Balsamic Steak Sandwiches

I got this awesome recipe out of a magazine called Real Simple. It is the greatest magazine that I've ever read for sure! The only thing I changed about this recipe is the bread and the cheese. They suggested blue cheese, which I'm sure is great, but I'm not a fan, so I went for another white cheese--Provolone!

You need:

1. 2 lbs strip steak
2. 1/2 large purple onion, sliced
3. 5 roma tomatoes, sliced
4. 1 tspn salt
5. 1 tspn black pepper
6. 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
7. 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
8. 6 slices provolone cheese
9. 6 sandwich rolls (I use Pepperidge Farm Sesame Seed Buns)

You do:

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Be sure the cookie sheet have four sides to keep any liquid from dripping off.
3. Sprinkle the strip steak with 1/2 tspn salt and 1/2 tspn black pepper. Place on one side of the cookie sheet.
4. In a small bowl, mix tomato slices, onion slices, 1/2 tspn salt, 1/2 tspn pepper, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Be sure to toss the tomatoes lightly, but coat all the vegetables thoroughly with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
5. Pour the vegetables out on the opposite side of the cookie sheet. Separate the vegetables so that all of them will get exposure to the heat.
6. Cook the steak and vegetables in the oven for 6 minutes. When removing it from the oven, allow the steak to sit for 5 minutes before cutting.
7. Meanwhile, open sandwich rolls and place them on a clean cookie sheet. Lay a piece of cheese on each roll. Heat in oven about 3 minutes, or until cheese is slightly melted to roll.
8. Slice strip steak into small strips, about 1/2-inch (think fajitas), or thicker if desired.
9. Divide cut steak, and marinated veggies on each roll. Serve with chips, or fries, or a mixed greens salad.

Nam! Nam!

Cran-Orange Chicken

I'm not sure what to say about this...I was surprised at how good it turned out! It has a sweet fruit, an acidic fruit, and aromatic onion. It's just good!

You need:

1. 4 chicken breasts (or 8 tenders)
2. 4 green onion stalks
3. 15 oz can whole cranberry sauce
4. 10 oz can mandarin oranges, drained
5. 1 tspn garlic salt
6. 1/4 tspn salt
7. 1/2 tspn black pepper

You do:

1. Preheat to 350F.
2. If using chicken breasts, cut them as if forming a butterfly, but continue the cut. If using tenders, no cutting is necessary since there are already 8 pieces.
3. Place the chicken between two pieces of saran wrap and beat with a mallet until each piece is about 1/4 inch thick and the thickness is even throughout.
4. Once thinned, sprinkle each piece of chicken with the garlic salt and pepper on both sides.
5. Cut 2 of the green onion stalks into 2 to 3 inch sections so that you get at least sections from each stalk.
6. Place a 2-inch section of the onion on the edge of a chicken piece and roll the chicken up (mush like a crescent roll) around the onion. Place the chicken roll on a lined cookie sheet or glass dish. Repeat this for all 8 pieces of chicken.
7. Place dish with chicken in oven for 15-18 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
8. While chicken is cooking, put oranges in medium bowl. Using a fork, break up the oranges into small pieces.
9. Add the cranberry sauce to the bowl with oranges. And, break up the cranberry sauce with the fork, mixing the oranges in.
10. Add about 1/8 cup of diced green onions to the cranberry-orange sauce if desired.
11. Mix in 1/4 tspn of salt with cran-orange sauce. Cover bowl and refrigerate until serving.
12. Cut the last green onion stalk into 1-2 inch pieces.
13. For the last 3 minutes of cooking the chicken, place the green onion pieces on the dish also so that they can get crispy.
14. When finished cooking, place chicken rolls side by side on a dish (preferrably rectangle). Remove cran-orange sauce from refrigerator and spoon onto the top of chicken. Serve immediately.

Nam! Nam!

Mixed Berry Cobbler

This is the simplest dessert that I've ever made...and, there are so many more great things about it! It makes my house smell wonderful. The ingredients don't spoil, so you can keep the items in the kitchen for the time you can't figure out what to cook, or for the company that just "drops by".

