Spinach Artichoke Dip Pinwheels

The base recipe for doing these show up on Pillsbury Crescent rolls regularly. I've made my own version using a spinach artichoke dip I learned from my mother.

2x 8 oz packages of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls or Sheets ( the sheets are great)

2 packages of cream cheese

10 of frozen spinach (thaw this hours before you start working on it)

1 package of bacon

2 cans of artichoke hearts

5 oz grated Parmesan

1/2 large white onion

Waxed Paper

This recipe has proven to be very popular at parties.

Chop up the bacon and onions. Cook them down in a big pan until they are almost crispy (or crispy if you like bacon like that). Drain the grease with paper towels in a bowl or on a plate. Place in fridge to cool for 15 to 20 minutes.

*** Notice the cream cheese on the stove near the pan. You'll want to soften the cream cheese for the next step.

Chop up the artichoke hearts and place in a big mixing bowl. Squeeze all of the water out of the spinach (or as much as you can) and place in the mixing bowl. Add the Parmesan and the cream cheese to, you guessed it, the mixing bowl.

Add the bacon and onions to the previously mentioned mixing bowl, and stir it all together. You can either use a couple of wooden spoons or your hands for this.

Sorry I didn't get a picture of the the pastry here as I worked.

First, lay out a sheet of waxed paper about a foot and a half long. Next, roll out a sheet of pastry dough on it and pinch any seems or wholes. Spread the pastry out. You can use a rolling pin, but I do it by hand to avoid needing flour. Finally spoon half of your mix onto the pastry dough and start spreading it using a large tablespoon. If you lay it on thick like I do, you'll have enough for 2 rolls (hence the two packages of the pastry). However, if you spread it thinner, you can get 3 rolls out of it.

Using the waxed paper, roll the side closest to you away from you until the waxed paper is about to get rolled inside of the roll. At this point, carefully peel back the waxed paper and continue to roll until you have finished. It can be difficult to do this so don't be discouraged if it doesn't work perfectly the first try.

Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have used all your sheets of pastry. Place the rolls into the fridge for a few hours to chill. Chilling only makes it easier to slice it in the next step, it is not absolutely necessary to chill it. You can also freeze it, but this makes slicing and cooking a little bit more difficult. I usually chill it in the fridge over night.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Unroll the waxed paper and start slicing your rolls. I usually do about half an inch on mine. Thinner slices cook faster, so feel free to experiment. Place the slices on a cookie sheet with cooking spray or aluminum foil and cooking spray. Once the oven is done heating place in the oven on the middle rack and cook for 15 minutes. You can do more at once, but you'll need to rotate and mind them constantly.

Once it's out of the oven, I pull it off the sheet and try and let it cool for a few minutes before eating. (Try is the operative word here as the vultures usually descend before it's even begun to cool.) Any leftover ones can be chilled and re-heated in the microwave, the oven or a toaster oven when hungry. They make a great snack when watching TV.