Crescent Rolls (Laura)

As you are learning already, I am not good at taking pictures of my cooking- mainly because I'm too busy eating to take pictures. I made these rolls on Christmas Eve for the annual Hall Family Soup Dinner, and they were WAY good. That is really saying something for me, because I rarely have success with any recipe with yeast in it. This recipe came from a very cool lady in Venice, Utah named Colleen Cowley. If you ever figure out where Venice, Utah is, just know that these rolls are one of the few things going on there.

Colleen's No Fail Rolls
1 large can evaporated milk
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. boiling water
Pour boiling water over milk, sugar, and salt in mixing bowl. Now add:
2 beaten eggs
2 Tblsp. yeast dissolved in 1/2 c. warm water
Add 6-8 c. sifted flour and knead together until dough is nice and smooth. Let dough rise for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Then divide into 6 balls and roll each into round pie shape. Brush each round piece with melted butter and cut each round piece into six slices. Starting with wide end, roll each slice and shape into crescent. Place rolls on buttered baking sheet and allow to rise until double again. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with butter as you take rolls out of the oven.

Ok, if you just read that recipe completely, and you're anything like me, you're thinking, that is A LOT of butter. So here's how I remedied that problem: I sprayed the baking pans instead of buttering them, and instead of brushing the dough with butter before and after baking, I only brushed it once after the rolls were formed and ready to rise. I used about 1/3 stick of butter. However, if you want to go all out, you're going to need an entire stick of butter.

Shrimp Dip for Christmas (Laura)

Every Christmas Eve, Shad and I put the kids to bed and then wait and wait and wait for them to fall asleep while they have visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads. So every year while we are waiting for them to fall asleep, I make Shrimp Dip. I got this recipe from my friend, Christina, a long time ago. She had invented it the same day I asked her for the recipe. It is pretty easy to make, and we love to snack on it every Christmas Day after we get tired of eating chocolate.

Shrimp Dip
1 Tblsp. olive oil
1 Tblsp. butter
1 lb. cooked, peeled shrimp
1 bunch green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, chopped, optional
At least 1 Tblsp. seasoned salt
Black pepper to taste
2- 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

Heat oil and butter in saute pan. Add shrimp, onions, garlic, jalapeno, and seasonings. Saute until tender. Pour off excess liquid if necessary. Place mixture in food processor and process until smooth. Stir into cream cheese. Allow the dip to sit for at least 30 minutes so the flavors can blend. Serve with crackers or chips.
If you want more seafood taste, you can also add 1/2 - 1 lb. krab meat to the cream cheese mixture.