Monday, December 16, 2013

Ham - or whatever - Puffs

Jan here, with a startling announcement. I've been eating less sugar lately, and one of the side effects is that sweet things just don't taste as good anymore. I never would have believed it, but I can actually pass by a plate of fudge without taking a piece!

My daughter's list of goodies for last weekend's baking extravaganza.
All sweet, like her :)


I haven't decided if that's a good side effect, or a bad one. I'll let you decide.

BUT, when I do find myself craving goodies, I'm likely to choose something savory, and sinfully delicious, like these Ham Puffs.

The great thing about these things is that they don't have to be made with ham. You can use chicken. Or mushrooms. Or ham and mushrooms. Or whatever.

You can even turn them into a sweet treat by adding in some sugar and chocolate. For coffee lovers, add some coffee to the mix, and stir some chocolate chips into the cream cheese. Or - wait for it - add some strawberry jam! Or whatever :) Just be sure to leave out the onion and hot sauce if you're going to make them sweet!

So, here we go.

Ham Puffs

Ingredients:
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1 can deviled ham (or deli ham, chopped fine)
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 tube crescent roll dough

Notice supper cooking in the crock-pot...chicken for chicken tacos!
And I was going to add the mushrooms to the ham puffs, but they were voted down
by my mushroom-hating family :(


Mix the cream cheese and other ingredients (except crescent roll dough) together. You can do it by hand (that's what I did), or you can use a blender or food processor.



Don't forget the hot pepper sauce. We have several varieties around our house, but this is the one I used:

Unroll the crescent roll dough and separate into four rectangles.



Spread 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture on each rectangle and roll up jelly-roll style, from the long edge.



Cut each roll into five slices...



 ...and place them on an un-greased baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 8-10 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.



Let them cool slightly before serving.


Thatcher wanted to try one. Or twenty. But we said "no."

So sorry this picture is slightly blurry - but have you ever tried to get
a seven-month-old puppy to sit still?

Wynter didn't even ask. She knew better. What a wise dog she is. She's turning nine years old this week!


What does your Christmas-goodie-baking list look like? If your house is like mine, things get eaten almost as quickly as they're made!

Have a good week!



22 comments:

  1. I am a big fan of savory stuff during holidays. You are so right. Sugar is just plain too sweet to me these days. Yum!

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    1. I love sweets...way too much for my own good. So cutting back on sugar has been tough, but I feel so much better. (Some minor health problems are disappearing - you know, the symptoms that you tell your doctor about and she shrugs them off? But life is so much better without them.)

      But the Christmas season...oh, my. What would it be without the sweets? Eating the savory stuff helps me keep the sweet snacking to a minimum. :)

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  2. This is a must do for our Christmas Eve goodies for sure! Thanks Jan!

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    1. These are so easy, Piper! They're perfect for Christmas Eve.

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  3. Yum, I think these would be good with mushrooms and onions! And it's always good to have some savory to balance the sweets, right? At least that's what I keep telling myself.

    My daughter and I are splitting our cookie making duties this year and then swapping so that we have a nice selection to give away to friends and coworkers. We were going to get together this past weekend to bake but a winter storm messed up those plans. So I'm making cranberry oat bars and chocolate thumb print cookies and she's making lemon poppyseed pinwheel cookies and...gosh, I forget her other one. Oh well, it will be a surprise.

    Love the doggie pics -- even the slightly blurry one -- it adds character to the wonder pup. :-) And I love how patient and wise Wynter seems. I just want to get down on the floor and give her a cuddle.

    I have sad news that I'll share with y'all because I know you'll 'get' it. My sheltie, Simba, died last weekend. So sad. He'd been 'off' and I'd taken him to the vet on Friday and we were awaiting tests, but sadly he died before the results came back. So I'm dogless for the first time in 25 years. :-( It's a very odd feeling. The house is way too quiet. No toenails clipping on the floor, no wagging tail swiping things off the coffee table, no periodic squirrel alerts. So I appreciated the gratuitous doggie pics all the more this morning.

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    1. Oh no, Kav! I'm so very sorry. I know how awful that quiet is.

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    2. Oh, Kav! Not Simba! He will be missed around here!

      Sigh. You have to find friends who will let you use their dogs for fuzz therapy.

