Crescent Chicken & Veggies

This is a great meal to serve guests because the presentation is nice and the taste is even better. It looks like you spent a lot of time, when in reality it came together quite quick and easily. I first discovered the recipe for the Crescent Chicken part of this meal on someones blog a while back. I later discovered it was a Pillsbury recipe. I love most of the Pillsbury dessert recipes and this savory dish is no exception. The nice thing about this recipe is it's flexibility. You can make any additions or substitutions that your little heart desires. The recipe I've posted below is how I adapted the original, which can be found here. The Oven Roasted Veggies are also easily adaptable. Come on, be creative, use your imagination, clean out that fridge!

Crescent Chicken

2 cups shredded chicken, from about 2 breasts
3oz cream cheese, softened
1 T. butter, softened
4-5 button mushrooms, chopped
1 T. chopped green onions
2 T. milk
salt and pepper to taste
handful of crushed Ritz crackers (or fresh bread crumbs)

1 package of refrigerated crescent rolls (yes, you can use reduced fat)
1 T. butter, melted
crushed Ritz crackers, or fresh bread crumbs

You can cook the chicken any way you'd like but I prefer for it to have a little more flavor. So I boiled the chicken with water, teriyaki sauce, basil, oregano, minced onions, and pepper. Then I drained all that off and shredded the chicken. You could even shred one of those rotisserie chickens you get in the deli (just don't tell me about it!).

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the softened cream cheese and 1 tablespoon of the butter until smooth. Add in the chicken, mushrooms, green onions, milk, Ritz crackers (or bread crumbs), salt, and pepper. This is where you can go wild; you can add chopped peppers, carrots, corn, peas, whatever you can think of.

Unroll the crescent rolls and separate into 4 rectangles. Press to seal the diagonal perforations. Spoon 1/4 of the mixture into the center of each rectangle. Bring 4 corners up to the middle, trying to seal the edges as you go. Brush the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter on the top of each of the 4 bundles. Sprinkle remaining Ritz crackers/bread crumbs on top. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Oven Roasted Veggies

1 bell pepper, color of your choosing
1 large portabello mushroom, or any variety will do
1 leek, white and light green part only
1 sweet potato, peeled
1 or 2 red potatoes
1/2 head of cauliflower
handful of baby carrots
extra-virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
1-2 T. balsamic vinegar

1 whole head of garlic

Remove a few of the paper layers from the garlic, but not enough that you expose the cloves. Cut off the very tip of the garlic so that you can barely see the tops of the cloves. Put the head in the middle of a piece of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Bring the sides up like you're making a package. Put the whole thing in the oven for 30-45 minutes. You can cook this while you are cooking the veggies.

Preheat oven to 425. Chop all the veggies into bite-size pieces (about 1 inch). Throw in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper to taste. Spread all the veggies on a single layer on a cookie sheet (I line it with parchment paper for easy removal and clean up). Roast in oven for about 30 minutes, stirring about halfway through, or until desired doneness.

Remove veggies and garlic. Let the garlic cool and put the veggies in a bowl. Once the garlic is cooled, squeeze the garlic on top of the veggies. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar or dressing on the veggies and toss to coat. You can serve these either hot or cold.

Don't let the long description discourage you. I try to be very thorough with my narratives so it sounds a lot longer or more difficult than it really is. All in all, this probably takes about 20 minutes of prep time and then the 30 minutes of cooking. It packs a lot of veggies so give it a try! Enjoy.