Sunny Anderson shared her hot ham and cheese wreath on The Kitchen Saturday, and it reminded me of my Pampered Chef days of making Taco Wreaths.
So I got the ingredients, and decided to make one. So you need two cans of crescent rolls (any brand as they really aren’t that different).
Two cans of Crescent rolls, hamburger meat seasoned with taco flavor, refried beans, and Mexican cheese. Begin by opening the crescent rolls, and laying them on a baking sheet or pizza stone. You can use a small bowl to know where to place them, but overlap them.
You will need to press down on center part forming the inner circle.
As you can see, my circle isn’t perfect (as it doesn’t need to be). Press down the center part so that you can build the layers for the wreath.
Now the layers, I began with re-fried beans. Then hamburger meat that was cooked with taco seasoning.
Now to make the wreath. Bring up the small end of the triangle and tuck it over the round part. You can either pinch it or tuck it under.
Continue to do this until the wreath is complete. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Cut into serving pieces and add salsa, sour cream and cheese.
It was super yummy. I will be doing more of these especially this time of year.
Blessings.
Saute until cooked down, and a little brown.
Add the meat back and cook on 350 degrees for 4-5 hours. David’s plate below.
And, my plate.
I served it with pan sauteed carrots. I think I need to make another roast.
I added about 2 slices of chopped bacon for added flavor.
I seasoned the chuck roast with salt, pepper, season salt, and lots of paprika. Place in the pan to sear with 4 cloves of whole garlic. 
Turn after the bottom has a nice brown color, and sear the other side for another 8-10 minutes (or longer if needed) to get a nice brown color on both sides.
Once the meat is brown, remove and let rest while the sauce is blended.
Add 2 cups of red wine (one that you would drink, this is a Cab), and about 2 cups of beef stock. Also, add 10-12 small sprigs of fresh thyme. You can either leave the leaves on the tyme or remove them. I remove them so I didn’t have to worry or think about it later. Bring to a simmer, and then add the meat back to the pan.
Remove from the stove top and place in the oven (covered) at 350 degrees for 3-4 hours or the meat is cooked through and tender.
The kids were home (both of them), so we had dinner at the table. It was wonderful. The roast turned out wonderful. Deep, rich flavor, and the meat was tender. 
I also had spiralized some zucchini – made some noodles.
Three bowls with some zucchini, sweet potatoes, and…
Added the meat sauce, and then parmesan cheese of course! 
Four meals…well, one is zucchini noodles with some olive oil, salt and pepper – with shrimp that I had sauteed as I had ran out of meat sauce.
This week was so much better for meal planning and prepping. I felt so much better about dinners, and lunches and my overall health.
For the sauce: pound of ground beef, 3 cloves of garlic, and a medium onion. Sauteed until cooked through. 
Seasoning: cinnamon (yes, just a bit), Italian seasoning and Oregano, salt and pepper.
I used some of the Slocomb Tomatoes that I put up a couple of years ago for the sauce (and just let it simmer for a while), and a couple of cups of red wine. 
I added some tomato sauce as it wasn’t deepening like I wanted.
Wipe off the moisture from the zucchini, and place into a 9×9 dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. 
Next, layer…with sauce…
Mix together a small container FULL FAT ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan, egg, and a generous amount of pepper.
Hint: drop the half of cheese mix into spots around the dish THEN spread out to cover.
One block of mozzarella cheese, shredded. Sprinkle a third of it on the first layer. 
And, repeat…
Once you add the second layer of cheese mixture, top with mozzarella, then add the other 1/2 cup of parmesan. It will add a nice crust to the top.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until nice and bubbly.
Remove the foil, and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.
I LOVED mine…the noodles (zucchini) were perfect for me…and it was the perfect serving size. 
David’s portion (and he had seconds!), with extra’s.
We had leftovers for the next several nights, and even had some for when Carmen was home. She even enjoyed it! The cinnamon really adds a nice hint of something extra.
I let the taco meat cool a bit, and chopped up the chicken. I had used a half of a purple onion in the taco meat mixture, and reserved the other half for the chicken portion. Rolled out the chilled dough mixture with some flour on the counter. 
Somewhat sectioned out the portions. Scooped the meat in each, and folded the dough over.
I added some shredded cheddar cheese to both meats, and yes, I cheated and used packaged shredded cheddar cheese. For the remaining dough, I rolled it thin, and placed it in a baking sheet that I sprayed with baking spray.
Spread the remaining taco meat on half, and the chicken on the other half.
Added BBQ sauce to the chicken, and cheese to both.
For the pies, I pressed the edges down, and used a fork to seal the edges.
Baked them both at the same time with the pizza on the bottom rack at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. 
These were really good. I will make the dough again, and the pizza. Not sure about the meat pies. I need to vary the recipe a bit, and work out the kinks on the moisture with the chicken ones. I loved the taco meat ones.
For the marinade I used the following:
Placed the marinaded beef in a Ziploc bag and placed it in the refrigerator for 4 days (due to time management and other things going on –we didn’t cook).
So, when we finally decided to cook…ha. I sauteed the carrots, and onions until cooked. Then seared the steak (one to two minutes per side).
Topped the beef with sesame seeds, and served with the cooked onions and carrots (also sliced some green onions for extra flavor and crunch). Served with the 
The beef was super tender (as it should be just with the cut of beef), and then marinating for 4 days – ugh. But the flavor was amazing, if I do say so myself. I so will be cooking this again. I will say that I need to cook the onions on higher heat with more soy sauce? Not sure but overall super yummy, and it satisfied my cravings.
Cook the meat mixture (beef, sausage, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning). Cook, stirring, until the meat is cooked. Remove meat, drain, and set aside. 
Mix the Cheese Mixture: In a mixing bowl combine the ricotta, egg, mozzarella, Parmesan, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, oregano, salt, pepper, and parsley. Use a fork to mix thoroughly. Set aside.
I used a pasta sauce, and spread about 1/2 jar on the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Then layered the no-bake noodles, then more sauce. 
Then layer the meat mixture.
Then the cheese mixture.
I used fresh, baby spinach (almost the entire small package).
Another sauce layer.
Continue with the noodles, and repeat until meat and cheese are done. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Spray aluminium foil with non-stick spray and cover the pan, bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Uncover, and bake until cheese is golden or about 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool for about 15 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!
David liked this, and I was not able to eat a lot of it at all. I mainly ate the everything but the noodles. Ugh.
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