Pulled BBQ Beef Sandwiches

I’ve been sharing a lot of slow cooked shredded meats with you lately. I haven’t really meant to but it just sort of happened. One thing I’ve learned as a food blogger is that two things have to happen in order for a post to come together. The food has to taste good and the pictures have to look good as well. Or in my case, the pictures have to look at least OK.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made something that was great and the pictures were awful, or the pictures were pretty good but the dish fell short of expectations.

I made this sandwich months ago….maybe even almost a year now. For whatever reason, it kept getting pushed down the list of recipes I want to share. It’s not because it’s a bad sandwich – it’s pretty perfect to be honest – but other recipes seemed more interesting.

That and I did lose the recipe for a bit as well. At the time I had it written down on a post it note.

I threw this together in the crock pot one morning in a desperate attempt to not have to cook dinner that night and it turned out so much better than I expected. It was Brent’s idea to add the spicy brown mustard in at the last minute to the BBQ sauce and I threw some shredded cheese on top that I keep on hand. I can’t help it, I see a sandwich and I NEED to put cheese on it.

The picture you see if of my 2^nd sandwich that night. I didn’t take a picture of my first because I wasn’t expecting much. So I had to make another sandwich to take a picture. And then I had to eat that sandwich too….

Pulled BBQ Beef Sandwiches Recipe

*Makes 6-8 sandwiches

(printable recipe)

Slow Cooker Spicy Pulled Pork

I love my slow cookers. Despite having three, they all surprisingly get a fair amount of use, and I actually wouldn't mind having a fourth. But according to Brent, we don’t have room for anymore kitchen gadgets.

So I buy them and don’t tell him about it.

I do this with clothes and shoes too.

Shhhhh! It’s a secret, k?

While I love using my slow cookers for a variety of things, I find the most useful (or maybe it’s just my favorite) to be for making pulled pork, beef, or chicken. It is incredibly simple to do and the possibilities are endless.

This recipe is for spicy pulled pork that is great for tacos, burritos, southwestern bowls, sandwiches, or anything other vessel you may want to use to get it in your mouth.

Like nachos? Oh, yes. Do it, like now.

Little tip! Puree the chipotles in adobo whenever you open a new can. I do this and keep some in the fridge in a tightly sealed jar, and then divvy up the rest in small freezer bags and freeze them for future use. It makes it so much easier to measure out and you don’t risk wasting any.

Spicy Pulled Pork

*Serves 6-8

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

-          3-4 lbs pork roast*

-          1 15.5oz can tomato sauce

-          2.5 tbls chipotles in adobo

-          1 tbl chili powder

-          1 tbl cumin

-          1 tea garlic powder

-          1 tea onion powder

-          1 tea oregano

-          1 tbl brown sugar

-          Salt and Pepper, to taste

             *I generally use about a 3 lb roast but a little larger roast will be fine.

 

Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Panini

Buffalo sauce drenched shredded chicken. 

Blue cheese. 

Sharp cheddar cheese. 

Fresh tomatoes. 

Caramelized onions. 

Chewy whole grain bread. 

And bacon. Oh yes, there’s bacon too.

This sandwich is a sandwich’s sandwich. It is a two napkin man’s sandwich. It is what other sandwiches want to be – chewy, gooey, cheesy, and mouth-watering delicious.

I’m sure I’m not alone in this but I prefer sandwiches that are toasted or warmed up a bit. Something about melting the cheese and toasting up the bread just makes me weak in the knees.

Buffalo sauce also makes me a bit weak in the knees, so this panini is right up my alley. I ate one whole one and then another half just because. Brent said he didn't think he could eat his final half, but I told him to pull his britches up and man up. If I could eat one and a half, so could he.

I’ll be eating salad for the next 7-10 days to make up for the calories but it was totally worth it.

Buffalo Chicken Panini

*make 4 sandwiches

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

- 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken

- ¼ cup buffalo wing sauce

- ½ large red onion, sliced

- ¼ cup butter, divided

- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese

- 2 tablespoons sour cream

- 8 thin slices tomato, approx 1 large one

- 4 slices bacon, sliced in half and cooked

- 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese

- 8 thick cut (approx 1”) bread - Choose a good chewy and dense bread

Directions:

1. Start by caramelizing your onions over low heat with 2 tbls of butter. (Click here for a How to Tutorial.)

2. In a small bowl, smash blue cheese into sour cream. Stir well to incorporate and set aside.

3. In a sauce pan, melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Add chicken and buffalo sauce. Simmer together until chicken is thoroughly warmed through and well coated with sauce.

