Ham and Swiss Cheese Rolls

Joni Joiner gets a gold star for this one! It was delectable! I wish I had more elaborate words for it, but I'm at a loss! The small serving size made me feel better about having 2 or three or four... Swiss cheese on black forest ham with a 'secret' sauce on a sweet King's Hawaiian roll. I was anxious to get this recipe to recreate it. I think I'm going to try it with a slice of grilled pineapple.

1 pkg Rolls {King's Hawaiian is best}
1 pkg ham {again, black forest is what she used. What I'd recommend}
1 pkg Swiss cheese, thick or deli sliced
1 stick butter, softened
2 tsp mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, grated

Mix butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Slice the rolls in half and spread the sauce on one or both sides of the roll {She had it on one side so it wasn't too strong for us first timers, but I'm excited to try it on both sides.}. Add one piece of ham, folded in quarters. Cover with cheese and replace top of rolls. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 until cheese is melted.

Lil Smokies

I loved these sausages- so did my daughter who smooshed them all over the place, but refused to let go of one. These have a perfect sweet and savory flavor and serve up great with a couple toothpicks for stabbing and chomping! And at 3 ingredients, does it get any easier?!? Another hit, Joni!

3 pkgs smokies sausages

2 C grape jelly (16 oz jar)

1 C yellow mustard

Heat jelly and mustard in crock pot until dissolved together; add smokies. Cook on low 3-4 hours then serve.

Harvest Maple Pork Loin Roast

My darling hubby had commented on the frequency of ground beef and chicken in our house, so when I saw an awesome deal on pork loin, I snagged it! Then... I didn't have a great recipe for a pork loin. So, I found some yummy sounding recipes and merged them into this. It was perfect for the cool spell that has me yearning for fall. Warm, robust maple glaze with a side of apple and brown sugar stuffing. Hubby has proclaimed this the new meal for holidays around here! This would be the easiest holiday meal EVER! Now lets see if I can remember how I made it...

1 apple, chopped (I used Granny Smith)
1 sm onion
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 C water
1/4 C plus 2 tbps maple
1 pkg (6 oz) stuffing mix for chicken

1 (2-6 lbs) pork loin roast

3/4 C brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp sage
1 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper

Melt butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add apples and onion, cook and stir 3 minutes or until crisp tender. Add water, 1/4 C maple and stuffing mix; cover. Let stand 5 minutes, mix lightly. Place pork loin in a roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray (or 9x13" pan if you are like me and don't have a roasting pan. Sad, I know!) and spoon stuffing mix along sides of loin. Bake 1 hour. Mix 2 tbsp maple and remaining ingredients; brush over roast, drizzle any remaining mix over stuffing. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until cooked through (160 degrees). Let stand 15 minutes before slicing to serve.

Sweet and Sour Pork or chicken or meatballs

This has been hanging out in my 'magical cookbook' for some time, but I didn't really remember it, so I hadn't made it before. I thought I'd give it a try one night when I had LOADS of leftover pork from Harvest Maple Pork loin. It originally calls for meatballs, but pork or battered chicken would be equally delicious! If you wanna try the meatball version, the recipe for the meatballs is after the sauce. Just as good as any Chinese restaurant I've been to! I love the sweet and tangy combination of flavors in this and won't be ignoring this recipe any more!

1/4 C cider vinegar
3/4 C beef bouillon
1 tbsp catsup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp molasses
1/4 C brown sugar
1 (10 oz) can pineapple chunks or tidbits
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 C green bell peppers, cut in strips
6 maraschino cherries, halved

Mix first 6 sauce ingredients and juice from pineapple in bowl, pour into frying pan, simmer. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 C water, stir into simmering sauce. Boil, stirring until thick and transparent. Add meatballs, pork or chicken, pineapples, green peppers and cherries. Simmer until heated through. Serve over hot rice.

