Cruising around on Pinterest I found two very similar recipes for crescent rolls stuffed with chicken, and another two for a casserole made with hashbrowns. In each case, I couldn’t decide which recipe I preferred over the other; so I decided to settle it with a recipe showdown. I would make one pair of recipes one week, and the other the next, in order to decide the winners. (Note that none of these recipes are particularly healthy…)
So, first up is a crescent recipe #1 – filled with chicken, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, butter, onion, and garlic powder.
The sauce for these is made with cream of chicken soup, cream, and cheddar cheese.
The crescents are rolled up, placed in a pan, and topped with the soup mixture and more cheddar.
They bake up to be tender, cheesy, and ooey gooey with a little bit of sweetness from the crescent rolls.
Hasbrown recipe #1 is made with frozen hashbrowns, cheddar cheese, cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups, sour cream, and French’s onions.
The ingredients are mixed together and baked.
Crescent recipe #2 is much simpler with only four ingredients: chicken, cheddar, soup, and rolls.
They are filled, rolled, topped with soup and cheese, and baked – just the same as the other rolls.
Hashbrown recipe #2 is made with frozen hashbrowns, cheddar, sour cream, ranch mix, and bacon bits.
The ingredients are mixed together and baked – just like the other recipe.
VERDICT:
Crescent recipe #1 is superior to recipe #2. I had thought that #2 might be better if I could get the same results with fewer ingredients and less work, but this was not the case. The extra ingredients (cream cheese, mayo, cream) made the first recipe much more creamy and delicious (as you can see in the pic), while the second recipe was pretty dry and dull.
As for the hashbrowns – the two recipes had completely different flavor profiles, and we really preferred #2. The bacon and ranch flavors were super tasty compared to the sort of muddled onion and mushroom flavors from #1. I also didn’t like the way that the onions on top of #1 got too brown and almost burnt.
Crescent Recipe #1 *Winner*
adapted from Kristen at Tastebook
serves 4-6
2 (8 oz) cans Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz cream cheese (very soft)
4 tbsp butter (very soft but not melted)
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken breasts
1/2 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2-4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (for topping)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13 casserole dish.
In a saucepan, mix cream, 3/4 cup grated cheese and undiluted chicken soup. Season with black pepper. Heat just until the cheese melts (do not boil).
For the filling – mix the cream cheese and butter until very smooth (make sure that they are very soft first), then add in garlic powder.
Add in the chopped chicken, onion, and cheddar cheese; mix well until combined. Add in 2 tbsp mayonnaise; mix to combine (add in a little more if the mixture seems too dry). Season with seasoned salt and black pepper to taste.
Unroll the crescent rolls. Place 1 heaping tbsp of the chicken mixture on top of each crescent triangle, then roll up starting at the thicker end.
Drizzle a small amount of soup mixture on the bottom of the dish. Then place the crescent rolls seam-side down on top of the soup mixture in the casserole. Drizzle the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with 1 cup grated cheese.
Bake for about 30 minutes.
Hashbrown Recipe #1
adapted from The Blonde Can Cook
serves 8-10
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp butter, softened
8-10 cups of hash-browns, thawed in the refrigerator
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 – 1/2 cup milk
crispy onions or cornflakes for topping
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together the soups, sour cream, and butter. Add the hashbrowns and mix. Add in the milk – enough to make it creamy and to ensure that the potatoes are coated. Add in cheese, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Top with crispy onions or cornflakes and bake for 2 hours covered with foil.
Crescent Recipe #2
adapted from Comfy in the Kitchen
serves 2-4
1 pkg crescent rolls
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of milk (using soup can)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare soup using milk and set aside.
Separate crescent rolls. Spoon chicken and cheese onto each crescent; roll and seal to enclose filling. Place in a 9×13 baking dish. Pour soup over rolls. Top with more cheese if you wish.
Bake uncovered for 30 min.
Hashbrown Recipe #2 *Winner*
adapted from Plain Chicken
2 (16oz) containers sour cream
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 (3oz) bags real bacon bits
2 packages Ranch Dip mix**
1 large (28 – 30oz) bag frozen hash brown potatoes
Combine first 4 ingredients, mix in hash browns. Spread into a 9×13 pan. Bake at 400 for 45-60 minutes.
**Note on the ranch mix – make sure to get the “dip”, not “dressing”. This can get pretty salty, so start at 1 pkg and add more to taste. I recommend around 1.5 pkgs.**