Currently

I'm currently....

Watching.... My husband has me addicted to the Netflix's sereis, Longmire. It's like the main character was a student of Chuck Norris, but in a much more subtle, mysterious, Wyoming way. And everyone is against Branch, but he's secretly my favorite and everyone needs to be nicer to him!! Mr. B now refuses to call Mr. Darcy anything but Corgmire.

Eating.... For the life of me, I cannot.get.enough.Golden.Delicious.apples. Like.not.enough. Right now they are the sweetest thing. And so juicy. I can't stop eating them. Over the weekend I had four within a 24-hour period. I'm usually more of a Granny Smith kind of girl. I like a good pucker. But these... these are the best thing in life right now.

Planning.... Thanksgiving dinner menu!!! Bring on the sides and the leftovers and not having to cook for two days.

Reading.... Yesterday I started a recently published book, The Bronte Plot. It's labeled as "Christion Fiction", but so far I'm not seeing it. I'm about halfway through and it is good. The main character finds, buys, and sells rare books...but not necessarily in the most honest way. Now she's embarking on a London literary tour of sorts, hoping that going back will help her move forward. I'm a sucker for main characters in book professions, set in book stores, and anything to do with literature. Sucker, I tell ya.

Inspired by.... the children I work with. The things they say, their views and opinions, what they're thankful for, what they are happy about, their smiles... melts my heart <3

Excited about....ummm, I'm off until Monday, y'all! And starting with seeing my family tomorrow, I have a lot planned over the next few days, like Christmas shopping (actually on Black Friday, hence the FRIDAY part), gathering for the Big Game (please come back from your atrocious display last Saturday, Buckeyes! I'm begging you!), and putting out the rest of the Christmas decor, and yes, baking. It's never too early, my friends.

Have a healthy, happy, and blessed Thanksgiving!

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Photo an Hour

6 AM

7 AM

8 AM

9 AM

10 AM

11 AM

12PM

1 PM

2 PM

3 PM

4 PM

5 PM

6 PM

7 PM

8 PM

9 PM

It was an early day, watching the coffee pot.
It was barn tearing down day.
It was a breath-taking, blue-sky fall day. 
It was a comfy, cozy, crafty, cider, candy apple, caffeinated day.
It was Oakridge Festival Day!
It was a day trip kind of day.
It was a frustrating day to be a Browns fan.
As always, a day to be thankful.

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Re-Visited: Cooking Club #15

[Original post date Dec. 2011. --Updated 11/10/14: original, but separate content, with updated photos and/or more details, if available.]


---> Cooking Club is coming up soon, and now that I'm blogging, I want to share these moments but I thought I should play catch-up first. So without further ado, here (and in more posts to come) is what we've been up to. Enjoy!

#15 September: 5-Ingredient Fix

The Menu:
          Appetizer
Homemade Apple Butter on Toast
          Side
Orzo with Parmesan and Basil
          Dessert
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I'm not sure who came up with this month's theme, but the stipulation was the recipe could have no more than five ingredients. Unfortunately, I missed this Cooking Club (so I don't have pictures of the other dishes), but I was able to try the recipes the next day at work. Later on, I brought the recipe I had intended to make into work for everyone to try. I made my homemade apple butter in the crockpot. The apples slow-cooked their way to a chunky mess of butter-like goodness.

Apple butter is my absolute second favorite topping on toast, right behind cinnamon-sugar. Growing up there were always jars of this stuff in our refrigerator. And we usually purchased ours from the Amish Country. But as I've grown, the apple butters I've had recently are just too sweet. The last jar I purchased back in April actually hurt my teeth. I've never had apple butter as smooth as butter. I like mine a little chunky. And I've been meaning to try my hand at it for a few months now.

So when I was given the 5-ingredient only assignment, I went to work in my kitchen to make a delicious apple butter. But my main concern was the sweetness. I did not want mine sweet. I decided to pass on adding actual sugar, and replaced it with maple syrup. Added some spices, cinnamon (well, because apples and cinnamon, duh) and nutmeg (which is my favorite spice), and juice, and a couple of hours later I had a tasty, luxuriously, chunky apple butter for my morning toast.

