Cascading Kitchen Notes
These meat buns may be made ahead and frozen for tasty, quick lunches on the run. Bake them first, cool and then freeze.
Terrie and friends ran a cooking education project for fifth-grade kids. It's the perfect age to teach kids to cook. They can be instructed in the proper and safe use of handling knives and they are enthusiastic learners as well as being so proud of the results of their efforts. At the end of the 6-week cooking session, the kids would prepare and serve a multi-course dinner for all of their families. It was quite an affair of which the kids were justifiably proud. Teaching kids to cook for themselves and make wise, informed eating choices when they're young changes lives for the long run.
Watch Terrie demonstrate making these Meat Buns in the Week Fifteen Video
Try a kid friendly dipping sauce to go along. Something like this:
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 3 Tbsp. yellow mustard OR Dijon
- 2 1/2 Tbsp. honey
- 1 Tbsp. vinegar
- salt
- pepper
Optionally add:
- 1 pinch paprika
- 1 pinch onion powder
Meat Buns-KidsCook Style
Make 1 recipe of KidsCook Whole Wheat Rolls (makes 12)
If you choose to refrigerate the dough overnight, remove it from the refrigerator an hour before pinching into 18 rolls.
Prepare meat/vegetable filling:
- 2 lbs. Italian bulk sausage or hamburger
- 2 large onions – diced
- 4 cloves garlic-minced
- 2 bunches of kale, chard, collard, spinach or other fresh greens when they're available. Prepare in chiffonade style.
- ½ head of cabbage, more if you’re not using greens (kale, collard or chard or beet greens)
- 2 cups julienned carrots
- Salt & pepper to taste
Cook the meat in a heavy frying pan. Drain off the fat from the meat and hold meat in a separate bowl.
In the same frying pan, sauté the diced onion until sweet.
Add:
- 2 bunches of prepared kale or collards cut chiffonade style-stems removed
- ½ head cabbage-sliced thinly
AND/OR depending on the season
- 4 cups of summer squash-peeled, center removed, julienned
Regardless of season add:
- 2 cups carrots-julienned
- 4 cloves garlic-minced
Braise for 5 minutes with a lid over the frying pan.
Remove the lid and stir veggie mixture together.
Cook until the mixture is soft and the liquid has evaporated.
Stir meat into the cooked veggie mixture.
Cool filling before making meat buns.
Fill Meat Buns
Flatten each roll of bread into a fairly thin 6-inch circle. It’s best if the center is thicker than the edges.
Place 1/3 cup meat/vegetable mixture in the center of each circle.
Gather the edge of the dough together in the center. Pinch the dough closed and place roll seam side down on greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes @ 350 degrees.
If you want to freeze the buns for later, bake meat buns, cool and then freeze.