Kitchen Cheat: Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Every now and then you stumble on a product or idea that has no real purpose other than making life easier in the kitchen. You could do it yourself, but if there's an easier option, why not take it? When strapped for cash or time, sometimes it's easier to let someone else do the work for you.

I call these concepts my Kitchen Cheats. 

So, quick and fun (and dangerous!!) discovery that I’m totally going to use for my next dinner party – Pillsbury Crescent Sheets. Oh my heck, it’s a total cheat, but I have no problem with that. Sometimes, you need something simple, to make something extraordinary, and if it can save me the time and energy of making a dough myself, heck yes, I’m going to do it!

(Photo from Pillsbury)

The concept is simple – you know the delicious Pillsbury Crescent Rolls you’ve been having for years? The buttery, flaky kind that come into die-cut triangles that you roll up into something akin to a croissant? Well, someone figured out that Pillsbury could make a boatload of money, (and home cooks could have a whole lot of fun!) by NOT cutting triangles into the dough and leaving it for the general public to figure out what to do with it. The cost is pretty decent – I bought 2 rolls for $4.00, and the time on it is pretty simple, too. About 10 minutes at 350°F will give you a nice, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside crust for whatever you’re making.

I’ve been seeing the recipes all over the place online and finally decided to investigate the possibilities for myself. Home cooks have been having a lot of fun with this one. I’ve seen recipes for Ham Florentine Mini Cups, Blue Cheese and Red Onion Jam Crescent Thumbprints, Bacon and Cheese Tartlets, Broccolli Braids, Stromboli…the list goes on and on. I saw everything from quick and easy party appetizers to full family dinners made simpler by having delicious buttery dough pre-made for you. (What family-man or woman couldn’t use a hand, right?)

I decided to start simple. When cooking, I like to see just what the product can do before I go getting all experimental with it. I figured a simple Baked Brie would be an easy way to test the waters, so to speak. I planned on making a nice, mushroom and brie dish to go on some crackers, but when I got home, I tasted the mushrooms I picked out. Ugh. They totally tasted…CHEMICAL. Like they’d been resting in a chlorine pool. Not good at ALL.

(See? This is why you should taste everything before you cook with it, right?)

So, I scrapped the mushrooms and decided to just wrap the brie and see what happened. Now, most recipes I saw called for an egg white wash. I opted for olive oil instead, but it worked. A quick brush over the crust of the brie, and I carefully laid the crescent roll over the top and used my fingers to pinch up the edges. I threw it in the oven at 375°F for about 12 minutes and waited.

(If you follow me at all, you know I’m awful with waiting. I peek under pot lids and crack open oven doors all the time, and today was no exception. I just get a weird bit of satisfaction out of watching bread get all golden and pretty.)
Let me tell you, my friends, this snack was AMAZING. The outer shell was crispy and golden, the inside of the brie was melty and warm. I cannot WAIT to try this out at my next event. I’m thinking of taking another stab at the mushrooms, or possibly trying a carmelized pecan layer in with the brie next time. I’m also looking forward to experimenting with the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and finding out what else I can wrap and create. I already have an idea for a savory sweet potato tartlet…

**Should probably say that this blog is my opinion only, I didn’t get any money or goodies from Pillsbury for talking about them. I just found the product, decided to give it a shot, and wrote about it. **



Just another magic monday...

...kitchen magic, that is!

Today, and every Monday from here on out, I've been blessed with the opportunity to contribute at Ramblings of a Texas Housewife.

There, you can find out about my latest adventures in the kitchen, catch my latest recipe and tell me all about yours, too!

Happy Monday!

In the company of food and memories

Today, my roommate and I had our traditional round of "what do you want for dinner?" "I don't know, what do you want for dinner?" "I don't know, are you craving anything?" "Not really, what sounds good?"

It's the same conversation that I imagine is carried out on a nightly basis in homes around the world. Actually, I'm pretty sure that some of you are out there nodding, going "yep, that sounds familiar!"

After a little bit of discussion, part of dinner tonight it going to contain a spinach dip recipe that I've been making for the better part of a decade now. Each time I make it, I change it up a little, so I guarantee that if you've had it once, the next time I make it, it will be a different theme. I was planning this night's creation, and suddenly my mind started running, pulling back to a tiny kitchen a decade in my past.