Homemade Apple Butter

4-5 lbs apples, peeled, cored and quartered
1/2-3/4 c apple juice
1 c maple syrup
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon

Add all of the ingredients to your slow cooker. Cook on low 5 1/2-6 hours. During the last 2 hours, stir the mixture every half hour to break up the apples. After cooking, if apples need broken down any more, use a potato masher. Then cook on low another 1/2 hour with the lid off, stirring frequently, or until desired consistency is reached. (If you like yours sans chunks, break out the hand blender or wait until cooled and place in a blender; puree until smooth.) Store apple butter in containers in the fridge. Enjoy!

P.S. I definitely plan on canning and sharing this homemade apple butter with family and friends. It makes a great housewarming/hostess gift.


*I hope you enjoyed these Cooking Club snippets. I've finally caught up! I hope these themes, and even Cooking Club itself, inspire you to gather with your friends and family in the kitchen, and make sweet moments (and delicious food) of your own.

**I've only included the recipes to the dishes I made. Only because I'm unsure of where everyone got theirs...and hey, we gotta give credit where credit is due. If you have any questions about the other dishes, I'll ask the other members where they got their recipes and pass it along!

Check out our previous meetings!
Cooking Club #1-4
Cooking Club #5-8
Cooking Club #9-12
Cooking Club #13
Cooking Club #14

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Autumn Apple & Almond Breakfast Parfait

Have an abundance of apples on hand? Have you made this? Or this? Or even my most recent yummy apple recipe? One can never have too many apples around the house. Trust me. Mr. B and I are known to devour about two each a day. He likes them one way and one way only: fresh, raw, and in its original form. He even likes to put salt on them....? (Ick.)  I, on the other hand, will eat them raw, cooked, sauteed, chopped up in stew, shredded in muffins, sliced and slathered with almond butter <--- my personal favorite. However, I have yet to try them sprinkled with salt. I think I'll leave that one to Mr. B.

McIntosh are his favorite. I can handle those as long as they're cooked or in something. Granny Smith's are mine, but I really haven't met an apple I wouldn't eat except for those nasty Red Delicious ones. Who first said those were delicious?! Not even close. I also really, really enjoy Pink Lady, Paula, Molly, Cortland, Honeycrisp, Jonathan....Oh, hi. Brindi here and I love apples.

Apples are versatile and cheap, making them easy targets for a variety of recipes, and because of this I happen to feature them a lot here on Sweet B's. Oh, and they're healthy, too. BONUS. (<--- read in a sing-songy voice.) And they're an excellent breakfast option. I love chopping them up and throwing them in my oatmeal or on yogurt. In fact, just combine any leftover oatmeal, yogurt, and apples and you have one FANCY breakfast parfait. One fancy FALL breakfast parfait. One fancy fall breakfast parfait which seems ALMOST too indulgent for a simple brisk morning.

Autumn Apple & Almond Breakfast Parfait

Serves 1

Spiced Apple Stir-Fry <--- find this recipe here
cooked oatmeal
plain Greek yogurt
almond butter
homemade apple butter <--- find this recipe here
Optional: sliced almonds, unsweetened almond milk (I like to re-heat my oatmeal with some milk to soften it up a bit.)

In a bowl, fancy glass, or whatever you desire, start with a layer of Greek yogurt. Next add a spoonful of oatmeal (I like mine warmed) with a drizzle of almond milk, a spoonful of almond butter, and a sprinkle of sliced almonds. Add a few stir-fried apples, another spoonful of oatmeal with a drizzle of almond milk, a spoonful of almond butter, and a spoonful of yogurt. Top with a dollop of apple butter, a couple stir-fried apples slices, and a sprinkle of sliced almonds. Admire your beautiful parfait that looks almost too good to eat, and a little extravagant for your weekday. Then devour...slowly...with your morning coffee.

The perfect FANCY leftover fall breakfast.

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Re-Visited: Cooking Club #11

[Original post date Nov. 2011. --Updated 10/14/14: original, but separate, content, with updated photos and/or more details, if available.]


---> Cooking Club is coming up soon, and now that I'm blogging, I want to share these moments but I thought I should play catch-up first. So without further ado, here (and in more posts to come) is what we've been up to. Enjoy!

#11 May: Pizza

The Menu:
Cheddar-Apple Dessert Pizza
Berry Batch Brownie Pizza
Fruit Pizza


I apologize.

I failed.

I completely forgot to charge my camera, and it died during my first attempt at taking pictures during this month's Cooking Club.

But that won't stop me from telling you how ah-mazing this pizza is!

It's definitely my kind of dessert pizza...not too sweet, but just right. Apples and cheese always go together perfectly to create the most mouth-watering bite. (One of my go-to lunches is an apple and Munster grilled cheese....yum.) So this pizza did not disappoint. The cheddar made a delightful crust, and paired with the apple-sugar-and-spice topping.... Let's just say I love nutmeg.