What you need:

1. 16 oz package frozen mixed berries (usually includes blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
2. 1/2 cup of water
3. 1 box of butter cake mix
4. 1 1/2 sticks of butter or margarine
5. chopped pecans (optional)
6. ice cream (optional)

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Empty the berries into a 9x13 dish.
3. Add the water to the dish.
4. Add the cake mix on top of the berries, making sure to get it somewhat even throughout the dish. I use the back of a spoon to even it out.
5. Thinly slice the sticks of butter and place them on top of the cake mix.
6. Place in oven for 60 minutes or until cake mix is brown and fruit is bubbly. If you choose to use the pecans, sprinkle them on the top for the last 10 minutes of cook time.
7. Serve hot with ice cream on top. If I use pecans on the cobbler, I serve it with Vanilla Bean ice cream. If I omit the pecans, I serve it with Buttered Pecan ice cream (this is my favorite).

This is great, even leftover!

Nam! Nam!

Appetizer

This was dubbed simply "appetizer" by my younger sister, who loves it anytime!

You need:

1. 8 oz. bar 1/3 less fat cream cheese
2. tube of 4 crescent rolls
3. ~3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
4. 1 egg yolk, beaten
5. crackers

You do:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Unroll the crescent rolls and lay them flat on a clean counter.
3. Pinch all of the seams together so that the roll dough is one piece.
4. Place the block of cream cheese in the center of the roll dough.
5. Generously cover the top of the cream cheese with dill. I would estimate that I use about 2 tbsp.
6. Pull the dough up over the cream cheese block and pinch the seams together so that there are no holes.
7. Lightly brush the top of the bread with some of the egg yolk.
8. Sprinkle some dill on the top for color.
9. Place appetizer on cookie sheet or glass dish and cook for 12-14 minutes (or until golden brown).
10. Serve warm with crackers.

Nam! Nam!

Caribbean Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

This dish is yummy and full of flavor. And, well...it's colorful to boot!

You'll need:

1. 1/4 cup Caribbean Jerk sauce or marinade
2. 1/4 cup cider vinegar
3. 1-1/2 cups orange juice
4. 10-12 chicken tenders or 4 chicken breasts
5. 1 package saffron rice
6. 15 oz. can of black beans
7. small can of pineapple tidbits (I think it's 8 or 10 oz)
8. 1/4 cup scallions, chopped

You'll do:

1. Coat a large teflon coated pan with cooking spray.
2. Heat pan to medium heat.
3. Place chicken in pan and cook on each side for 6-8 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Meanwhile, bring 2-1/4 cups of water to a boil in a boiler and add rice. Cover and cook for 20 minutues.
5. In a small bowl, mix jerk sauce, vinegar, and orange juice.
6. Once chicken is cooked through, reduce heat to low-simmer. Add juice mixture to the pan with chicken. Cover pan and allow to simmer 20 minutes, turning once.
7. Meanwhile, drain juice from pineapples.
8. Mix pineapples with scallions in a small bowl and refrigerate until serving.
9. Drain black beans and rinse with cold water.
10. Once rice is cooked, mix rice with beans in a large bowl.
11. Serve chicken on top of rice and beans. Spoon a couple tablespoons of juice from pan on top of chicken. Add pineapple salsa to the top and serve.

MaMaw's Chicken Salad Sandwiches

This recipe can be adapted for simplicity and health!

What you'll need:

1. 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
2. 1/4 cup dill pickles, chopped
3. 2 boiled eggs, diced
4. 2 tbsp mayonnaise
5. 8 slices wheat toast

What you'll do:

1. Mix the chicken, pickles, eggs, and mayonnaise in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Spread the mixture equally on 4 pieces of toast. Top with remaining pieces of toast.

For speed/simplicity: Use boiled chicken, rotisserie chicken, or canned shredded chicken. Instead of diced pickles, use dill relish, and buy the eggs already boiled in the produce department of upscale grocery stores. These pre-made ingredients make this a very quick meal!

