Crab Croissants

I don't like beginning stories with "When I was younger...." but I can't think of how else to start this! So, when I was younger, we would always go to my Aunt Ellen's for Halloween. She lived in the perfect neighborhood close to my grade school. Once school let out, my dad and I would make the short trip to her house where she would always be making a huge pot of tomato, beef and potato stew. We would have this for dinner, along with a salad and often times, these little crab croissants. After dinner, I would go trick-or-treating with friends or cousins in Aunt Ellen's neighborhood.

During the years in which I was too old to trick-or-treat at Ellen's, but too young to have discovered the joy of cooking, I didn't get to enjoy these crab croissants. Eventually, I decided to try out the recipe (it wasn't hard to remember the two "ingredients") and at this point, I've made more of these than I can count! They are super easy (did I mention they call for two ingredients?) and super fun to eat. The flavor is great, too - a creamy, crab-y filling inside a buttery crust. I've made them for parties, for weekend snacks, or even as a side dish for dinner!

I am so thankful to my aunt Ellen for all the wonderful memories and meals. As I say at the very top of the page - the single best part of cooking is sharing it with ones you love. Whether its an elaborate pasta dinner, or a simple crab-filled croissant, if it makes your family and friends smile....its a job well done.

Crab Croissants

1 tube Pillsbury Crescent dough (reduced fat!)

8 oz crab dip/salad

1. Unroll crescent dough. There will be 8 triangles. Cut each triangle into two small triangles. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

2. Take a small tablespoon of crab dip and put in the center of each triangle. Roll into a small crescent.

3. Bake crescent rolls as directed on package.

A couple notes - - -

a) I use Santa Barbara Bay Krab Salad found at Wal-Mart in the specialty cheese, sauce, etc. section. Crab salad is less thick/creamy than crab dip, but its a bit sweet and has small chopped veggies in it, so we really like the texture and flavor. Most grocery stores have their own type of crab dip somewhere in the refrigerated section. Have fun experimenting! Also, I actually prefer the texture of imitation crab to real crab, so I've never attempted making homemade crab dip for this recipe with canned or fresh crab.

c) As written, this recipe makes 16 little croissants. They do not last long!! I almost always double the recipe.