You must make this ASAP!

I think this would be great for a brunch, or even more perfect as another the-day-after-Thanksgiving breakfast.

Update: With all of the above being said, I have made this dessert pizza quite a few times since that cooking club and have made many changes since, making it my own recipe. The biggest adaptation is turning the pizza into a rustic galette. For some reason I can't seem to get the pizza crust as sturdy as that first day, and have now just enjoyed making this dessert a tad rustic and crumbly. I changed up the cheese, replaced the butter with coconut oil, and have omitted half of the sugar.

Rustic Munster-Apple Galette

*adapted from Taste of Homes recipe

Serves 8

1 1/4 c flour + 1/3 c (mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flours)
1 tsp salt +1/4 tsp
1/2 c shortening
1 c shredded Munster cheese (I think any cheese would work here, so choose to your liking)
1/4 c ice water
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 c coconut oil
4 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine 1 1/4 c flour with 1 tsp salt. Cut in shortening until crumbly. Add cheese and toss lightly. Sprinkle ice water gradually over mixture, then shape into a ball with lightly floured hands. Place dough in center of large baking sheet (or round pizza pan) and roll outward from center to cover pan (or until big enough to your liking).

In a bowl, mix sugars with 1/3 c flour, spices and 1/4 tsp salt. Sprinkle half of sugar mixture over crust. Cut coconut oil into remaining sugar mix until crumbly and set aside. Arrange apple slices in overlapping rings on crust, leaving a 2" edge. Sprinkle with lemon juice, then with sugar-butter mix. Fold over the 2" edge of dough onto the galette topping, creating an overlap of crust along the edges of the galette and sealing in the apples.

Bake 35-40 minutes, or until apples are tender and crust is browned around edges. Serve warm cut into squares, slices, or whatever your heart desires. But be ready to eat more than one piece!

Add a steaming cup of Joe and this is brunch perfection, sweet friends.

*I hope you enjoyed these Cooking Club snippets. There are more to come as I try to play catch-up before this month's meeting. I hope these themes, and even Cooking Club itself, inspire you to gather with your friends and family in the kitchen, and make sweet moments (and delicious food) of your own.

**I've only included the recipes to the dishes I made. Only because I'm unsure of where everyone got theirs...and hey, we gotta give credit where credit is due. If you have any questions about the other dishes, I'll ask the other members where they got their recipes and pass it along!

Check out our previous meetings!
Cooking Club #1-4
Cooking Club #5-8
Cooking Club #9
Cooking Club #10


[Update: Recipe adaptations, along with mouth-watering pictures, and previous cooking club links.]

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Yes, I'm a Children's Librarian

This past Monday found me over my head in Doctor Who paraphernalia. My thoughts? I have no idea about Doctor Who anything, except it's a BBC TV show and it has a huge following...of all ages.

So with that in mind, here's a look into my work day this past Monday. (For my last librarian post, head here.)

11:30-1:00 p.m. It started off like any other Monday. I worked the late shift, so of course when I got to my desk this morning it was piled high with new books, new DVDs and music titles, as well as a decently filled email inbox. You know it's going to be a good day when the new Disney Frozen Karaoke has arrived! That went straight into my car, btw. LET IT GO!..............

Immediately, I dove into the new stack of goodies, because how could one not? (Mainly, so I could find the bottom of my desk to do some much needed work!)

1:00-3:00 p.m. Because of the lack of registrations not only for my upcoming yoga program, but for all September programs (it's hard to compete with new back-to-school schedules, soccer, and Boy Scouts), I decided to wait until I came into work on Monday to decide if I would cancel tomorrow's evening program. To my excitement, I had four kids registered which meant GAME on (err....YOGA on). Over the next two hours I was in planning mode. I had various ideas of what I wanted to do with my "Apples to Yoga!" program already, I just needed to put it all together.

Commence the yoga poses! And no I wasn't in my back office doing the poses....that's why I have yoga cards. I'm able to layout the poses I want, place them in the sequence I want, and see if it flows the way I want. Then, I go home and later that night practice the sequence just to become familiar with it, or if I don't like a particular flow, I can tweak it.

