Little Piggies In A Blanket with Veggie Wieners

This Little Piggy

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
This little piggy went ...

Wee, wee, wee,

All the way home!

Vegetarian wieners make dandy "Pigs-in-a-blanket" wrapped in a homemade pastry.

We all know that little nursery rhyme.  My mother played this little rhyme with me and I did it with my boys and we all do it with the grandchildren.  There's something so sweet about baby's tiny little toes. And then there are the shrieks of laughter with that tickle at the end.   The only little piggies that are around our house now (except when the babies visit) are wiener Piggies In A Blanket.  I like to wrap and bake veggie wieners in pastry and serve them with a tomato sauce for a tasty dinner.  Made smaller they make a dandy snack.

As I was searching through the fridge the other day, I came across a disk of pastry that I had only a foggy memory of making.  I decided I'd better put it in the freezer so it wouldn't go bad. Then today as I was frittering away time doing several small things (so it looks like I did nothing) I realized Don would be home in less than an hour and I had nothing planned except for green salad.  Hmmmm.... what to get for dinner?  Then I remembered that nearly forgotten piece of pastry and knew, today we would be eating Pigs in a Blanket.  I took the pastry from the freezer and threw it in the microwave on the thaw setting (and hoped for the best) and in no time I had it rolled out. I soon had a very nice dinner with the salad and few mashed potatoes.

Pigs in a Blanket was a meal I'd often make if I got on a pie making binge and had left-over pastry after the pies were done.  When the boys were little I'd cut each wiener in three pieces but as they got older and their plates got bigger I'd cut the wieners in half for larger servings.  These were even served at Peter and Vicki's wedding as they had picnic themed food at their reception. 

I think these are so much tastier than using a purchased wiener wrap.  Try them and I'm sure you'll agree.  If you have a crowd make sure you double the recipe as these are real pleasers.

Printable recipe at end of post.

Little Piggies In A Blanket

• Pastry for single pie shell (use half a recipe for Aunt Amy's No Fail Pie Crust)
• 4 or 5 wieners, cut in thirds or halves
• Cheddar cheese, optional
• Mustard, optional

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  

Roll the pastry quite thin, but not so thin that it will tear.  Cut the pastry in 2½ x 2½-inch squares for snack size or 3½ x 3½-inch squares for dinner size.  If the wieners are extra long you may have to cut the squares a little bigger.  I always reroll the pastry scraps to make more squares. 

Place each wiener piece on a pastry square. If using the cheese and mustard add a small amount to each wiener. (See photos below.)  Brush a little water around the edge of the pastry square to help stick the pastry together. Roll the pastry around the wiener.  Pinch the ends closed.  It will look similar to an egg roll.

Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup.  Lay each "piggy" on the prepared pan with space between.  Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden.  

Makes  12-15 snack size or 8-10 dinner size pigs.

Double the recipe for large appetites.

Pigs In A Blanket can be served as a snack with a ketchup dipping sauce or as a dinner entree with tomato sauce.

Roll out the pastry fairly thin.  I didn't have a large piece of pasty but it was just enough to make dinner for Don and me.

Centre the wiener and add cheese and/ or mustard if you wish.  I used half a wiener for each Little Piggy.

Brush water around the edges of the pastry.  This will help seal the pastry.

Now, roll up each wiener in the pastry as snug as a warm blanket on a cold winter's night. I told you it would look like an egg roll.  Bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

And here are two Little Piggies In A Blanket drizzled with a warm tomato sauce. These little piggies were gobbled up by the big, bad wolf.

Tasty and Delicious   

No pigs were harmed in the making of this product.

To print click on arrow upper right side.⇩