Fall Brie En Croute

Here's a super easy way to make a Brie en Croute that adds in all the goodies of our fall season.  It takes about 5 minutes to prep.

Ingredients:
1 can of crescent roll dough
8 oz wheel of Brie
1/3 C chopped pecans
1 T butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C dried cranberries
1/4 C brown sugar
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Soak cranberries in water for a minute or two to take the edge off, then drain and pat dry.
3. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter.  Stir in pecans and cinnamon, toasting for 3 minutes.
4. Roll out crescent dough on a cookie sheet.  Place Brie, toasted pecans, cranberries, and brown sugar on top.  Wrap crescent dough around the goodness.
5. Brush top and sides of dough with beaten egg.
6. Bake for 15-20, or until nicely baked and browned.

Warm Pockets of Love, AKA: Nutella Puffs

Today, I dedicate this 199th post of my blog to my best friend in the whole world - Heidi.  We met one fateful day back in December of 1993, right before taking the high school freshman entrance exam at our high school.  She was going to move into the neighborhood, and while my mind is fuzzy, I believe we carpooled that early morning to the test.

Since then, we have (arguably) grown up: we've learned how to drive together, gone to away to different colleges, gotten married, she's had kids and cats, I've had gardens and dogs, and I've managed to move 2000 miles away.

However?  When I pick up the phone, or am lucky enough to visit home?  It's like I never left.  She is one constant in my life that I hope never changes.  I'm lucky to have such an amazing friend, and if I could send her warm pockets of love today, I absolutely would.  She deserves only the best.  Happy 32nd birthday, girl!  Here's to the next 19 years!!

On a side note - these other warm pockets of love (and Nutella) are super easy to make and take very little time or effort on your part, but everyone will love them.

 What you'll need...
1 pkg crescent dough (I used the sheets)
1/2-1 C of Nutella
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Combine cinnamon and sugar and place in a bowl/shallow plate.
2. Unroll crescent dough - smooth out with fingers or a roller.

3. Using a rotary pizza cutter, cut the dough into 12, roughly equal, rectangles.
4. Drop Nutella into the middle of each rectangle.  You can use as much or as little as you want, just stay away from the edges.
5. Pinch all edges together (like a ravioli), then coat both sides in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
6. Place on a lined cookie sheet (for easy clean up)
7. Follow the instructions on the crescent roll package.  Just watch for the pockets to turn a nice golden color.

8. Serve warm and enjoy.

This is absolutely perfect as it is (To Bridget Jones!), but it would also be nice with ice cream.  (But, what wouldn't be?)

I served two to my husband, then he ate my second one, then he ate two more off the platter before I had even noticed he'd left the room.

Seriously addicting, like an awesome friend who's just waiting for you to come home.  Love you, Heid!

Jalapeno Poppers, revisited

The original recipe is here.  Basically you need a can of crescent rolls, 2 jalapenos, some bacon, and a brick of cream cheese.

Cut the crescent rolls into 16 equal (ish) pieces, add a bit of bacon, jalapeno, and cream cheese.  Then, roll them up and place them on a non-stick cookie sheet (or foil, like I did).

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

 This was super simple, and it melted together so nicely.

I hate wasting time actually stuffing peppers, so this is a great alternative, and it's pretty quick.

Bandaged Fingers!

Everyone knows about Pigs in a Blanket, right?  Well, for Halloween you could call them bandaged fingers or little mummies, whatever your imagination allows...  I decided to go with Bandaged Witches Fingers and serve with a nice Bloody Sauce.  They were delicious!

For the fingers:

1 pkg. of Lil' Smokies - I chose the ones with cheddar inside.

1 (or so) pkg of crescent rolls.  (Not to be confused with croissants, I have learned!)

Using your pizza cutter, slice the rolls into strips.  Roll them around the Smokies, and cook according to the Crescent Rolls package suggestion.  I think we ended up cooking them at 350 for 8 (or so) minutes.  Keep an eye on them, and take them out when they turn golden.

For the bloody sauce...

Use 1/2 cup of ketchup with 2 tablespoons of Cider Vinegar and 4 tablespoons of brown sugar.  Mix well.  For a thinner consistency, use more vinegar, for thicker, use more ketchup.  It has a sweet bite that is amazing with the Fingers.  Dig in and enjoy!