I just kind of threw this together today. Just hit me last night and all of a sudden here I was today making it happen. The recipe hasn't been pulled out in my kitchen for years but it's one of those weird, quasi-fifties thing that you could imagine seeing in an old 'Better Homes and Gardens'. Right next to the salmon mousse and jello salad... you get the idea. Still, there is something about this one AND I'm always on the lookout for something to do with ground beef that isn't involving a sauce (i.e. chili, spaghetti sauce, etc.).

The recipe is another from one of my university roomies - Pat - and as it is written it was pretty, well... simple. I got thinking about it and figured that I could do something new with the same idea. The recipe called for a can of Cream of Mushroom soup - GONE! Try some fresh mushrooms, sour cream, a little cottage cheese and some spices to jazz this baby up. This still comes out just like the quaint dish that I remember Pat making. It makes me feel nostalgic and 'down-homish' when I eat it. Needless to say, my daughter LOVED it. Couldn't get enough. The finicky 3 yr old barely eats plain rice at the moment so I'm not stressing about him in the least. This would go nicely with a salad (not jello thanks), something green and wilted or some nice steamed broccoli.

All in all, I have to say that it was kind of campy fun putting this one together... a beef jelly roll!! I was actually multi-tasking when I made this too b/c my Mom called. So, here she is on speaker-phone while I was getting my crap done! Readers... meet my Mom! Who says you can't successfully multi-task!

2 tsp turmeric

In a heated Dutch oven, saute all the vegetables - save the spinach - until wilted. Add ground beef and mix well. Allow beef to cook for a few minutes over medium heat. Add in spices and seasonings. Mix well and allow the seasoning to cook into the veggies and meat for a few minutes. Turn down the heat and add the sour cream and cottage cheese. Check seasonings, adjust as necessary and set aside to cool slightly.

In a bowl, add the spices, flour and baking powder. Mix together and cut in the shortening. Continue cutting in the shortening until the mixture gets a bit crumbly. Slowly add in the milk and stir to form a dough ball. Knead on a lightly floured surface for just a few seconds (enough to see that everything is mixed well and it looks fairly smooth). Roll out the dough on the same floured surface into the shape of a rectangle.

Spoon the meat mixture over top of the rectangle, spreading evenly. Roll the long side of the rectangle until it's a long log. Seal the open side (if you can - I actually didn't bother). Slice into about 4 cm. (two fingers together) width slices and place each on a baking sheet with parchment on it (or a silicon baking mat). Bake for about 22 min. Just keep an eye on it, so it doesn't burn! Allow it to rest for about 10 minutes before breaking them apart. Otherwise, it could get very messy.