Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Panini

When we first moved to New Jersey, I kept seeing smoked salmon in the grocery store.  For the longest time, both Jacob and I kept picking it up and talking about how we wanted to make something with smoked salmon...but it just never happened.

Last week I saw Panini flavor profile suggestions, and this was on it, and I knew that we had to try it.  I love paninis and how fast they are to put together, so I put this on our Sunday afternoon lunch menu.
 
Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Panini
slightly adapted from Weight Watchers
Ingredients
7 ounces smoked salmon
2 ounces goat cheese
Spinach
2 tablespoons of light mayonnaise
Ciabatta

Directions
1) Layer desired amounts of ingredients on the bread. 
2) Press sandwich in a Panini press for about 3 minutes.

 

 

 

I know this is seriously a ridiculously easy recipe, but it tasted amazing.  I loved the strong flavor of the goat cheese and the salmon together.  To me, those two ingredients are meant to go together.  The mayo just provides a little moisture to the sandwich so it isn't dry, but you could easily leave it off.  I loved this sandwich and this post is making me want to run out and buy the ingredients to make it again.  If you're looking for a simple and delicious sandwich for a weekend afternoon, you have to try this. 

Cabernet Burgers

Nothing better than burgers in the summer, right?  Things in New Jersey got a little warm this last week, so I thought I'd participate in the Grilling swap hosted by Sarah at A Taste of Home Cooking.

I love running across new versions of burgers.  While sometimes there is nothing better than a regular cheeseburger, sometimes it is nice to splurge on ingredients and do something like a Cabernet burger.

Cabernet Burgers
slightly adapted from Kylee Cooks
Ingredients
Glaze
2 cups cabernet sauvignon
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), softened
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, minced

Patties
1-1/2 pounds ground turkey
1/4 cup Cabernet glaze (above)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Burger construction
4 slices white cheddar cheese
8 slices tomato, 1/2 inch thick
2 cups spinach
Buns

Directions
1) In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine the wine and brown sugar.  Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, 25 to 30 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
2) In a small bowl, mix the butter and rosemary.
3) Warm up the grill (450-550 degrees).  Combine the meat and seasonings into four patties of equal size and thickness. 
4) Grill the patties over direct high heat, brushing with glaze for every 2 minutes.  During the last minute of cooking, place a slice of cheese on each patty to melt.
5) Lower the temperature of the grill to medium heat.  Brush tomato slices with oil, season with salt and pepper and grill until soft (2-4 minutes).  Spread the buns with the rosemary butter and grill until lightly toasted.  Build each burger with spinach, a patty, and tomato.

These burgers ended up being the type that cause juices to flow down your arms while you're eating them.  The wine made them very moist and juicy.  The grilled tomatoes made what is usually a common boring topping a little more delicious with char flavor.  My grocery store didn't have focaccia, so I just used regular buns, but I could see the focaccia taking this to another level.  I'm glad we had a chance to try these burgers, and enjoying them with the remaining bottle of wine was an added bonus.

Tex-Mex Sloppy Joes

Last Blogger's Choice recipe swap I participated in, I made Magic Monster Cookie Bars from Kate's Recipe Box.  This time around for the Blogger's Choice swap, I received Kate's blog again, so I decided to make one of the other recipes from her blog that I had wanted to make: Tex-Mex Sloppy Joes.  These have been going around a lot of blogs that I read, so I knew they had to be good.

Tex-Mex Sloppy Joes
slightly adapted from Kate's Recipe Box
Ingredients
1 can (14.5 oz) tomato sauce
2 teaspoons oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 lbs ground turkey
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1 jalapeno, minced (without seeds for less heat, with seeds for more)
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. beer, such as a light ale or lager
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
Hamburger buns, cheese (I used pepper jack) and guacamole, for serving

Directions,
1) In a bowl, whisk together the tomato sauce, oregano, ground cumin, dried cilantro, allspice and Worcestershire sauce.
2) In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground meat, stirring occasionally until no longer pink, about 10 minutes.  Drain off the fat.
3) Add the canola oil to the pan with the browned meat then stir in the diced onion and the jalapeno. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds.  Stir in the tomato mixture, along with the beer, ketchup and cilantro until well combined.
4) Let all ingredients come to a low simmer and then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. 
5) Toast buns under the broiler until lightly browned.
6) Stir in the lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on warmed buns with cheese and guacamole.

