Chicken Pillows & Strawberry Spinach & Bacon Salad

Apparently this is a pretty popular recipe but up until Tuesday I had never tried it. We had it for a Relief Society Dinner along with the spinach salad and I loved them both. The texture of the cream cheese mixed with the buttery roll and shredded chicken was really good. I liked it so much, I went home and made it for my family the next week and it was a hit at home as well.

I've had many versions of this salad but never with cottage cheese and it was really,really good.


*Update 4/11/12. I've made this recipe several times and made my adaptations below. Also follow this link for a fabulous version that uses homemade crescent rolls. I must admit, I'm pretty much won over to the homemade version.*

Chicken Rolls

2 cups chopped, shredded chicken (2 cups chicken broth seasoned with salt and pepper in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. When the chicken is cooked and cooled slightly, shred or cut into small pieces.

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. butter, melted

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 c. chopped onion

1/2 cup celery, diced very fine

2 pkgs. (10.1 oz. each) Pilbsbury Big and Flaky Crescent Rolls (These turn out really big. I usually use the regular sized rolls.)

1 cup stovetop seasoned dressing (not prepared) crushed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the cream cheese to soften it and stir in the salt, pepper, onion, celery and chicken. Separate the crescent rolls. 

Press two crescent rolls together to form a rectangle shape. Add 2-3 tablespoons chicken mixture.  Fold corners diagonally from corner to corner to form a rectangle and make sure edges are well sealed. Repeat for each roll. 

Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush on melted butter and sprinkle with seasoned dressing crumbs. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. If desired make a white or chicken gravy to serve over the rolls.
*Makes 6-8 rolls depending on how many come in the package. Each rolls requires to crescent rolls.

* I shredded my chicken and cooked it with my traditional chicken seasonings (2 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. *

Spinach, Strawberry and Bacon Salad

3 cups fresh spinach leaves

4 slices bacon

1/4 cup shredded swiss cheese

1/4 cup small curd cottage cheese

5-6 sliced strawberries

Mix all ingredients together. Then top with refrigerated dressing right before serving. This would also be good with shredded chicken as a main dish with some rolls. Note- the dressing makes quite a bit so you could either half the dressing or quadruple the salad ingredients. Approx 4 small servings.

Dressing

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. vinegar

1 c. oil (I used canola)

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1-2 Tbsp. grated onion

6-8 sliced mushrooms

Mix together and refrigerate until ready to eat.