Foodie on a Budget: My Culinary Philosophy

It is no secret to anyone that I love food. I love cooking. I watch the Food Network like most guys watch porn, and I turn the pages of a recipe book as quickly as a bestselling novel. I love the aromas of good food filling the house, I love the sound of the sizzle when it hits the oil in the pan, and I walk through a culinary specialty store like most kids walk through a toy store just before Christmas.

Most people have common collections; stamps, shotglasses, postcards. Me? I collect recipe books. Whenever I travel to a new corner of the world, I hunt down a recipe book that specializes in local cuisine. I’m not looking for those big glossy hardcovers you can find just anywhere, no. What I’m looking for are those tiny, home-bound (or stapled) collections of paper which hold local specialties, tips, and tricks, usually sitting by the registers of the local dives with names like Maude’s Café, or Miss Lil’s Pies. The secrets to making paella or a shrimp etouffee would mean more to me than the secrets of the ancient ones.

Culinary Misadventures

Let me tell you about my previous forays into affordable cooking at home. It usually starts with a recipe (don’t they all?). I’ll be flipping through my recipe books, drooling over the dishes that I have all the desire but none of the ingredients to make and I’ll stumble on a recipe that just looks amazing. I’ll jot the recipe down onto a sticky note and off to the store I go. All will be going great, I’ll have a full basket of goodies…and then I find it. The one ingredient that I’ve never purchased before and will likely never, ever need again.

“Oh my god, nigella seeds? What the hell is a nigella, and why do I need the seeds?” I stare at the sticky note, my mind running through every cooking show I’ve ever watched. “Nigella? Isn’t that the new chef? Okay, is this a spice? An herb?” By this time I’m turning circles in the aisle, peering up at the large signs hanging overhead as if magically Aisle 10 will show Pasta, Canned Vegetables, and Nigella Seeds. By the time I figure out that it’s a spice, and not just a spice, it’s an EXOTIC spice, all the way over in the special International Foods corner of the store…by the time I’ve measured the pesky black seeds into a baggie and tied it off…I’ve spent $8.99. On a spice. That I wasn’t even sure was a spice, and will likely never, ever use again. Well, so much for my healthy AFFORDABLE meal…

Shieldmaiden Challenge Update

You have walked 33 miles.
You have passed Black Rider Stopping Place.
It is 13 miles to the next landmark.
You have 425 miles to reach Rivendell.

The other two ran quickly to the left and down into a little hollow not far from the road. There they lay flat. Frodo hesitated for a second: curiosity or some other feeling was struggling with his desire to hide. The sound of hoofs drew nearer. Just in time he threw himself down in a patch of long grass behind a tree that overshadowed the road. Then he lifted his head and peered cautiously above one of the great roots.

Pull the Trigger...

I can't blog about the one thing that I truly want to blog about today. I can't talk about the pain that's in my chest or the tears that I've cried, or why I've spent all day on the edge of emotional chaos. I can't talk about counting the sick days that I have left and wondering if it's worth it to just stay home, in bed tomorrow, and avoid everything.

I can't talk about these things.

However, I would like to talk about Triggers. Not the kind on your gun, though those are certainly important as well. I want to talk about psychological and emotional triggers.

We all have them. Some are fairly benign, and even beneficial. The smell of bread baking triggers an emotional response - you feel at home in your mother's kitchen, and instantly you feel alive, comforted and safe. The smell of fresh cut grass takes you back to your high school days and stirs the emotional response of how you felt when winning that championship game against your rival.

However, there are triggers more malignant than these, and we all have them, too.

Be the Change

I’ve been absent for much of this week. I know, I know, bad blogger, especially since my goal has been to write one post per day. Real life just has a tendency to get in the way of other things sometimes (funny how it does that, right?)


