Ok, I had a twelve Pound boneless ham for New Years. Lots of left over ham and not enough ideas of what to do with it all. I hate freezing ham. The ham comes from a favorite Old Time shop that makes it's own products. They are so good and I ham out for weeks after getting one.

I searched through a few other sites and found thousands of recipes for ham salad and ham balls, lol. Most of the ordinary type recipes. Just over and over again.

I have mentioned the Runza before. It is nothing more than a simple dough stuffed with ham, potatoes and sour kraut. My grandmother made them for the family when I was a kid. They were a favorite. Specially during the cold winter months.
Today with the modern device called a microwave, it is so much more enjoyable to heat one of these up for a few minutes and to eat them hot.

I was chatting awhile back with friends from the north west and mentioned the Runza to them. I learned that they have actually heard of them. I was shocked..... I thought they were something just my grandmother made and named. It seems that in the north west the Runza is very famous and is sold as normal there as a chili dog is here.


The Runza


Ingredients


Bread dough for 1 loaf of bread
8 slices of ham, sliced about 1/8" thick
4 cooked potatoes sliced thin or 4 cups of left over mashed potatoes seasoned with extra gound black pepper to taste.
2 cups of sour kraut



Directions


Pre heat the oven to 375*

Cut the dough into 8 equal sized pieces. Press each piece of dough into about a 6"-8" round like you would for a personal pizza. A lightly floured surface may be helpful to prevent the dough from sticking to the work surface. Cut each slice of ham in half and place 2 halves onto one side of the circle of dough. Onto the ham, spoon on about 1/2 cup of the potato mixture and then 1/4 cup of the sour kraut. (If you don't like sour kraut, add some cheddar or swiss cheese instead. Not a Runza but what the hey.) Fold the dough over like you would a Calzone. Make into a half moon shape. I just press the seam closed by pinching it. Some like to fork it. I like the rustic press seal. Place the filled dough pockets on a lightly oiled baking sheet. If you'd like a glossy top, brush with a beaten egg wash. If you would like it more crispy, brush with olive oil. prick the top of the Runze with a fork to allow steam to escape and bake for about 30 minutes or until a nice golden brown.

I like to allow these to cool just a bit before biting into one.

I do have pictures so I had better find them to post.


Enjoy, IC

These sound so delicious IC, wow thanks for sharing the recipe!

In the Upper Peninsula area of Michigan there is a "Pocket Sandwich" if you will, it is called a Pastie and they are very good, it seems the wives would make them for their hubands to take to work; these guys were Lumber Jacks and they could wrap these meat/potato/vegetable pies and put them in their pockets to eat for lunch so they would have a nice warm meal to enjoy in the cold of winter! They were made with thin slices of beef, potatoes, shredded carrot, rutabaga, onion, and very little moisture then salt and peppered and wrapped in pie dough and baked, they now a days eat them with ketchup! Pretty smart way to "Feed You Hungry Lumberjack" who I imagine had some ver-r-r-ry healthy appetites!

These both sound incredibly delish, guys!