Ham and Cheese Sliders

This goes well with a green salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, pickles, coleslaw, sauerkraut, sliced cucumbers with lime and Tajin or salt, or chips. This meal was a real hit in our house.

Ingredients:
1 package (12) Hawaiian sweet rolls
8 slices deli ham (I used 8oz. honey ham deli slices)
4 slices cheese (original recipe called for Swiss, I used Monterrey Jack and just sliced enough to bury the meat in cheese)
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, softened
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup mayonnaise

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Leaving the sheet of rolls intact, slice the sheet of rolls in half horizontally. Set the top half aside. Place the bottom half into an oblong baking pan or casserole dish. Spread the mustard and mayonnaise thinly on the bottom half of the sheet of rolls and then on the top half. Layer the bottom half evenly with ham slices and then the cheese. Cover with the top half of the sweet rolls. Slice the softened butter in 12 slices and place one slice on top of each roll. Bake for 20 minutes until the sweet rolls are golden brown and the cheese is melted. Cut into individual sandwiches.

Variations:
-The lunchmeat and cheese can be changed to make many different sandwiches (turkey and pepper jack, chicken and havarti with buffalo sauce instead of mustard, Italian meats and provolone, pepperoni and mozzerella).
-Use jalapeno Hawaiian rolls.
-Cream cheese instead of mayo (be careful, it'll be scary hot cream cheese when it comes out of the oven.)
-Add pickles or jalapenos to the sandwich before baking.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

In an effort to eat healthier, we have been trying new recipes.  This one was a huge hit at our house.  Everyone, including the 1 year old and the picky 4 year old, loved this.  It will definitely be a regular part of our meal plans now.  I don't like water chestnuts at all, but in this dish they really made the texture of the meat mixture.  If your family doesn't like spicy things, leave out the cayenne pepper.  The 4 year old just insisted on a drink after each bite.  I hope your family enjoys this as much as we did.

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Ingredients:
3 tsp. olive oil (this can be less if you don't get the LEAN turkey)
1-2 T. sesame seeds
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 C. onions, diced
1 lb. ground turkey (The original recipe called for ground chicken, but I couldn't find it in our stores.)
1 C. mushrooms, diced
1-2 zucchini, diced
1 sm. can water chestnuts, drained and diced
4 T. soy sauce
2 T. sweet & sour sauce or duck sauce
2 tsp. red wine or rice vinegar
1 tsp. cayenne powder (optional if you want less spice)
Salt and pepper to taste
Lettuce or cabbage leaves (we like cabbage)
**You can make a dip from wasabi mixed with a little soy sauce (optional).  We didn't as we enjoyed the flavor of the meat mixture as it was.

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat.  Briefly cook the sesame seeds and garlic.  Add the onion and cook until the onion is soft and starting to brown.  Add the turkey and use a fork to crumble it well in the pan while it's cooking.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Mix and continue cooking until the mushroom and zucchini are soft and it is all a nearly uniform texture.  Wash your lettuce/cabbage and place it a plate.  Fill the leaves with a scoop or two.  Makes 4 servings.

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Green Chile Enchilada Casserole

I hear that Hatch Green Chile will soon be in season.  They really are yummy, especially if you are in New Mexico and can get them fresh.  My family likes Hatch Green Chile in an enchilada casserole that my family has been making (and adapting) for at least 50 years.

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Ingredients:

1-2 lb. ground beef or chicken

1 onion, chopped

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream on mushroom soup

1-2 cans Hatch Green Chile (depending on how spicy your family likes their food)

1 can tomatoes (whole, crushed, or blended)

12-16 corn tortillas or flavored or unflavored tortilla chips (like Doritos)

1-2 handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese (or more) (longhorn cheese or shredded "Mexican" cheese works well)

Instructions:

Cook the ground beef or chicken with the onion until browned (when cooked, shred the chicken).  Add the soups, the green chile, and the tomatoes and stir over medium heat until the mixture is warmed through.  If using the tortillas, heat some cooking oil and lightly fry each of the tortillas (they should still be pliable) and then allow them to drain on a paper towel.  Layer in a casserole dish with either the corn tortillas or the tortilla chips. If you want it extra cheesy, add some cheese after each meat layer.  Top with the cheese and put it in the oven until the cheese has melted.  Fast, easy. delicious, and even good as leftovers.  Enjoy!

