Snake Bites

OK… Paula Dean doesn’t have a blog, but I love watching Paula Dean. I have no illusions that I am going to be getting a healthy meal out of any of her recipes but they sure tempt my taste buds. A few weeks ago, my husband and I were watching her Halloween special where she made a recipe called Snake Bites. Essentially it was rolled up crescent roll dough with meats and cheeses on the inside. I promptly went to foodtv.com to get the recipe. As printed in the recipe, each serving provides:

563 calories

37.8 g fat

1421 mg sodium

28.2 g carbohydrate

0.6 g fiber

26.2 g protein

Now when I decided to make this for a special treat for my husband for dinner, I had no intentions of making it health-i-fied. However, I’m not sure if the recipe is written wrong but it calls for 30 ounces of meat and 12 ounces of cheese. There is NO WAY that would fit in one can of crescent roll dough! So I used significantly less meat and cheese, as well as reduced fat crescent roll dough, only one egg yolk and reduced fat cheese for a slightly healthier version. (I also omitted the mustard, but that’s because I hate mustard). I also didn’t shape this into a snake as we were just having it for dinner – not any special occasion. I’m pretty sure my two month old doesn’t quite appreciate the Halloween snake shape either.

Snake Bites - BETTER (makes 10 appetizer servings)

1 can reduced fat crescent rolls

Flour, for dusting

4 ounces lean ham

4 ounces salami

10 pepperonis

4 oz. reduced fat cheddar cheese

1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray.

Dust a flat surface lightly with flour. Spread out the crescent dough – do not separate. Pinch together the seams so that you have 1 piece of dough. Roll out to make a large rectangle. Make sure the dough is not stuck to the surface at all.

Layer the meats down the center of the rectangle, leaving a 1 inch border on either end.

Top the meats with the cheese. Fold one side of the dough over the filling, lengthwise. Fold the other side over the middle. Pinch the seam with your fingers to seal. Press the outside of the dough to make sure everything is sealed tight. Brush the top of your dough with beaten egg yolk. (I also sprinkled with garlic powder).

Transfer dough/meat roll to prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

254.9 calories

15.7 g fat

589 mg sodium

18.6 g carbohydrate

0.3 g fiber

9.5 g protein

*** This would likely also be good using the breadstick, French bread, or pizza crust dough. My husband and I both thought that the crescent roll taste was a little strong ***