Chicken Stuffed Croissants

I wish you could taste test through the internet.

I just don't think that anything I can say will do this recipe the justice it deserves. So you should be able to taste test. 

Someone get on that already.

These are seriously SOOOO good. Warm, gooey cheese mixed with chicken chunks, onion, and garlic stuffed inside a buttery, flakey croissant... You know you want a taste test.

Actually, just go in your kitchen and make them. 

Now. 

And then eat them all. 

This is one of those recipes that I'm pretty sure you just can't mess up. You really can't go wrong with stuffing delicious cheese mixtures into bread. 

And they are actually quite filling so I usually serve these as our main dish. However, I have made mini versions for a party once and everyone thought I was cool.

Or they were cool. 

I can't quite remember...

Serve these hot. 

Or cold. 

For lunch.

Or dinner.

In sickness. 

And in...Ok ok. I'm not going to say these are so good you should marry them. 

I mean, that would be crazy...

But seriously. 

Go. Make. Them. Now.

Chicken Stuffed Croissants

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 tbsp butter

1 8oz. package cream cheese

2 cans buttery crescent rolls (regular size)

1 egg white mixed with 1 tsp water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a skillet, melt butter and sautée onion and garlic until translucent and kind of caramely. Pour the onion, garlic, butter, and cooked chicken chunks over the cream cheese and mix. It is a lot easier to mix if you do it while it's hot. 

On a greased cookie sheet, spread the crescent rolls out. Pinch and seal two triangles together to create a rectangle. Repeat with remaining rolls. (Each package should make four large rectangles.)

Place a large spoonful on each dough square. Pull each corner to the top and seal. 

Once all the rolls are stuffed and sealed, brush a thin layer of the egg white mixture on each top. (I always sprinkle a little garlic salt and shredded parmesan on each one before baking, but that is completely optional.)

Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. 

Recipe adapted from: Allrecipes.com

Just say "I do" already.

Tortilla Pizza

I'm going on vacation this next week.

Thank the Lord.

That has nothing to do with tortilla pizzas, but it's wonderful nonetheless.

Anywho. Here's the thing about me (in case you haven't figured it out yet): I'm mildly obsessed with cheese. Ugh. There will never be enough cheese in my life.

One time, when I was pregnant with my son, I woke up at 4 in the morning craving pizza. Tortilla pizza to be specific.

I won't tell you that I made two one.
And ate them it.
At 4 A.M.

Nope. Not tellin.

Now don't misunderstand. This isn't your mom's "we're-too-poor-to-buy-real-pizza-so-I'm-tricking-you-with-flat-crunchy-tortillas" pizza. No. This is the real deal.

(For one pizza) I take two tortillas and spread a liberal amount of cream cheese (on one tortilla.)

And feta. And Parmesan. And garlic and basil. And any other delicious thing you would want smooshed in between the crust on your pizza.

This is like a stuffed crust pizza...only the whole thing is stuffed. I told you...real deal.

Take the second tortilla and sandwich it on the top. Press it tightly so it stays together when baked. Top with sauce.

See, this is why I love this pizza so much. It's fast. I had homemade tortillas on hand. I always have cheese. I had left over spaghetti sauce. And I also tore up some ham and chopped a few onions. It's like instant gratification. Obviously the perfect pregnancy pizza. (Or not pregnancy pizza. Whatever.)

Tortilla pizza

Ingredients: for one pizza
2 Tortillas
Cream cheese
Basil
Garlic
Parmesan
Pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Cheddar cheese
Toppings to preference (i.e. ham, onions, etc.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

On a cookie sheet or pizza stone lay out tortilla and spread desired amount of cream cheese on it. Add basil, garlic, and parmesan (amount to preference). Top with second tortilla and press to seal. Add sauce, desired toppings, and cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

On the flip side: it's tortillas. So it's healthy. So (pregnant or not) waking up at 4 a.m. to make this might not be so bad... Food for thought.

Homemade Tortillas

This is one of those recipes that is super easy and impressive, even though I know you probably aren't going to quit spending $2.00 for the convenience of having pre-made tortillas. 

HOWEVER, I was craving tortillas one day and just so happened to be completely out of them. So this was a much better option than driving all the way to town for $2.00 store-bought tortillas.

These taste EVEN BETTER than the store bought stuff anyway.  So, if you are having a mexican theme dinner and you're feeling just a little extra ambitious, make these! 

Honestly, when I made these I did NOT have a mexican theme dinner planned. But they keep wonderfully in the fridge and very soon I will post a few different recipes using these delicious homemade tortillas. 

The process is actually really easy. You just start with some flour and butter. According to the recipe I used it is really important when cutting in the butter that the butter pieces are nearly eliminated in the flour or it will cause inconsistencies when cooking the tortillas. I just used a fork and pressed the butter until I felt it was small enough. They turned out inconsistency-less. ;)

Add a mixture of salt and water to the flour to create a dough. 

Separate the dough into 12 separate balls and let rest for about a half hour. Each dough ball becomes one 7-9 inch tortilla, so if you want smaller or larger tortillas separate accordingly. 

Roll the tortillas out on a floured surface and bake on an ungreased skillet over medium heat. This part is super quick. They literally spend only about 30 seconds on each side. 

So, the weekend is coming up. Make a batch of homemade tortillas and have yourself a party! 

(Or just have dinner. Either way...eat tortillas.)

Homemade Tortillas

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups of flour

5 tbsp of shortening

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup very warm water

Directions:

Combine the flour and shortening in a bowl and work the shortening in with a fork (or pastry blender) until completely blended. It is important that this is done until there are no visible particles of shortening remaining, or the tortillas will not have a consistent texture once cooked.

Dissolve the salt in the water and pour about 2/3 cup over the flour mixture. Work it in with a fork. Add the rest in (plus a little more if necessary) until all the dry ingredients are dampened and the mixture forms into dough. Bring the dough onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth. It should have a medium-stiff consistency.

Divide the dough into 12 separate balls. Cover on a plate and let rest for around 30 minutes.

Heat an ungreased skillet over medium-high heat. Roll a ball of dough on a floured surface into a 7 inch diameter. Lay the tortilla on the skillet and let bake 30-45 seconds until brown spots on the underside. Flip and bake another 30-45 seconds and then remove from heat and wrap in a cloth napkin in a tortilla warmer. Don't over bake the tortilla or it will become crispy. Repeat with each ball of dough.

Recipe from: The Urban Spork

Guacamole please. Mmmm.