For this particular book, Apple by Nikki McClure, I chose to do one to three poses per word (since it has one word per page). I found the pose I thought represented the word best, for instance "HELLO" was the child's pose for telephone, placed them in the sequence, figured out how many times we'd do each pose and for how many breaths. Once my sequence was finished, I planned the rest of the program, which consisted of two crafts (a hand-print apple and an orchard made out of toilet paper tubes), two games, scarves for props, music, warm-ups and cool downs, along with apple trivia and apple tasting.

3:00-3:45 p.m. Department straightening and tidying up because with tonight's program there was no way I was going to accomplish this later. This consisted of organizing the play area, filling end caps and displays, and clearing any books from the tables.

3:45-4:15 p.m. LUNCH BREAK <--- I had this amazing soup, which I plan to share with you all on Saturday. Oh, it's soooooo good. The perfect way to use up any leftover zucchini.

4:15-6:00 p.m. Helped the teen librarians with their program set-up.

Actually, it was pretty much set up when I came back from lunch. However, I did make the buttons! Also, I spent the next hour or so learning as much as I could about The Doctors.

6:00-7:30 p.m. Doctor Who Extravaganza

Youth services program for all ages at my branch and put on by the Youth Services Teen Librarians. There was a ton of stuff for The Doctor fans of all ages to do, including making a red bow tie out of red duct tape, playing Guess Who? (which my co-worker, Sarah, used online artwork to turn an old Guess Who? game into a Doctor version....pretty cool, eh?), lots of trivia, a staring contest with "Don't Blink" prize buttons for the weeping angels(?) aspect of the show, multiple paper toys (weapons?) to make, pages to color, YouTube videos to watch, polls to take, and other various prizes to win. Annnnd, I was able to get my name translated into....Gallifreyan?

We had a full house with about two dozen participants.

7:30-8:00 p.m. Mad dash clean up!

At the end of the day, I think now I can carry on a decent Doctor Who conversation.

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Braised Pork {or Turkey!} and Apple Stew

With the weather turning chillier, it's time for chilis, soups, stews, dumplings, and everything else that warms the soul and your belly. I have the perfect stew for you. Not only is it quick, adaptable, and easily doubled to feed a crowd, but it's just so darn good. So good, I've made it twice in the last two weeks. And Mr. B and I have devoured it, barely leaving enough for our work lunches the next day.

This recipe was discovered when my friend brought it to one of our various Cooking Club meetings. I was drooling over it then, and I still find it mouth-watering now. Every time fall starts to peek through, I head to the market for my bushel of apples, fresh carrots, and potatoes because I must.make.this.dish.immediately. It just screams FALL to me, and it truly is a tasty way to welcome the season.

You'll often find me making this a couple times a month. Depending on the mouths I'm feeding, the why, and the where, depends on the ingredients. If I'm feeding a crowd (mostly men) or making a hearty meal for us to enjoy during the weekend football games, I use the pork tenderloin. However, if I'm making it as a week day meal, or just for me for a few work lunches, I use a turkey tenderloin and sweet potatoes. Either way, it's just divine. A hearty salad makes it a perfect meal. However, Mr. B prefers it with buttered noodles or buttered bread. He says it soaks up the broth.

I'm sure this would work well in a crock pot, too. My brother says he's going to give it a try.


Braised Pork and Apple Stew
*recipe from my friend Jenny

Serves 4 people

2 tsp vegetable oil
1 lb pork tenderloin (turkey tenderloin is just as tasty!), cut into 1 1/2" chunks
1/4 tsp each salt and black pepper
1 T flour
14-16 oz vegetable or chicken broth
2 apples (not too sweet), cored and cut into wedges
8 baby red potatoes (or sweet potatoes)
1 c baby carrots
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3 T Honey-Dijon mustard

Heat oil in 5-6 quart pot over med-high heat. While oil heats up, sprinkle tenderloin with salt and pepper; coat with flour. Cook tenderloin 4 minutes until browned, turning once. Remove to a plate and keep warm. Add broth, potatoes, apples, carrots and thyme to pot. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 12 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Stir in meat and mustard. Cover and simmer, 4-5 minutes, or until meat is just cooked through. Serve with your favorite side salad, rolls, or buttered noodles.

Nutritional Information
Pork version: 460 calories, 14 fat, 38 protein, 5 fiber
Turkey version: 362 calories, 10 fat, 22 protein, 5 fiber

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Re-Visited: Cooking Club #3

[Original post date Nov. 2011. --Updated 8/18/14: original, but separate, content, with updated photos and/or more details, if available.]