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Twisted Hummus

My daughter and I like hummus a lot and so we wanted to make our own.  There came in a tiny problem of living in a small town where the grocery doesn't have odd things like tahini (sesame seed paste).  But we wanted hummus, so here's what we tried:

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Ingredients:
2 Cans (16 oz) garbanzo beans (1 drained, 1 not)
4 T. Peanut butter (just unsweetened plain peanut butter, unless you can find tahini, then use it)
1/2 C. Lemon juice
4 tsp. Chopped garlic (about 4 cloves)
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 T. Extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. Cayenne pepper (or less depending on your tastes)

Directions:

Put all ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth.  Serve with yummy things to dip into it, like celery, snow peas, grape tomatoes, pita bread, broccoli, etc.

We enjoyed this mixture, but still think there are some improvements to be made.  Maybe cilantro.  Let me know what you think in the comments :)

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*UPDATE*  Today my daughter and I tried this with the addition of cilantro.  It was quite good.  Just what it needed.  Measurement...we pulled a handful of leaves off of their stems and threw them in the blender with the rest.

Bacon Gravy with Biscuits

Now, if you are looking for something healthy, this is not it.  If you are looking for old fashioned, stick to your ribs, delicious, naughty food, this is a good choice.  We have made this with sausage, it's just not as good as the bacon is.

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Ingredients:
1 lb. (16 oz.) bacon (or bacon end pieces)
Flour (we use all purpose flour)
4 C. milk (we use skim milk)
1 T. garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. (or more) pepper
2 tsp. Red Devil or other cayenne pepper sauce
Sour cream (optional)
Shredded cheese (optional)
Prepared biscuits (about 6 per person)

Directions:
Prepare the biscuits so that they are ready when the gravy is finished.  Lightly warm the 4 C. of milk in a sauce pan or in the microwave for 3 minutes.  Open the package of bacon, cut or slice into bite sized pieces (about 1 inch).  Cook in a large skillet on medium-high heat.  Use a wooden spoon to separate and turn the bacon pieces.  Cook them until they are mostly brown.  Remove the bacon from the skillet.  Pour the bacon grease into a (glass) measuring cup.  Check how much grease there is so that you can measure the same amount of flour.

Pour the bacon grease back into the skillet.  Turn the fire on low-medium.  Add 1 T. minced garlic and stir.  Cook for 3 minutes.  Add in the flour (the amount of flour should be the same as the amount of bacon grease that you measured earlier).  Stir the flour mixture until the flour is lightly browned.

Add the milk to the skillet.  Use a whisk to incorporate the flour mixture into the milk.  Continue to stir and whisk the mixture until it thickens (it should become about the consistency of thick cake batter, about 10-20 minutes).  (Don't leave it for more than a minute or two or it will burn.)

Once thickened, return the bacon pieces to the gravy.  Add in the salt, pepper, and Red Devil sauce.  Stir and taste.  Adjust the spices to your taste.  We usually need to add more pepper.

If it doesn't seem to taste just right, it can be salvage by adding some sour cream and/or shredded cheese to it to add more flavor and creamy texture.

We serve this by breaking up the biscuits into a bowl (about 6 per person) and cover them with about 3 very large spoonfuls of gravy.  This makes a very hearty breakfast.  We have also been known to serve our gravy bowl with a nice fried egg or two and cheese.

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Pecan Pie Muffins

Wherever I originally got this divine recipe it called for these to be mini muffins.  We have made them as minis and as regular sized muffins.  The downside here is that you can't use muffin papers with these because the bread, for some strange reason, sticks to the paper like crazy.

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Ingredients:
1 C. brown sugar, packed
1/2 C. all purpose flour
1 C. pecans, chopped
2/3 C. butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten

Directions:
In one bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, and pecans.  In another bowl, combine the butter and eggs and mix well.  Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until the mixture is just moistened.  Fill greased and floured muffin cups two-thirds full.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done with a toothpick or fork.  Remove immediately and cool on wire racks.  Makes about 2 1/2 dozen mini muffins or a little more than 1 dozen regular muffins.

