Weekend Gourmet Flashback: The Perfect Game-Day Snack...Creamy Jalapeno-Cheese Sausage Crescent Cups...

Some things just go perfectly together: peanut butter and jelly…peas and carrots…Lennon and McCartney. Here’s one more that any football fan can agree on: game-day and food! Cheering for your favorite team -- especially if they're in the playoffs  -- requires a lot of energy. That means that a spread of tasty food is a necessity. We’re huge…I mean HUGE…Houston Texans fans! They didn't make the playoffs this year, but we're still tuning in to watch all of the football action. As much as I love to cook, I don’t want to miss a big play! Today's Weekend Gourmet Flashback is sharing of my favorite game-day snacks: Creamy Jalapeno-Cheese Sausage Crescent Cups. 

These appetizers are easy to assemble and are bursting with amazing flavor! They're made with refrigerated crescents, which is a huge time saver...and jalapeno-cheese sausages provide lots of spicy flavor. These little babies are wildly popular with everyone who tries them...so I wanted to share them before this weekend's playoff games. A platter of these appetizers is a welcome site -- feel free to make a double batch as they're pretty addictive!

Creamy Jalapeno-Cheese Sausage Crescent Cups

a Weekend Gourmet original

Ingredients:

• 2 cans Pillsbury Place and Bake Crescent Rounds (16 total) [NOTE: If you can't locate this product, simply purchase refrigerated buttermilk biscuits.]
• 6 ounces chive-flavored cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup shredded colby-jack cheese
• 1/2 cup pico de gallo
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tbs. Cajun seasoning 
• 2.5 hotdog-sized jalapeno-cheddar sausages: one link cut into 16 thin slices, and the rest quartered and diced
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• Grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375. Cook the diced sausage in the olive oil until browned. While the sausage is cooking, add the following ingredients to a mixing bowl: the cream cheese, colby-jack cheese, pico de gallo, Cajun seasoning, and green onions. When the sausage is cooked, drain well and add to the bowl. Using a sturdy spoon, thoroughly combine all of the filling ingredients.

Step 2: Place the crescent rounds on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment. Press the centers down and pinch the sides to create cups with deep wells. Spoon one heaping spoonful of the filling into each well. [NOTE: The crescent will bake around the filling, so it's ok to mound it on top.] Sprinkle each filled cup with parmesan and more of the Cajun seasoning, then top each with a slice of the sausage.

Step 3: Bake the crescent rounds for 15-20 minutes, until they're golden-brown and the filling is melted and bubbly. For even baking, turn the pan around halfway through the cooking time. Let the rounds cool for a few minutes before transferring to a serving plate – the filling is lava hot, so you don’t want your fellow football fans to burn their mouth!

These crescent rounds are so simple to make, and they taste like a million bucks! The crispy exterior gives way to cheesy, creamy filling that has just the right amount of spice. Not a fan of spicy foods? Simply use regular smoked sausage links and mild pico de gallo. I hope you'll give these crescent rounds a try this weekend...and come back and tell me how you like them!

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