My modifications and substitutions were based on things that I couldn't eat in the original recipe.  I think the chipotle in adobo would add that smoky flavor, that these don't have.  However, these turned out to be the best sloppy joes that I have made so far.  I used ground turkey since I knew there would be so many other flavors.  I think what made these great was the addition of the beer.  It gave just that extra kick of flavor.  I did use pepper jack on top of using the jalapeno with the seeds, so ours were a little on the spicy side.  Thanks again for another great recipe Kate!


Thanks again Sarah, at A Taste of Home Cooking, for hosting the swaps.  They always result in great food!  Please find the other recipes from the swap below.

Sloppy Moussakaas

I am somewhat of a sandwich addict.  They are just so easy, and usually so delicious, that I have a hard time not putting several sandwiches on my menu plan every week.  I get Rachel Ray's magazine and usually her sandwiches and burgers sound so delicious that I save the magazines until I try them all.  When I saw this recipe for a spin-off on Sloppy joes, I knew I had to make it.

Sloppy Moussakaas
slightly adapted from Everyday with Rachel Ray
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground lamb or beef

Salt and pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons tomato sauce

1 - 1 1/2 cups chicken or beef stock

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

Freshly grated nutmeg

A small handful feta cheese

4 ciabatta or other rolls, split and toasted

 

Directions

1) In a large skillet, heat the olive oil, over medium-high heat. Add the lamb (or beef) and cook, crumbling the meat, until well browned, about 5 minutes.
2) Season with salt, pepper and the cinnamon. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, jalapeno and oregano and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce and cook for a minute. Stir in the stock and simmer over low heat until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes.

3)   In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook until thickened slightly; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in the cheese.

4) To serve, spoon the meat mixture onto the rolls. Top with the sauce.

I thought these were great.  The sauce was a little grainy, but the flavor was still good.  Jacob loved the saltiness of the feta on the sandwiches while I loved the cinnamon flavor in the meat.  I think these were a great spin-off on regular sloppy joes.  Even though they aren't really Greek, they were really great and came together really fast.  For some reason these make me want to curl up with My Big Fat Greek Wedding and a bag of popcorn. 

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

Confession: this isn't the first time that I made this dish.  I made it while we were in Wyoming, but never took a picture. 

When I first met Sarah from A Taste of Homecooking on my food forum, I spent a lot of time on her blog and this was (and still is) the most popular recipe on her blog.  The first time I made it, I had never thought of making sloppy joes from scratch and it sounded much better than other sloppy joes.  Right now, I'm going through a kind of sloppy joe phase (is that even a real thing?) and think they're delicious, so I put this one back on the menu.

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
barely adapted from A Taste of Home Cooking
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 softball-sized onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 tablespoons steak sauce, such as A-1
1 cup beef stock
Salt and ground black pepper
4 dinner rolls
4 slices provolone

Directions:
1) In large skillet over medium-high heat add the oil and then brown the ground beef, about 5-6 minutes.
2) Add the onion and green pepper and cook another 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables start to get tender.
3) Stir in the steak sauce and beef stock, season with salt and pepper, bring up to a bubble and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.
4)  Turn on broiler, and split open rolls and remove most of the soft insides of the bottom part of the bun, leaving a bed to hold the meat mixture. Put a slice of cheese on each top of bread.  Toast the rolls until browned and cheese is melted. Spoon in meat mixture.