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Peanut Butter Creams

My kindergarten teacher, Ms. Carson, made these with us and sent the recipe home.  I have made it many times over my lifetime and now my daughter makes them.  Yes, the recipe can be doubled.  I haven't tried any variations, but I can think of some yummy ones...like replacing the chocolate chips with miniature candy coated chocolates or hazelnut butter and dark chocolate chips.  If you try any variations, please comment :)

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Ingredients:

1 C. powdered sugar

1/2 a can sweetened condensed milk

1 C. peanut butter

1 C. chocolate chips

Directions:

Mix the chocolate chips with the powdered sugar.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Drop by bite sized spoonfuls onto wax paper.  Refrigerate until chilled.

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Random Pies

I was recently cleaning out my freezer and discovered 2 frozen pie crusts. I thought, "I've never made any pie other than pumpkin." I knew that I had pecans and frozen fruit, so I decided to try a pecan pie and a mixed fruit pie.

PRINTER FRIENDLY HONEY PECAN PIE RECIPE

Honey Pecan Pie - the honey makes this a very rich version of pecan pie

Filling:
¼ Cup melted butter
1 1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 tsp. salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 heaping cup chopped pecans
¼ cup pecan halves

Crust:
1 single pie crust - bushed with egg wash and par baked.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Combine melted butter, honey, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the lightly beaten eggs and combine well. Stir in chopped pecans. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Cover the edges of the crust with pie crust shields or a strip of aluminum foil. Arrange pecan halves on the surface of the pie. Bake at 325°F for 30-40 minutes until set. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or ice cream.

PRINTER FRIENDLY HONEY PECAN PIE RECIPE

PRINTER FRIENDLY MIXED FRUIT POPPY SEED PIE

Mixed Fruit Poppy Seed Pie 

4-6 cups of chopped fruit (I used frozen peaches, mangoes, and strawberries and 2 green apples peeled and chopped.)

1-2 tablespoons cornstarch (we were out, so we used 4 T. flour here)
1/2 cup brown or white sugar
Lemon zest (optional)
Pinch of salt 
1/2-2 teaspoons spices (we used 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional)

1 single pie crust - bushed with egg wash and par baked.

Mix together, pour into crust, and bake at 325°F for 30-40 minutes until the apples are soft or until the top looks dry. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or ice cream.

The poppy seeds we added because we had some and my daughter really likes them.  It turned out very well and the poppy seeds looked like part of the pie because of the strawberry seeds that look similar and they added a nice flavor to the pie.  I'm anxious to try this again with different fruit.

PRINTER FRIENDLY MIXED FRUIT POPPY SEED PIE

I needed some help with the fruit pie.  I got the help here: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-easy-fruit-filling-for-68853

Meat Stuffing

Meat Stuffing

INGREDIENTS:
1-2 T. cooking oil
1 T. minced garlic
2 chopped onions (I used yellow onions)
1 lb. chopped bacon
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 C. sliced green olives
1/2 C. sliced black Greek olives

PRINTER FRIENDLY MEAT STUFFING RECIPE

Don't worry too much about the cut of the onions and bacon, everything will get mixed together in the food processor.

Heat a small amount of cooking oil in a large skillet.  Add the garlic and onions.  Cook on medium heat until they begin to get soft.  Add the bacon, ground pork, and ground beef, cook on medium heat.  When the meat is no longer pink, put 1-2 cups of the mixture at a time into your food processor or blender and process until chopped fine and uniform.  Continue cooking the fine meat mixture until it starts to brown.  Add the olives and salt and pepper to taste.

When I made this, I never had to pour off any grease from the meat.  The little grease that was there cooked off as the dish progressed.

