Ham and Cheese Roll-ups

Have any leftover ham still lying around?  (We tend to chop up and freeze ours right after a holiday to use in soups, omelets, and pizza toppings later in the month).  Well, after trying a recent pinterest recipe with much success, I decided to try a theme on that variation for dinner the other night.  The original recipe was for pepperoni roll-ups using string cheese and pepperoni wrapped up inside a crescent roll, then dip your final creations in some warmed up spaghetti or marinara sauce.  Easy, delicious, and the kids actually loved this quite a bit!  So I was staring at my extra tube of crescent dough in the fridge when I had one of those head slapping moments and thought, wait a sec, how about ham and cheese roll-ups?!

A quick, yummy, easy dinner.  Ham and cheese roll-ups

You can use small diced up chunks of left over ham, or take some thinly sliced deli ham like I did here and cut it into thin ribbons.  You don't want one big piece of ham, because after the first bite, you will pull the ham straight out of the crescent.  Small pieces are the way to go here.

Ham and cheese.  Or is it, cheese and ham?

Shred up some of your favorite block cheese (I used medium cheddar) on the smallest setting, because the finer the cheese, the easier it will melt.

What's not to love about meat and cheese?

Take your meat and cheese and start at the base of the crescent at the widest part and roll up to the tip.  Try to keep the mixture inside the rolls and seal up the edges when possible to prevent the cheese from oozing out during the baking process.  My girls helped me roll this up, so they are not runway fashion model ready, but don't worry, they still come out quite tasty.

We used the same plate as we went, so after a while, some of the shredded cheese rolled up into the outside of the crescent roll.  It actually baked up nicely and gave some extra flavor to the roll-ups.  Bake according to the package directions (I think 11-13 minutes) but I tend to add a few extra minutes to make sure they get nice and golden brown, a little over 15 minutes at 375º.

Ham and cheese melty goodness

Make a creamy mustard sauce for dipping or just eat them as is.  This is a nice alternate take on a grilled cheese, or a plain ham and cheese sandwich, plus a great way to use up leftovers.  You could also cut the crescents in half and whip up a batch of these as an appetizer at a party.

Flaky crescents and warm melted ham and cheese bites

By the way, speaking of left overs, these make a great take along snack the next day.  Either breakfast as you are running out the door, or stashed in a school lunch.  They were just as tasty cold as they were hot.  So there you have it, nothing earth shattering, just a quick, tasty meal the whole family enjoyed.