I had these for lunch the next day and definitely think the meat got more flavorful while it sat in the fridge over night.  I thought these were really good and a great weeknight meal.   They are originally from Rachel Ray, so you know they're fast.  I didn't make a cheese sauce from Sarah's version because I remember the cheese sauce not being worth the hassle the first time that I made it.  I think just regular provolone is just as good, and is less fuss. 

Messy Giuseppes

In my opinion, while guy food is really good, it is also really messy and not fun to manage while eating.  I like the flavor of sloppy joes, but they are hard to handle, so I really haven't tried to make them.

My mom sent me this recipe from a cooking class that she did, and I was intrigued on the twist, so I decided to give them a try.  It was a win-win in our household too, I got to try a new recipe and my husband got a dish that was a spin-off of one of his favorites.

Messy Giuseppe
recipe from Eckert's Farm in Illinois
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground Italian Sausage
1/2 pound ground beef
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Coarse salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup red wine
3/4 cup of beef stock
1 14-ounce can of crushed tomatoes

Herbed butter
4 tablespoons butter, softened
5 basil leaves, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Coarse salt and black pepper, to taste

Hamburger buns
Mozzarella cheese

Directions
1) For the meat sauce, heat a deep skillet, or heavy bottomed pan over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of oil.
2) Add the ground sausage and beef, and cook until lightly browned.
3) Add green pepper, onion, garlic, and spices to the beef mixture and cook for about five minutes to allow the pepper to soften. 
4) Add the wine, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes and bring to a boil.  When it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for ten minutes.
5) For the herbed butter: Mix the butter, basil leaves, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.
6) Spread herbed butter on hamburger bun and top with mozzarella cheese.  Place under the broiler and toast until golden browned, top with the meat mixture and enjoy.

 I loved these.  I served them open faced and I thought they developed a great amount of flavor in a short time.  The herbed butter really shines through the meat and provides even more flavor.  These are definitely a must try for anyone that likes sloppy joes.

Bombay Sloppy Joes

I watched The Next Food Network Star while Aarti was on it.  I remember rooting for her really hardcore, and was super excited when she won.  A few days later, my husband found her show on and asked if I wanted to watch it.  I declined because I said Indian food was really out of my league, plus I have a hard time finding regular groceries in Wyoming, I wasn't about to get excited about a dish I couldn't even find ingredients for.  So, I just never explored her cuisine.

When I received my assignment for the recipe swap and found that it was sloppy joes, I knew my husband would be excited.  He loves them.  I couldn't find several of the ingredients that were called for (or was allergic to them), so made some substitutions and made my own Garam Masala.  I was surprised that Garam Masala used all the spices I already had in my pantry.

Bombay Sloppy Joes 
barely modified from The Jey of Cooking
Ingredients
Sauce
2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon Fresh Ginger, minced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Serrano Chile Pepper, seeded and finely minced (save the other half for the turkey)
1 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
1 15 oz Can Tomato Sauce
1 Cup Water

Turkey
3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup Shelled Pistachios
1/4 cup Raisins
1 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 Large White Onion, Finely Diced
1 Red Bell Pepper, Seeds and Membrane Removed, Finely Diced
1/2 Serrano Chile Pepper, Seeds Intact (do not chop)
1 pound Ground Turkey
1/2 teaspoon Honey
1/4 Cup Greek Yogurt
Salt, to taste
Small handful Chopped Fresh Cilantro (soft stems included)
Buns

Garam Masala
from Allrecipes
yields 1/4 cup
Ingredients

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions
1) Mix all the ingredients for the garam masala together in a little bowl.
2) Begin making the sauce.  Over medium heat, warm the oil in a saucepan until it shimmers.  Add ginger, garlic and serrano pepper.  Saute until the ginger and garlic brown a little.  Add garam masala and paprika and saute for 30 seconds.  Stir in tomato sauce and water.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes.
3) Meanwhile, warm 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet.  Add pistachios and raisins, and cook until the raisins plump and the pistachios toast slightly.  Remove from pan and set aside.
4) Return the pan to medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and warm. Stir in the onions and bell pepper, saute until softened and starting to brown, about 8 minutes.  Add serrano pepper and saute for another few minutes, seasoning with salt.  Stir in the turkey and cumin, break up any big lumps and cook until opaque, about 5 minutes.
5) Once the sauce is ready, pour into the skillet with the turkey.  Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the mixture has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
6) Remove the serrano pepper, add the honey, half and half, pistachios and raisins.  Stir through until well combined.  Before serving, garnish with fresh cilantro.  Toast the buns, fill with the turkey mixture and serve.