4- Assemble sandwiches. Spread blue cheese on one slice of bread and place cheddar on other slice. On top of cheddar add bacon, onions, chicken, and tomatoes in any order you prefer and place blue cheese covered slice on top. (Mine went like this: cheddar, bacon, chicken, onions, tomatoes, blue cheese)

5- Place on a heated sandwich press – a George Foreman-like grill works too – and press sandwich for 1- 2 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is toasted and browned. If you are using a regular pan, heat over medium, spray with cooking spray and flip sandwich midway through.

6- Let cool for a minute before slicing and serving.

Happy Friday!

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Hawaiian Pulled Pork Sliders

Recipe for: Sweet and Sour Pulled Pork on Hawaiian Sweet Rolls with Spicy BBQ Sauce

A couple of years ago now Brent and I were going to a Hawaiian themed graduation party. We were asked to contribute a Hawaiian type dish and bring it along. I've never been to Hawaii, though I’d love to get there someday, but for whatever reason Sweet and Sour Pulled Pork seemed to fit the theme. Plus, pulled pork generally does well with large crowds.

While everyone at the party seemed to enjoy it, Brent really loved it and over the years he has asked me to make it again. Recently he had a potluck at work and asked for the recipe so he could bring it in.  Since the recipe was never posted here, I figured I would make it again so I could write it down and share it with you.

For his potluck we bought about 14lbs of pork butt, so I slimmed down the recipe for 4-8 pounds to post here. This gives you a little wiggle room in the recipe depending on how many people you’ll be making this for.

One addition I made this time was a spicy BBQ sauce to go on top and I really thought it brought the whole thing together. In fact, the BBQ sauce would also be great on grilled chicken, pork chops or maybe even grilled salmon.

Just a note: In the recipe below for the pork, I separated the ingredients between the cooking liquid and the sauce to pour on top afterwards. I think it makes it easier to follow, even though they use many of the same items.

Sweet and Sour Hawaiian Pulled Pork Sliders

*Makes 20 – 30 sliders or 6 – 8  sandwiches

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

Simple Supper: Blackened Fish Sandwiches

I can’t deny the fact that living in the Tampa Bay area for so long hasn’t left some sort of impression on me. I love a good sunset, I know how to combat humidity riddled hair days, I wear sandals 360 days a year, and I love a good fish sandwich.

Before moving here, I’d never had a fish sandwich. Sure, I’d had fried whole belly clam rolls, or hot lobster rolls – very tradition New England fare – but not a simple fish sandwich. Florida converted me to them. I suppose it was only a matter of time.

If you ever travel to the Tampa area, I highly suggest you seek out a Grouper Sandwich. Pretty much every local restaurant serves them, so you won’t have to search hard. You can get them fried, grilled, or blackened. I prefer them fried with a slice of cheese and Brent likes them blackened. I honestly don’t know one person who has ever ordered one grilled, but you can if you want.

You may be wondering why the post it titled TILAPIA and I’m talking about grouper. The point is that grouper can be pretty pricey, so when I get a craving for something similar, I opt for the more wallet friendly and readily available Tilapia. While you can’t mistake tilapia for grouper, enough of the notes are there to hit the spot when I don’t feel like dining out. An added bonus is that tilapia cooks fairly fast and dinner can be done in about 20 minutes.

This particular night, I went for a blackened tilapia and made an avocado and dill spread to balance out the heat.

Blackened Tilapia Sandwiches with Avocado-Dill Spread
*Makes 2

Ingredients:
- 2 tilapia fillets, roughly 4-6oz
- 2 sandwich buns, any kind you prefer
- ½ a Hass avocado
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- Squeeze of lime juice
- 1 teaspoon paprika*
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt*
- ½ teaspoon black pepper*
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper*
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder*
- ½ teaspoon onion powder*
- 1/8 teaspoon celery salt*
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (use more for more heat)*
- 1 tablespoon butter or oil
- Lettuce, tomato, and onion if desired
* Or just use any blackened seasoning you like.

Grinders - A Summer Favorite

Summer is starting to wind down and the Autumn Equinox is only a few days away and will mark the official start of fall. Personally, fall is my favorite season…even though here in Florida it isn’t exactly colorful and crisp and cool. Still, the humidity seems to subside a little and we do have some beautiful days of bright blue cloudless skies with a slight gentle breeze every so often.

This past summer has been a bit strange for me. Personal circumstances disrupted my everyday routine of working, studying, cooking, and blogging, which lead to my absence here. Amidst all the chaos and craziness that summer brought, I think the best moments for me were the quieter ones. One of our favorite things to do during the summer is on Sunday nights to pack a small picnic – or pick up a pizza- and head to the beach to eat, take a stroll, and enjoy the sunset. If you live anywhere near a beach, I highly recommend ending your weekend on such a relaxing note.

