Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Braid

This was delicious!! Even though it wasn’t “extra meaty” like Brad prefers, he loved it! Although I have yet to perfect the art of crescent roll braiding, it turned out pretty good! Next time though, I’d prefer 2 cans of crescent rolls for the braid. That way I can make it a little wider (we like filling) and give it a little thicker edges. I found this recipe at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.

You’ll need:

1 1/2 cups cooked ham, chopped (Normally all my extra ham goes to making split pea soup, so I cheated and bought mini diced ham pieces. Worked like a charm, and allowed for extra hammy-ness!)
1 cup fresh broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces (I only had frozen. I ran them under warm water to somewhat thaw them, then chopped them up that way. Just had to drain them well so the water didnt cook out and make the rolls soggy!)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (I only had spicy mustard — it worked perfectly!)
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent roll dough (next time i’ll use 2 cans)

Preheat the oven to 350*. Mix the broccoli, ham, parsley, cheese and mustard together in a bowl. Grab the rolls from the fridge and put unroll them onto a baking sheet. Do your best to pinch the seems together so it makes one large square. Try to do it quick so the dough stays cold, otherwise it’s hard to stretch and maneuver when it’s warm! Or, find those Pillsbury Crescent Roll Creation doughs and simplify your life!

Once the dough is flat, cut the edges an inch or so apart into strips down the long side of the dough. It should look like a super sweet fringed rectangle with about a 3 inch center that’s not cut. That is important, as that’s where the filling goes. Put the filling in and don’t be afraid to heap it in there. The best part of the fringe is they stretch over and keep the filling snug 🙂 Obviously, I didn’t braid mine, I just kind of put it together as best I could and made sure I folded the ends up some so it had a little bit of an edge.

Put in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Cut into hunks and enjoy!