, sugar, shortening, eggs, salt and 3-1/2 cups flour; knead using your dough hook. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough, kneading until smooth and pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn dough on to a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef, onion, salt and pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add bacon and cheese; cook and stir until cheese is melted. Remove from the heat and stir in BBQ/Ketchup mixture.(I added a bit more than directed, until I liked the consistency)
Punch dough down. Turn on to a lightly floured surface; divide into fourths. Roll each portion into an 12-in. x 8-in. rectangle; cut each into six squares. Place 1/4 cup meat mixture in the center of each square. Bring corners together in the center and pinch to seal.
Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 400° for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with butter.

Serve warm with ketchup and BBQ sauce if desired.

  We ABSOLUTELY LOVED these and they have officially make “The Rotation” at our house, a select few recipes that EVER get repeated! Cause I loooove new recipes!   Be brave, try these Cowboy Bundles even though they call for Yeast, YOU CAN DO IT!