These grinders – or subs/hoagies as other regions call them – are one of my top three favorites. At Coffee’s in Old Lyme, CT they make an amazing Italian Grinder and these are my almost-as-good- as-the-real-thing recipe. Sometimes simple is best and these definitely hit the spot whether at a park, on the beach, or tailgating before a football game.

The recipe below gives some very adaptable guidelines for amounts of each ingredient. Feel free to adjust as desired.

Italian Combo Grinders
* Makes 4 grinders (6”)
(Printable recipe)

Ingredients:
- 2 foot long Italian baguettes
- 1/3 pound sliced deli pepperoni
- 1/3 pound sliced deli ham
- 1/3 pound sliced deli capicola
- 1/3 pound sliced deli cooked salami
- 1/3 pound sliced provolone cheese
- Thinly sliced tomatoes
- Thinly sliced red onion
- Shaved iceberg lettuce
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Dried oregano
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Slice open baguettes ¾ the way through. Layer in deli meats and cheese and then top with tomatoes, onions, and lettuce. Lightly drizzle on olive oil and red wine vinegar, then season gently to taste with salt, pepper, dried oregano, and parmesan.

If traveling, wrap tightly in aluminum foil and seal in a Ziploc if placing in a cooler of ice.

Pesto Chicken Salad

If you were to ask me to list my top three most hated foods, the list would most certainly include mayonnaise. I just can’t stomach it and therefore I steer clear of a lot of summer favorites such as potato salad, macaroni salad, and chicken salad. This recipe is my solution to that problem and is probably one of my favorite new recipes I’ve come up with in the last couple of months. It’s very satisfying but not overly heavy, and if you buy a rotisserie chicken to use, you won’t even need to turn the oven on. An added bonus is that it’s a little healthier given that mayo has a good amount of calories in it.


The “hardest” part of making this salad is the prep work, other than that it comes together in a snap and is a great make ahead lunch or light summer supper. When we had this for dinner a couple of weeks ago we served it with a lightly toasted flatbread and some mixed greens but you can certainly enjoy it alone, either warm or cold.

Pesto Chicken Salad

*Serves 4- 6
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:
- 3 cups cooked and shredded chicken
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
- 1 cup baby swiss cheese, cubed
- ½ cup chopped prosciutto
- ¾ cup artichokes, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup red onion, minced
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon prepared pesto
- Salt and pepper

Optional: flatbreads, pita bread, fresh spinach, arugula, or mesclun greens

Directions:

1. Prep and chop the chicken, tomatoes, cheese, prosciutto, artichokes, and red onion. Add to a large mixing bowl.

Seriously Awesome Burgers

Last night I came home from work and the last thing I felt like doing was putting any effort into cooking. I knew we had some burgers in the freezer, so I pulled them out to thaw and decided tater tots for a side.

Classy, I know.

Once Brent threw them on the grill, I decided that I was just going to eat mine with cheese, mustard, and ketchup. No fancy pants toppings this time! Just a damn good and simple burger.

Until, I decided that bacon didn’t sound too bad…and if I was cooking bacon I could certainly take 5 minutes to sauté some crimini mushrooms because I need to use them up… and oh no, we only have one slice left of the good cheese, so why don’t I use up the goat cheese in there from that failed dish I attempted the other night… oooh I have a lonely little sun-dried tomato…I’ll make a goat cheese sun-dried tomato spread for it! That jar has been taking up way too much space in the fridge anyway.

And right there folks, is how I almost always get carried away with dinner. Sometimes I think there should a twelve step program of some sort for this type of behavior. But then…what would I share with you?

These little beauties were delicious and completely satisfied my burger craving. The burger was juicy, the bacon crispy, and the goat cheese sun-dried tomato spread was awesome. It was the perfect compliment to the burger and other toppings. I devoured these with no shame, juice dripping down my chin, and inevitably onto my shirt, which now is probably ruined. Not that this is anything new to me, I tend to always get something on me from either the cooking or eating part of the process.

With Memorial Day coming up, the spread would be a great and simple addition to your cook out. It seriously takes less than 2 minutes to whip together, and that includes pulling out the ingredients!

Go Bold Burgers

Recipe: Grilled Burgers with Arugula, Bacon, Bleu Cheese, and Caramelized Onions

The other night I was outside and could smell someone grilling something and wham! I wanted a burger. I think smelling meat cooking on a grill is a lot like smelling popcorn. You didn’t really have any urge to have it, until the smell wafted over to you.
Burgers are fairly common at our house because they are quick, don’t take a huge amount of effort, and we almost always have the 3 essential ingredients (meat, buns, cheese) on hand. Those three ingredients are the jumping off point; from there we put on whatever is available and tickles our fancy. In all honesty, I don’t think we’ve eaten the exact same burger more than twice.

