Italian Crescent Casserole – it’s a winner!

This recipe won a bake off competition back in 1978 and is posted, in it’s original form here.  We’ve changed it up a bit by changing out the cheese for dairy free versions and using Bison meat instead of regular hamburger.   The recipe is very easy and open to modification, so whether you add Pepper Jack cheese, or maybe use Turkey meat, you’ll save this recipe to eat again and again.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat (we used Bison)
~1/8 cup of finely chopped sweet onion
1 cup pasta sauce (we used “Traditional” but a brand heavier on garlic would be awesome!)
~2 cups shredded cheese – we used Vegan Mozzarella and Vegan Monterey Jack)
1/4 cup dairy free sour cream
1 can Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls (TIP: keep this in the fridge until you need it)
1/2 cup grated Pecorino cheese (but you could use Parmesan)
~3 tablespoons butter or margarine (2 tablespoons need to be melted)
~1 tablespoon of herbs (we used a combo of rosemary, thyme & sage)
1 9″ pie pan

Preparation (please read all instructions first as you can be multitasking during the different preparation stages if you’re fast):

While your oven heats to 375 degrees F, melt a tablespoon of butter in your fry pan and cook your onions till translucent, then add meat stirring as needed until the meat is cooked through.  Remove any excess grease and add the pasta sauce and herbs.  Cook until the sauce begins to bubble and then reduce heat.

If you have not already done so, shred your cheese (mozzarella/jack)  into a bowl and mix in the sour cream.  In a separate bowl, add your shredded pecorino (or parmesan) and 2 tablespoons melted butter.  Mix well – this will be used as a spread later.

Pour the meat mixture into the bottom of your pie pan and carefully layer the sour cream mixture over the top.  Get the crescent roll container out of the fridge, open, and then lay the triangles over the mixture – arranging these so the points are in the center is the easiest!

Finally, carefully spread the butter-cheese mixture on the crescent rolls.  Place in oven and bake approximately 30mins or until your oven cooks the rolls to a golden brown.

Enjoy!