I’ve discovered that the best way to improve your own circumstances is to get involved with things greater than yourself. It’s something that I’ve been striving to do this year – I want to become more active in my community and really consider the impact that I’m making on the world as a whole. I think that sometimes, we get too wrapped up in the drama and created chaos in our own individual worlds and forget that there are much greater issues and missions out there.
So, in the spirit of community:

On October 2nd, 2010, I’m going to be participating in a Zumba Party In Pink event to raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. There will be lessons on Breast Health and Cancer Prevention through nutrition along with Zumba (of course!), raffles, and seated massages. Participation is a donation (or $5), and it’s going to be a great, fun event. All proceeds are going to Susan G. Komen. Are you local to me and want to go, or want to make a donation? Contact me and I’ll get you the information that you need!

On October 9th, 2010, I’ll be participating in the Come Walk With Me 5K for the Good Samaritan Foundation breast cancer research. E. and I are doing it together, and she’s bringing along a crew of friends. I’m excited for the challenge and am looking forward to helping out a great cause. Anyone local want to walk with me? I’ll be the one taking it slow at the back of the crowd, but I’m determined to finish! If you’d like more information about the event, want to donate to the foundation, or want to participate, contact me!

I am now registered as an Onshore Outreach Volunteer with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. (Seen Whale Wars, that’s us!) I’m hoping to organize an event early next year to raise awareness and do some fundraising. Right now, I’m just testing the waters (pun intended) and trying to figure out how much support and interest I have in my local community, and what sort of event would go over the best.

Important links:
Zumbathon Party In Pink information: http://zumba-love.com/
Good Samaritan Foundation 5K Come Walk With Me Information: http://www.sumnerdowntown.com/ComeWalk/come_walk_with_me.htm

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society:
http://www.seashepherd.org/

Shieldmaiden Challenge:
http://shieldmaidenchallenge.spruz.com

Into the Unknown...

 

If you’ve ever wondered if there is actually a place called Wit’s End, I’m here to tell you, it does exist. I’m there. And I’m considering buying a summer home.

I’m sitting here, trying to wrap my head around the events of yesterday. Received another visit from my father early in the morning. The only reason he stopped by was to complain about something I have absolutely no control over. So, he’s screaming at me on the front porch (loud enough that the neighbors can hear, and I’m surprised that no one peeked their heads out the front door), and I’m curled over, arms over my chest, asking him repeatedly to stop. Nothing else, just ‘please, stop.’ And he continued to shout and I started to cry….

And that pretty much describes every aspect of my relationship with my father. If I were writing a movie script, this would be the point I would insert a fade out to a quick montage of every time I’ve been screamed at, called names, and belittled, and every time I’ve sat back, just waiting for it to end.

Just a small town girl...

This town is centuries old, desperately trying to force itself into the 21st century. Like an elderly women trying to reclaim her youth with lipstick and false eyelashes, so this town tries to hide it's brick streets with bright paint and neon lights. It's disheartening to drive down our Mainstreet now. On one end you can find historic homes, antique shops, and brick lined streets peeking through the edges of the pavement. As you travel, time passes. There's the high school we all went to, because it was the only one that we had, more than a century old. It's been modernized and expanded to accommodate the hundreds of kids who pass through it's doors every year, but somehow still manages to hold the history that, in fact, it's older than any of the town's current inhabitants. There's the butcher that always used to scare me as a child, the nostalgic dairy freeze, and the corner store where anyone could buy a pack of smokes, no matter there age.

Autumn Awakening

It’s well after sunrise, but you couldn’t tell it by the thick, rolling clouds which hang on the air and the cottony wisps of mist swirling around the parking lot. The air is opaque, filled to the brim with a chilling moisture which chills your lungs and burns your sinuses. Across the lot, I can see the gymnastics studio still has their outdoor lights on, and each car which arrives to work has their headlights still on.


The leaves which hang on the trees are still green, yet wilting as though they struggle to hang onto the last gasp of summer before it fades. Some have already given up the ghosts, their still-green carcasses littering the ground, muffling the sounds of my footsteps. Down the street, the bakery has their ovens on, and when the wind hits just right, the hearty aroma of baking bread hits my nostrils and conjures up distant memories of hearth and home.

Zumba Zumba!

Back from Zumba, and I just have a quick bit of yay-me news to report!