I think the flavors of these sloppy joes was good, but the flavors were also intense.  I couldn't eat an entire sloppy joe.  I think that if I exposed myself more to the flavors, I would have been able to eat them all, so maybe I need to expand my cuisine horizons.  I do have to admit that I am not a raisin fan, but plumping them in some oil with the pistachios made for a combination I actually really liked.
These would be a great starter dish for someone interested in trying Indian food that isn't so unique that the name itself scares you away. 

French Onion Roast Beef with Au Jus

 The theme of this recipe swap was "Bloggers Choice".  Bloggers Choice is where you are assigned someone else's blog and you get to make whatever you want to from that blog.  It allows for a lot more freedom, and it is actually a lot of fun sifting through someone's blog to find recipes that you want.

For this swap, I actually received Eva Bakes (which is the blog I got for the first "Bloggers Choice" swap).  She has an awesome baking blog, so you should head and check out her site.  I guess there were a couple of people that got the same blog as the first time, so in the end, I had DeLish's blog.  The only thing I learned about her is that she lives in New Jersey (which is where I'm moving to in a few months) and that she has a ton of amazing sounding food on her blog.

I have recently been craving a few things, but didn't have recipes for them, and when perusing her blog, I found what I was looking for and even more. We recently packed up our pressure cooker to move, but I was craving French Dips, so I was ecstatic when I ran across a crockpot version...because I kept our crockpot from being banished to the storage shed.
 
French Onion Roast Beef with Aus Jus
slightly adapted from DeLish
Ingredients
2.5 lb. bottom round beef roast
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons oregano
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tablespoons fresh parsley
Powder only from a package of Onion Soup Mix
2 cups water
32 ounces beef broth
6 large buns OR French crusty bread
Your favorite cheese (provolone, mozzarella or cheddar)

Directions
1) Place the meat in the slow-cooker and cover it with salt and pepper, and garlic and oregano. Add the onion slices, parsley, soup powder, water & broth.
2) Set on LOW for 8-10 hours. Shred the meat into it's own juices.  Layer your choice of cheese onto the bread, then top with meat.  Serve with a little bowl of the jus on the side.

The French Dip recipe that we have doesn't have any onions in it, and my husband loved that aspect of these sandwiches.  I only used one medium onion, instead of two just because it seemed like the right amount when I was putting everything together. I thought these were very flavorful and made for a great low-maintenance meal.

Ham and Pineapple Grilled Cheese

It seems like I should make more complicated meals on the weekend because I have much more free time to tackle recipes.  But usually, the reverse is true.  Friday night hits, and it is like my brain shuts off until Monday morning.  I get into the mode of being free from hard work for a few days, and I run with it, leaving complicated meals in the dust.

So, I make many sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, and other easy items, but those are sometimes great too...right?  I think they're great and sometimes allow you to find even more creative ways to do twists on things you didn't expect: enter the Ham and Pineapple Grilled Cheese.

Ham and Pineapple Grilled Cheese
slightly adapted from Grilled Cheese Social
Ingredients
2 slices sourdough bread
1/2 cup of shredded white cheddar cheese, divided
3 slices of quality ham
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped fresh pineapple
2 pats of un-salted butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt


Directions
1) Put the two pieces of bread down.  Place half of the cheese on one slice of bread.
2) Top with the three slices of ham, and the pineapple.
3) Sprinkle the rosemary on top of the pineapple, and then top with the remaining cheese.
4) Butter each piece of bread, and sprinkle some salt on each side.  Then place in a skillet (or panini maker) and cook until cheese is melted and bread is toasted.

