Veggie Cream Cheese Roll-Ups

I stumbled across this recipe on justapinch.com. They have some great recipes on their website and this one was no exception. This yummy, vegetarian appetizer is great to serve at a party or take to a potluck. You can substitute lowfat cream cheese if you want to cut down on the fat. These colorful rolls look so pretty arranged on a platter. And the best part is….. they’re super easy to make!

VEGGIE CREAM CHEESE ROLL-UPS

• 6 eight-inch flour tortillas (can use wheat, spinach, or tomato tortillas)
• 2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 envelope ranch dressing or dip mix
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• ½ small can (4.25 oz.) chopped black olives
• 1 celery rib, finely chopped
• ½ cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• ½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1. Beat cream cheese and ranch mix together until smooth and well-blended.
2. Stir in chopped vegetables with a rubber spatula.
3. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over tortillas.
4. Roll up tortillas into logs and wrap each log in plastic wrap.
5. Place tortilla logs in fridge to chill for at least 3 hours to set.
6. Slice tortillas into ½-inch rounds before serving.

NOTE:

• Can be served with salsa as a dip.
• I don’t like a lot of olives in these rolls so I only use half a small can. Feel free to use the whole can if you like.

Advertisement

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Rollups

I saw a recipe for these roll-ups in a magazine years ago. I don’t remember which magazine it was, but I always remembered them and had it in the back of my mind to try them some day. Well, my Mom was here to visit and I wanted to fix her a cup of coffee and an afternoon snack to go with it so I thought it would be good to try making them today. I couldn’t find the recipe I copied down all those years ago, but I had a general idea of what to do. They turned out really yummy! Definitely one for the family favorite archives!

CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE ROLLUPS

• 1 loaf white bread
• 1 pkg. (8 ozs.) cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ cup melted butter or margarine (add more as needed)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to  350ºF.
2. Cut crusts off bread and save for later use. (I love making bread pudding with them.)
3. Blend cream cheese, ¼ cup sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth.
4. Spread a little cream cheese mixture on each slice of bread.
5. Roll each slice into a log, pressing ends lightly to seal.
6. Pour melted butter into a pie plate.
7. In a second pie plate, combine 1 cup sugar and cinnamon.
8. Roll each log in butter, then in cinnamon-sugar.
9. Arrange on baking sheet.
10. Bake for 16-19 minutes or until light brown.

Bacon Roll-Ups

I made these appetizers for a party and they were a big hit! They’re sooo good and easy to make. The recipe does use up a lot of bacon because I use one slice of bacon for each little roll, but they’re so yummy it’s worth it. If you want to, you could lighten them up by using lowfat cream cheese and turkey bacon. Or you could cut the bacon strips carefully in half lengthwise so each roll would have just a thin strip around the middle like a belt.

The trick to making these is to pre-bake the bacon till it’s cooked but not quite crisp. You want the bacon to still be pliable so that you can wrap them easily around the bread rolls. A toothpick does a good job of holding the ends closed together. Then bake until the bacon becomes nice and crisp around the bread. Don’t forget to pull the toothpicks out before serving. Give these appetizers a try. I guarantee you’ll love them!

BACON ROLL-UPS

• 12 ozs. cream cheese, at room temperature
• ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup roasted red pepper, diced
• ¾ cup scallions, sliced, white and green parts
• 1 loaf (about 20 slices) soft white bread
• 3 lbs. lean bacon

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Arrange bacon in a single layer on a foil-lined jelly roll pan.
3. Bake until cooked but still pliable.
4. Drain bacon strips on paper towels and set aside.
5. In a bowl, mix cream cheese and parmesan together until smooth.
6. Stir in the peppers and scallions until well combined; set aside.
7. Trim the crusts from the slices of bread.
8. Spread each slice with filling, covering completely.
9. Roll bread up, pressing down just enough to make it stick to itself.
10. Slice the rolls into thirds. If your bacon strips are thin, slice rolls into fourths.
11. Wrap a strip of bacon around each roll, overlapping the ends a half inch and trimming off any excess. Save excess bacon for another use.
12. Push a toothpick through the overlapping ends to hold them closed.
13. Lightly grease another baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.
14. Arrange rolls on baking sheet.
15. Bake for 20 minutes (5 minutes longer if baking from frozen), or until the bacon is crisp and the tops are golden brown.
16. Remove from oven, pull out and discard toothpicks, and place on serving platter.
17. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

NOTE:   Bacon Roll-Ups can be made ahead of time and frozen until ready to use. Just follow recipe through Step 12, then place the bacon-wrapped rolls in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. The rolls can be baked from frozen. Just take out what you need when you have company and bake at 350°F until crisp.

VARIATIONS:   If you’d like to try some variations, you can substitute swiss cheese for the parmesan, or add 1-2 tbsp. horseradish to the filling, or try using diced cooked shrimp and pineapple tidbits in place of the peppers and scallions.

[Adapted from King Arthur Flour]