Meatballs:
1 slice white bread
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp soy sauce
1 6 oz can water chestnuts, diced and drained

Stir together meatball ingredients, shape into 1 1/2" balls. Brown in hot oil, remove from pan when brown, set aside to prepare sauce.

Spinach Salad

In my opinion, spinach totally deserves the bad wrap it's gotten. I know I've had a few recipes with it, but they are exceptions to an otherwise sound rule. So is this one. In fact, I am surprised at how much we LOVE this salad. It's our go-to when we are in charge of salad for get-togethers. But it is mandatory to serve with Poppyseed dressing. The tart cranberries, sharp mozzarella, bitter leaves and salty bacon are an incredible mix of flavors and textures. Plus, other than the bacon, it's SUUUPPPPERRR healthy!

1 bag/container baby spring mix salad
1 bag/container Spinach salad{or you can sometimes find a 50/50 mix which is the two already combined}
1 pkg bacon, cooked and crumbled {I usually use turkey bacon- cheaper, healthier and I actually prefer the taste}
4-6 pieces of string cheese, chopped or mozzarella, cubed
1- 1 1/2 C cranberries
1- 1 1/2 C almonds {not pictured...}

Place half the salad in a bowl, sprinkle with half of each of the toppings. Repeat. Serve with poppy seed dressing {my fav is Brianna's Home style with the picture of a peach on it...}.

Sausage Tortellini Soup

Molly, Molly, Molly... You've done it again! As the weather turns cooler {for most of the U.S.}, soups start getting center attention again- This one is steals the show! The bold, hearty flavors of the spices, the vegetables, the sausage all balanced perfectly with cheesy bites of tortellini. I guarantee this will be re-made again and again!

1 lb mild Italian sausage

1 C chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

5 C beef broth

1 C water

2 C chopped tomatoes (28 oz can)

1 C sliced carrots

1 1/2 C zucchini, sliced

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

2 C tortellini (8 oz)

3 tsp parsley

Remove skin from sausage and cook until brown. Remove sausage from pan and leave drippings. Blend all ingredients except tortellini, zucchini and sausage. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add reserved ingredients and cook for 30 more minutes.

Make Ahead Pizza Casserole

I can't remember where I got this recipe- it's just been sitting in my cookbook for ages! I'd made it before, and it was ok, so I made a few adjustments. I love that I can make it ahead of time {like when my kids are sleeping and not pulling on my pants or demanding my attention} and it's super good when regular pizza just ain't cutting it! Plus, you can alter it with your favorite pizza toppings.

1/2 lb shredded mozzarella cheese

6 C French or Italian bread {about 1 loaf}

5 eggs

1 1/4 C milk

1/2 C sour cream

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1/2-1 tsp garlic powder

3 medium tomatoes, cored and diced {or about 1 can of diced tomatoes}(optional)

Your favorite toppings. {I used a can and a half of pineapple tidbits and a package of diced ham. Not sure the sizes...}

Spray a 9x13" pan with Pam. In a LARGE bowl, toss together the mozzarella, tomatoes, bread, and chosen toppings. Arrange mixture evenly in the baking pan. Using the same large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk; add the milk, sour cream, oregano, basil and garlic powder. Beat well. Pour egg mixture over the bread, tilting the baking pan from side to side to soak all the bread cubes evenly. {I added a little more mozzarella to the top} Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

Remove from fridge and let stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes; heat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the casserole and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp on top. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese before serving, if desired.

A few variations I'd like to try:

Sausage, olives, diced green bell peppers and onions, a can of cream of chicken for a Supreme

chicken, red onions, pineapples, barbecue sauce for a Hawaiian chicken BBQ{one of our favs}

pkt ranch dressing, bacon, chicken, onion for a Bacon Chicken Ranch

Roasted Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

This was probably the fan favorite of the night. It was so robust and delicious, but when I asked Jamie Massie what she'd used to season it, she simply said "salt and pepper." That's it! You'd never guess that's all it took. It will certainly be made again!

1 lbs potatoes, peeled

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 medium onion, peeled

1/4 C olive oil

salt and pepper

1 lb Italian sausage

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut potatoes, peppers, onion and sausage into bite size (1") pieces. Spread vegetables in a single layer on the bottom of a shallow roasting pan. Mix in oil and salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 45 minutes, stirring once or twice. Place sausage on top and cook an additional 15-30 minutes or until sausage is cooked through.

Healthy Pasta Carbonara

I didn't think a healthy carbonara was possible, but Joni Joiner proved me wrong! I guess 'healthy' is all relative- there are much healthier pasta recipes out there, but probably not much healthy carbonara recipes! Thanks, Joni, for coming for your first time, and for this yummy recipe!

1 9-oz pkg fettucine noodles
1 C frozen green peas
3 slices center cut bacon{turkey bacon would make it even healthier...}
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 C fat free half and half
1/2 C shredded parmesan

Cook pasta according to package directions. 3-5 minutes before pasta is done, add the peas to the pot. Drain and reserve 3/4 C of cooking liquid. Cook bacon in a large pan. Remove bacon and reserve 2 tsp of drippings. Add onion to the pan and saute for 3 minutes with the reserved bacon drippings. Add garlic and thyme and cook another minute. Stir pasta, peas, reserved liquid and the half-and-half. Cook 2 minutes. Crumble bacon on top of pasta and toss with cheese.

Tomato Cream Sauce

Hubby has moved to a grave shift so he's sleeping in the mornings and wanting to hang out in the evenings- not helpful when it comes to taking time to make dinner. So, my crock pot is working over time! I've been fiddling with recipes that can be adjusted for the crock pot and am adding this to the repertoire. This manages to have a hearty and sweet taste to it at the same time. I usually do this with sausage, but thought I'd try with chicken this time. I won't do that again. It was still pretty good, but I like the flavor of the sweet and creamy sauce and the ground sausage. It can also be done meat free...

1 lb sage or plain ground sausage(optional)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can Italian diced tomatoes, with juice

1 tbsp dried basil

3/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tbsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 C heavy cream

1 tbsp butter

Lazy- Brown the sausage. Put in crock pot with remaining ingredients except cream. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6. Add cream 30 minutes before serving.

Original- Brown the sausage with the onion, garlic and olive oil. Add tomatoes, basil, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat; stir in cream and butter. Reduce heat and simmer 5 more minutes.

Serve over hot noodles.

Homemade Mac N Cheese

I have been out of town for 2 weeks, and though I have had lots of delicious food, I haven't had a chance to share any of it with you! I was too busy having fun to even take pictures of the delicious food! So, my apologies for the temporary hiatus. Now as soon as my AC is fixed and I start cooking at home again, we'll be back in the swing of things! In the mean time, here's a tasty dish that would be great at a potluck bbq- our upcoming theme! I love the combination of flavors- the creamy cheese, the salty ritz topping, the bacon. It really culminates to something wonderful. When I made this in the picture, I had been out of milk and used evaporated. I wouldn't recommend it- it wasn't as smooth and creamy as it should have been.

1/4 C butter or margarine

1/4 C flour

1 C milk

1/2 lb velveeta cheese, cubed

6-10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 1/2 C elbow noodles, cooked and drained

6-10 Ritz crackers, crushed

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in milk. Cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Add velveeta and cook for 2 minutes or until melted, stirring frequently. Stir in bacon and noodles.

Spoon into a 2 qt casserole pan sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with Ritz {I added about a 1/2 C Italian bread crumbs for a little extra flavor}. Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.

