What a Blessing

Isn't it nice when a friend invites you to their family gathering and you just feel right at home? What could be a better reason to get together than good friends and family, good food, and wonderful baby blessing? That was our weekend and it turned an otherwise lonely Sunday into a delight.

I had a request from those beauties - the Wright girls for a recipe after our gathering. Little sammies, little burgers are all the rage right now. Here are a couple of mini sandwiches for your recipe box.

(We joked about not having any good pictures for this post since the sandwiches got devoured so here are a few random ones I found on-line.)


Ham & Swiss Breakfast Minis (these are great any time of day!)

3 cans refrigerator biscuits (if you use Grands for a bigger sandwich you should only do 2 cans)
1 lb. sliced ham
swiss cheese, sliced

Bake biscuits according to the package. Cool and slice in half. Put a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss on each biscuit to form a sandwich. Place sammies on a cookie sheet.

Melt together:
2 stick butter (yeah boy!)
1/4 C dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Drizzle this mixture over the top of the sandwiches. Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate overnight. In the morning bake the sammies at 375 degrees until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Here is a random guy picking poppy seeds out of his teeth which is what all of us do after eating those sandwiches. Un-appetizing I know - but funny.



Hot Roast Beef Party Sandwiches
(this recipe is Melissa's - she's got some good ones!)

1/2 C finely chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted
2 pkgs. small dinner rolls (the Hawaiian ones work well - any kind that are still attached together in the package - you followin' me?)
2/3 C peach preserves
1/2 C mustard-mayo mix
3/4 lb. thinly sliced deli roast beef, chopped
1/2 lb. thinly sliced Havarti cheese
salt & pepper

Remove the rolls from the package and slice as a whole horizontally to create a top and a bottom. On the top half spread the mustard-mayo mix. On the bottom spread the peach preserves and sprinkle with the toasted nuts. Layer the cheese and roast beef on the bottom half. Put the top on and wrap the whole thing in foil. Bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees or until the cheese is good and melted. Remove from the oven and un-wrap. Cut into individual sandwiches and serve.

Notes: The quantities on this recipe can definitely be changed to suit your taste and budget. The weird thin meat in the little ackages that only cost like $1 at the grocery store actually work well in this recipe. And when I make the mustard-mayo mix I never measure - you know . . . spread how ever much jam on that you want. I don't think you could hurt this recipe. Also, my recipe never said where to put the salt & pepper, so put it wherever you want! Either of these sandwich recipes will be a show-stopper at your next get-together. Enjoy.

Love is in the Air

I love Valentine's Day!!! It's right up there with Christmas for me - I guess 'cause it's another time of the year that we get to eat lots of goodies and tell people how much we love them!


For Christmas I made some fabric brithday banners as gifts. They turned out great but I have been fussing with my design and I came up with this cutie for Valentine's. It's just what my dining room needed to get into the holiday spirit. I am not one big on decorating but I thought if I had some of these handy banners for holidays or special occasions, it would be just enough to make me feel festive.



While we are talking about getting into the mood for LOVE - I had a fun luncheon with the ladies I Visit Teach this week with my VT partner. We had the best time chatting and eating and of course we used the Valentine's theme. I tried a new recipe and ended up with a killer Muffuletta sandwich (courtesy of Giada). All 5 of us wolfed it down man! I was in charge of dessert too so, I had to go with the classic creme puff but I added a naughty Nutella/cream cheese filling. YUMMMMMMM! We couldn't keep our hands off of them.

So if you need a little reason to get some girls together for lunch, do it for Valentine's Day. For the Love of food, just do it!


Creme Puffs

1 C water
1/2 C butter
1 C flour
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs
Combine the flour and salt together and set aside. Put the water and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir while still on the heat until it forms a ball of dough. Remove from heat and add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each (this is where you get your workout for the day). Drop by small teaspoons onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a rack. Fill or freeze for later use. Just before serving, pile up the creme puffs and dust with powdered sugar or skip that and drizzle them with melted chocolate. Yields 35-40 small creme puffs.

Note: You can add a Tbsp. or two of sugar to the flour mixture for sweet-filled puffs if you desire. You can also make these larger and slice open, fill with a big scoop of ice cream, replace the top and drizzle with chocolate sauce!


Crazy Nutella Filling

6 oz. soft cream cheese
2 Tbsp. sugar
2/3 C Nutella
1 C heavy cream, whipped
1/2 C toasted hazelnuts (if you can find them - it was still good without)

Beat the cream cheese and the sugar together. Add the Nutella and little at a time. Fold in the whipped cream. Stir in hazelnuts and chill for later use.