---> Cooking Club is coming up soon, and now that I'm blogging, I want to share these moments but I thought I should play catch-up first. So without further ado, here (and in more posts to come) is what we've been up to. Enjoy!

#3 September: Ingredient Apple

The Menu:

           Main Course

Braised Pork and Apple Stew

Israeli Couscous with Apples, Cranberries and Herbs

Mango Apple Curry      
           Desserts

French Apple Tart

Spiced Apple Stir-Fry

Look at that tasty fall stew. Yum-0

Cooking Club is expanding! Our new member is actually Jessica's boyfriend and a fellow co-worker. Welcome, Andrew!

It was Jenny's turn to decide on a theme and she chose apples (because of their abundance lately), which means we must have that ingredient somewhere in our recipe. This month I chose to make Giada's  Israeli Couscous with Apples, Cranberries and Herbs and Spiced Apple Stir-Fry (<--- not sure where I found this recipe; it was just on a piece of scrap paper, hiding in my box of to-make-soon dishes). I couldn't decide which one I wanted to make, so I brought both.

Check out my new apron!

You have to make this couscous. Please make this, you will be so happy you did. Seriously. This was my first time ever eating this new food, and now I'd eat it every day if I could.  Actually, I enjoyed this recipe so much that I make it about three times a month. Everyone loved it; so the next time I made it, I brought it to work to share with my co-workers. A tiny mistake on my part. They all love it so much, that now if they find out I made some and didn't bring it in they give me a hard time. It's so good I don't even want to share. haha. I want to keep it all to myself. And every time I make this dish, I thank the Lord that Mr. B isn't into trying new foods.

The funny thing is, my best friend Jessica, not the co-worker and Cooking Club member, my other Jessica (I know, it's hard to keep up sometimes), called me up a week after I made this at our meeting. She was going on and on about this couscous recipe she recently made and just knew that I would love. After she finished describing it, I realized it was the same recipe.

Yes, my friends, it is that good.

It's so good that it's listed on the menu for my last meal ever. (You know, the question: What would you eat if it was your last meal?) Yes, I must have this.

Anyhoo, having another member in the kitchen was fun and a new learning experience all over again. I love learning about people and what they bring to the table, literally. This was another great meeting, and next to my couscous, Jenny's Braised Pork and Apple Stew was killer. However, my second dish, Spiced Apple Stir-Fry was quite tasty, and I'd love to have this every time I eat vanilla ice cream. [Actually, this is fantastic on top of a bowl of plain Greek yogurt and sprinkled with sliced almonds. I think it gives Chobani a run for its money. The perfect healthy dessert.]

Spiced Apple Stir-Fry

Serves 4-5

3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced (or any favorite apple will work. Also, peeling is optional. I like the texture, so I leave it on.)
1 tsp grated fresh ginger (if you don't have, ground works just as well)
1/3 c sugar <--- taste your apples! I rarely use this much sugar, probably less than half. The apples lend enough sugar themselves.
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/3 c apple cider
1 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp butter <--- I use coconut oil, and I think it's even better, more flavor.

Cut stacked apple slices into fourths; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and spices; set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk cider with cornstarch; set aside. In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add apple slices and ginger and stir-fry, about 2 minutes. Stir in sugar-spice mixture and stir-fry another 2 minutes. Stir in cider mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil and is slightly thickened. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream.

[I apologize for not being able to provide a photo along with this recipe. It was so good, by the time we finished filling our bellies there wasn't any left to photograph.] <--- Feast your eyes on the beautiful caramelization splendor. It tastes just as wonderful as it looks.

*I hope you enjoyed these Cooking Club snippets. There are many more to come as I try to play catch-up before this month's meeting. I hope these themes, and even Cooking Club itself, inspire you to gather with your friends and family in the kitchen, and make sweet moments (and delicious food) of your own.

**I've only included the recipes to the dishes I made. Only because I'm unsure of where everyone got theirs...and hey, we gotta give credit where credit is due. If you have any questions about the other dishes, I'll ask the other members where they got their recipes and pass it along!

Check out our previous meetings!
Cooking Club #1
Cooking Club #2

[Update: I've included the link to the French Apple Tart, a new photo of the pork stew from last week, which Mr. B devoured with a side of buttered noodles <--- follow the above link for that perfect fall recipe, and some heavenly dessert photos.]

With Love and God Bless,

Brindi

Apple Snickerdoodles

I have a special place in my heart for snickerdoodles.

