Italian-Style Pigs in a Blanket | Holiday Recipes: Make Ahead

Holy November! You guys, this month went out with a serious attitude. We had Winter Storm Brian come through Sunday night and around 5am Monday morning the power went out. During this power outage, there is a small chance my laptop got fried but it’s oddly the only thing in the house effected and it was on a surge protector. So chances are it just decided to die on me for no reason. So when the power finally came back on in the late morning, which also happens to be the time I found out about my dead computer, I had to dive into new laptop research. Luckily, yesterday was Cyber Monday so I was able to grab a good deal. So for the next week or two, I’ll be using my old laptop that serves as a backup. It works just fine albeit kind of slow but because of a little accident several years ago, it’s a bit rough around the edges and *cough* falling apart. I think the hardest part is not having easy access to my Dropbox files on the desktop which is where everything I use for my day job is. They’ve been downloading for 12 hours now and I’m still missing a bunch of files. Such a complicated digital world we live in...

My lesson: focus is key! Normally, something like this would have put me over the edge and had me near a panic attack. Instead, I took a deep breath, decided I was not going to panic and went into action mode. I unplugged the laptop, grabbed the backup one and got to problem solving. We are 30 days out from Christmas. I need to be productive with clients, I need to be productive with my side businesses, and I need to be productive with Christmas preparations. I knew there had to be Cyber Monday deals and that my chances of needing a new computer were significant so I just went for it. Five hours later, I had a new laptop on the way thanks to lots of help and guidance from one of my best friends' husband. I just barely picked up the pieces of my Monday and stayed up far too late. Yesterday was absolute crap but that doesn’t mean the entire week needs to be too. If you can just focus on one problem at a time, anything is fixable. All it takes is a little patience and perseverance.

Which brings me to today’s recipe: Italian-Style Pigs in a Blanket. Now that the countdown is on for Christmas, it's time to get serious if you're hosting. Let me start by saying these were an absolute hit in my house. They’re so tasty and delicious. They almost taste like pizza. They are a heavier appetizer - perfect to serve if you’re not having any specific main dish during your party. I love these for Christmas Eve or a friends party. They’re also super easy to make. My appreciation for store-bought dough comes in handy here. You can buy any crescent or croissant dough that you prefer. We’ll be making homemade Italian sausage for Christmas Eve this year but store-bought also works equally well. Make a little bed of cheese on the dough before adding the sausage to wrap. Roll it up and finish with a garlicky butter mixture and some Parmesan cheese. These babies are irresistible.

I hope your week was off to a better start than mine. Let me know if you got any great Cyber Monday deals in the comments below!

Italian-Style Pigs in a Blanket
Ingredients:
12 Italian Sausage Links
3 cups Italian Blend Cheese, shredded
2 Crescent Dough Packages (24 croissants)
¼ cup Butter, melted
4 tbsp. Parmesan Cheese, grated
2 tsp. Oregano
½ tsp. Garlic Powder

Directions:
1 - Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the sausage for 25-30 minutes until cooked through. Let cool and cut in half.

2 - Once the sausages have cooled, roll out the croissant dough. Sprinkle each triangle with shredded Italian Blend cheese. Place a sausage on top of the cheese and roll up. Repeat.

**If you’re planning on storing these ahead of time. Stop here. Wrap each sausage in wax paper or plastic wrap, store in an airtight container or large sealable bag. When you’re ready to bake, take out the night before and thaw overnight. Bring the oven back to 375 degrees.**

3 - Mix together the butter, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and oregano. Place the dough-wrapped sausage on a baking sheet. Brush the butter mixture generously over the tops of each wrapped sausage. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce on the side.