This sandwich was great, but a little messy.  The melted cheese didn't hold all of my pineapple in, so pieces escaped while eating.  I liked this sandwich a lot.  I couldn't find Rosemary Ham like the ingredient list called for or Comte cheese, so I just sprinkled rosemary onto the sandwich.  I researched Comte and tried to use something similar, but I think the cheese overwhelmed the sandwich flavors a little bit...but I think it was from the sharpness in the cheese.  It was a great spin on an old classic.

Steak Panini with Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onions

There are just certain things that I swear seem to fancy for Wyomingites to buy in grocery stores.  My husband and I stand in certain aisles looking where I think things would be, and they aren't there.  I feel so bad that I make him scour the stores for specific items with me, especially since he comes so willingly to the grocery store to help out.  I can't imagine he likes dodging and ducking through the interesting people we encounter in grocery stores. 

Our latest endeavor was to find goat cheese.  I swore to him that I found it at a certain grocery store while picking up some miscellaneous items once.  We went there, and it wasn't there anymore.  He suggested we try Wal Mart, and I scoffed, since I swear I looked there before too.  Lo and behold, sitting in the front of the store was goat cheese.  I guess one store stopped carrying it and Wal Mart picked it up.  So hooray for another new ingredient to try.

Steak Panini with Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onions
slightly adapted from Serious Eats
Ingredients
3 ounces fresh goat cheese

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
3/4 pounds flank steak (or any cut you'd like)
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil 

1 sweet onion, cut into ½-inch slices
⅓ cup balsamic vinegar  

4 slices crusty bread, (we used focaccia) 

 

Directions

1)   Combine goat cheese, basil, and thyme in a medium-sized bowl. Stir together with a fork and set aside. 

2)   Season both sides of flank steak with salt and pepper. Preheat a 10-inch cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Add one tablespoon of canola oil. When oil starts to smoke, add the flank steak. Cook until well browned on one side, three to four minutes, and then flip. Cook until browned on that side, three to four minutes, and then transfer to a cutting board and let it rest.

3)  Reduce heat to medium and add the rest of the oil and the onions. Stir well until onions are coated in oil, about one minute. Then season with about ¼ teaspoon of salt and pour in the balsamic vinegar. Cook over medium heat until onions are soft and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Turn off heat, and transfer onions to a bowl.

4)  Thinly slice the flank steak against the grain. 

5)  Lay out the eight slices of bread. Smear a little goat cheese on one side of each. Divide the meat between four slices of bread, and season with salt and pepper. Spoon a tablespoon or two of the caramelized onions on the steak. Top each with the remaining four slices of bread, making sure the goat cheese spread faces down.

6)   Preheat a panini press to medium. Place the sandwich in and cook until sandwiches are well browned, about four minutes. Also, you could preheat a grill pan to medium. Places the sandwiches on top, and weigh them down with a heavy iron skillet. Cook them until well browned, about three minutes a side.

7)   Slice the sandwiches in half and serve. 

 

 

 

These sandwiches are very flavorful.  The balsamic vinegar and the goat cheese work very well together to create flavor without drowning out the steak on the sandwich.  This was a great weeknight meal that we both enjoyed.  Jacob was surprised at how much flavor the goat cheese actually added to the sandwich.  We both agree that without the goat cheese, this sandwich wouldn't have the same effect.

Southwest Turkey Meatball Subs with Creamy Cilantro Sauce

When we go to Subway, my husband usually gets the meatball sub.  I found this recipe for meatballs and thought that they would make a great sub sandwich instead of just an appetizer.  I had never tried tomatillos either, so was interested in trying this recipe. 

I have to say the only bad thing that I have to say about this recipe is that it is a little ingredient heavy.  But, it is all worth it in the end.


