Ham and Cheese Roll-ups

One night I was looking in the refrigerator for something to make my family that I thought they would eat.
(I do this a lot in the summer because I don't tend to cook as much due to the heat and because I would rather be doing something else. :) )
I glanced around and saw crescent rolls, ham and cheese and thought quick and easy ham and cheese sandwiches.

So super easy and the kids all liked them. I am sure someone out there has done the same thing a million times, but for us it was a first.

Ham and Cheese Rollups

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
8 slices ham
4 slices Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll rolls and pull apart. Cut ham and cheese in half crosswise and place on rolls. Roll up just like you would if making the rolls alone. Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Tips:

-Make extra and serve with a dipping sauce for parties.
-Place a small amount of mustard inside the rolls before rolling to give them tang.

Hawaiian Chicken

My parents brought this recipe back from Hawaii when they went 18 years ago. I remember they loved it so much and made it so often that we all got tired of it. But now that 18 years have passed I love it again. It is the perfect summer dish. And it can be baked in the oven in the winter if you are craving a dish to liven up the table. Served with fresh fruit and rice it is so wonderful. A nice salad goes well too.

Hawaiian Chicken

Chicken thighs and legs
1 c. pineapple juice
1/2 c. Dijon mustard
3/4 c. honey
1/4 c. water
2 T. cornstarch
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place chicken on large baking sheet. Salt and pepper lightly. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 2 hours. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove foil and peel skin off of the chicken.
While chicken is cooling preheat grill. Combine pineapple juice, honey and mustard in sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Dissolve cornstarch in water and add slowly to mixture in pan. Stir constantly until the cornstarch has cooked in completely. Place cooked chicken on the grill and brush with pineapple Dijon glaze. Turn over after about 4-5 minutes and brush on the glaze again. Continue to heat for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot. Serve extra glaze on the side for guests to put more on or add to their rice.

Tips:

-If you are baking, do not precook the chicken. Instead, marinate in glaze for about an hour and then cook in 350 oven for 20-25 minutes until chicken is done.

-If you like the chicken skin you do not have to remove it. We prefer not to eat it and if you leave it on and then glaze, the flavor goes with the skin when you peel it off later.

-The glaze will be very thick. Keep stirring or it will stick to the bottom.
You will know the cornstarch has cooked in when the sauce no longer looks milky.

-You can cook the chicken on the grill but do not brush the glaze on until the end of cooking. The honey and pineapple juice in the glaze will make it burn.

-Precooking a the low temperature with the foil keeps the chicken nice and juicy and allows the skin to act as a natural moisture retainer. Then you can peel it off for the final heating on the grill and you do not have to worry about flare ups on the grill from the grease and your chicken will be done and not dry.

Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza

I love Chicken Caesar Salad. It is one of my favorites. I found this recipe in a Pampered Chef cookbook and modified it to work for my family. I make my own crust and try to make it easy to assemble. And it is a great way to sneak veggies in for my kids who do not realize that there are red peppers all through it. I think you could sneak others in too, I just have not tried.

Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza

Crust:

1 c. hot water
1 T. sugar
1 T. dry active yeast
2 T. olive oil
1 c. flour
1 T. Italian seasoning
1/2 t. salt
3-4 c. flour or 1 cup wheat flour and 2 c. white flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Pour hot water into mixing bowl. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Sprinkle yeast on top. Let soak and start to grow. Add olive oil and flour. Mix with dough hook for 1 minute. Add seasoning and salt and 1 cup flour. Start mixer and gradually add remaining flour until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and no longer sticks to the bottom. Let knead with mixer for 2 minutes. Remove from bowl. Sprinkle pizza pan, or stone with cornmeal. Roll dough out to large circle. Pierce crust with fork a lot to keep crust from bubbling up. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Topping :

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-2 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3/4 c. Caesar Dressing
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 red bell pepper
Romaine lettuce, torn

Cook chicken breasts until done. You can grill or bake in oven. Let cool slightly. Put cream cheese in mixing bowl. Chop bell pepper finely and add to cheese. Chop chicken finely as well and add to cheese and pepper. Add dressing and Parmesan cheese. Mix until well blended. Spread evenly on crust. Top with lettuce. Cut and serve. You can sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese and top with additional chicken and Caesar dressing if desired.

Tips

-My kids make a mess if I put too many things on top, they just fall off. So I opted to put it all in the spread. To make it more fancy for adults you can certainly put more chicken and peppers on top.
-For the crust I use hot tap water. I let it run to the hottest it gets and pour immediately into my Kitchen aid mixer. The cool bowl and the stirring in of the sugar help the water to cool slightly making it the perfect temperature for the yeast.
-We talked about it and are thinking of adding bacon next time we try this to jazz it up. Bacon makes everything better right?
-Often I will not top the entire pizza. I will cut the crust and top each piece individually, so then my left over crust can be used the next day for lunch and will not be soggy. And my kids then get to top it themselves and food always tastes better if they get to do it themselves! You could also make smaller pizzas.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. It is a great summer recipe! Nice and cool and not too hard to assemble. You will not be stuck in the kitchen for hours instead of playing in the yard with the kids!