Cornmeal Crescent Rolls

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

2/3 cup yellow corn meal

1 1/2 Tablespoons instant yeast OR 2 Tablespoons active dry yeast softened in 1/2 cup water + 1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (I think next time I'd use salted butter or increase the salt added just a titch)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

5 ½ – 6 cups flour (I used 1/3 - 1/2 whole wheat)

Directions:
Heat the milk to just below a boil so bubbles are just appearing around the edges (this is called scalding milk). Add the cornmeal and cook and stir until thickened, lowering the temperature if needed so the mixture doesn’t boil.  Pour the cornmeal/milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl and let cool until lukewarm (I'd say don't wait too long, because you want it warm enough to melt the butter, but not hot enough to kill the yeast). Add the yeast, butter (not melted - it will melt from the heat of the cornmeal mixture) and sugar (if you dissolved active dry yeast with a bit of water and sugar until it foamed, add it now). Mix. Add the salt and eggs. Mix well. Add the flour gradually until a soft dough forms. Knead for 5-8 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl covered with lightly greased plastic wrap or a towel and let rise until doubled.

Divide the dough into three portions and roll each into about an 8-10 inch circle.  Brush the top lightly with butter. Cut into 8 wedges and roll each wedge up starting from the wide end so it forms a crescent roll shape.   (I divided the dough in half because I used half for the Chicken Pillow recipe, then rolled the rest into a big circle, about 1/4" thick, and cut it into 12 wedges.  I forgot to brush with butter before rolling into crescent shapes, but I think they'll be fine when I cook them.  I placed the rolls on a cookie sheet - closer than I would have if they were going to be rising - and immediately put them in the freezer for a couple hours.  Once they were hard, I popped them in a ziplock bag, ready to be grabbed and thawed when needed.)

Place each roll on a lightly greased baking sheet, spacing about 1-2 inches apart to allow for rising. Cover lightly with greased plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise until doubled.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. Brush with butter while still warm.

Notes:
While I haven't baked mine up yet (besides the one that didn't have enough filling left to become a Chicken Pillow), I have full confidence that these will be most delicious rolls.  I love my regular crescent recipe, but the cornmeal base of these intrigued me, and I must say, they were very fun to make.

Chicken Pillows

Source: a mix of Mel's Kitchen Cafe and my friend, Marcy, plus some additions and alterations based on what I had/needed

Ingredients:
for the filling:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 - 1 1/2 pounds) (I actually probably had less than this - all I had in the freezer were two puny little breasts and it worked.)
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, light or regular, softened to room temperature
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 green onion, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

for the rolls and coating:
1/2 batch buttery crescent rolls (I used Mel's Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Roll Recipe - and they were amazing! I actually made a whole batch, but only used half for this recipe and the other half I formed into crescents and froze before their second rise - now when I need rolls I'll just pop them out of the freezer a few hours before, let them thaw and rise, and bake as usual.)  (Note: you don't have to make homemade dough if you don't want to/have time to - just use a couple cans of refrigerated crescent rolls from the store - I won't tell.)
1/4 cup (half stick) butter, melted
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

for the sauce:
1 can cream o' chicken soup
~2 Tablespoons sour cream (I just sort of eyeballed this)
~1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (I just sort of eyeballed this)
~3/4 can water (just use the chicken soup can and add until the sauce is the consistency you want)

Directions:
Make the buttery crescent rolls according to the recipe, but pause after the first rise.

While the dough is rising, cook and shred the chicken (or use already cooked, shredded chicken). In a medium bowl combine the chicken, celery, green onion, cream cheese, garlic powder and salt and mix until well combined. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.

Once the dough has doubled in size, deflate the dough and separate into two pieces (if you made a full batch - if you halved it from the beginning, just use all the dough you've got). Roll each piece of dough into a 13X20-inch rectangle and cut each rectangle into 12 pieces (cutting lengthwise in half and then each half into six pieces).  One by one, flatten each dough piece slightly and spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken/cream cheese mixture into the center. Fold up all the sides and pinch them together to seal well.  (Mine turned out horrible looking, but after all was said and done, they actually looked fine and tasted even better.)

When all the chicken pillows have been formed, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a bowl or flat dish (like a pie plate). One by one, dip the top of each chicken pillow in the melted butter and then in the crumb/Parmesan mixture. Place seam side down (whoops - didn't do it that way!) about 2 inches apart (and mine were much closer together, but they were totally fine) on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes, until the chicken pillows are lightly golden brown and the dough is baked through.

While the rolls are baking, prepare the sauce. In a medium saucepan or microwave safe bowl, mix the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, cheese and water to desired consistency and temperature.  Stir well - it should be creamy and smooth and hot.

Serve the rolls warm from the oven with the sauce drizzled over the top.  Makes ~12 chicken pillows (I only got 11 filled rolls with my filling, but I think with a titch more chicken it would have been 12 for sure).

Notes:
I had tried these before with the store-bought crescents in a tube, and they were great, but after my sister mentioned she had made this particular recipe and I remembered that I had pinned it a long time ago, I decided to finally give them a whirl.  Oh yum!  I would have made the sauce in Mel's recipe had I had enough milk, but alas, it's grocery day and last night all I had was the 2 cups needed for the roll dough.  (Next time, for sure!)  The cream o' soup was a fine replacement, though.  And these little leftover pillow pockets of goodness will make a mighty fine lunch for me today.  (Can't wait!)

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: Six Sisters' Stuff (I also saw an almost identical, just doubled, version of this recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oats (quick or old fashioned) (I used quick)
2 cups milk chocolate chips (I used less - probably not even a cup, though I didn't really measure - and semisweet, as always)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars.  Stir in peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well combined.  Add flour, baking soda and salt.  Fold in oats and chocolate chips and mix until combined.  Roll into 1" balls and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.  (I didn't really follow the order in these directions - instead I creamed the butter, sugars, egg and peanut butter with an electric mixer.  Then I added the salt, vanilla and baking soda and beat it again for a couple seconds.  Then I stirred in the oats and flour.  And finally folded in the chocolate chips.  They turned out great, so apparently the order doesn't matter.  ;)

Notes:
I have really been wanting some chocolate chip cookies this week, but I knew it would be bad news if I made them early in the week since I've been home all by myself for the past few days, so I made myself wait till Friday afternoon to whip some up.  I decided to try a recipe I've had pinned for a long time now, and all week I've been dreaming about the peanut butter and oatmeal chocolate chip combination I found.  They make the house smell amazing while cooking, and they taste divine, especially while they're still a little warm and with a mug of cold milk.  Mmmhmmm.  This is where it's at!  (Gregg better get home quick to help me out, because even though I waited all week, they might not last long!)