The Cat Dish

One of my besties is a vegetarian, and I always felt bad when we went to dinner parties that the only thing she could eat at the buffet was a iceberg lettuce salad.

So I got in the habit of learning how to make hearty vegetarian dishes for potlucks. I mean, it’s not like we carnivores can’t partake in veggies, too. But at least my girlfriend — and other vegetarians — would have something more substantial to eat than baby carrots.

This was one of my go-to recipes, a quick and simple Mexican side dish with corn, tomatoes and zucchini.

And yes, it calls for bacon — not vegetarian! — but I’d always put that on the side.

Here’s the recipe:

Starts with bacon

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Fry bacon in a skillet and set aside. This is going to be the garnish on the dish. To make it vegetarian, fry this separately. But if not, keep the bacon fat; you'll cook the rest of the dish in it.

Elote y Calabacitas (Corn and Zucchini)
From “Mexican Cooking Made Easy” by Diane Soliz-Martese

Ingredients:

2 strips of bacon (or more, if you want)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped tomatoes
2 cups zucchini, cut to 1/4-inch slices
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cumin
Ground pepper
2 c. canned whole kernel corn, drained

Directions:

Fry bacon in a skillet, then remove and crumble for later. Add onions to skillet and saute over medium heat until soft. Add tomatoes, zucchini, salt, sugar, cumin and pepper and cook until vegetables are tender. Add corn. Mix and cook until hot. Place in serving dish, sprinkle on crumbled bacon.

I’ve been looking around for new potluck dishes — mostly because I’m bored of the ones I already make.

And I stumbled on this one the other night on Facebook.

Its primary ingredient got to me: Pillsbury crescent roll dough.

I was in.

I have a secret crush on the refrigerator dough. I can literally eat all of the buttery rolls one 6-ounce can make — and I have.

So when this called for one of my secret vices, I had to explore it a bit further.

Turns out, this is a great potluck dish, especially if there are kids invited. It’s got taco meat and cheddar cheese baked inside and all of your favorite taco toppings right in the middle.

It’s a simple dish to make, but a challenge dish to eat. (Lots of components.) But it’s crave-worthy good.

Here’s how you make it:

Ingredients

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This is a simple recipe that calls for just a handful of ingredients. But these aren't cheap ingredients. If I had to buy everything — I had some of these things in my kitchen already — it would cost about $20.

Baked Crescent Roll Taco Ring
Adapted from a couple of recipes

Ingredients:

2 8-ounce cans of refrigerated Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 package taco seasoning — or make your own, like I did!
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sliced olives
Sour cream, guacamole, salsa

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, cook beef/turkey with taco seasoning. Or, you can do what I did and make the taco meat from scratch, using chopping onions, garlic, chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt and freshly ground pepper. I also used a bit of the chili mix from Rainbow Drive-In. (Winner!) Drain.

Unroll crescent rolls. Place wide end of triangles in center of pizza pan, forming a ring, overlapping dough as necessary. Spoon meat into center of each triangle, then add cheese. Bring smaller ends of triangles over meat and cheese mixture, tucking ends under.

Bake 20 minutes, or until rolls are golden. Serve warm.