Beef Sandwich with Hot Italian Giardinara

Hi! It's me, Jennifer, you know... worst ever cooking blog maintainer ever! But here I am with a fabulous recipe. Forgive me for my absence!

I borrowed and adapted this recipe from a local pub/restaurant. Enjoy.

1. Beef, Options: sliced roast beef from the deli, leftover Italian Beef, grilled steak
(I'm purposely not putting an exact amount of beef, you can decide how much you want)

2. Hoagie rolls, toasted in the oven

3. Cheese, I use pepper jack, but since this is spicy, provolone or cheddar would also work well. Also, any other cheese you can think of.

4. Hot Italian Giardinara (found in the pickle aisle, follow the link if you don't know what giardinara is) You could get the regular giardinara if you don't like spicy. **shudders at the thought**

After the hoagie rolls are toasted, add cheese and put it back in the oven to melt slightly. Once the cheese is melted, add beef and giardinara mix. Eat. Gasp from the deliciousness. Make another sandwich since it was so good. Stuff yourself silly. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Pineapple Chicken Salad

I found this recipe the other day and decided to try it. I changed it up a bit and came up with this version, which surely is better than than the original. At least I think so, anyway.

1 package of chicken breast tenderloins, boiled for 5 minutes (or until cooked), cooled, then shredded
1/4 cup matchstick-cut carrots
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/3 cup plus 2 TB Mayonnaise
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, mostly drained, a little juice makes the chicken salad extra yummy.
Romaine lettuce leaves

Mix all the ingredients (except the romaine lettuce.) Chicken salad tastes better if made at least 4 hours ahead and best if made the night before. Serve in romaine lettuce leaf wraps.

Tasty and healthy. What more could you want!

This Italian Beef Recipe is WAY Better

So, hi! I know, it's been awhile since I posted. But I'm back with a much better Italian beef recipe than the other one I posted.

WAY better Italian Beef

4-5 Lb sirloin tip roast
1-2 pkgs zesty italian dressing mix
1 can beer
1/2 lb Italian sausage pieces
1 jar of mild pepperocinis OR pepper rings

Cook on low 8 hours or on high 4-5 hours.

I usually shred the beef and serve on sandwiches. I make this at least monthly, it's THAT good AND THAT easy.

1-2-3 Cookies

Impostor Mom sent this recipe forever ago. I finally got these made and they are indeed delectable. And easy.

1 cup of oil
2 boxes of cake mix with pudding in the mix (I use a yellow cake mix or butter recipe)
3 eggs

Mix all ingredients together and add anything you want to flavor the cookies. (m&ms, chocolate chips, white chocolate and macadamia nuts, cinnamon chips, also makes great snickerdoodles) Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on a lined (I used Reynolds Release wrap) cookie sheet. The dough will be greasy and it will seem too greasy but its not, I promise. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 11 minutes. Mmmmm so yummy.

Tuna Salad

3/4 C fat free Italian Dressing
1 can cannellini beans (though any white beans will do)
1 can (6 oz) albacore tuna
1/2 C sliced green onions
1/2 c chopped red pepper

Mix all ingredients together and serve over a bed of lettuce.

Heather sent this recipe. She has served it at several past playgroups. This recipe is certainly NOT the reason our playgroup no longer exists!

Pink Salad

This is my great-grandmother's recipe. We've had this delicious, creamy fruit salad at every Thanksgiving and Christmas since FOREVER.

1 can cherry pie filling
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
1 can Eagle Brand Condensed milk
1 carton whipped topping
2 C mini marshmallows
1/2 - 1 C chopped pecans (optional)

Mix and refrigerate overnight.

You can thank me later.

Baked Beans...Please Eat in Small Doses for the Consideration of Those Around You

3-4 Cans of baked beans (I use Bush's Country Style Baked beans, any will work, though.)
1/2 C of BBQ sauce (I use KC Masterpiece)
1/4 C of Louisiana Hot sauce, not to be confused with Tabasco!
1-2 dashes of Tabasco
3 TB of brown sugar
4 slices of cooked bacon, cut into bite-size pieces

In a crock pot, mix the ingredients and set to high for 3 hours, reduce to low for 1 hour. Serve.

Feeds a crowd.

Cocktail Sauce

1/2 C Ketchup
3-4 TB Horseradish, or to taste
1 TB Worcestershire Sauce

Mix the above ingredients and serve with shrimp or seafood.

Related Recipes: Traditional Southern Shrimp Boil

Chicken Pot Pie

Yet another delicious submission from Impostor Mom! This one is great, and could come in very handy next month with all those Thanksgiving leftovers!

2-3 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded (also works with turkey)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 bag frozen peas and carrots
1 cup bisquick
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
1 cup milk

Mix chicken, veggies, soup and broth together and pour into a non-stick sprayed casserole dish. Mix bisquick, butter and milk together and pour over chicken filling. Spread batter to the edge of the casserole. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 35 minutes or until the top is brown. Serve, salt and pepper and enjoy!

Jennifer's Marinara Sauce

1 28 oz. can of name-brand* crushed tomatoes
1 garlic clove crushed
3 TB of Extra-virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Basil
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1 TB Sugar

In a medium saucepan over medium low heat, cook the garlic clove in the olive oil just until the clove begins to brown. Remove from heat, remove the garlic clove, and allow the oil to cool. Once cool, add the remaining ingredients, cover and simmer over low heat until thoroughly heated.

*I use Hunts or Contandina. I have an aversion to generic tomato products, they seem much more acidic than the name brands.

Related Recipes: Three Cheese Eggplant Bake

Spicy Honey-Glazed Chicken

Another delicious contribution from Impostor Mom...This recipe reminded me of the sauce on the Asian Almond Shrimp at Zea.

1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp frozen OJ concentrate
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, more or less to taste
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp olive oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro, chopped (optional*)
green onions, chopped (optional)
slivered almonds (optional)**

In a small bowl, combine honey, orange juice, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

In a skillet, heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add chicken, salt and pepper to taste, and brown, about 4 minutes per side.

Add honey mixture to the skillet and cook, turning to throughly coat the chicken. Cook 2 more minutes or until sauce begins to thicken.

To serve, place chicken on plate, spoon sauce over the top and sprinkle with cilantro,green onions, and slivered almonds.

Serves 6

*My husband didn't like the cilantro, so I suppose it's optional. I liked it MUCH better WITH the cilantro.
**I added slivered almonds to the original recipe.
***I'm going to try this sauce with grilled shrimp.

Technorati Tags: recipe, chicken, spicy, easy recipe, zea restaurant, cilantro

Taco Bake

1 lb. of ground beef or turkey
1 can of Condensed tomato soup OR 1 can of red enchilada sauce*
1 C of salsa
1/2 C of milk
6 flour tortillas or 8 corn-tortillas** cut into 1 inch pieces
2 C of shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese (reserve about 1/2 C for sprinkling on top of casserole)
chopped onion to taste
Optional add ins: chopped black olives, chopped green chilies, drained black beans, chopped jalapenos.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook meat and onions together in a skillet. Add remaining ingredients, then spoon into a 2 pt. shallow baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Add reserved cheese, bake another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream.

*I prefer this recipe with enchilada sauce.
**I think the corn tortillas are better in this recipe.

Technorati tags: Easy Recipe, Main Dish, Mexican, recipe

Impostor Mom's Mama's Roast Beef

Impostor Mom submitted this spectacular recipe. It's especially wonderful since it requires the crock pot and cooking with my crock pot makes me happier than you can imagine. The remaining half of the bottle of red wine also made me happier than you can imagine.

1 Beef Roast (Any cut, as big as you need for your family)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pack onion soup mix
1/2 bottle of red wine

Place Roast in a crock pot. Mix onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup. Spread on top of Roast. Pour wine in crock pot until it is just about at the top of the roast. Cook for 8-10 hours.

Note from Impostor Mom: I use the leftover roast beef for hash. That's roast beef, potatoes and onions cooked on the stove in oil. I use whatever onions and potatoes I have on hand and sometimes I throw in some mushrooms. You have to lay out the mixture on paper towels when its done cooking to let the grease drain off or it's really greasy. We eat it with ketchup on it. The other meal is using the gravy. I put the gravy, another can of cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms, and some more red wine in the crock pot with beef stew meat. I let that cook all day and when I get home I make egg noodles. About 1/2 an hour before dinner I stir an entire container of sour cream into the meat mixture then stir the egg noodles in with the beef in the crock pot. That's my beef stroganoff.

Technorati Tags: Roast, Crock Pot, Easy Recipe, Slow Cooker