For lower fat: Omit the egg yolks, and use light mayonnaise or miracle whip.

Serve with chips and fruit.

Nam! Nam!

S'mores Cups

Alright...I dreamed these up after having a S'mores milkshake and loving it. Knowing that milkshakes are impossible to transport to BCS championship parties (or any other party, for that matter), I came up with a non-frozen variety. And, well...it's darn good! I made these in single serving cups, but this can also be made as one dish in a trifle bowl. This recipe makes 10 servings, but easy to scale up or down as you wish. If you want to make this in a trifle bowl, you will need to double the recipe, to make a total of 20 servings.

You'll need:

1. 5.9 oz box of chocolate instant pudding mix
2. 3 cups milk
3. 10 tbsp graham cracker crumbs, plus some for sprinkling
4. Dark chocolate bar, just regular size
5. miniature marshmallows
6. 2.5 sheets of graham crackers (broken into 10 rectangle pieces)
7. 10 9oz clear cups, or your preference for serving dishes

You'll do:

1. Preheat oven to broil Hi.
2. Make pudding according to package directions (most brands use 3 cups of milk, whisking for 2 minutes) and then refrigerate.
3. Line the bottom of each cup with a tbsp of graham cracker crumbs.
4. With a large knife, cut chocolate bar into very small pieces.
5. Remove pudding from refrigerator. Mix chocolate pieces into pudding.
6. Add about 3 tbsp of pudding to each cup, atop the graham cracker crumbs.
7. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
8. Place marshmallows on wax paper in clusters of 5-6.
9. Put pan in preheated oven for 30 seconds to brown tops of marshmallows.
10. Let marshmallows cool about 10 minutes before trying to remove them.
11. Lightly dust each pudding cup with graham cracker crumbs.
12. Break each graham cracker rectangle into 2 equal pieces and place on opposite sides of the pudding cup so that they are mostly sticking out of the pudding.
13. With a clean, non-stick spatula, remove each cluster of marshmallows from the wax paper and place on the top of pudding.
14. Serve immediately, or chill for up to 4 hours. If you want to make this ahead of time, just wait until the last minute to add the graham cracker pieces to the top--everything else can be done 1-2 days in advance.

Nam! Nam!

Pigs in a Blanket

I realize these are traditional pigs in blankets--nothing special. But, I figure there might be someone out there who doesn't know exactly what to make them with. And, well, they are one of my fave tailgate foods...

You'll need:

1. 1 package lil' smokies
2. 3 large packages refrigerated crescent rolls

You'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Open first package of crescent rolls and separate dough at perforations. Lay 1 dough triangle on cutting board and cut into 3 pieces with a pizza cutter. I cut them into 3 smaller triangles, but experiment and use what works best for you!
3. Once cut into pieces, lay a lil' smoky on one end of a cut dough piece, and roll so that the dough wraps completely around the sausage.
4. Place each pig in a blanket on a cookie sheet with the exposed end on the bottom.
5. Cook on 350F for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. (Consult the crescent roll package cooking instructions for exact cooking time)
6. Serve immediately.

Nam! Nam!

Pinwheels

This appetizer recipe takes a few ingredients, most you would keep in your kitchen on a normal basis. And, it makes a huge tray of pinwheels--great for a low cost, yummy filler.

You'll need:

1. 10-12 10" tortillas (10 is usually plenty, but you may want a couple extras just in case)
2. 8 oz bar of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
3. 8 oz reduced fat sour cream (fat free is usually a little too runny)
4. 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
5. 3 green onion stalks
6. 1 tspn garlic powder (you may want to split this to 1/2 tspn garlic salt and 1/2 tspn garlic powder if you want some more salt flavor)

You'll do:

