pastry puffs

Wow – I had to go pretty far back to resurrect this thread…

I had a wonderful lunch yesterday and it reminded me of an old favorite I thought I’d share with you. Back when I used to commute 4 hours a day I was always looking for cheap/quick and easy meals to either take with me or eat when I got home. I probably read about this somewhere but I adopted it and use it pretty frequently…

Crescent Roll sandwiches/Pastry Puffs

Take a package of cresent rolls (those crazy ones that come in a tube with this Pillsbury fellow on there) pop it open and separate the roll dough into four SQUARES – do not rip the squares in half along the dotted line for the triangle – you want a full sandwich. Stretch all your squares out on a cookie sheet and put whatever sandwich ingredients you want on there (yesterday it was turkey, cheese, alfalpha sprouts and a little mustard) then roll up the cresent roll and seal the edges. I find it helps to get your finger a little bit wet before trying to seal the edges – that way your fingers don’t stick to the dough and the dough sticks to itself better. Then you just bake it for whatever time your particular brand of crescent roll says. As long as your internal ingredients are already cooked then you don’t need to add extra time to the roll cooking, the insides should get warm in the same amount of time. Well these are great right out of the oven but also work well frozen and reheated – I wouldn’t use the microwave if you use flakey pastry though – it tends to make it taste like rubber, or if you do nuke it just use the minimal amount of time.

Here are things I’ve stuffed these with:
sloppy joe mix
all kinds of cold cuts
beef stew (drained to cut down on juice)
sliced apples and cheese
mushrooms, onions and garlic butter
hot dogs (a party favorite – you can cut up the crescent rolls for these and just wrap them around the outside of the hotdog like a little scarf)

I guess the list is as endless as your imagination – it’s quick, freezes well and since I love pastries I usually like whatever I make. 😀