It was the first cookie recipe I ever made on my own as a young one in the kitchen, making a mess, sneaking bites of cookie dough, sampling multiple burn-the-roof-of-your-mouth-fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies.

Ahhh, the many memories of family and a dirty and well-loved kitchen.

And my snickerdoodles, well I love the soft, chewy, and puffy kind. Not the hard, crumbly type. But we all have our favorite recipes with the little tricks and secret ingredients that make our cookies juuuust right.

Give this delicious recipe, a twist on the classic snickerdoodle, a try. I mean who doesn't love melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon-sugar toast? It tastes just like that. With a side of apple butter ;)

Apple Snickerdoodles
*recipe inspired by my friend's cookies (and adapted family recipe)

yields: about 5 dozen

1 c butter (or ingredient that measures like butter....)
1 1/2 c vanilla sugar <---- secret snickerdoodle ingredient
2 flax eggs
1 T vanilla extract (or almond works well)
1 c flour
1 3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice for a little added holiday flavor)
2 T almond milk (or try adding my homemade apple butter)
1 cup dried apples, chopped
For rolling: 2 T sugar, 1 t cinnamon, 1 t pumpkin pie spice

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until very smooth and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and blend until combined. Sift together flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add mixture to wet ingredients. Mix until dough comes together. Fold in chopped apples. If needed, add in milk, 1 T at a time, until dough comes together. Chill dough for 30 minutes. In a bowl combine rolling ingredients (sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice). Preheat oven 375 degrees. Remove dough from fridge and roll into 1-inch balls. Dip in cinnamon-pie-sugar mixture and place on baking sheet. Lightly press down to flatten dough slightly. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.


With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

{Quick Appetizers} Crescents Galore!

Ahhh, crescent rolls. So easy, so versatile, so melt-in-your-mouth tasty. They're perfect all on their own. However, they're even tastier kicked up a notch. Crescent rolls are a staple in my household when it comes to appetizers, crowds, and game day. I have tried a plethora of crescent recipes, and below I included all my (and Mr. B's, of course,) appetizer favorites. So, take your pick (pssst...there are 6 of them)!

All you need is one 8-count can of crescent rolls, regular or jumbo is fine, (or more depending on the crowd you're serving), an ungreased baking sheet, an oven set to 375 degrees, and more or less of the following ingredients:

Crescent Poppers
3 slices cooked bacon, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp Neufchatel cream cheese, softened

Unroll crescents, separate and cut each one in half (giving you 16 poppers). Add a dollop of cream cheese to the center of each. Layer on a few pieces of bacon and pepper. (Add more jalapeno slices for more spice.) Fold sides up and twist at top to seal. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 11-13 minutes.


Pepperoni Crescents
mini turkey pepperonis
4 pieces mozzarella string cheese, halved
garlic powder
pizza sauce, warmed (optional)

Unroll crescents and separate. Place a few mini pepperonis and one half of the string cheese in the center of each crescent segment. Fold sides up and twist at top to seal. Place on prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with garlic powder. Bake at 375 degrees for 11-13 minutes. Serve with pizza sauce.










Taco Rolls
3 oz Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
2 tsp homemade taco seasoning mix
3/4 c shredded chicken (a great way to use up leftover chicken!)
1/3 c salsa
1/4 c shredded cheese, Mexican blend

Unroll crescents and separate. Combine cream cheese and taco seasoning; mix until smooth. Spread 2 teaspoons on each crescent, almost to the edges. Add a tablespoon of shredded chicken and a small dollop of salsa. Roll up, enclosing on all sides so it doesn't ooze out while in the oven, and place on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 11-13 minutes.


Brie, Fruit & Nut Wraps
Brie cheese, peeled and sliced
apple slices (pear slices work well here, too)
nuts of choice (walnuts, pecans, almonds....)
honey

Unroll crescents and separate. Layer each crescent with a small slice of cheese, fruit, and a nut. Tightly roll up each crescent, making sure all sides are pinched closed. Place on prepared baking sheet. Lightly drizzle with honey. Bake at 375 degrees for 11-13 minutes. [Yes, a glass of wine, or tea, is a must with these!]

These crescent rolls are perfect for game day appetizers, sides, snacks, brunch, AND dessert. Also, don't forget to check out my Cold Vegetable Pizza, which uses a package of crescent rolls as its crust. It's a definite winner, along with my gooey Ham Cheese Crescents!

Check back for the Crescents Galore Dessert version!

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi