Sandwich Roll

This recipe is one of my husband's favorites, if not his favorite :). I got the dough recipe from my mother-in-law, but I use it differently than her original recipe called for. I call this a sandwich roll, but it's kind of like a stromboli. The bread has a pleasant sweet taste. The best part I think is that it's different every time depending on what we have on hand or our tastes that day! A totally customizable meal!

Sandwich Roll

Dough

3/4 C water

1 T butter, softened

2 C flour

2 T dry milk

1 T sugar

1 t salt

1 1/4 t yeast

Place the ingredients in bread machine according to your machine's instructions. For instance, mine says to put the sugar and salt in opposite corners. Use the dough setting on the machine. Mine takes about an hour and a half.

Roll out the dough into a large rectangle. Gather your ingredients for the filling:

Filling

your choice of lunchmeats (salami, chicken, turkey, ham, Canadian bacon, pepperoni)

your choice of cheese (Cheddar, provolone, mozzarella, Colby Jack)

salt

pepper

basil, Italian seasoning

peppers (bell or spicy)

(At the end of this post I've listed some of my combinations)

As you can see, there isn't a strict formula for this, just use what you like, and what sandwich meats you'll be OK with eating for leftover sandwiches. We avoid ham since my husband isn't a fan, but it would probably taste very good with the salami and pepperoni. If you're unsure of what spices to put on, stick with just a little salt and pepper and go without the others. The warmth of the sandwich tastes good on it's own too.

Place your meats and cheeses on the dough. You can alternate between the layer or every other layer, just don't put all the cheese and all the meats together - you want them to be nicely mixed.

The little red dots are mini pepperonis I got on sale instead of normal size :)

You can place the fillings this direction as seen in the picture, or you can start your layer at the short end. Last time I made this I started at the short end and found it was a little easier to roll.

After you've finished layering, roll up on one side. Roll it tight, but not so tight you rip the dough! Fold the ends under and pinch along the seam to make a nice seal. Place the dough roll on a cookie sheet and bake at 375° for about 35 minutes.

Be warned, you may have a blow out as seen below. This happens almost every time to me, but it's still completely edible!

Cut the bread into about 3 inch slices (unless you're my husband, and just take half of it right of the bat, haha!) Enjoy your warm, gooey sandwich! I hope it's delicious!

Here are some common combinations I use:

Salami

chicken breast lunch meat

Pepperoni

Provolone cheese

Cheddar cheese

Basil and Italian seasoning

(I sometimes add a little pesto to this if I have it)

chicken breast lunch meat

Turkey breast

Provolone cheese

Colby Jack cheese

Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, cut and seeded

dusting of garlic powder

chicken breast lunch meat

Turkey Salami

Pepperoni

Provolone Cheese

Sharp Cheddar cheese

Chipotle Peppers in adobo sauce

basil and oregano

garlic powder

If you have any questions on what spices to use or other combinations, leave me a comment and we can brainstorm together!

My weekly menu

The last couple of weeks I haven't been the best at keeping to my menu, so a lot of items have been shifted around, and even shifted to this upcoming week. We'll see how we do this time around!


Monday: Chicken Marsala
Tuesday: Crab pita pockets
Wednesday: Enchilada shells
Thursday: Venison hamburgers and baked macaroni and cheese
Friday: Homemade pizza
Saturday: Chili
Sunday: Superbowl party (I'm bringing Spinach and Artichoke dip)


Hope everyone has a great week!

Thrifty decor re-do

I've been in a super cleaning de-cluttering type of mood lately; probably in preparation for our big move late this summer. My goal is to get rid of everything unnecessary to bring with us, and make sure everything is travel safe.

Seashells. I have a lot of them. Some I remember why I kept them, like my first seashell or one my husband found for me on our first trip to the beach together. Others, I don't have a clue, but they are pretty :). I previously had these all in our bathroom sitting in an old glass bowl from my grandmother. I also discovered while cleaning a bunch more seashells in a box.

I also have a bunch of mason jars in a drawer from homemade jelly from my mother-in-law. I thought to myself, putting shells in jars might be cute, and it sure would be easier to travel with than in an open bowl!

So I set to work meticuously arranging the shells to make sure certain ones were visible and that it formed a pretty scene around the glass. It took awhile, but it gave a new clean look to the bathroom counterspace.

I don't have a before and after shot, since I wasn't exactly sure how this would work, but I'm pleased with the result! Now I need another glass container to hold the larger shells. Hopefully I can find something with a lid....

Arroz con Pollo

My husband lived in Costa Rica for almost six months four years ago. Together we've been trying to recreate his favorite arroz con pollo costarricense dish, and the past few times we've made it, it's taken him back to his time there. Although there are a few unique ingredients, the great thing is, it's very simple to make!

Arroz con Pollo (~ costarricense ~)

2 cups chicken broth
1 cup white rice 1/2 cup carrots
1/2 cup cooked green beans, chopped (I opened a can and cut up what I needed, saved the rest for another night)
1 T adobo seasoning
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup bell peppers, diced (I used red and green)
1 T butter ~ 2 cups shredded chicken breast
2 packets sazón con achiote
fresh cilantro (if desired)

I found both of these ingredients in the specialty section at the grocery store near the Hispanic and Oriental food ingredients

You can get a rotisserie chicken and shred off what you need, or you can boil a couple chicken breasts on low in your crock pot for a few hours and then shred. I boiled 3 small chicken breasts for this recipe.

Boil your rice in the chicken broth instead of in water. Add the Adobo seasoning to the pot as well as your carrots and green beans. Cook the rice according to the package instructions.

In a skillet, saute the onion and peppers in the butter. Once the onion is translucent, add the shredded chicken. Add the seasoning packets and mix well. It will look ORANGE; this is OK! Cook until heated through and the chicken is uniformly covered with the seasoning.

 

Once the rice has finished cooking, add the chicken mixture to the rice pot. Stir well. If you'd like, add some fresh cilantro (my husband is not a fan, so we omit). Serve warm.

You can serve this with bread or even with some "fried" tortillas. Lightly butter both sides of the tortilla. Cook in a skillet until lightly browned on one side. Flip and cook on the other side.

I know this may not be very authentic, but it works for our purposes. I'm not promising authentic Central American food here, but I do hope you enjoy the flavors!

What's for dinner this week!

I enjoyed sharing my menu last week, I thought I'd try and make this a weekly occurrence. That way too, I'm keeping myself accountable to getting my menu ready far enough in advance!


Monday: Chipotle beef sandwiches
Tuesday: Corn chowder
Wednesday: Fajitas
Thursday: Grilled chicken
Friday: Homemade calzones
Saturday: Chicken and stuffing casserole
Sunday: Herbed chicken paninis


I hope everyone has a blessed week!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

About two years or so ago we discovered we enjoyed both spinach and artichokes. It might seem silly to some, but these were two ingredients I never really used before.

I've mentioned before my love affair with cheese, so of course we are HUGE fans of yummy dips like this one. I've had both cold and hot versions of this dip and prefer the warm. After browsing through some recipes, I came up with the following based on what I had on hand and the flavor I was hoping to achieve. I'm so thankful my husband trusts me when I'm experimenting in the kitchen!

Slow cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip

(This recipe can easily be doubled, but for the two of us, was just right)

4 oz Neufchâtel cheese
1/2 lb Velveeta queso blanco (If you can get this variety, I highly recommend it)
5 oz. frozen spinach, thawed
1/3 can chopped artichoke hearts, drained
1/4 C salsa (you can do a little more than this, I eyeballed it)

Simply place all ingredients in a crockpot. Stir occassionally to mix well. Heat on low for a few hours until everything is melted. Serve with crackers or chips. 

We ate it with Wheat Thins Great Plains Multigrain Toasted Chips and it was amazing! The Ritz crackers were a little too dry with this, so experiment with different kinds.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Over the years I've tried several different alfredo sauce recipes and have tweaked many of them. I think I've finally got it right and decided to share with everyone. As with most of my recipes, the measurements might not be exactly accurate, so please add/subtract based on your tastes!

Fettuccine Alfredo

1 T butter
1/2 yellow onion, diced
mushrooms cut into pieces (I use canned and very little since my husband is not a fan)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 heaping T flour
1 t salt
generous 1/2 t pepper (I always add more later)
1/2 C half and half
1 1/2 C milk
scant 1/4 C parmesan cheese
generous 1 C sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese

A note on prep: I use block cheddar for this recipe and grate the cheese. This seems to give a better consistency than bagged shredded cheese, and it melts a lot quicker too.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add in the onion, mushroom, and garlic.

Saute until onion is translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Stir until well coated and mixed.

Slowly pour in milk and half and half. Stir for a few minutes until it becomes smooth and there are no clumps of the flour mixture left.

Slowly add in the cheeses a little at a time, stirring continually until melted. With the Parmesan, make sure the cheese melts evenly as using grated can tend to get clumpy.

Keep warm and serve over hot fettuccine noodles.

Menu Planning

I'm incredibly indecisive by nature, so even a simple task of choosing what to make for dinner is tedious for me. Enter menu planning. I started menu planning just a few months after we got married and have been doing it since. I generally do three weeks at a time, but that is only because the dry erase calendar I found has room for three weeks, :)

I find that menu planning saves time and money. I can set out the necessary meat and ingredients to thaw the night before or in the morning so it is all ready to go by dinner time. I also only buy things that I will need for my meals, so I can keep grocery shopping costs low.

Here is my menu plan for this week. We are carbo-loading since my husband is running his first marathon Saturday! I'm so proud of him and can't wait to meet him at the finish line.


Monday: Grilled marinated porkchops and steamed veggies
Tuesday: Arroz con pollo
Wednesday: slow cooker sloppy joes
Thursday: Spaghetti
Friday: Homemade pizza (might switch this since it's before race day)
Saturday: Baked Mostecoili
Sunday: Sandwich roll and chips


I'll be sharing a couple of these recipes in the coming weeks!

Turkey Enchiladas

Enchiladas was one of the first recipes I developed on my own from researching. The best part is my husband likes these since they don't contain too much sour cream. Less sour cream makes them healthier too, right? If you forget the cheesy goodness...

I also almost always make these with ground turkey instead of beef. I like the way they turn out better, and the lean meat makes me feel good about serving a healthier alternative. We didn't eat ground turkey growing up, so my college roommates introduced me. I remember I thought it strange at first, but now I regularly substitute it for ground beef!

Enchiladas

Makes about 5 enchiladas, perfect for the two of us and leftovers

2/3 lb ground turkey or beef
half small onion, chopped
1/4 bell pepper, chopped (I usually use green, but whatever is on hand)
1/2 t cumin
~ 3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 C sour cream (I use fat free)
1 can enchilada sauce (medium or mild, based on your heat preference)
5 corn (or flour) tortillas

Brown the meat in a skillet with the onion and bell pepper. Sprinkle all with the cumin and if you'd like to add more heat, crushed red pepper flakes.

This time I used red bell pepper since it was on hand.

Drain the meat. Sprinkle about 1/8 cup or so of the cheese and the sour cream into the skillet. Mix well until the mixture is coated.

Pour a small amount of the enchilada sauce onto a plate or in a bowl. I use a plate since mine have a high lip which ensures I don't slop all over. Place a tortilla in the sauce, coating both sides evenly.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of the meat mixture onto the tortilla. Roll the tortilla tightly and place in a baking dish.

Repeat until you have used the meat mixture. Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas in the baking dish. Sprinkle the top with remaining cheese.

I miscounted my remaining tortillas and only had four, which meant they were a little more full than I'd like.

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

A quick tip: The tighter the enchiladas are in the baking dish, the crispier the tortillas will be since the extra sauce it sits in can make it a little gooey.

Remember to always customize a recipe to your tastes and liking!

Quick Sweet Snack

This recipe is thanks to my wonderful husband! He whipped this up for us the other night to satisfy my never-ending sweet tooth! These sweet quesadillas have a churro taste to them.

Dessert Quesadilla

flour tortillas
butter
brown sugar
sugar

Butter one side of the tortilla and place face down in a skillet or on a griddle. Sprinkle inside of the tortilla with both sugars. Fold tortilla in half. Cook on each side until brown. Enjoy!

My favorite, easy snack

I'm a girl who loves bread and who loves cheese. I know, not exactly healthy, but sometimes you just have to have something yummy! We make this snack on occasion and it is super easy, so I thought I'd share.

Homemade Cheesesticks

1 roll of refrigerated pizza dough (you can also use crescent roll dough rolled into a sheet)
butter
shredded mozzarella cheese (or an Italian cheese blend)
Parmesan cheese
garlic powder

Roll out the dough on a cookie sheet. Lightly butter the dough so that it will brown when baked. Sprinkle the top with the cheeses and garlic powder. Bake according to package directions, but keep an eye on the dough so as to not burn the cheese.

Serve with pizza sauce for dipping. You can find the recipe here.

If you have a little more time, you can also make using a homemade pizza dough recipe. These are great for a snack or as part of a fun meal full of snacks which is perfect for football potlucks or parties!