Turkey-Veggie-Rice-Stuffed Rosemary Buns

Ok...this was too good not to share! I have to thank my friend Ken Withrow with this idea and recipe.
We made a few changes, and don't see why you can't mix things up a bit to get what you want. We used beef instead of turkey, and the rest was pretty much the same. Thinking of doing again in a few weeks, but change up the rosemary for Italian seasoning, and the stuffing will be pizza filling. Even thought of trying a dessert version.  Please let everyone know what you think, and if you try this recipe or another version of it!


Thank you Ken!

Turkey-Veggie-Rice-Stuffed Rosemary Buns

Bun Dough:
1/2 cup of milk
1/4 cup of butter or margarine
1/3 cup of butter
1 package of yeast
2 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 egg
2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil

Filling:
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 large onion (or however much you want), chopped
3 carrots, halved and sliced as thin as you want
2 large stalks of celery, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup of white rice (or 2 cups of instant brown rice)
6 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil, divided
salt
pepper
garlic powder


Heat the milk with the butter and sugar just until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently. Cool the mixture down to 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit and add yeast. Let yeast mixture sit until frothy, about 5 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, salt, and rosemary with a fork. Add the egg, oil, and yeast mixture to the flour and mix with a fork or a large spoon until the dough comes together. For those with stand mixers, this whole stage of the recipe could be made so much easier if you have a dough hook attachment. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about five minutes. Set dough aside in a greased bowl, covered with a towel, for one hour, or until the dough has doubled in volume. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and punch it down. Cut the dough into 18-24 balls, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. With a rolling pin, roll each ball out as thin as you can. For lack of a better word, we'll call them dumplings at this point. In the center of each dumpling, spoon a good dollop of the filling. Starting with one edge, fold the dumpling edges around the filling, forming a kind of purse. If you pinch the top shut, you can steam them and call them Chinese steamed buns. I chose to turn them upside down, paint an egg wash on them and bake them at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and call them stuffed buns.


Filling:
Bring the chicken broth to a boil and add the rice. Cook the rice per the package instructions, which will vary depending on the kind of rice you use.
Heat 4 Tbsp of oil in a large pot, and add the onion, celery, carrot, and salt/pepper/garlic powder to taste. Cook over medium heat, until the onions are translucent and the carrots are tender.
In a skillet, heat 2 Tbsp of oil and add the ground turkey (or chicken, or beef, or whatever other kind of meat you like ground up) and salt/pepper/garlic powder to taste, and cook on medium heat just until the meat is browned. Combine the meat, rice, and veggies together in the large pot, and stir it to mix completely.



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