Italian Crescent Bake

I've had a tube of crescent rolls in my fridge for a few weeks. They were on sale and with my doubled 50 cent coupon, I think I only paid a dollar. I can always use a tube of crescent rolls for something. They are so versatile. If you don't believe me, pop on over to the Pillsbury website and check out the recipes. It seems that the possibilities are unlimited! That's exactly how I found this recipe...just clicking through the recipes at Pillsbury.com. What I liked about this recipe was that I already had all of the ingredients in my fridge and pantry, I knew that my family would like the flavors, it's kind of like an upside down pizza, and last, it came together very quickly with little trouble. Perfect for a night when I was rushing out the door to take my daughter to dance class as my husband was getting home from work.

Just brown a pound of hamburger with some onion, then stir in a cup of spaghetti sauce.



Pour the hamburger mixture into the bottom of an ungreased casserole dish. I sprinkled some mushrooms that I had leftover from another recipe over the top.



Stir together 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1-1/2 cups of mozzarella.



Spread it evenly over the hamburger.



Arrange the crescent roll triangles over the casserole. Brush with 2 tablespoons of butter. I think that you could probably get away with less butter. It was good, but when I look at the calories in the nutritional info below, I kick myself a little for using the whole two tablespoons.



Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese.



Then bake at 375 degrees for 18-25 minutes until the crust is a deep golden brown. Mine took the full 25 minutes to get there.

At this time, I'd like to draw your attention to that crescent roll that I put on top of this casserole. I had an extra triangle of dough leftover after I topped the casserole. I got a little creative and rolled it into a crescent to decorate the dish. Cute, right? Don't do this! First of all, since all of the points meet in the middle, the dough is thicker there. By setting that crescent roll on top, I caused the dough under it to not bake at the same rate as the rest of the crust. The result? When I removed the casserole from the oven, the center under that crescent roll was still gooey dough. I took off the crescent roll and tried to bake it a little longer, but then the outside began to get a little too dark. At this point I was running behind schedule, so I just pulled it from the oven and picked off all of the raw dough.



It was still really good. Everyone ate it and liked it. I'd definitely make it again. Just look at that yummy cheese oozing out from the buttery, crispy crust. YUM!




Italian Crescent Bake from Pillsbury

INGREDIENTS:
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1 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup tomato pasta sauce
6 oz. (1 1/2 cups) shredded mozzarella or Monterrey Jack cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (8-oz.) can Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

DIRECTIONS:
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1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Stir in pasta sauce; cook until thoroughly heated.
2. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine mozzarella cheese and sour cream; mix well.
3. Pour hot beef mixture into ungreased 9 1/2 or 10-inch glass deep-dish pie pan or 11x7-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish. Spoon cheese mixture over beef mixture.
4. Unroll dough over cheese mixture. (If using pie pan, separate dough into 8 triangles; arrange points toward center over cheese mixture, crimping outside edges if necessary.) In small bowl, mix Parmesan cheese and butter. Spread evenly over dough.
5. Bake at 375°F. for 18 to 25 minutes or until deep golden brown.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft) Bake at 375°F. for 22 to 25 minutes.

NUTRITION INFORMATION:
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1/6 of Recipe: Calories 510 (Calories from Fat 290); Total Fat 32g (Saturated Fat 15g); Cholesterol 85mg; Sodium 980mg; Total Carbohydrate 28g (Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars 10g); Protein 28g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 16%; Vitamin C 4%; Calcium 32%; Iron 14% Exchanges: 2 Starch; 3 Medium-Fat Meat; 3 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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