As I was starting to caramelize the onions I realized that I have never posted a single recipe on here for a burger. So I decided to change that!

Consider this a freestyle recipe

Go Bold Burgers

*Makes 4 burgers
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:
- 4 six ounce burgers, ½” – ¾” thick *See tip below
- 4 buns
- 6 slices of bacon, cooked
- 1 small/medium onion, sliced
- seasoning for burgers, whatever you prefer
- crumbled bleu cheese
- arugula
- tomatoes, sliced
- butter for caramelizing, couple tablespoons
- optional: course ground or Dijon mustard

Directions:

1. Start by caramelizing your onions in butter over medium-low heat. (Click here for my “How To”.)

2. Once your burgers are formed, season them any way you like. I sprinkled ours with a little garlic powder, onion powder, season salt, and black pepper.

3. Heat your grill to high and place burgers on when ready. Cook to desired temperature. About 10-12 minutes for medium, it will depend on your grill’s temperature. When you have about a minute left add your cheese to the top. If you want your buns heated or toasted, add it at this time as well. Be sure to keep an eye on them! Once cheese is melted and buns toasty, remove from grill.

Smokey Cheddar Turkey Panini

This past week has been a little blah here in the Tampa Bay area. It’s raining AGAIN and unseasonably cold. (Hello Mr. Weather, this IS the sunshine state!) In fact we had a big storm last night and the thunder was so loud that it woke Brent, me, and the two puppies out of a dead sleep. I think Rosco jumped 4 feet out of the bed he was so freaked out.

None of this has anything to do with today’s recipe except that it does wrap you up in a warm blanket and make you feel a little cozy. Paninis do that to me for some reason. I’m a fan of Panera, but let’s be honest – it isn’t exactly the cheapest place to get a bite to eat. This one is modeled after their Smokehouse Turkey Panini but with a few modifications.

Smokey Cheddar Turkey Panini

*Makes 4 Sandwiches
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:
- ½ - ¾ lb thin sliced deli turkey
- ¼ lb thin sliced provolone cheese
- ¼ lb thin sliced smoked cheddar cheese
- 8 slices Italian bread, sliced ½” thick
- ¾ cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 8 sliced bacon, cooked
- ¼ cup red onion, sliced thinly
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach, approx
- 1/3 cup stone ground mustard*
- 2 large sun dried tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Olive oil

* This kind of mustard has little seeds in it, if you don’t groove on that use whatever kind you’d like.

Directions:

1. Add mushrooms and butter to a sauté pan and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile combine sun dried tomatoes and mustard in a blender or food processor until smooth.

2. Heat your panini press or grill pan to a medium heat. I use my old George Forman, which works great for this actually. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on one side of each slice of bread. These sides will be the “outside” of the panini.

Lunch on the Go

Recipe: Greek-ish Chicken Flatbread Sandwiches

I try to eat healthy during the day at work. This is something I did the other week for lunch. It was easy to prep and take to work.

Suggestions – If you plan on having chicken one night grilled, throw a couple of extra breasts on the grill and make these the following night. You could even use a rotisserie chicken to make these easier if you want, but I prefer the “grill” flavor.

Greek-ish Grilled Chicken Flatbread Sandwiches

*Makes 5 sandwiches

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

- 2 chicken breasts, grilled and cubed

o Side note: I actually marinated the chicken in the Greek vinaigrette for about 30 minutes before grilling.

- 5 flatbreads, I used whole wheat
- 6oz plain yogurt

- 1 lemon, juiced

- ¼ teaspoon dried dill

- 1 tablespoon capers, chopped

- splash of white wine vinegar

- 1 medium cucumber

- ¼ medium red onion, thinly sliced

- 1 cup grape tomatoes

- 1/8 cup Greek vinaigrette

- ½ cup crumbled feta

Directions:

Quick and Easy Lunch Idea

I tend to enjoy foods that are bad for me much more than the ones that are good for me. I’m trying to work on this by telling myself that a little vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries is waaaaay tastier than a bowl of the bear claw ice cream that BD has in the freezer. (I swear that man cannot go a day without a bowl of ice cream before bed.) This is not an easy sell, but I’m making progress – I think. One area that I have been good about changing my eating habits is between the hours of 9 to 5 on Monday thru Friday. In general I have yogurt for breakfast, a small lunch, and then some sort of fresh fruit or veggie as a midday snack. I’m pretty good at sticking to this routine, and will very rarely cheat and go out to lunch. And this is a good thing because cheating is bad. (Why did I get a déjà vu feeling writing this?)

