Italian Beef Sandwich on Onion Rolls

This has been a long time family favorite and these sandwiches are the very first meal I cooked for Erik.  When I told him I was making roast for his first dinner at my house he was expecting a traditional roast with vegetables and was pleasantly surprised by these sandwiches.  I hope you enjoy these sandwiches as much as we do!

Source: My mom

Ingredients:
3-5 pound rump roast
2 good seasons Italian dressing dry packets
1 good seasons ZESTY Italian dressing dry packets
2 cups water
1-2 cups monterey jack cheese
6-8 onion rolls

Instructions:
1. Place the rump roast in a crock pot.  Mix 2 cups of water with all 3 Italian dressing dry packets.  Pour over the rump roast and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

2. Once the meat is cooked, shred and place on a onion roll, top with cheese.  Broil for 1-2 minutes until the cheese is melted and the roll is toasted on the edges.

Cherry Tomato & Asparagus Salad

This was part of my Mothers day 2014 menu.  I served Chicken Salad on Croissants, this salad, sweet potato chips and chocolate strawberries.  Both my mom and Erik's mom enjoyed the Mothers day brunch!


Source - MyRecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and halved
6 cups halved cherry, grape, and pear tomatoes in varied colors
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

1 ripe avocado, cut into cubes 

1 cup sliced basil leaves 

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions:

1. Boil asparagus in a large pot of salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Mix asparagus with remaining ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well to coat evenly with dressing.

Chicken and Kale Casserole

I love buying Kale at my local farmers market and finding dishes that include Kale!  This recipe is easy if you use a rotisserie chicken.  Yum.

Source: Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3/4 pound large pasta shells
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion, diced medium

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 bunches kale (1 1/2 pounds), tough stems and ribs removed, leaves coarsely chopped

2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken (from 1/2 rotisserie chicken)

1 container (48 ounces) part-skim ricotta

3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

3/4 cup Parmesan, grated (2 1/4 ounces)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain; return to pot. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is beginning to soften, 4 minutes. Add kale, cover, and cook until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to pot with pasta.

2. Stir in chicken, ricotta, lemon zest, and 1/2 cup Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; top with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Bake until top is golden, 30 minutes.

Banana S'mores

I found these on pinterest - so easy and so delicious!  Just slice a banana, stuff with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows and bake at 375 for 6-8 min and you have warm chocolate goodness in the picture below.

Cooking Light Pasta Salad with Mint, Melon & Prosciutto

I just discovered a wonderful little Italian shop in Littleton, CO that specializes in homemade raviolis and also has all the staples of a good Italian deli including fabulous prosciutto!  For my local readers, the shop is called The Rav House Homemade Gourmet.  On the day I visited the owner had just pulled out a batch of scratch made cinnamon rolls that he was taking to his fellow shop owners and he gave me one straight out of the oven.  Heavenly!  Ok, back to the recipe, in a Cooking Light magazine they had several mix and match pasta salad recipes and this one was perfect since I had just brought home the Italian prosciutto!

Source: Cooking Light

Ingredients:
3 cups of your favorite cooked, chilled pasta with a tablespoon of olive oil
½ cup cubed fresh cantaloupe
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
1.5 ounces shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:
Mix and enjoy.  So easy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are some of Erik's favorite cookies and he said the take a long time to make.  We whipped them up one night after dinner in no time and they were really good cookies.  I think this plate of cookies disappeared faster than I should admit :)

Source: vintage victuals blog

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups uncooked regular oats

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 

1 cup toasted pecans, chopped (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a baking sheet and set aside. In an electric mixer bowl, beat butter and both sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the oats and stir well. Gradually add to the butter mixture, mixing until well blended. With a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.

Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Cool on pan 2 to 3 minutes before cooling on wire racks. 

Bacon, Date and Manchego Quesadillas with Pistachio Cream

 

I have really started liking dates - yes, the food dates, real life romantic dates are great too :)  I made bacon wrapped dates awhile back (Link Here) and this time dates and bacon made an appearance together.  I never would have thought to put them together, but of course Food Network came up with a great pairing in their March 2014 magazine.  Enjoy!

Source:   Food Network Magazine Bacon issue - March 2014

Ingredients:
For the quesadillas:
12 slices bacon
4 10 -inch flour tortillas
2 cups shredded manchego cheese (about 8 ounces)
5 dates, pitted and julienned
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the pistachio cream:
1/2 cup salted pistachios
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cups spinach
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange the bacon slices side by side on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until browned and crisp, 15 to 18 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, make the pistachio cream: Combine the pistachios, red pepper flakes, garlic, lemon juice and spinach in a food processor and pulse until chopped; with the motor running, slowly stream in the olive oil until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper and process 5 more seconds. Pour the mixture into a bowl and whisk in the crema; set aside.

Assemble the quesadillas: On 1 half of each tortilla, layer 1/2 cup cheese, 3 slices bacon and a few date slices. Fold the tortillas in half to cover the filling. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2 quesadillas and cook until golden on both sides and gooey in the middle, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining 2 quesadillas, adding the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan.

Cut each quesadilla into 4 triangles; serve with the pistachio cream.