1. Mix cream cheese and sour cream with mixer.
2. Add shredded cheddar, green onions and garlic seasoning. Mix well with mixer.
3. Lay a tortilla flat on clean countertop. Drop a heaping teaspoon of mixture and thinly spread over entire tortilla with back of spoon. Be sure to get as close to the edge as possible.
4. Beginning at one side of the tortilla, roll tightly into a cylinder (about the shape of a taquito).
5. Repeat until all mixture is used.
6. Wrap rolled tortillas in saran wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. I make these a day ahead of the event I'm using them for, and just refrigerate overnight. Remember that the mixture will be good for as long as the sour cream would have been--that's the quickest thing to spoil of all the ingredients. I wouldn't recommend keeping them more than a couple days, just because the tortillas may get soggy (I've never tried keeping them that long before cutting).
7. Remove tortillas from saran wrap.
8. Place 1st rolled tortilla on cutting board and cut into slices, discarding ends where cheese mixture is missing or not plentiful. I cut them to probably about 1/3-1/4 inch slices, and I've never paid attention to how many slices come from each tortilla.
9. Slice remaining rolled tortillas.
10. Arrange on serving dish and serve with salsa or gaucamole.

Nam! Nam!

Breakfast Brownies

Their name may be decieving because they have no sugar, or cocoa, or anything else you would expect from a brownie. However, they have the shape of a brownie, and thanks to Alex for giving them a name for me! Because, let's face it--breakfast casserole is just plain boring! These are great--you prepare the mix ahead of time, so that all you have to do in the morning is throw them in the oven. They include oodles of protein and a little big of vegetable. Serve them with some pancakes, biscuits, or just by themselves for a yummy wake-up call!

You'll need:

1. 12 oz summer sausage (can substitute kielbasa, ham, bacon, or turkey sausage)
2. 1/2 medium sized white or yellow onion, chopped
3. 6 large eggs (only use 5 if you have extra-large)
4. 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
5. 2 heaping tbsp of baking mix (such as bisquick)
6. 1-1/2 cup milk
7. 1/4 tspn salt
8. 1/4 tspn pepper
9. 1 tspn parsley (optional)

You'll do:

1. Chop sausage into small, bite-size pieces.
2. Cook meat and onion in skillet on med heat until onion is tender and meat is slightly browned, about 6-8 minutes.
3. In bowl, add eggs and slightly beat with whisk.
4. Add remaining 6 ingredients to the eggs, and stir just until mixed.
5. Transfer cooked meat mixture to plate lined with paper towels to drain of any grease.
6. Lightly grease or spray a 9x13" dish (such as pyrex).
7. Add meat mixture to dish.
8. Pour egg mixture over meat in dish.
9. Stir until just mixed.
10. Cover and place in a refrigerator for 8-12 hours.
11. Preheat oven to 350F.
12. Cook covered for 45 minutes.
13. Uncover and cook for another 15 minutes. Edges should be brown and middle should be firm when shaken.
14. Remove from oven and allow to sit for about 10 minutes.
15. Slice and serve immediately. (makes about 20 servings)

This is even good re-heated in the microwave. Place slice on microwave plate, cover, and heat 20 seconds on each side.

Nam! Nam!

Tangy Baked Chicken Tenders

I love chicken fingers, but the deep-fried version keeps my thighs looking way to healthy! So, these are a much lighter version, still full of flavor!

You'll need:

1. 6 chicken breast tenders (I used tyson)
2. 1 tbsp marinade (dale's low sodium for me)
3. 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
4. Lemon pepper (use as much of this as you would like--I probably sprinkle in about a teaspoon or so)

You'll do:

1. Defrost chicken tenders in large ziploc bag.
2. Add marinade, sauce, and lemon pepper to bag with chicken. Allow to sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes (or up to 8 hours, if you want to marinade it in the morning before work).
3. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Arrange tenders in pyrex dish or on lined cookie sheet.
5. Pierce each tender 2-3 times with fork so that the marinade can infuse while cooking.
6. Cook at 350 for approximately 8-10 minutes on each side (cooking times vary based on your oven. check chicken for doneness by inserting a fork or knife, if the utensil goes in smooth with no resistance, chicken is done.)
7. Serve as finger food or with forks!

Nam! Nam!