By Request Betty Shimabukuro

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Bundle up chicken
for an easy meal

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I S ANYONE else afraid of the pop-n-fresh dough tube? Does anyone else cringe when peeling back the wrapper, knowing that at any moment a scary whomping sound will fracture the air?

OK, it's an unreasonable fear, given that there is no way you can be injured in this process, and it isn't even really that loud. Plus, the stuff inside the tube is the ticket to lots of easy meals that even finicky children are happy to eat.

Thanks to Pillsbury, I have an extensive collection of recipe booklets full of ideas for using refrigerated pop-out-of-the-tube dough. So when Marilyn R. Day asked for help replacing a lost recipe, the answer appeared in record time.

"I am searching for a chicken crescent bundle from years back with a cream-cheese filling and bread crumbs on top," she wrote. "Lost it in moving and I used it so much. ... It was one thing kids loved that I could serve."

This recipe, credited to Doris Castle of Illinois, won the grand prize in the Pillsbury Bake-Off in 1974.

To test out its kid-friendliness, I had my kids try to make it. The teenager, with minimal effort, was able to form nice, neat squares; the 7-year-old made his into a big blob, but to the credit of this ever-elastic dough, there was minimal leakage in the oven.

Afterward they ate the leftover crouton crumbs by the spoonful (I just birth 'em; I can't account for their mental health).

The resulting dinner was a big hit. Made into smaller bundles, these would also make a great pupu.

To purchase Pillsbury's recipe collections, visit the Web site, www.pillsbury.com, or call (800) 333-6844. Many recipes also are available online.

Savory Crescent Chicken Squares

"The Best from 50 Years of Bake-Off Contests" (the Pillsbury Co., 1999)

1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon margarine or butter, softened
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 tablespoon chopped chives or onions
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon chopped pimientos, optional
1 8-ounce can refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 tablespoon margarine or butter, melted
3/4 cup seasoned croutons, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat cream cheese and softened margarine until smooth. Mix in chicken, chives, salt, pepper, milk and pimientos.

Separate dough into 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal. Spoon 1/2 cup chicken mixture into center of each rectangle. Pull corners of dough to center, covering chicken mixture; twist firmly. Pinch edges to seal. Brush tops with melted margarine and sprinkle with crushed croutons. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until golden. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per sandwich: 500 calories, 31 g total fat, 10 g saturated fat, 85 mg cholesterol, 850 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 27 g protein.

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.