Beefy Deliciousness

Being a complete kitchen moron, I began this blog way back in December, thinking that I would try one recipe a week, document it through photo and blog and hopefully learn to cook like a big girl. So it hasn't quite worked out the way I had hoped. I'm definately not at the Rachel Ray or Paula Deen stage in my cooking, I'm not even on the level with the syndicated Mr. Food from Channel 14. BUT compared to where I started, I have improved. I cooked the majority of Christmas dinner for pete's sake and not one person ran screaming from the table, so that's gotta count for something. I have strayed from my original plan, but I guess that's OK too. I don't plan on giving up the idea of finally learning to cook, I just don't know that I can/want to do it on a weekly basis. And you can forget the fancy and gourmet dishes for quite some time. I've got to get down the basics. I still haven't mastered the art of fried chicken(or fried anything for that matter), mashed potatoes or mac and cheese(though I have come close on that one). But through this little experiment I have begun to give a little more thought to what I eat and how it's prepared and have discovered that I kinda dig this cooking thing. My cookbook collection has grown by leaps and bounds...I find myself reading them for fun and then today I asked my lunch buddies "so, what makes good meatloaf? crackers, breadcrumbs, or oats?". The fact that those words came out of my mouth is truly astonishing. The very idea that I would ponder what makes meatloaf tastier when I don't even really like it to begin with means that I have turned a corner. A corner to where exactly, I don't know. But a corner has been turned. So keep checking in for my culinary adventures, though boring they may be, some day I'll be able to cook all fancy-like and you can say you knew me when I was still a member of the Ellie May Clampet cooking club!

I whipped up a yummy slab of beefy goodness tonight. It was super easy and oh-so-satisfying. If you don't get the FREE cooking magazine from kraft foods, you should. Go to the kraftfoods.com link at right and sign up for "food and family" by following the links on the website. This recipe comes from that magazine and it turned out soooo good. Better than I thought. During the browning of the ground beef and onions, I had a flashback to my college days when bro' Shea and I made the most nasty concotion to ever be concocted. We were using one of those sandwich pocket thingies and tried to do a taco filling. Trust me, it was nastiness defined. Anyhow, once I got over the flashbacks, I trudged ahead and created this tasty sandwich roll.

Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-Ups

1 lb. lean ground beef
4 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onions (about 1 small)
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pkg. (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Cook ground beef, bacon and onions in large skillet on medium-high heat until ground beef is evenly browned, stirring occasionally. Drain; return meat mixture to skillet. Add VELVEETA; cook until completely melted, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; set aside.
UNROLL pizza dough onto baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Press into 15x8-inch rectangle. Top evenly with meat mixture. Roll up dough, starting at one of the long sides. Rearrange, if necessary, so roll is seam-side down on baking sheet.
BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until golden brown. Cut diagonally into six slices to serve.

A few other things: As you know, I sprikle Lawry's on everything and I added some grill mates seasoning for hamburger. Used smaller portion of chopped dried onions rather than fresh(didn't have fresh). Sprinkled a touch of parmesean cheese on top of the roll pre-baking. I use Oscar Myer precooked bacon(less WW points than regular bacon) next time I will microwave and crumble it up before adding to the beef...I like my bacon Crunchy.

In case you're curious...the nutrition info at the website shows a portion being 10WW points. I used Laura's lean ground beef, less than called for amount of velveeta and I think I can get seven servings rather than 6, so that puts mine at about 7 points per serving by my calculations. Well worth it.