Taco Braid

I thought this was a great way to use up leftover taco meat. I realize not everyone has leftover taco meat when you make tacos for your family, but you could always make a double batch and use the extra for this. 

Taco Braid
1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
4 oz of Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Salsa
1/2 lb leftover taco meat (ground beef or turkey seasoned with taco seasoning)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
olive oil
garlic salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll dough into a 15-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Place on a greased cookie sheet. It's very important to place the dough on the cookie sheet before you fill it because once you fill it, it will be too heavy to move onto the cookie sheet. Mix salsa and cream cheese in a small bowl. Spread cream cheese mixture lengthwise down center third of rectangle and then spread on top. Sprinkle with cheese.  On each long side, cut 1 inch wide strips about 2-1/2-inches into center. Starting at one end, fold alternating strips at an angle across filling. Pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes (I think I only let mine rise for about 10 minutes). Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Adapted from THE GIRL WHO ATE EVERYTHING


Family Rating:
Brad: ***
Jordan: ***
Eli: ** (I was surprised he didn't like this. I think it was the cream cheese/salsa mixture. Next time, I'm going to use a little less and see what happens.)
Phoebe: *****
Overall Family Rating: 13/20