Note: This is a thick and rich filling. You can add more whipped cream for a lighter flavor.



Traditional Vanilla Custard Filling

1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix
1 C cold milk
1 C heavy cream, whipped

Combine the pudding mix and the milk. Fold in the whipped cream and chill.


Giada's Muffuletta

1/4 C red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/3 C olive oil
10 large pitted green olives
1/3 C chopped kalamata olives
1/4 C chopped roasted red pepper
salt and pepper
1 round bread loaf
ham
salami
turkey
provolone
thinly sliced red onion
arugula leaves

Whisk the red wine vinegar, garlic and oregano together. Gradually blend in the oil. Stir in the chopped olives and peppers. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

Cut the top 1-inch off the bread loaf and set aside. Hollow out the bottom and top halves of the bread (not too much though). Spread some of the olive salad on the bread bottom and up the sides. Layer the meats and cheese in the bread bottom. Top with the onions and arugula. Spread the remaining olive salad on the top of the sandwich. Replace the bread top. Serve immediately or cover tightly with Saran wrap and refrigerate up to a day ahead.


Notes: The olive salad is tasty! Make use of the olive bar at your grocery store to cut down on cost here. I ended up using two red peppers which was more than the 1/4 C called for and I liked it that way. I used the large Cibatta Loaf from Wildflower Bread Co. instead of a round loaf and it was incredible. You could also use the Cibattas from Costco. With my loaf of bread I got 6 very large sandwiches, which could have been cut in half but we all decided to scarf them down. But if you tried this for a potluck sometime, you could easily get 12 good sandwiches out of it. And go for the arugula - it's the best! Enjoy!

Super Sammie

Last night it was my turn to cook for dinner club. I was sort of at a loss for what to fix - I was intrigued recently by a recipe I found for Gazpacho - a cold vegetable soup. I thought that would be a perfect thing to try during the Summer but I wasn't sure what to serve with it that would be easy to prepare for 3 families. I finally just decided soup and sandwhiches is about the best combo there is so I opted for salami and turkey bagel sandwiches. I LOVE bagel sandwiches!

I knew that I needed a good cream cheese to go with it so I just bought a triple olive mix at the deli counter and chopped them up and just stirred them in some reduced fat cream cheese - nothing else. It was the star of my dinner! YUM.

So here is the pic of my sandwich today that I eeked out of my leftovers. I didn't have anymore bagels so I used my favorite whole grain bread from Costco. I have to say it was better than the bagel the night before!



So here's what's on the sammie: Olive cream cheese, on both sides of the bread, hard salami, turkey breast, arugula, sliced tomatoes, and red onion. That's it. Wow was it good. How can you go wrong with salami and olives?!

I did make the Gazpacho. I think it was kind of like eating a Bloody Mary in bowl, minus the alcohol. It was good - not a soup I'd eat super often though. I required my children to at least try it - I figured it would be a battle. CMH choked down two bites of soup with celery and cucumber. AAH ate a spoonful and then another and then another and declared, "Hey, this is good!" He ate his entire bowl and then finished off his brother's! MJ was about to drive me to the hopsital I was in such shock! It was worth making it just for that.

A Little Bit of Heaven

There was a turkey and cranberry panini on the menu at Phoenix Children's hospital. When I tried to order it for dinner, they told me that it was only a lunch item and they only served it until 2pm. When I tried to order it the following day, they told me that it was the Friday special that they weren't making it anymore. Great. So, I've had turkey cranberry panini on my mind since I've been home. The only thing I remember that they put on theirs besides turkey and cranberry sauce was cream cheese - knowing that it needed a little more flavor than that I came up with my own version. Matt will eat a turkey and cranberry sandwich but it isn't probably top on his list. Last night he highly enjoyed the sandwich I made for him and he came home from work today with a smile on his face and very kindly asked if I could make him "another one of those sandwiches."

Here's whats on it:

Ciabatta rolls from Costco (there is no need to butter the bread)

plain cream cheese, shmeared on both sides of the bread

a slice of swiss cheese, on the left side

turkey piled up high on the right side

Cranberry sauce covering the turkey - be generous

thinly sliced red onion on top of the cranberries

top that with a handful of baby spinach

Close it all together and cook it - I personally don't have a panini maker so I just use my George Forman grill and it works perfectly. I cooked my paninis for 5-7 minutes each. You could also see if a waffle maker would work or cook it in a skillet topped with a heavy brick wrapped in foil. Give it a try and you will see why it's a little bit of heaven on a plate.