[nw_arizona_granny]

Needs spices....granny

http://www.recipebookonline.com/asp/getrecipe.asp?ID=1448&PR=True

Meat, bean and cheese filled Sopapia’s(Mexican type dinner, some what like a deep fat fried beerock only better!!!!)

Preparation Time: 1 1/2 hours
Number of Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:
2# hamburger (Lean) browned
16 oz cheddar shreaded cheese (any type will do)
1 Can refried beans
Salsa or Picante (your choice)

2pks active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 cups scalded milk
2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cups shortening
2 tsp Salt
10-12 cups flour

Salad
Peanut butter

Directions: First the bread: Mix both pks of dry yeast into the warm water adding a pinch of sugar.

While yeast is growing scald the milk being careful not to burn it. Next mix the shortening and sugar in with the milk and allow it to cool to room temp.

Next add the yeast and water into the milk (make sure the milk is not too hot or the yeast will DIE).

Add slowly the 10-12 cups of flour to the milk mix, knead the dough and let rise until it doubles in size.

Kneed and let rise again.

While the bread is rising brown the hamburger seasoning it to your taste.

Set it aside and let it cool.

20 - 30 minutes prior to dinner, roll out portions of dough into dinner plate size circles (aprox 8”-10” dia). On one half of this circle place 2 tbl spoons of meat, beans, or cheese (or all 3). finish by folding the other half of the circle of dough over and crimping very well the edges shut. It should look some what like a turnover.

When you have most of the sopapia’s rolled out and filled, start deep fat frying them at 375 Deg. until browned flipping them over once.

Drain on paper towels. Serve when hot being carefull of the temp.

We usually break them open and add salad, salsa or picante sauce.

You can even make them with just peanut butter inside, however be very careful of the temp as peanut buter is like molten steel when it comes out of the deep fat frier so let them cool off a while.

Submitted By: Terry Webb of Dodge City, KS

[These should freeze well, it is about what I have made for the freezer, but I did not fry them, I baked them...Good on camping trips.....granny]

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

http://terristable.blogspot.com/2008/03/what-is-beerock-and-how-did-it-get-to.html

Fresno was where my mother first made and I first tasted Beerocks, wonderful individual beef and cabbage pies, seasoned with lots of black pepper and wrapped in a thin yeast dough. They are spicy and delicious, but a common version of the more complicated meat-filled pocket pastry that arrived in the 1870's with German-Russian settlers. Their pastries were made from braised beef that was coarsely ground and mixed with cabbage and onions and wrapped in a handmade yeast dough. My mother's version was made with hamburger and boxed hot roll mix.

This recipe makes 12 stuffed pockets.

Betty's Beerocks
by Terri Powers adapted from my mom's recipe

2-1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 large head cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 - 3 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 box Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix

Prepare the hot roll mix according to the directions on the box. While dough is rising to twice it's size, prepare the filling.

Put the ground beef in a large frying pan or pot and cook thoroughly on medium high heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks into the consistency of the meat filling for tacos. Add the chopped onions and cook until the onions are almost transparent. Add the cabbage and cook until it is almost soft, but still retains a somewhat firm texture (you don't want it to be mushy), stirring frequently until the meat, onions and cabbage are well mixed. Add the salt, then begin adding the pepper. Taste the mixture after you have added 2 tablespoons. The mixture should have a distinctly peppery flavor. Add more pepper as needed. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll out each piece into a circle about 8 inches across.

For each pocket, pile several spoons full of the filling on one half of the dough circle.

Lift the remaining half of the dough over the filling and seal the dough all the way around the half circle.

Place the pockets on a large cookie sheet (you probably will need two cookie sheets) lightly dusted with corn meal. Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until golden brown.

These freeze extremely well.

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I would think you could add cabbage and tomatoes, and some garlic wouldn't hurt either. The Beerock Shop down the road has many varieties of these. My son loves them!
10th