      And it's weird, I know, but when my Connor died, my daughter found a stuffed Border Collie toy that felt just like him. I still give that silly thing a hug once in a while :)

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    3. hugs Kav - I'm dreading when I lose Sasha - she'll turn 13 the end of next month and that's old for a german shepherd. still feel the loss of Kayla. so sorry you lost Simba.
      Susanna

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    4. Kav, I'm so sorry to hear about Simba. Big cyber hugs heading your way. :(

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    5. Oh, I'm so sorry, Kav!! I loved hearing about Simba!

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    6. Thanks for the condolences everyone. I appreciate it!

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  4. I am constantly thrilled by the huge variety of things to do with rolled dough! This looks awesome, my hubby would love them, and they're an easy addition to a party table! Jan, first, I'm glad I remembered to pop over here on a Monday!!! I have a slew of busyness first thing Monday morning and I forget to stop by my favorite cafe early on!!!! But I love that I remembered because I'm stocking up on 4-packs of Crescent Rolls at Sam's club while they have them in stock. Love the options!!!!!

    And Jeter's the same way, every time I try to get a good pick, the big galuf is dancing in the snow or shaking his head.... Or biting ice balls off his curly fur. Silly Jeter!

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    1. So good to see you here on Monday morning, Ruthy! Mondays are catch up for me, too...and I don't have sweet kiddos running around underfoot at the same time.

      And I think you need to go ahead and take a picture of Jeter in the snow. Black, white and blurry - it would be a true picture of him, wouldn't it?

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  5. Jan, these look so good and right up my alley! :) I made Virginia's pizza rolls the other day. The kids loved them. I'll try these next!

    I plan to make some more candy soon. And I love a good cheese ball for savory.

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    1. I picked up an extra tube of the crescent rolls to make Virginia's recipe for a quick supper sometime this week. Everyone's work schedules are going crazy now that finals are over - so supper time is pretty much non-existent until after the mall closes on Christmas Eve. THEN the family will be together!

      And I love cheese balls, too! Mmmmmm..... Do you have a good recipe for one?

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    2. I usually just buy one or we receive them as a gift. I have made a good one but don't remember where the recipe came from.

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  6. Not baking this year, but enjoying your list and those ham puffs look good. I bet I could use shredded ham leftover from Christmas to make this. Great idea, Jan!

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    1. Leftover ham would be perfect, Tina! And enjoy your baking-free Christmas...I think. I have a feeling that even if I didn't plan to bake, something would end up in the oven before the season was over.....

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  7. I overindulged in sweets last nght at a friend's daughter's graduation party..sigh...these Mexicans know how to put on a party..and the sweets were only the tip - the food was unbelievable and on top of my own lack of restraint, his wife kept piling more food on top and bringng homemade tortillas over and all kinds of stuff...I'm already way too fat but if I lived in mexico or any closer to their house I'd be beyond belief.
    after 2 nights of quilt sew-ins followed by this my system has had too many sweets and my fingers have had too much salt (ham, chips..)they feel like sausges and my toes feel kinda stiff too..probably look like porky pig...
    if I'd made these my doggy would've gotten at least one! well if I'd left out the hot sauce..not gonna fry her tongue though she's grabbed my empty breakfast taco sack and gotten into the hot salsa container in that - water bowl would be drained - would've thought she'd learn but it's happened at least twice...though Kayla may have been the first victim!
    Susanna

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    1. I think if I were at that graduation party, I would have overindulged, too! Homemade tortillas are the best!

      I always tell myself I can diet next week.....

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  8. Jan, you had me at cream cheese and crescent rolls. Two of the greatest inventions ever. And so yummy.

    Man, I'm on sugar overload. I can feel an intense detox coming on after the holidays. But the holidays are upon us and that means baking, baking, and more baking. Fudge, peanut butter balls, peanut clusters, sugar cookies, peanut blossoms, etc, etc. Yep, there's a reason I save those sugar coupons and then wait for the brands to go on sale. :)

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    1. Oh, man. I think I went into sugar spin just reading your list!

      But, as I keep telling myself, just because I make it doesn't mean I have to eat it.

      And now I'm off to have some tuna salad for lunch and then bake a few batches of cookies..... :)

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