Recipe: Stromboli AKA The Big Mac, Perfected

Y’all…I can’t even. This one is just too good not to share.

Let’s start by saying, there are a few things you should know about me and our family.


1. We love Publix. We literally go almost every week. It started because Ben grew up in FL and something their family did was get subs from the deli at Publix. When he moved to TN when he was 16, he was pretty much disgusted with every other sub shop option. Now we go because I love the entire experience: employees are amazing, free samples and recipes, buy one get one free sales CONSTANTLY on anything and everything, THEIR SUBS. Yeah, it’s the best.

2. I’m not gonna lie, I grew up eating McDonald’s. And again, being completely honest, I still love the taste of a Big Mac. But I really do avoid it at all costs because I know it’s not good for me.

This is a problem because I miss that flavor. Well, guys, Publix has fixed this conundrum for me. This recipe tastes like a Big Mac…But imagine the perfect Big Mac. It doesn’t taste fake, it doesn’t taste chemically, just oh so good. If fast food went to Heaven and was perfected, it would taste like this.

Recipe can be found here. But I’ll include it below as well.

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GREAT AMERICAN BURGER STROMBOLI

source: http://www.publix.com/recipes-planning/aprons-recipes/great-american-burger-stromboli

Ingredients

Nonstick aluminum foil
1 lb lean ground beef (I used ground pork! Both are delicious!)
1/3 cup Thousand Island dressing
1 refrigerated pizza dough (14–15 oz) (I make my own pizza dough! Use this EASY recipe! You’ll never go back.)
12 dill pickle chips (I chopped up a Claussen dill pickle half. Because we’re pickle snobs…)
6 slices American cheese (eew. No. Use real cheese, please.)
**Optional ingredients
Half small onion, diced
Hand full fresh spinach, chopped
Bacon crumbles. A goodly amount.

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with foil. Preheat large, nonstick sauté pan on medium-high 1–2 minutes. Place meat in pan; brown 4–5 minutes, stirring to crumble, and until no pink remains. Drain any fat from meat, then combine meat and dressing in large bowl.

  2. Unroll dough onto lined baking sheet and stretch into a 13- x 9-inch rectangle. Place meat filling lengthwise down center of dough, spreading evenly, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Top with pickles and cheese. Roll one long side tightly around filling (like a cinnamon roll); press edges to seal.

  3. Bake stromboli 18–20 minutes or until brown. Let stand 5 minutes to cool. Slice and serve with additional dressing on the side, if desired.

A couple of quick notes from my version:

  1. I added diced onions because onions are probably my favorite allium in the world.

  2. I added chopped fresh spinach because our family loves spinach and I try to sneak it in wherever I can. (And not tell my 3 year old)

  3. I used some of our ground pork rather than the burger because it’s what I had on hand at the time. When I tried the sample at Publix, it was made with ground beef. Both are delicious.

  4. If you love pork and you wanna add some bacon bits, it’s probably a good idea. We did. It made it like a bacon cheese burger.

  5. Of course I didn’t use american cheese. It’s not cheese. And I hate it. I used a blend of 4 types of cheddar. But swiss would be amazing in this.

You need to try this immediately. It’s so unbelievably good and will be added to our regular menu, for sure! Your taste buds will thank you.

~JoAnna B.