dinner Archives | Page 9 of 9 | Winstead Wandering

10 best crescent roll dinner recipes + 3 desserts

March 23, 2015 by Abby

I try my best to create meals for my family that include more whole ingredients and fewer canned and processed foods. A lot of nights, I’m successful.

There are plenty of nights, though, that I’m mostly concerned with just getting something on the table. For the nights when I don’t have anything to pull from the freezer, I try to keep a tube of crescent roll dough in the fridge.

While crescent rolls may not be the most nutritious choice, they’re a super convenient way to pull a meal together quickly. Here’s a roundup of some of my favorite crescent roll recipes.

1. sausage, egg, and cheese crescent roll bake from Winstead Wandering

2. Ranch Chicken Club Roll-Ups from Life With the Crust Cut Off

3. Pepperoni Pizza Crescents by Mess for Less

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jalapeño popper pizza

March 19, 2015 by Abby

I don’t pass up an opportunity to eat anything with the name “jalapeño popper”.

I also don’t say no to pizza. Ever.

So you can imagine my glee when, while scanning Pinterest, I saw a recipe for jalapeño popper pizza. I spent days drooling over the thought of this recipe. It took a couple weeks before I had the chance to make it.

And it was so worth the wait.

Jalapeño Popper Pizza
adapted from here

-1 ball of my never-need-delivery-again pizza dough
-4 ounces cream cheese, softened
-2 jalapeños, seeded and thinly sliced
-1/4 to 1/2 onion, finely diced
-4 slices of bacon, cooked and diced (the first time I made the recipe, I didn’t use bacon and it was still unbelievable)
-1 to 1 1/2 cups grated cheese (pepperjack, cheddar, or any blend will work fine)
-olive oil
-kosher salt

Preheat oven to 475 degrees with pizza stone inside and rack in second lowest position. Roll out the pizza dough to a 10 to 12 inch circle and transfer it to parchment paper. Use a fork to poke holes across the entire crust, leaving a one inch border. Bake crust on parchment paper for 5-7 minutes or until it loses its shine. Note: for full details on this pizza crust recipe, including baking instructions, see the original post.

Remove from the oven and brush olive oil over the outside rim. Spread with cream cheese. It’ll seem like you have too much cream cheese, but trust me, use it all. Next, add your shredded cheese, jalapeños, bacon, and onion. Return to oven and bake 6-8 minutes, until crust is a deep golden and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven again and brush olive oil over the outside crust. Sprinkle the whole thing with kosher salt, paying careful attention to the olive oiled rim.

I want to know: what flavor combinations are you powerless to resist?

mexican pizza {a taco bell copycat recipe}

March 5, 2015 by Abby

Confession: I’ve never had a Taco Bell Mexican Pizza. Now that I make this fresh version at home, I’ll never need to.

The recipe calls for refried beans- I make mine using this recipe– and taco meat, but I often make mine with just beans and my husband’s with meat only.

Just as with regular tacos, this recipe can be adapted to fit the preferences or dietary needs of just about anybody; in fact, it practically begs for it.

Mexican Pizzas
adapted from here
(recipe makes 4 pizzas; quantities as needed)

8 6-inch tortillas
1 – 1 1/2 cups (1 can) refried beans (you may want more if you’re omitting the meat)
1/2 pound taco meat (prepare your ground beef or turkey as you normally do for tacos)
1/2 cup taco sauce (salsa works, too)
1 cup shredded cheese
cooking spray or 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Additional optional toppings:
-diced tomato
-shredded lettuce
-sour cream
-diced avocado

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown your tortillas on both sides in a saucepan, either in hot oil or by spraying both sides with cooking spray. Spray a cookie sheet lined with foil.

On the foil, layer beans and meat on top of a browned tortilla. Cover with a second tortilla and spread that one with taco sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat until you’ve built four pizzas.

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes.

What fast food favorite do you make at home?

baked spaghetti

February 26, 2015 by Abby

This baked spaghetti is my default the-labor-intensive-meal-I-had-planned-is-so-not-happening-tonight meal. It can be thrown together in just a few minutes more than the time it takes to cook the pasta, and it’s made with ingredients we almost always have on hand.

Don’t let the recipe’s simplicity fool you, though. This spaghetti is cheesy and gooey and saucy and just about everything you could want in a pasta dish. Plus, the way it bakes with the cheese and the sauce holding everything together makes it much easier to eat than a traditional spaghetti.

I love that this recipe is completely adaptable. You can use any type of noodles and cheese you have on hand, and you can totally toss in a handful of your favorite fresh or frozen veggies. Even my picky eater husband devours this dish and asks for seconds.What more can you want?

Baked Spaghetti

1 lb. whole grain spaghetti
1 1/2 c. spaghetti sauce
2 c. cheese, divided (I usually use half cheddar and half mozzarella)
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

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