I will usually eat the same thing for a week or two and then I need to switch to something new. Not too long ago I was on a sandwich kick that I was dangerously close to becoming addicted to because I loved the combination that came together.

I wouldn’t call this a recipe really, more so an idea to share.

Chicken and Sun dried Tomato Hummus Deli Flat

*Serves 1

Ingredients:
- 1 Deli flat, any variety
- Few slices of deli quality sliced chicken – or turkey even
- 2 tablespoons of Sun dried Tomato hummus

- Alfalfa sprouts to your liking – I like a lot

Directions:

1. Assemble sandwich!

Arugulamania Dish #2

So here is the second dish or meal that we incorporated the fabulous Arugula Walnut Pesto in. I really just came up with the idea by wanting to use various items that I had on hand at the time up, but boy was it a hit. BD and I literally each took a bite and turned to each other with that complete look of utter satisfaction when you have an idea of how you want something to turn out and it ends up exceeding those expectations. In fact, I looked at him and said: This should be on a menu somewhere. Who knows – maybe it already is!

~ I know this is labeled under vegetarian as well. The reason why is because by just eliminating the steak and doubling up on the Portobello, you can have a great option that would satisfy anyone.

Steak and Portobello Ciabatta Sandwiches

*Serves 2
(Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

- 8oz flank or skirt steak, marinated in any steak marinade you choose*
- 1 large Portobello mushroom, stem removed

- ½” thick slice of red onion, not separated

- ¼ cup roasted red peppers, cut into strips
- 4 tablespoons boursin cheese
- 2 tablespoons Arugula Walnut Pesto

- 2 ciabatta rolls

- Veggie or Canola oil
- S&P

*We used A1 Steak House marinade.

Directions:

1. Allow your flank steak to marinade according to the directions of the marinade you choose. I would recommend at least an hour or two but several hours is best. Take the Portobello and onion, coat with oil and season with salt and pepper.

2. Allow your grill to get very hot. Once grill is well heated, you can grill the Portobello, red onion, and steak. Red onion will take about 6-7 minutes per side; the Portobello will take about 5 minutes per side; and the steak for about three minutes each side. (This will give you a medium-rare to medium steak. I wouldn’t recommend grilling it much past this temperature as flank steak is thin and can easily be overcooked.) I would actually recommend grilling the steak first, removing it from the heat, and allowing it to rest for several minutes while the veggies cook. This will allow the juices in the steak to redistribute – which means a juicier steak for you.

3. Once steak is rested, take a sharp knife and cut across the grain in thin slices. Also slice the Portobello into long slices and separate the onion.

4. Assemble your sandwiches: Cut each ciabatta in half. Spread 1 tablespoon on the pesto on the bottom half and 2 tablespoons of boursin on the top half of each. Then layer your steak, portabellas, roasted red peppers, and red onions. Cut in half and serve.

Thoughts: I’ve actually been dying to makes these again. And I’m still dreaming of the arugula walnut pesto. The ciabatta rolls are really one of my favorite types of bread. They held up really well in relation to this sandwich, which a less sturdy bread wouldn’t be able to. Steak with mushrooms and onions are always a winning combination in my book and this went above and beyond it. This sandwich was favorable and would make an easy summer dinner.

Giving Roast Beef Some Love

A couple of girlfriends and I were talking food earlier today and one of them mentioned Boursin cheese. I am a HUGE fan of Boursin, its one of my favorite things and I use it quite a bit in my cooking. Like here and here. My other friend “J” mentioned that she likes to mix a little of it with Horseradish and enjoy it on roast beef sandwiches. This got my mind going and I could stop thinking about it until I made a sandwich to devour for dinner. My food cravings always dictate what I have for dinner and since BD was working late I didn’t have anyone argue with me. I used an old George Forman grill to press these but you can use a panini press or even a sauté pan like a grilled cheese. You could probably even skip the “cooking” part if you want altogether, but I didn’t.

Roast Beef, Red Onion, Arugula and Horseradish Spread Panini

*Serves 2

(printable version)

Ingredients:

- 4 slices bread – any kind, I used an Italian loaf

- 1/3 pound good quality sliced deli roast beef

- 1.5 cups loosely packed aruluga

- 3 tablespoons spreadable garlic and herb cheese – such as Boursin

- 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish (more or less if you like!)

