Crescent Pepperoni Roll-Ups

How awesome are crescent rolls?? One of the best creations ever! You can make so many tasty treats with them. You have found a few crescent roll recipes on this blog and  here’s another one, thanks to Pinterest! This one is a great appetizer, or even for lunch, and so easy to make. I made a double batch for a party and everyone loved them. Who doesn’t want a little individual pizza all rolled up and baked to perfection?  That sounds delicious to me. I kinda wish I had one right now. If I can’t have one now, at least I can teach you how to make them. Let’s get started so I can get a snack.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls

40 slices turkey or regular pepperoni

4 pieces of mozzarella string cheese, each cut in half

garlic powder (optional)

pizza sauce

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 375. Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 8 triangles.  Place 5 slices of turkey pepperoni on each crescent roll.  Top pepperoni with string cheese half and roll up.  Tuck the lose edge around one end to keep the cheese inside as much as possible.

 

 

Sprinkle crescent rolls with a little garlic powder for extra flavor.  As you see, I lined the baking sheet with parchment paper because I knew it would be running out.

 

 

Place rolls on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. 

 

Look how yummy those look with the cheese running out. Serve with a side of warm pizza sauce.

The Perfect Pork Roast (plus a bonus BBQ recipe)

This might look like a tan brick in the photo, but it was super tender and juicy once I cut it up....trust me!

See, I might have a full-time job again, but I can still find time to make great meals.....even if it is in a crockpot! I have always loved my crockpot and the love affair continues. This is honestly one of the best pork roasts you’ll ever put in your mouth. So flavorful and moist. Make it once and you’ll believe me and want to share the recipe with your friends, I did.

Now don’t let the ingredients scare you off. There is coffee and bourbon in the recipe. Yes, it sounds like a strange combination. I don’t drink either, but I put them in the crockpot because I’m afraid to leave anything out and chance losing the delicious flavor. This is such a great recipe and I don’t want to change one thing. I have always loved crockpot cooking and this is a great recipe made just for the crockpot. The best part is that it can be two recipes in one. You can have roast one night and then make BBQ with the left overs. You will also love the BBQ sandwiches. So juicy and tasty. However, if you love the roast too much you might not want to make the BBQ with the remaining at all. I made the roast tonight and my husband doesn’t want me to make BBQ, he wants to have it as roast a few more times. BTW, we’re still debating that point!

Okay, enough chit chat, let’s get started. Here’s what you need:

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork roast
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups strong brewed coffee
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons bourbon whiskey (optional)
• 10 cloves garlic (yep, 10 cloves!)
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

Season the roast with salt and pepper. Place the seasoned roast, coffee, Worcestershire sauce, bourbon whiskey, garlic, beef broth, water, onion, and red pepper flakes in a slow cooker set to LOW. Cook 6 to 8 hours. I cooked mine 8 hours on low and it was perfect. Since I have a job now, I got everything prepared the night before, put the crockpot, with everything in it, in the fridge overnight. How could the roast not be perfect with all that marinating time AND cooking it in the juices??

When roast is fully cooked, transfer to a large cutting board, and save some juice to use later as a nice au jus. Should pork technically have an au jus?? I don’t really know, but it was nice to spoon over the roast when serving. I also put a lot on the left over roast to keep it moist in the fridge.

Now here’s how you get two different meals with the work for one.  Shred the remaining roast into strands using two forks. You can either just heat all of this in the microwave or return meat to the crockpot. Stir in  barbeque sauce, and continue cooking on LOW for 1 to 3 hours. I guarantee you this will be the best BBQ sandwich you’ve ever tasted. It is so moist and delicious! Now I love me some Kraft BBQ sauce so I start with that and step it up a little.

Here’s what I do, it’s not an exact recipe though.

Pour about half the bottle in a bowl and add the following:

splash of lemon juice

about a tablespoon or Worcestershire sauce

squirt of yellow mustard

squirt of ketchup

a little granulated garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Or just use your favorite BBQ sauce as is!

Pour this sauce over pulled pork and stir together. You have just created the BEST BBQ sandwich you’ll ever taste! Yummy!!

If I win the battle to make BBQ this time, I'll post pictures of that soon. Let's just be honest...I WILL post pics of BBQ very soon. :-)

And the BBQ pic is posted! Better late than never!

 

French Dip with Easy Au Jus (yes, I made au jus!)

Two words....DE-LISH!!! These are a real party pleaser and a hubby pleaser. So easy and so delicious. Who knew I could make such a yummy French Dip sandwich at home AND get this......wait for it......I made my own au jus! Can you even believe it??? I certainly never thought those words would come out of my mouth....”would you like some homemade au jus to go with your French Dip”. But I made it so I made sure to let everyone know! :-)

I have found so many great recipes on Pinterest, as you keep hearing me say, but there are even more wonderful things you can do with a can of crescent rolls. Who knew?? I’m going to make sure I always have some on hand from now on. These are so easy, let’s chat about it. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

Ingredients:

• 2 packages crescent rolls, 8 count
• 1 pound deli roast beef, thinly sliced. I used Hillshire Farms pre-packaged that comes in the container with the red lid.
• 4 ounces Swiss or provolone cheese, cut in 16 equal sized pieces. Or you can use swiss slices and cut each slice into thirds. Each sandwich will use 1/3 slice.
• optional: Horseradish Sauce (I omitted this because I’m not crazy about it on sandwiches, but I’m sure my hubby would have loved it)
• optional: Au Jus for dipping. I wouldn't leave this out! (see recipe below)

French Dip Crescent Directions:

1. Unroll crescents onto a large cookie sheet.
2. Spread a small dab of horseradish on each crescent, then place a slice of roast beef and a piece of cheese on each crescent. If you are using the thinly sliced lunch meat, use 2-3 slices per roll.
3. Roll crescents starting from the wide end and ending at the narrow end.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 11 to 13 minutes, until crescents are a golden color.

Serve with Au Jus and enjoy!

Sorry I don't have pictures of the process of making the sandwich, but it's very simple, I think you'll do a great job!

Would you like to really step it up with your own homemade au jus?? I highly recommend it. It does take a little prep time though. It's at least an hour so if you don't have the time, skip it and they'll still be yummy.

The dipping sauce was a big hit! Here we go:

Easy Au Jus Ingredients:

• olive oil, just enough to saute
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped (I had a white onion and just used that)
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/8 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon flour

Easy Au Jus Directions:

1. Caramelize the onions in a small amount of olive oil. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two more.
2. Deglaze the pot with white wine, then add Worcestershire sauce and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.
3. Add beef broth and bring to a light boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

4. Strain broth and then return it to pot. Add flour and simmer an additional 5 minutes.

These were so delicious with a little side of individual au jus! Enjoy!