The Mason's Come for Dinner

For those of you who read yesterday's entry I know you are just dying with suspense as to who was coming to dinner tonight. I will finally end the suspense for you and say that we had Russ' grandparents, The Mason's, over for dinner. They are so sweet and tons of fun to have over. They are also wonderful to cook for as they love everything we serve and always clean their plates!

In planning for tonight I tried to think of something that would different than what they are served at Somerby. I decided on one of my Mother's recipes called a Chicken Vegetable Braid. She got the recipe several years ago from a Pampered Chef home show and I love it because it is yummy, makes a great presentation, and the filling can be made in advance.

The inside is filled with diced chicken. cheese, dill seasoning, a little mayonnaise, and chopped veggies including broccoli, red and green peppers. You then use two rolls of Pillsbury's low-fat crescent rolls for the outside (the braid). You pop the containers and lay them flat on a baking sheet. You then make slits on each side leaving room in the center for the filling. Once you spoon the filling in the center you then take a slit from each side and pull them together and twist. It sounds somewhat complicated from my directions (only because it is hard to put into writing), but it is actually very easy. It makes for a great presentation after it is baked! I thought that tonight's turned out well except that I think I should have baked it a little longer as the center was not as hot as I would have liked. There were no complaints from anyone though, so I guess it turned out pretty well. Since it is a fairly hearty dish I just served it with a simple salad.

We hope to have them over again soon and plan to cook out next time since Russ has not had an opportunity to cook for them on his new Egg (grill). Russ rates this dish a 8.


Chicken and Vegetable Braid

(Mom from Pampered Chef)

1 cup broccoli, diced
2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
1/2 cup green pepper, diced
1/3 cup red pepper, diced
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tsp. dill mix
½ cup mayonnaise (I use reduced fat)
¼ tsp. salt
2 packages crescent rolls (I use reduced fat)

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Mix everything except the crescent rolls together in a bowl (this can be done the night before if you want). Then roll out the rolls and cut slices. Put the mixture in the middle and then wrap the slices cris crossing at the top (to form the braid). Bake at 375 F for 25 minutes.