- 3 tablespoons butter

- ¼ of a red onion, sliced

Turkey Pitas

I made these for lunch this week. And even though I ate it every day, the next day I was still excited about it being my lunch. They are kind of a knock off of Panera Bread's Turkey Artichoke Panini.

Turkey Pitas

This recipe is for an individual pita, so just multiply the ingredient amount for how many you’ll be making.

(print recipe)

Ingredients:

- Pita pocket

-  roasted turkey, sliced

- 2 tablespoons of Spin-Art Spread

- red onion, sliced thin

- bean sprouts

Method:

1. Slice pita in half and stuff two or three slices of turkey in each half.

2. Spread one tablespoon (or more if you like) into each half.

3. Add several red onion slices and top with a small handful of sprouts.

Thoughts: These were yummy and very portable for lunch. The sprouts added a nice, fresh crisp to the sandwich. I’m a huge fan of sprouts but you could substitute mixed greens if you like.

Grilled Veggie Pitas

Everything is better grilled!

I’m always brainstorming for new lunch ideas for the work week. I can usually stick to one idea for about 3-4 weeks until I get burnt out and need something different. This week I am attempting Grilled Veggie Pitas. The recipe below will make about 6 pitas.

Grilled Veggie Pitas

(print the recipe)

Ingredients:

- 1 medium eggplant

- 2 medium Portobello mushrooms

- 1 large zucchini

- 1 roasted red bell pepper

- ¼ cup kalamata olives

- 6 pitas, white or whole wheat

- ¾ cup of speadable garlic and herb cheese, such as Boursin or Rondele

- ½ cup of EVOO

- S&P

Procedure:

1. Take the eggplant, Portobello, and zucchini and rinse and pat dry. Slice the eggplant and zucchini into ¼ slices. Leave the Portobello whole for now.

2. Brush all veggies with EVOO and season with S&P.

3. Heat grill to medium heat and grill veggies until al dente. Mine took between 10 and 20 minutes. Eggplant was done first and zucchini last.

4. While the grilled veggies are cooling, rough chop roasted red bell pepper and kalamata olives. Then chop grilled veggies into bite-sized cubes.

5. Add all veggies to a large bowl and toss together.

6. Take each pita and slice in half. Open the pita to create a pocket and smear 1-2 tablespoons on the inside.

7. Fill each pita 2/3 the way full with veggies and serve.

Grilled Veggie Pitas

My thoughts: BD and I had a little bit of a disagreement on whether or not to add garlic to the veggies prior to grilling. I left it off because I knew the cheese would give the sandwich plenty of garlic flavor for me. Plus, with this sandwich as my lunch for the week, I didn’t want REALLY bad garlic breath all day. This was a new venture for me and I really, really liked the end result. It was exactly what I was hoping for. The veggies were cooked so that the flavors developed in each of them but they weren’t mushy, and the garlic-herb cheese melts a little once you place the warm veggies in the pita. I was concerned about the veggie mixture being too wet and tearing the pita, but that was not the case at all. The pita bread held up nicely. I used white this time but will go for wheat when I make them again.

Last night’s taste test made me very hungry for lunch today.

Picnic done right: Hot Lobster Rolls

Having lived in Florida for a good part of my life, I have come to appreciate the beach and a great sunset. The other Sunday, BD and I combined three of my favorite things for dinner: a sunset, hot lobster rolls, and champagne.

Hot lobster rolls are one of my all-time favorite dishes. In fact, I would die a happy woman if it’s my last meal. Many people are only familiar with the cold rolls which is usually lobster mixed with mayo and some other ingredients. I am anti-mayo. I’ve never liked it and the few times I’ve eaten plain (by accident, I’ll add) I’ve broken out in hives.

Anyway, a hot lobster roll is lobster, a hotdog-like bun, and butter. Lots of glorious butter! Lobster rolls, both hot and cold, I sort of consider regional fare. Reason why is it’s hard to find as a regular menu item anywhere outside of New England. And apparently, hot lobster rolls are more popular in CT than the rest of New England. Below is the “recipe” on how to prepare your own hot lobster roll. If you like lobster, I really recommend you trying this one day.

Hot Lobster Rolls

(print the recipe)

Ingredients:

- Lobster, 1/3 pound of fresh picked lobster per person

- Hotdog rolls

- A good amount of butter, melted

Method:

1 -Melt your butter slowly in a sauce pan over med-low heat

2 –Add your lobster to the butter. Allow to slowly warm for about 10 minutes or so, depending on how much lobster you have.

3- Once hot, strain butter and place in bun.

Be sure to have some other melted butter on side for dipping!