The original mixture that I took this idea from had no onions, no beef, and no Greek olives.  It had celery and ham.  We use this meat with cheese to stuff pita bread or make burritos.  We have also tried it as a stuffing for pasilla peppers and green chilies (I wonder how it would be in a chile relleno?).  I really like the flavor but feel that it needs some spice to it.  My daughter had it in a burrito today with cottage cheese and buffalo wing sauce.  Tasty just straight or with good bread.

PRINTER FRIENDLY MEAT STUFFING RECIPE

Ratatouille

NO :) Not the movie though I do wish that I had it to encourage grandson1 to eat his veggie stew.

The food!  Mine doesn't look like the following picture because I used orange bell peppers and didn't use summer squash (although it would be a nice addition).  I also cooked mine longer so it was a bit mushier than the one pictured.  But the idea of a ratatouille is a rustic peasant vegetable stew.  So I wanted you to see from this picture that its all about the veggies.

I actually made it, from scratch.  The local food bank gives out cases of produce.  This month we received eggplant, orange bell peppers, and tomatoes.  So I went online to find out what I could make with eggplant besides eggplant parmesan.  I'm not a fan of eggplant parmesan because when I've made it, it turned out too greasy.  My daughter remembers me making it and then using it in lasagna, but I don't remember that.  The bratwurst and cheese in the ratatouille are my families take on how to make vegetables edible.  I thought it would be good without them and with the addition of some crusty toasted and buttered bread.  So...here is my ratatouille:

PRINTER FRIENDLY RATATOUILLE RECIPE

Ratatouille
Makes 8 to 10 servings
2 large eggplants
2 onions
3 bell peppers
4 medium zucchini
4 large tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon thyme
1 Tablespoon basil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 Tablespoons vinegar
1 Tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Cooking oil (I use Canola, the original recipe says olive oil)
10 bratwurst (mild), cooked and sliced into bite sized pieces
4 oz. goat cheese

Chop the eggplants into bite-sized cubes. Place them in a strainer set over a bowl and toss with a tablespoon of salt. Let the eggplant sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

The vegetables will be cooked in batches, so keep each one in a separate bowl once cut up. Roughly chop the onions, peppers, zucchinis, and tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Mince the garlic.

While cooking the vegetables, a brown glaze will gradually build on the bottom of the pan. If it looks like this glaze is beginning to turn black and burn, turn down the heat to medium. You can also dissolve the glaze between batches by pouring 1/4 cup of water or wine into the pan and scraping up the glaze. Pour the deglazing liquid into the bowl with the vegetables.

Warm a teaspoon of oil in a large (at least 5 1/2 quart) pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a generous pinch of salt. Saute until the onions have softened and are just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the peppers and continue cooking until the peppers have also softened, about another 5 minutes. Transfer the onions and peppers to a clean bowl.

Add another teaspoon of oil to the pot and saute the zucchini with a generous pinch of salt until the zucchini has softened and is beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the zucchini to the bowl with the onions and peppers.

Rinse the eggplant under running water and squeeze the cubes gently with your hands to remove as much moisture as possible. Warm two teaspoons of oil in the pan and saute the eggplant until it has softened and has begun to turn translucent, about 10 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to the bowl with the other vegetables.

Warm another teaspoon of oil in the pan and saute the garlic until it is fragrant and just starting to turn golden, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, and thyme. As the tomato juices begin to bubble, scrape up the brown glaze on the bottom of the pan. (Use your own judgement on time here.  I left the tomatoes cooking until the juices were beginning to turn into a very thin tomato sauce.  But its all about the texture you like, so less cooking time on the tomatoes is okay.)

Add all of the vegetables back into the pan and stir until everything is evenly mixed. Bring the stew to a simmer, then turn down the heat to low. Stirring occasionally, simmer for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 1/2 hours. Shorter cooking time will leave the vegetables in larger, more distinct pieces; longer cooking times will break the vegetables down into a silky stew.

When finished cooking, remove the bay leaf and stir in the basil, red pepper flakes, vinegar, salt and pepper, bratwurst, and goat cheese. Leftovers can be refrigerated for a week or frozen for up to three months. Ratatouille is often better the second day, and it can be eaten cold, room temperature, or warmed.

PRINTER FRIENDLY RATATOUILLE RECIPE