Italian Beef Sausage Stromboli

Looking for something different? Try this family-pleasing, easy stromboli filled with homemade Italian-style beef sausage, mushrooms, arugula leaves and mozzarella cheese.

This recipe is an excellent source of fiber, protein, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, iron, selenium and zinc; and a good source of choline.

Recipe Ingredients:

Italian-Style Beef Sausage:
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 cups pasta sauce
1 1/2 cups sliced button mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated whole grain pizza dough
2 cups packed arugula leaves
1 1/3 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese

Cooking Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).
2. Prepare Italian-Style Beef Sausage: Combine ground beef, fennel seed, salt, coriander, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper and crushed red pepper in large bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add beef mixture; cook 8 to 10 minutes, breaking into 1/2 inch crumbles and stirring occasionally.
3. Stir pasta sauce, mushrooms and garlic into beef mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in arugula and cheese.
4. Meanwhile, spray large baking sheet with cooking spray. Place pizza dough in pan; press dough into 15x10-inch rectangle. Spoon filling down center of rectangle, leaving 2 1/2-inch border on long sides and 1/4-inch border on short sides of dough. Cut dough at 1-inch intervals along each long side just to edge of filling. Alternating sides, fold dough strips halfway over filling at an angle, creating braided appearance. Pinch short sides of dough together to seal and enclose filling.
5. Bake in 400°F (205°C) oven 20 to 23 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes; cut crosswise into 8 slices to serve.

Makes 4 (2 slice) servings.

Test Kitchen Tips:

• Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef.
• Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F (71.1°C).
• Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe): 619 calories; 25 g fat (10 g saturated fat; 6 g monounsaturated fat); 99 mg cholesterol; 1497 mg sodium; 53 g carbohydrate; 10.7 g fiber; 46 g protein; 11.7 mg niacin; 0.5 mg vitamin B6; 3.3 mcg vitamin B12; 6.4 mg iron; 27.8 mcg selenium; 7.5 mg zinc; 91.2 mg choline.

Recipe and photograph courtesy of The Beef Checkoff.