Taco Braid

I found the recipe for this on Pinterest. I've modified the recipe ever so slightly, though not enough to take credit for it. Click here for the original.

I don't like spicy foods and Dave hates black beans (quite frankly I'm not a fan of most beans myself, pretty much only game for green beans and wax beans) so I left out the rotel and beans. I did add in a small can of corn.

Here is what you need:

-1 pound ground beef (use the leanest you can manage, see below)

-1 can of seamless crescent rolls, again see below for reasoning

-1 packet of taco seasoning, I use the low sodium kind

-1 small can of corn

-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

-toppings of your choice, I use sour cream and tomatoes, Dave likes lettuce, sour cream and salsa

The first time I cooked this it was a disaster, I used regular crescent rolls and the seams made the braid just fall apart. I also used a fattier ground beef and no matter how much I drained there was grease everywhere. It left my braid a big, greasy pile of mess. I almost didn't make it again, but I figured I'd give it one more shot. This time I used the seamless crescent rolls and a leaner beef (the leanest you can get!) and it turned out goo-ooo-ood.

Here is what you do:

1. Cook ground beef, drain thoroughly. Add taco seasoning, follow directions on packet. Add corn (make sure to drain that too) once the meat is all cooked up and mix everything together.
2. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet (for easy cleanup) and unroll the crescent rolls. Using a pizza cutter, slice small strips on each side, no more than an inch or two deep.
3. Pile your meat mixture in the middle and top with cheddar cheese. Keep the sides open for your braid. This pile will be heaping, trust me it'll be ok, just push down lightly on the mixture when you have the cheese on top to bring it down a hair.
4. "Braid" your strips in a criss cross fashion (see pic to see how I did it), gently stretching the crescent dough to fit around the top.
5. Bake 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until the crescent roll is golden brown.
6. Top with some sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, lettuce, whatever your little heart desires and enjoy!