Chicken Enchilada Crescents

Today's recipe comes from my friend, Miriam. She made these for me at the beach a few years ago and they have been an important part of my life ever since. In the last two years, I think I have made these about 30 times.  They're that delicious.  Everyone has raved over them and the people I eat lunch with always comment on how good they smell.

Last year at the beach, I made them for a few friends and now they're addicted as well. My friend, Kristen, has started making these with avocado on top. I think that sounds delicious. Another friend uses Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream.  Whatever you decide to put on top of these tasty creations, you'll eat them fast. 

As good as they are, I never finish all of them, so you'll also be happy to know that they reheat really well. Perfect for taking to work and making everyone jealous of whatever that is that smells so good in your lunchbox.  Here's a helpful tip for taking the sour cream to work.  You don't want to take the entire tub and you can't put the sour cream on them in the container because you have to reheat them (and no one wants hot sour cream).  Spoon just enough sour cream into a Ziploc bag.  When you're ready to eat (after you've heated your Chicken Enchilada Crescents), cut a corner off the bag and squeeze the sour cream onto them.  This is a terrific way to take those condiments with you without having to take the entire bottle. 

Chicken Enchilada Crescents

1 8 oz. Package Crescent Dinner Rolls

2 Lg. Cans of Chicken, Drained

1 cup Shredded Cheese, Taco Blend

2 Cans Rotel Tomatoes, Drained

1/3 Cup Mayonnaise

2 Tbs. Taco Seasoning (or 1 packet)

1-2 tsp. Lime Juice

Crush Tortilla Chips

Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Stir together chicken, Rotel and cheese. Mix lime juice, mayonnaise and taco seasoning mix and add to chicken. Blend together, but do not over mix.

Unroll crescent dough and separate into triangles. Arrange triangles on a baking sheet. Loosely form the mixture into a ball and place on dough. Wrap all three points of the triangles up over the filling (The filling may not be completely covered.).

Sprinkle crushed chips into a dish. Gently roll the crescents in the crushed tortilla chips. Arrange them on a baking sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with sour cream or guacamole.

Tips:
The key to making sure these come out perfectly is to completely drain the chicken and Rotel. I usually empty the chicken into a colander and squeeze out the excess moisture. I empty that into a bowl and repeat the draining process with the Rotel. 

Once you've mixed all the ingredients together, they will be a little wet.  This is okay.  You want a little moisture so they don't dry out in the oven.  When you're making each crescent

When you're pulling the corners of the crescent up to cover the filling (much like a diaper), make sure that you don't tear the dough.  I have found that making sure the dough is room temperature helps prevent this.  When it's fresh out of the refrigerator, it tends to tear a little more easily.

Now it's time to roll them in the tortilla chips.  I have these breading trays that work perfectly.  I got them from Ollie's a few years ago and they're pretty cool.  They overlap so you don't drip when you're carrying food from one tray to the next.  In this case, you only need to use one bowl or tray.  Just make sure it isn't too large so your chips don't spread out too much. 

Baking these is the easy part.  I prefer to use a silicon mat so nothing sticks.  If you don't have one, use parchment paper.  Never bake a dough while it's in contact with metal.  It won't cook properly.  The silicon mats help to regulate the temperature. As soon as they start to brown, take them out. Don't risk them burning.

Thanks for reading and be sure to comment and share.  Enjoy!!