Kids in the Kitchen: Ham and Cheese Roll-Ups

I stole two kids for the weekend.

I don't have any of my own yet, so I need to borrow them in the meantime.

Thankfully, my goddaughter's mother is a very trusting woman, so I have my goddaughter and her little sister for three whole days.

Today was their first day here and we made dinner together.

I saw a commercial for these a few days ago using crescent rolls, so I added ham and the crescents to the shopping list. It's a really simple recipe, perfect for little helpers.

It's also really easy to change it up based on personal preference. You can change lunch meats, cheeses, or even add spreads, herbs and spices, or vegetables to your liking.

You will need:
2 cans of crescents (mine were 8 piece low fat)
16 pieces of cheese
16 pieces of ham (mine was reduced sodium and fat)

Have all the little helpers go wash their hands. While they're busy doing this, get the different components ready. I had each ingredient separate and ready for easy assembly once the kids got involved.

I assembled one and had them watch. After that, we took turns with each girl making her own roll-up and putting it on the baking sheet until we ran out of ingredients.

Pre-heat the oven to 375° and bake for about 12-15 minutes, watching closely because they start to brown quickly.

I served us with baby carrots and hummus on the side. Johnny loved them. He sat between the girls because they argued who got to sit next to him. (Nobody argued over sitting next to me...)

They were both really excited to eat the dinner that they made. Johnny and I made sure to tell them how good they tasted and what a good job they did. Both mentioned it was the best dinner and the best night a few times while eating.

In fact, they ate so well, both girls got to have a small bowl of ice cream. They gave dinner and dessert thumbs up! :)

Let them eat (Wedding) cake!

To be honest, I really didn't care about having a wedding cake when we started planning a year ago. It just seemed silly to spend hundreds of dollars on one cake, especially since neither of us are big cake fans.

As luck would have it, our venue included the cake with our wedding package. I asked about excluding it, thinking we could make our own pies and Christmas cookies. We would have only received a $100 credit, so it ended up being worth it to have a cake!


I looked through the bakery's portfolio and instantly chose "Snowflake Tessie." It was simple and elegant. White icing with some white snowflakes. The topper was understated greenery, which went with my decor. In the sample the ribbons were red, but I knew that'd be a simple switch to my color choice of green.

In September we tasted wedding cakes and all of you guessed correctly - I went with Cannoli!

The thing I didn't count on was having to provide the topper and ribbon! I planned the wedding as frugally as possible, so I actually made the topper myself. I used the trimmed bottom of a plastic bowl, fake greenery I bought to make all the bouquets/boutonnieres, and lots and lots of hot glue! I was so proud of how it came out.

Thankfully, the women at the bakery tied the bows, I would never have been able to make them look so beautiful!

Because cannoli cream contains Ricotta cheese, Johnny chose to avoid it because chances were high that it had whey. Allergic reactions on your wedding day don't sound fun!

Instead of a "first slice," we did a "first bite" with some gingerbread men we bought ahead of time.

Chomp! We each bit off the other's head!

At the end of the day, I'm glad we had the cake. We took the top home and I had a few slices for breakfasts in the days after the wedding, since we weren't saving it to eat together. The rest I froze in individual slices to enjoy with my mom throughout the year when we get a craving!

Wedding Eats

Back in September I blogged about Johnny's and my trip to New York for wedding food tasting! We were so impressed with all of the samples, that it didn't really help to narrow down our choices. After much deliberation, we finally settled on:

(old photo of mine from the tasting)

Passed Hors d'Oeuvres:

• Mini Buttermilk Biscuit with Honey Mustard Glazed Ham and Swiss Cheese
• Franks in Puff Pastry with Honey Mustard Sauce
• Twice Baked Fingerling Potato Stuffed with Bacon and Boursin Cheese
• Beef Tenderloin Medallion on Crostini with Goat Cheese and Oven Dried Tomato
• Mini Mozzarella en Carozza with Pomodoro Sauce
• Oven Roasted Mushrooms with Sausage and Sage Stuffing

Displays:

• Artisan Cheese Table - A selection of domestic and imported cheeses, dried fruits, assorted fruit preserves and honey, crackers.
• Arthur Avenue - A selection of imported Italian meats, imported provolone, marinated artichokes and olives, garlic crostini, breadsticks, mustard, ciliegine mozzarella, and fine extra virgin olive oil.

Sadly, Johnny and I did not get to try (or even see) the displays. We were busy with pictures during the cocktail hour and riding on the merry-go-round, so we didn't make it over to that part of the room. However, we did get to eat all of the hors d'oeuvres because the staff thoughtfully kept bringing a plate with 2 of everything on it over to us.

Buffet:

• Mixed Green Salad
• Assortment of rolls and butter
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Cider Glazed Pork Loin over Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon Jus
• Roast Beef Tenderloin with Carmalized Shallots and Madeira Jus
• Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes
• Apple Glazed Carrots

The buffet was amazing! Everything on it was delicious, especially the beef. I filled my plate and stomach to the brim. Unfortunately, my dress started to feel really tight so I stopped at one plate. I didn't want to be uncomfortable the rest of the night, but boy was it good!