Southwest Turkey Meatball Subs with Creamy Cilantro Sauce
slightly adapted from Skinnytaste 
Ingredients
Meatballs
1-1/4 lbs 99% lean ground turkey
1 jalapeño, seeds removed
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions
1/4 cup panko
1 egg
1 teaspoon cumin
pinch oregano
salt and pepper
cooking spray
2 slices provolone
2 multi-grain deli rolls

Directions
1) Lightly spray baking pan with oil. Preheat oven to 400°.
2) Place jalapeño, garlic, cilantro, and scallions into a small food processor or chopper and pulse a few times until finely minced.
3) In a large bowl combine turkey, chopped herbs, panko, egg, cumin, salt and pepper. Using your hands, mix well and measure into desired size.
4) Bake for 15-20 minutes.
5) Turn oven to broiler.
6)  Top bread with provolone and place under the broiler until browned.


Creamy Cilantro Sauce
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1 small jalapeño, seeds removed
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro
2 tomatillos, husks removed, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 green onion
juice of 1/2 lime
1/8 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt

1) Combine all ingredients in a food processor, and pulse until the consistency of salad dressing.

2) Pour sauce on top of meatballs to complete the sandwich.

The Creamy Cilantro Sauce is amazing.  It was a little on the runnier side, but it was so tasty, that I really didn't mind.  I ate it on salads the rest of the week, and it made each meal very tasty.  These meatballs and the sauce are meant for each other too, they are just so complementary.  I think that is mostly due to similar seasoning in both elements.  This is a great meal, and comes together pretty fast, with most of the work in the prep.

Crockpot Chicken Caesar Sliders

I love sliders.  When I eat a hamburger and all the sides, I end up so full, I usually crash on the couch for the rest of the day.  Sliders are the perfect alternative.  All the same toppings, just on a smaller bun, so what's not to love, right?

I somehow have got myself working out 6-7 days a week now.  Which is awesome, but makes dinners challenging sometimes.  Luckily I have a patient husband who is willing to wait for food, or even better sometimes help complete stuff so we can eat when I get home.  These sounded like the perfect meal for after working out, easy to put together, and into our hungry stomachs in not much time.  Plus, my husband helped out which made everything come together even faster.

Crockpot Chicken Caesar Sliders
slightly adapted from Becoming Betty
Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 carton of reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup Caesar dressing
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper 
romaine lettuce, optional
slider buns or rolls

Directions
1) Place chicken in crock pot on low with the carton of chicken broth and garlic.  Cook 5-6 hours until done.  
2) Take out chicken and drain broth from crock pot.  
3) Shred chicken on cutting board and then put back in crock pot.  
4) Add dressing (as much as you like), Parmesan, parsley and pepper.  Mix well and cook for another 30-60 minutes.  
5) Toast the bread under the broiler for a few minutes until toasty.  Serve with lettuce and extra parmesan, if desired

These little sandwiches were awesome.  I will use a little less dressing next time, probably the amount the recipe calls for.  But they have such a great flavor.  The parsley really contributes a lot to the flavor profile too, which surprised me.  Perfect for a weekday dinner or even a weekend lunch.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Avocado, Tomato, and Alfalfa Sprouts

When I was in college, there was an amazing sandwich shop on campus that served a sandwich that I loved that was loaded with all this stuff and 'Alfalfa sprouts'.  Every time I'd order this sandwich, I'd order it without the sprouts. 

I graduated and moved to a different town, and there was another sandwich at a new shop that I loved with sprouts on it.  I made the comment to a friend that I never ordered sprouts on a sandwich, but then realized that I was turning my nose up at a food that I had never tried before.  So one day, I was brave and ordered the sandwich the way it normally came, with sprouts.  I have to say that at first I had a texture problem with them since they are a little stringy, but they have this great earthy flavor and provide a great crunch to whatever they're in. 

I found a very simple sandwich on the Skinnytaste.com website.  I thought the few ingredients that were on it, sounded amazing together, and a little lightbulb went off in my head that said it may be even more amazing with sprouts...and it was. 

Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Avocado, Tomato, and Alfalfa Sprouts
adapted from Skinnytaste
Ingredients
Ciabatta
1 mashed avocado (I mixed in 1 teaspoon of mayo to make it more of a spread)
2 oz chicken breast/sandwich
2 slices ripe tomatoes/sandwich
salt and fresh pepper to taste
Alfalfa Sprouts
1 piece of pepperjack/sandwich (optional)
4 ounces of wine (optional)

Directions
1)  Grill chicken on the grill.  One time we ate it just plain grilled chicken, and one time, my husband injected a little bit of white wine into the chicken so that it didn't dry out.  It just took a few ounces injected into each chicken breast.  Both versions tasted great, the wine version just didn't dry out as much.
2) When the chicken is almost done, grill the ciabatta bread for just a few minutes so that it is toasted.
3) Cut the chicken into chunks.
4) Spread the avocado mixture and top with all of the other ingredients.

This sandwich was amazing.  Don't forget the salt and pepper step because if you miss it, the flavor is completely different.  The warm bread was slightly crunchy on the outside but soft and pillowy on the inside.  The chicken was moist and the grill flavor made it perfect with all the other components.  The tomato provided just the right amount of acid, and the sprouts just the right amount of crunch.  The cheese provided just a little bit of spice, which I like on sandwiches, but it could easily be changed for another type of cheese or completely omitted.

Rootbeer BBQ pulled pork

The weather channel is saying that our run of high summer temperatures will break next week.  Which means that cold weather is probably somewhere a few weeks behind.  I felt like making something that is easy but had that summer feel to it, so I chose pulled pork.

This time I changed up my recipe quite a bit.

Rootbeer BBQ Pulled Pork
adapted from Allrecipes.com Pulled Pork
Ingredients

1 (3 pound) pork shoulder

1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer (we used our SodaStream rootbeer)

1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp butter

1/4 large white onion, chopped

8 hamburger buns

Directions

Place pork shoulder in the crockpot.  Cover with rootbeer, barbecue sauce, and onions, and place on low for 7 to 8 hours.  Pull out of crockpot and shred meat with 2 forks.  Serve over buns.

Sometimes I shred the meat and put it back in the sauce for about thirty minutes more just so that the individual shredded parts get soaked in the sauce for a little bit.

From the picture, you can see it was very messy, but amazing as well.  The BBQ sauce tasted great with all the add-ins.  The onions took on the color of the rootbeer and BBQ sauce but they provided some great flavor to the meat as well.  Maybe we'll have a summer picnic in the winter and pull these sandwiches out again.

Grilled Veggie Sandwich

I absolutely love sandwiches, there are so many combinations and they are fantastic either hot or cold.  I was excited about this recipe that I got from elliemonster2012 from The Nest for the Summer Vegetable Swap.  The only thing that I did differently from the original recipe was marinate the mushroom caps in red wine vinegar and sprinkle rosemary on all of the vegetables before we grilled them.   We also didn't grill the bread, which the elliemonster2012 suggested.

This sandwich was amazing.  The red wine gave the mushrooms that little bit of extra flavor.  Even through the mayonnaise you could taste the vegetables and the freshness.  It was very filling and light.   Jacob grumbled over the fact that it was meatless, but he did say it was good.

Grilled Veggie Sandwich- adapted from elliemonster2012 (allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1 cup sliced red bell peppers
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 2 portobello caps
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 small yellow squash, sliced
• 1 ciabatta loaf
• Rosemary sprigs
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. Marinate the portobello caps in the red wine vinegar for about 25 minutes.
2. In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Set aside in the refrigerator.
3. Preheat the grill for high heat.
4. Brush vegetables with olive oil on each side. Brush grate with oil. Place bell peppers and zucchini closest to the middle of the grill, and set onion and squash pieces around them. Cook for about 3 minutes, turn, and cook for another 3 minutes. The peppers may take a bit longer. Remove from grill, and set aside.
5. Spread some of the mayonnaise mixture on the cut sides of the bread, and sprinkle each one with feta cheese.