The Christmas season is a special time of year when families gather near, so it seems only fitting that we would honor another Iowa farm family this week on The Field Position. Ryan and Dawn Higgins have the pleasure of living with their two children, 7-year-old Logan and 3-year-old Madison, on the farmstead where Ryan and his sister were raised near Grand Junction.
“Because I grew up in town, I didn’t fully appreciate where my food came from or the amount of labor that went into producing a safe and abundant food supply,” says Dawn. “Ryan and I feel fortunate that our children are growing up with an appreciation of where their food comes from.”
And as a teacher in nearby Perry, Dawn is passionate about educating children about the care that goes into raising pork, beef and grain. The Higgins hosted a field trip for their son’s kindergarten class and for Dawn’s fifth grade students, as well. The children had an opportunity to pet piglets, calves and a horse. They also got to climb into the cab of a tractor and combine, which was especially a hit with the kids.
“These little kids had never before had a farm experience,” says Dawn. “You assume that they’ve been near animals and farm equipment just because they grow up in Iowa, but that’s not the case. At the end of the day, we wanted the kids to know that farmers really care about their animals and work hard to produce the best crops possible.”
The Higgins’ children like to work around the farm, too. They love riding in the tractor and combine. They also love their animals. Logan and his BFF say they’re going to live on the Higgins’ farm when they’re grown up, but Dawn says they might just have to share it with Madison because she loves farming, too.
Regardless of what their children decide to become they grow up, the Higgins feel blessed their children will have an appreciation of how their food is raised. And, they hope that’s a lesson that will be shared with others.
That’s one reason the Higgins share recipes that feature the food they produce.
“Because we raise pork and have plenty of it in our freezer, I often use ground pork in place of hamburger,” says Dawn. “I like recipes that call for ingredients that I’m likely to have on hand, so that’s another reason Bacon Cheeseburger Rollups are a favorite of mine.”
Bacon Cheeseburger Rollups
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 package bacon (I use the pre-cooked)
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 8 oz. Velveeta Cheese (cut in cubes)
- 1 tube (13.8 oz) refrigerated pizza crust
- 1 red pepper (chopped)
Directions
Directions:
- Brown 1 pound of ground pork. Drain and rinse.
- Sauté red pepper and onion; then add to the cooked pork.
- Cut up pre-cooked bacon and add to the ground pork, red pepper and onion mixture.
- Stir in the cubed Velveeta cheese until it’s blended into the mixture.
- Allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
- Roll out the refrigerated pizza dough on a sprayed cookie sheet into a 15×8 rectangle.
- Top your dough with the ground pork mixture.
- Roll up the mixture starting with long side first.
- Once rolled, place seam side down on the greased cookie sheet.
- Place in oven set at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Dawns says she’s adapted the original recipe by adding the red pepper because it adds flavor. She adds that her rollups are never the same twice, but even when they don’t look spectacular, they taste delicious!
Recipe Notes
Photo from Kraft.com