Taco Ring

This is something I made a very long time ago but remembered and wanted to post! It is great for a party or get-together because it looks so festive and each guest can cut a piece however big or small they want! I saw this recipe made (if I'm remembering correctly) at one of the Taste of Home cooking schools. If you ever get a chance to attend one of these you should! They're a lot of fun. :) The recipe on the Taste of Home site is called "Taco Meatball Ring", but I didn't put meatballs in the picture above. I just used regular ground beef. I'm sure you could use ground turkey also! This recipe is a bit of a treat because it calls for the canned crescent rolls which aren't healthy.
Taco-Meatball-Ring

• Prep: 30 min. Bake: 15 min.
• Yield: 16 Servings

30 15 45

Ingredients

• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 to 4 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 2 tubes (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1/2 medium head iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced ripe olives
• 2 jalapeno peppers, sliced
• Sour cream and salsa, optional

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup cheese, water and taco seasoning. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 16 balls.
• Place meatballs on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 12 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Drain meatballs on paper towels. Reduce heat to 375°.
• Arrange crescent rolls on a greased 15-in. pizza pan, forming a ring with pointed ends facing the outer edge of the pan and wide ends overlapping.
• Place a meatball on each roll; fold point over meatball and tuck under wide end of roll (meatball will be visible). Repeat. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.
• Transfer to a serving platter. Fill the center of the ring with lettuce, tomato, onions, olives, jalapenos, remaining cheese, and sour cream and salsa if desired. Yield: 16 servings.

1 serving (calculated without salsa and sour cream) equals 203 calories, 12 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 24 mg cholesterol, 457 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 8 g protein.

enjoy! Sara