Florentine Chicken Ring (Pampered Chef Recipe)

Years ago I sold Pampered Chef products. That is one of the few brands I just LOVE! They have excellent and handy products - and some great recipes like the one here. I typed it up for a co-worker and thought I'd go ahead and post it to share with anyone who might stop by my blog! Leave a note if you visit (I'm curious to see who actually clicks on my blog these days!)

• 1 10-oz can chunk white chicken, drained and flaked (often I use a 12.5 oz can)
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped (tastes fine without, as some people don’t like peppers)
• 1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I use 2 cups or 1 bag - nice and cheesy!)
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (I sometimes use lemon juice)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls (I use 1 crescent roll “sheet” that they sell these days)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. (Because this is a Pampered Chef recipe it suggests their tools.) In Classic 2-qt Batter Bowl, flake chicken with Pastry Blender. Using Food Chopper, chop bell pepper. Add to chicken along with spinach, cheese, mayo, lemon zest, salt and nutmeg; mix well.

Using Crescent Rolls: Unroll crescent dough; separate into 16 triangles. Arrange triangles in circle on 13” Round Baking Stone with wide ends of triangles overlapping in the center and points toward the outside. (There should be a 5-inch diameter opening in the center of the stone.) Using medium stainless steel scoop, scoop chicken mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle. Bring outside points of triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. (Filling may or may not be completely covered – I usually cover mine completely.)

Using Crescent Roll Sheet: I have simplified this “chicken ring” into a long roll or "chicken thing" instead of a ring – it’s much faster on those nights I’m making a quick dinner after work! I use 1 “crescent roll sheet” sold by Pillsbury. Flatten it out, place the filling in the center, and wrap the crust around it. It uses less of the dough (which is less fat/carbs for us) and it is so much faster. The ring looks better if you’re making it for a party.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Below is one of my "chicken rings" with ears and a face. I think this was a double portion as we had company.

*I am a HUGE fan of the Pampered Chef baking stones and have never tried baking this on a baking pan. The stone works great!