Remember that combination I said was giving me fits last week? We did that dance again tonight and I actually got a whole section of it and didn't feel like a big idiot! YAY ME!!!

So, had a blast at Zumba again. This week has been crazy. I didn't go Monday because I was camping, and I didn't go Wednesday because I'd gotten some upsetting news that day and just didn't feel like doing anything after work. So, tonight, E and I decided to trek to the next town up the hill to take class AND AND AND! My friend S. agreed to go with us! Whoot!

We stand for...what?

I’m about to get political and religious, so if that isn’t your thing, feel free to skip over this blog entry. You’ve been warned.


The past few days, I’ve been inundated with news regarding Reverend Terry Jones of Florida. You know, the guy who declared September 11th to be Quran burning day in the US. Though, in my opinion, this was a large publicity stunt designed to gather followers to his church and deep-pocketed conservative sympathizers to his side, and though he’s now stating that he’s not going to carry out his protest, the results of his actions are far-reaching and probably more dangerous than he realized, or cared about.

Shieldmaiden Challenge Update

Week One:
You have walked 13 miles.
You have passed Last View of Hobbiton.
It is 5 miles to the next landmark.
You have 445 miles to reach Rivendell.

As they began to climb its first slopes they looked back and saw the lamps in Hobbiton far off twinkling in the gentle valley of the Water. Soon it disappeared in the folds of the darkened land, and was followed by Bywater beside its grey pool. When the light of the last farm was far behind, peeping among the trees, Frodo turned and waved a hand in farewell.

Vegas' Adventures in Cliffdiving

I'd like you to meet 130 lbs of crazy, my beloved canine, Vegas. Yes, 130. He's part Bernese Mountain Dog and part Luck Dragon.

Over Labor Day weekend, I took Vegas camping. Now, Vegas is a good camp dog. He wasn't always; as a pup, he whined up a storm. His first camping experience with a big group, he got a piece of glass stuck in his paw as the result of an idiot acquaintance who put a bottle of Jager in the fire with the cap on. Luckily, he was able to recover and didn't resent me too much the next time I dragged him out on a camping adventure.

Now, I know it's against the rules, but when we're out camping, I tend to let Vegas run off leash as long as we're at least 1/4 mile from any other campsites (or the neighbors like him) and any roads. At our usual site, I'll take him out on a day hike out on one of the trails and let him go. He likes bounding through the brush and flying over fallen logs like a deer (I have NO idea how he gets that height when he complains about jumping up onto my bed, but I digress...), he stays withing my eyeline (he'll even stop and wait for me when he rounds a bend in the trail), and usually has amazing recall and will return as soon as he hears his name.

Notice the clever use of the word "usually"?

Hit me with a text...

It's a tradition among my friends and I that we go camping together several times a summer. It's usually Memorial Day, Labor Day, and several weekends throughout the summer. This year, we've had some crazy weather and even crazier schedules, so we really haven't gotten to go.

Well, it's Labor Day Weekend and we're going.

Zumba Love

Okay, so I was worried for nothing, Zumba was FABULOUS. I bought a monthly pass to go to an unlimited number of classes for the entire month, and I’m totally stoked about it. It was FUN, and definitely didn’t feel like a workout at ALL. I highly recommend!

From the moment we walked into class, (I went with my friend E.) the vibe in the air was tangibly electric. Everyone was upbeat and friendly, and there were a LOT of first timers in the room, so that definitely took the pressure off! They meant it when they said that class would have a variety of ages and sizes in the group, and yes, while there were the obligatory beautiful skinny girls with abs I could only dream about, there were plenty of normal, healthy, curvy women that looked a lot like me. It made me feel a LOT less self conscious about my own body issues, and I could just relax and dance.

Happy September!

As an aside, I can’t remember where I put the first 9 months of this year. Anyone seen them? Good lord, it’s time to start hauling out the autumn decorations already. (Halloween is always a big event at my house, we have a HUGE party. I think I own more Halloween decorations than Christmas ones, and THAT is saying something, my friends!) It won’t be long and we’ll have holiday music on…again.

Really? One more year gone?

A little bit of inspiration

You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world. You impoverish yourself if you forget this errand.
Woodrow Wilson (1856 - 1924)