I've found that Facebook and other social media are goldmines for interesting recipes. Like I mentioned in my last post about the Baked Apple Pie, courtesy of BuzzFeed's Tasty series, I love finding some delicious, yet odd or different recipes to test out and hopefully really enjoy.
One such recipe that's been making the rounds on my Facebook feed has been Pillsbury's Taco Crescent Ring. Basically, it's taco meat wrapped in a sunburst of crescent rolls, baked until golden-brown, and enjoyed with an assortment of toppings. Now, I'd seen this recipe and photos of the finished product a few times in the past couple of weeks, and at first thought it looked like a bizarre 1950's taco wreath thing that should have gone the way of gelled salads and ambrosia.
But the more I saw it, the more I wanted to try it. And so try it, I did. Earlier this week, I set about making this taco ring with little-to-no expectations. I had no idea if it'd be tasty or gross, if the rolls would even cook all the way through, if crescent rolls even went with Mexican flavors, or if I could even get the ring to work in the first place. I'm not crafty.
Before getting to it in the kitchen, I decided to look up some reviews from people who already recreated the Pillsbury ring of taco-love, and I learned a few things. The first is that many people felt that the cook time of 25-30 minutes at 350*F wasn't long enough for the roll dough to fully cook, and left the meal a soggy mess. Secondly, I learned that some folks felt that there wasn't enough "seasoning," what I'm taking to mean flavor, in the meat with just a packet of taco seasoning, and that it doesn't hold up to the breadiness of the rolls. So, with these thoughts in mind, I got to creating.
I preheated my oven to 375*F hoping to avoid soggy rolls. Then, with the second thought in mind, I got my meat into the pan, with some chopped onions and jalapeños for added flavor and zest.
Once the meat was getting going, I popped open two Pillsbury crescent roll tubes, which to me is always so much fun hearing the pop from the can as you twist it. Just that simple action and sound brings me back to being a little girl helping my mom make cinnamon rolls on a Sunday morning.
I laid the rolls out mimicking the photo from the Pillsbuy site, which to me wasn't the easiest thing in the world, however, like I mentioned before, I'm not crafty. I did manage to make it the way it was meant to be, and it looked like a pretty golden sun, on my baking pan. Major even said so. "Mom! What's for dinner tonight! You're making a sun!?"
I turned my attention back to the stove where my meat was now browned and divine. I basically made my meat as if I were making tacos, by following the directions on the back of the taco mix pouch, and once the sauce had thickened, I added a couple handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese, and for good measure, a glug of taco sauce. I really wanted to make sure the meat had enough presence to hold up to the rolls.
Now it was time for assembly. How would this work? I was afraid all the meat would ooze out the sides before I could even connect the pieces to make a ring. I think I added too much cheese, but we'll get to that later.
I filled my rolls with meat on the interior half, leaving the pointy parts blank, as those are the pieces that will fold in around the meat, connecting to the center to create the wreath-like appearance. Once all the meat was in and I was satisfied, I did just that, connected the pointy parts with the center parts and before I knew it, I had a ring, and guess what? It looked like it was meant to look! Success!!!
I stuck it in the oven and left the time for 30 minutes. While waiting for the 30 minutes to pass, I assembled a topping-plate, with shredded iceberg lettuce, sliced black olives, sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, chopped cilantro and the option of chunky salsa and/or taco sauce.
And 30 minutes later, I had a perfectly cooked, golden brown taco ring. I have to say, that when I opened the oven and saw what I saw, I almost shed a tear of pure joy and relief.
It worked. It really worked. My fear of my oozing meat didn't come to pass, and as it turns out, I didn't add too much cheese. It was the perfect amount. I did it!
Now, for the real deal. How'd it taste? AWESOME. I'm not kidding you. After I figured out how to serve the meal, which was by slices, and by topping with toppings of choice. The meal was delicious. The rolls were an unexpectedly fantastic vessel for the taco meat.
I need to be honest here, I didn't know what to expect with this meal. I wasn't sure if it would suck, if it would be good, if it would even work out, but to my absolute delight, this Pillsbury Taco Ring was easy to make, fun to eat and as it turned out, we found a new meal to add to the rotation. That's for sure.
Your new awesome alternative to taco night!
- 1lb ground beef
- 1 small or 1/2 med yellow onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeño, seeded & chopped
- 1 package (1 oz) taco seasoning mix
- 1cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
- Taco sauce, as desired
- 2cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury™ refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
- TOPPINGS: Shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, sliced ripe olives, taco sauce or salsa, as desired
- Heat oven to 375°F.
- In a skillet, sauté chopped onion and jalapeño until onion starts to turn translucent. Cook beef until no longer pink, and add taco seasoning mix and water per the instructions on the back of the packet. Cook the meat as though you're making tacos, and follow the instructions, usually simmer 5-7 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Turn heat off, and stir in cheese and sauce for extra flavor.
- Unroll both cans of dough; separate into 16 triangles.
- On ungreased large cookie sheet, arrange triangles in ring so short sides of triangles form a 5-inch circle in center. Dough will overlap. Dough ring should look like the sun.
- Spoon beef mixture on the half of each triangle closest to center of ring.
- Bring each dough triangle up over filling, tucking dough under bottom layer of dough to secure it. Repeat around ring until entire filling is enclosed (some filling might show a little).
- Bake 25-35 minutes or until dough is golden brown and thoroughly baked. Cool 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into serving slices.
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