Easy Crescent Taco Bake

Easy Crescent Taco Bake

Refrigerated crescent dinner rolls unite as a quick crust to hold ground beef, cheese, salsa and seasoning in this easy-to-assemble main dish.

Ingredients

1

can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1

lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef

3/4

cup Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa

2

tablespoons Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix (from 1-oz package)

1

cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)

Steps

• 1Heat oven to 375°F. Unroll dough; separate into 8 triangles. Place in ungreased 9-inch square pan or 10-inch pie plate; press over bottom and up sides to form crust.
• 2In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in salsa and taco seasoning mix; simmer 5 minutes. Spoon meat mixture in crust-lined pan; sprinkle with cheese.
• 3Bake 14 to 17 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown and cheese is melted. Served topped with lettuce and tomato, if desired.

* Pile on your favorite toppings! Try shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, additional salsa, sour cream and avocado slices.

* A 4.5-oz can of Old El Paso® chopped green chiles can be added to the meat mixture.

Cream Cheese-Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

Ingredients

1

package (8 oz) cream cheese

2

cans (17.5 oz each) Pillsbury® Grands!® Flaky Supreme refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing

1/4

cup butter, cut into pieces

Steps

• 1Heat oven to 350° F. Grease 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with shortening or cooking spray.
• 2Cut block of cream cheese into 24 equal-sized cubes. (Start by first halving block so that you have 2 thin pieces, and then cut each thin half into 12 equal squares.)
• 3Set aside icing from cinnamon rolls. Separate each can of dough into 5 rolls; unroll each roll, and cut each in half.
• 4Take a section of dough and fold it over so you have a rectangle shape that is 1 layer of dough thick. Place a square of cream cheese in the dough; fold over the dough, and gently crimp it around the cream cheese. Repeat with remaining dough pieces.
• 5Place cream cheese-filled dough balls in pan. Place butter pieces on top.
• 6Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown across top. Cool 10 minutes; run knife around edge of pan to loosen. Place heatproof serving plate over pan and turn over; remove pan. Cool 10 minutes longer.
• 7Drizzle reserved icing over top of bread, allowing some to drizzle down side. Pull apart to serve; serve warm.

*Although monkey bread is best served fresh and warm, it can be reheated the next day in a 200°F oven or in the microwave.

*For an even sweeter monkey bread, roll each square of cream cheese in brown sugar before rolling into dough.

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Just line em up.

This is what it should look like in the oven.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 40 salted saltine crackers or enough to line your pan
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 cups milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips
• (optional) 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with at least a 1/2 inch edge or jelly roll pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Line saltine crackers in a single layer on the cookie sheet.
2. In a small pot combine sugar and butter and bring to a boil. Once mixture is at a boil, continue boiling for 3 minutes. Mixture should be a deep caramel color. Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 to 6 minutes. It will get all bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and let sit a couple of minutes to melt. Sometimes I melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for about 1 minute then spread it on. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts if desired. Cool completely and break into pieces.

Notes

Note: You should either use salted butter or salted saltines but not both. I used salted crackers and unsalted butter in this one.

Read more at http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/03/saltine-cracker-toffee.html#HvgF27Vl2p0RKq4r.99

BROWNIE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon water
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips plus about 1/3 cup more for garnishing
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus about 1/3 cup more for garnishing
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray or grease 12 muffin cups. *Or you can opt to do mini-muffin bites and cook around 8 minutes or until center comes out clean with a toothpick test.
2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine sugar, butter, and water. Microwave on high for 1 minute or until butter is melted. Stir in 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips until melted. Stir in egg and vanilla extract. Add flour and baking soda, stirring until blended. Allow to cool to room temperature. Then, stir in 1/2 cup each peanut butter chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Spoon batter by heaping tablespoonfuls into muffin cups.
3. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly wet. Place pan on wire rack. Centers of brownies will fall upon cooling. If not, tap centers with the back of a teaspoon to make a hole.
4. Place peanut butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 45 seconds, then stir. While brownies are still hot, spoon about a tablespoon of peanut butter into the center of each brownie. Top with semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Cool completely in pan.

Christmas Tree Vegetable Platter

A broccoli and tomato "tree" with pretzel "trunk" and cauliflower "snow" are delicious dippers for a cool and creamy dip

Ingredients

Creamy Herb Dip

1/2

cup sour cream or crème fraîche

1/4

cup mayonnaise or salad dressing

3

tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

3

tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

1/2

teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4

teaspoon salt

1/4

teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1

small clove garlic, finely chopped

Vegetable Platter

3

cups fresh broccoli florets

14

grape tomatoes

1/2

yellow bell pepper, cut into strips

1 1/2

cups fresh cauliflower florets

3/4

oz (about 40) pretzel sticks (from 15-oz bag)

Steps

1In small bowl, stir together dip ingredients. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour to blend flavors.

2Rinse and thoroughly dry vegetables. Trim broccoli and cauliflower floret stems.

3Arrange broccoli on serving platter to form tree shape and tomatoes to form garland. Arrange bell pepper to form star and cauliflower to form snow (see photo). If desired, cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours.

4Just before serving, arrange pretzels at bottom of tree to form trunk. Serve with dip.

Italian Meatball Hoagie Braids

Your kids will love these cheesy, easy-to-handle hot meatball sandwiches!

Ingredients

2

cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet

16

frozen cooked Italian-style meatballs, 1 to 1 1/2 inch (from 16-oz bag), thawed, halved

1

cup tomato-basil pasta sauce

1

cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)

1

egg, slightly beaten

1/4

cup grated Parmesan cheese

Steps

1Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray.

2If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate into 8 rectangles. Place rectangles on cookie sheets. Firmly press perforations to seal. If using dough sheets: Unroll dough; cut into 8 rectangles. Place rectangles on cookie sheets.

3Place 4 meatball halves lengthwise down center of each rectangle. Top each with 2 tablespoons pasta sauce and 2 tablespoons mozzarella cheese. With scissors or sharp knife, make cuts 1 inch apart on each side of filling. Alternately cross strips over filling. Brush dough with beaten egg; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

4Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.