Matt's Tri-Tip Garlic Dry Rub

Look at this! My hubby is so dang supportive! He found a recipe, altered it {who does that?? ;)}, and wrote it down for me! Kinda... He is the master griller in the family. Seriously, I can't seem to get anything good on the grill. I blame it on the fact that grilling is a very intuitive thing, and I tend to forget when a timer isn't set... Anyway, I'm not generally a straight meat kinda person, but this was REALLY good! Just don't over cook it... So, to the best of his description:

Tri- Tip( about 1 lb per person)
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp parsley flake
{this makes a lot of dry rub so you could save the unused portion for another time}

Preheat a grill on high heat and lightly oil the grate. In a medium bowl, mix all spices then coat both sides of the tri-tip. {Matt actually likes to let it sit on the meat for a couple hours.} Sear both sides on a hot grill then cook for 20-25 minutes or until center is light pink. Slice at an angle. EXCELLENT!

Breakfast Quiche

A tasty, fluffy egg bake to start your day off right. My mom made us a good breakfast almost every single day and even if it was just cereal we ALWAYS ate together. Whether we wanted to or not. Even if the company wasn't cool enough for my teenage tastes, the food was always fabulous! Case in point-

2 C cheese

favorite breakfast meat{ham, sausage, bacon, something else from a pig...}

6 eggs

1 C Bisquick

2 C milk

1/4 C Miracle Whip

In a greased 9x13" pan, spread a layer of cheese. Cover with a layer of meat, then another layer of cheese. Mix remaining ingredients in a blender for 30 seconds. Pour over cheese and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

We like this with a little maple or taco sauce on top.

Creamed Turkey/Tuna/Chicken-a-la-king/Biscuits 'n Gravy Gravy

Check it out- dinner or breakfast in one recipe! This one's a doozy- So many possibilities from one recipe! This is one of those that I never think of off the top of my head, but never regret when I remember to make it- delish!

Creamed Turkey

1/3 C butter

1/2 C flour

3 1/2 C milk, divided

1/2 C celery, chopped

1 tbsp minced dry onion

2 chicken bullion cubes

1/2 C water

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 C cooked turkey, cubed

1 C frozen green peas

Melt butter in large pan. Remove from heat, stir in flour until smooth. Stir in 2 C milk. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Stir in remaining milk until sauce is of desired consistency. Heat celery, onions, water and bullion in microwave for 3 minutes on high. Add to sauce with all remaining ingredients, simmer until heated through. Serve over toast cups {pinch the corners to fit bread into a cupcake tin then broil until lightly toasted.}

Creamed Tuna:

Make as above, substituting 1 can tuna for turkey and omitting bullion.

Chicken a-la-king(my personal favorite):

Make as above substituting chicken for turkey, reducing milk to 3 cups and adding 1 can cream of mushroom soup with remaining ingredients.

Biscuits and Gravy Gravy:

Prepare as above, omitting celery, bullion, and peas. Reduce milk to 3 cups and add 1 can cream of mushroom soup. Add cooked link or ground sausage. I just make biscuits following the directions on a Bisquick box.

Spiral Ham with Mango Salsa

What is Easter without some ham??? I wanted to kick start this exchange with the good stuff and this is AAAAAMAZING!! There aren't many excuses to make it, so I'm really hoping to get the go-ahead from Hubby to make it Wednesday... So many recipes I have to choose from... I got this from a Campbell's email.
1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 C Chicken Stock
1 can mango juice or nectar
1 pkg (4 oz) Dried Mango, coarsely chopped
1/2 C packed brown sugar
4 medium green onions, chopped (about 1/2 C)
1 unglazed fully cooked bone-in ham (about 9 pounds) or boneless (about 6 lbs) spiral sliced ham

Heat the butter in a 2 qt saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in the stock, mango juice, dried mango and brown sugar and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook and stir for 10 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the mixture cool slightly. Pour the stock mixture through a sieve into a medium bowl. Reserve the liquid for the glaze. Place the strained mango mixture into a small bowl. Stir in the green onions. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until serving time. Place the ham into a shallow roasting pan and cover loosely with foil. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the foil. Spoon the reserved glaze over the ham. bake for 30 minutes or until the ham is heated through, basting the ham frequently with the pan drippings. Serve the ham with the mango salsa. I am salivating.