In addition to the lobster rolls, we purchased some pasta salad from our local grocery store. We chose tomato and basil pasta salad that also had grated parmesan cheese and onions with an Italian dressing. It was very tasty, and a great side for our picnic.

And of course there was plenty of sunset and champagne!

So pretty!

Breakfast Paninis

When I was a little girl, probably 7 or 8 years old, I remember my mother telling me that pancakes were for dinner one night. I thought she had lost her mind. I can clearly recall thinking: you can’t have breakfast for dinner – it’s just not right. Now at 26, breakfast for dinner is one of my favorite things to do. Usually I will do this when it will be just me for dinner. It’s really quick, affordable, and perfect for one person because I almost always have everything I need on hand.

As I sat at work, waiting for my computer to find the file I needed, I started brainstorming about what to do for dinner. By the time I finally had the file – dinner plans were set. Breakfast sandwich!

Personally, I am a huge fan of the breakfast sandwich. I won’t lie; I love them because bacon and cheese are a fairly standard choice. While I have always loved bacon (sadly I could eat a pound of it by myself), I haven’t always been a huge fan of eggs. As a kid I would dip my sausage, bacon, or toast in the yolk of a sunny side up or over easy egg, but I wouldn’t touch scrambled or eat the whites. It wasn’t until I was 18 or 19 and managing a restaurant inside of a charming hotel that had a Sunday brunch that I actually started to even consider trying them. We had an omelet station on the brunch and the omelets just looked so GOOD! And after a long Saturday night, they were calling to me. I would load them up with every veggie possible, some bacon, and a ton of cheese. Not to mention a good amount of salt and pepper. Nowadays, I will eat eggs in a variety of ways but never plain or by themselves. I guess you could say they have to be “masked” in some way shape or form.

Back to dinner! Tonight I made a breakfast sandwich for dinner. It was super simple and ready to eat in about 15 minutes. This delightful dinner had crispy bacon, eggs with red bell pepper and onion, and creamy havarti cheese on a ciabatta roll. Say it with me now: Mmmmmmm!

Ciabatta Breakfast Sandwich

Steps:

1- Start your bacon or sausage or even ham.

2- Dice up onion and red bell pepper. Sauté till soft in a small sauté pan.

3- Whisk together your eggs with a little splash of milk and S&P. I used two eggs.

4- Once the veggies are soft, add a little more butter and then add your eggs.

5- Here you can either scramble your eggs or make them omelet-like. I was going for omelet-like but I got distracted and had to switch to scrambled. Tastes the same but omelets are easier to work with in a sandwich.

6- Slice ciabatta and layer each side with sliced cheese. Place the eggs on the bottom half, the bacon of the top half, and then put the two halves together and mush down.

7- Here you have several choices: 1-eat as is, 2- toast up in the oven or 3- press it.

8- I pressed mine using my decade old George Forman that is still kicking. It took about 3-5 minutes for the cheese to melt and the bread to get a nice crunch to it. Before adding it to the grill, I find that lightly brushing the bread with a little EVOO helps keeps it from getting burnt.

Interesting Food Fact: Ciabatta literally means “carpet slipper”. Who knew? Well… the Italians I guess.

My thoughts on this dish: Quick and simple – which I love. Havarti was a great choice for cheese because it melts really well and got nice and gooey. I love ciabatta and it had a nice crunch on the outside, but still chewy and soft on the inside. I would have loved if my eggs where omelet style, but scrambled with the peppers and onions was good too. And with all the cheese on there I didn't have to worry about the egg falling out of my sandwich. This is always a good thing in my book.

Kitten ^..^

Tis the Grilling Season: Grilled Chicken and Eggplant Sandwiches

Grilled Chicken and Veggie Sandwiches

This past week I had a hankering for something grilled. More specifically, I was in the mood for a sandwich that was light, tasty, and full of flavor. I am not ashamed to admit that I actually spent most of the day at work brainstorming intermittently on what would accomplish this.

By the time I got home, I had it all planned out...all I had to do was convince BD to be "in the mood" for the same. I decided on making a grilled sandwich. Grilled chicken, grilled eggplant, grilled red bell peppers with mesclun greens and some melty cheese on some good bread.

To start, I sliced the eggplant and dropped it into a Ziploc baggy with some EVOO, S&P and garlic and onion powder to marinate for a few minutes.

While the eggplant was doing it's thang, I sliced about half a red bell pepper that I had in the fridge. Then I sprinkled on some S&P and EVOO and threw it on the fire. I wanted the to peppers to retain their texture and not get too mushy so I only left them on long enough to soften slightly and get a little charred on the outside. I knew the eggplant would be more on the soft side so I wanted a variety of textures and not just a "mush"wich.

