A Ring of Chicken

Last night we went to a game night/small party and made friends. I know, making friends isn't a huge deal to most of you, but being the new people in a new town and at church is hard. It takes a while to make friends for us. But slowly its happening, and last night was one of those nights that we added people to our friends list :) You make one friend and they introduce you to more friends, and then you have more and more. Yea! So we were invited to this game night and we were asked to bring a little something food wise. A snack to munch on or appetizer of some kind. I decided to bring an appetizer. The 1st two things that came into my mind were the spinach balls (click the link, i blogged about in a previous blog a while back) and a Chicken Ring. I plan on making the spinach balls for a relief society thing, so i decided the Chicken Ring would be the best choice. I have NO idea why i thought of the chicken ring because there are tons of other appetizers to make, it just jumped out of my memory.
So, you ask: what is a chicken ring?
Its magic, that's what it is.
And lucky for you, i'm going to give you the recipe at the end of this blog.
I had forgotten about this thing for years i think. I got the recipe from an old roommate that was a great cook when she took the time, and i was in love with it for a few months. Yes, i took it to everything i went to. Then i stopped making it for some reason and didn't make it again until yesterday. I can't believe i did that! I took it for the party tonight and it was a big hit.
So, use it wisely...or not. But enjoy it, and love it as much as i do and share. It is an appetizer, but husband loves it and wishes i would make it for dinner. We'll see ;)

I want to say this was a Pampered Chef recipe a while back, but i can't remember for sure. I just know that when my roommate would make it she would use the pizza baking stone to bake it, and their food chopper to chop it all up. I don't have a pizza baking stone (and my pizza pan is in a box still packed away), so i used a stone pie plate i had gotten and it turned out fine. But i'm pretty sure any type of pan you feel like using will work fine for this.
I sprinkled a little Parmesan Cheese on top of it before i cooked it. It's not a must do, i just thought it would look nice.

Chicken Ring

* 2 - Cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls - 8 count each, keep refrigerated until ready to use

* 1 - 10 or 12 oz can Chunk White Chicken, drain and shred

* 1 1/2 c red bell pepper, chopped small

* 1 - 10 oz frozen Broccoli (or Spinach - chopped thawed and drained, then squeeze out excess water) [i use broccoli though]

* 1 c mild Cheddar Cheese - grated

* 1/3 c Mayonnaise

* 1/2 t salt

* 1 - lemon - use the zest from whole lemon only

* 1 t nutmeg

- Place all of the ingredients except the Crescent Rolls in a large bowl and blend well with a spoon.

- Place the mouth of a glass in the center of the stone or pan you are baking this on.

- In an over-lapping circle place the crescent dough to fit around your glass (the shortest of the dough should be toward the center and the longest points out to the edge of the stone or pan). it will resemble a sun pattern.

- Place the meat mixture on the wide end of the circle with a large spoon. Shape and smooth the meat mixture in a continuous circle. Remove the glass.

- Pull each point over the filling and tuck under the center circle.

- Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

- Let the ring cool. Slice for 16 servings.

ENJOY