For being a professional cook, BD is much more picky than I am. For example, he hates green peppers but will eat the rest. I'll eat them all but will gravitate towards the green for everyday sort of things such as chili or in with a sausage pasta dish. The main reason being they cost about a third of the rest of the other colors of peppers. But for this meal I knew red was the way to go. A little sweeter and not as strong in flavor and it was all about balance for this sandwich.

Next I prepped my chicken. After washing the breasts and patting it dry I rubbed on McCormick's Roasted Garlic Chicken Rub. I've always found this one to give a good flavor and add some color to the chicken.

Before placing it on the grill I drizzled it with EVOO to prevent sticking.
While the chicken was waiting, I grilled my eggplant. Mid way through the grilling process I rotated each slice so I would get some nice grill marks on them. Once they cooled down a little I sliced them into fourths.

For my tasty crusty bread I chose to use to go with Ecce Panis Roasted Garlic Italian. It has whole cloves of roasted garlic studded throughout the bread with a soft, dense inside and a nice outside crust. Love this bread.

For the sandwiches we sliced a hunk out of the middle so that we would actually be able to fit the sandwich in our mouths! The bread is VERY thick. Then we spread a little butter on the bottom slice and then topped the other half with sliced Havarti cheese and popped it in the toaster oven to get all melty. Mmmm... melty cheese!
When the cheese and butter had melted we placed the mesclun (mesclun is a mix of baby greens including lettuces, arugula, spinach, radicchio and various others -it depends on the brand) on the buttered side and the roasted red peppers and eggplants on the other.

Mesclun

After the chicken was fully cooked we gave it a few minutes to cool and then sliced it on a very thin bias. I think you can see in this picture how thin it was sliced.

After that the only thing left was to mush then two halves together, slice it down the middle and eat!

You can see that I added a little salt and pepper to my greens first though!

My thoughts on this dish: I was really happy with how this little sandwich turned out. All the tastes blended together really well. I toyed with the idea of some kind of saucy topping for this but I couldn't come up with anything that sounded good. After eating it, I didn't think it really needed it between the butter, cheese and the natural moistness of the veggies and chicken. BD said it would have been better with something though.

I have a feeling that grilled sandwiches are going to be my new favorite food for the summer. Happy grilling!

Triple the Cheese, Please!: Parm Tater Tots and Phake Phillies

Last Wednesday night DB ended up having the night off. Usually he is working at the restaurant on Wednesday so I get a chance to relax, catch up on the DVR, be lazy, and NOT cook. My plan of rummaging in the fridge for something to eat and watching the Real Housewives of NJ was foiled. So I ended up whipping together some Philly Cheese steaks and some Parmesan tossed tater tots. Quick, easy and cheap.

One of our food staples is frozen Philly steak meat. I'd never had it before and honestly was a little grossed out by it when BD wanted to buy some. Then a couple of years ago on X-mas Eve he made a couple for us before we went out. I was pretty shocked at how quick and yummy it was.

Philly Cheese steaks - A fast and loose recipe!

Ingredients:
- Sliced Onion
- Sliced green, red, yellow (whatever color!) bell pepper
- Sliced Mushrooms
- Philly Meat (or left over steak sliced really thin)
- Garlic - powder or minced
- Rolls
- Cheese! I used Provolone and American

Procedure:
1- Slice your veggies and saute in a little EVOO or butter till tender. Remove from pan and set aside.
2- *Some brands want the meat thawed and others don't so be sure to check for that.* Throw it in the pan, sprinkle with S&P and garlic to taste. Cook until thoroughly done.
3- Throw veggies back in the pan and toss together.
4- Place mixture on bread and top with cheese. (as much or as little as you want)
5- Throw under a broiler until cheese is melty.

Parmesan Tater Tots
*This is sooooo easy and makes tater tots even better than they already are.

Ingredients:
- Frozen Tater Tots
- Parmesan Cheese - grated
- S&P
- Garlic and Onion powder

Procedure:
1- Take tots and place on a sheet pan.
2- Lightly coat in melted butter or EVOO
3- Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder to taste.
4- Bake according to package.
5- When done sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and toss to coat.


What I like about this meal is that even though its not fancy, hard or takes a lot of time - it still have a homemade quality to it. Plus its great comfort food.

While I was at the grocery store picking up a few things I needed for dinner that night I wandered into the bakery. BAD IDEA. I came across these Brownie Cookies. Soft cookies with walnuts and chunks of white chocolate in them. Sooooo good. And with a cold glass of milk I was in heaven.

I made DB hide the other two from me so I wouldn't eat them too!