Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches (A Get Ahead option!)

I'm really trying harder when it comes to finding new recipes. I'm trying to not just file them, pin them, or dog-ear their page in a magazine. I'm trying to actually MAKE them.

This recipe had all the makings of one that I'd remark over but never actually get around to doing. But I'm determined. I've done fairly well in my intention of repeating family favorite recipes more often. So now it's time I focus on those new recipes.

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches
Recipe from Ree Drummond
Prep time: 20 minutes   Cook time: 15-20 minutes

1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp grated onion (or 1 tbsp dried onion flakes, or 1 tsp onion powder)
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp spicy or Dijon mustard
1 tbsp prepared horseradish
Dash of Worcestershire
1 lb thinly sliced roast beef [NOTE: you might need a little more or less depending on how thin the slices are]
1 lb cheese (I mostly used provolone but also tried cheddar and a really good beer cheese)
12 dinner rolls (I used mini pretzel rolls, because my grocery store is awesome)
Aluminum foil

1. In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, onion, poppy seeds, mustard, horseradish, and Worcestershire. Set aside (if you've got the time, make this ahead and let the flavor marinate together in the fridge until sandwich assembly-time).

I actually used my box grater for the onion. The microplane was taking too long.

This sauce is SPECTACULAR

2. Slice the rolls in half, if not pre-sliced. Arrange the rolls, horseradish spread, meat, cheese(s), and foil in front of you, like an assembly line.

Assembly Line: the only way to go for this.

3. Spread a little dressing on the top and bottom buns (about 1 tsp each). Lay the beef on the bottom roll, then top with a slice of cheese. Place the top bun on the cheese to close the sandwich.

Step 1: Slice bread and sauce them

Step 2: Meat. I lucked out with a roasted garlic roast beef.
Yes, it's to die for.

Step 3: Cheese. I had to cut the slices up a bit to make them fit better.

I could eat this cold without one single qualm.

4. Wrap the assembled sandwich in a square of foil and set aside. Continue making and wrapping sandwiches until all the buns are used.* To bake, preheat the oven to 350. Place the wrapped sandwiches on a baking sheet and bake about 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melty and delightful.

These went from my fridge to the oven with no adjustments or spreading out necessary.

*At this point you can freeze the sandwiches to bake up later.

These sandwiches were such a huge hit in my house! I made them up a couple days before my cousin and her family came up to visit, and baked them up after we spent an afternoon touring a local brewery. Best. Meal. Decision. Ever. Not only did the meaty, cheesy goodness help soak up some of the beer we sampled, but it was WONDERFUL not to have to race home to throw dinner together. The sandwiches were prepped and only needed warming. I did make up a few sauce-less ones for the kiddos. And yes, those were a hit too. Even Gavin, my non-beef-eating Picky Eater, loved them!

I'm not going to lie: we loved these so much that last week I bought another set of rolls, meat, and cheeses to make these up again. Yes, again. I know! I just made them and I'm already making more. This set though I squirreled away into my freezer for my husband and I to munch on as we please (yes, I put that zingy sauce on all of them because...well, I'm greedy).

And just because this recipe says roast beef, that doesn't mean you have to use it. Use ANY deli meat and/or cheese combination you like! Have a special obsession with hot ham and cheddar sandwiches with yellow mustard on potato bread? Do it. Are you a turkey and muenster on whole grain-only kind of person? Go for it! Corned beef and beer cheese on rye? Why not? Do whatever you like!!

Cranberry-Pear Salad

One of the many lessons I learned from our CSA experiment is that I do not play around enough with our side dishes. Actually, I tend to ignore the sides most of the time and throw together the easiest, least hands-on dish and call it a meal.

For someone who claims to love food so much, it's really quite embarrassing.

I'm trying to change my ways though!  You might be noticing on my meal plans lately that I'm trying to not list my usual "steamed veg" or "tossed salad" quite so much.  I want to get more specific.  Have more fun.  Live a little!

Like this salad: something that's super-duper simple, seriously easy to put together, and packs way more of a flavor punch than boring ol' steamed green beans.

Cranberry-Pear Salad
Recipe from Food Network Magazine
Prep time: 5-7 minutes

3 tbsp cranberry sauce [Please, please, pretty please use a good-quality or homemade sauce!!]
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
5 oz lettuce*
2 medium pears, thinly sliced
1/2 cups diced cheddar
Salt to taste

*I have nothing against romaine or even iceberg lettuces, but I am seriously falling in love with this lettuce. Have you seen it in the store?  It's awesome!! It's just a bit fancier, has more flavor, and you get get a TON in these little four-packs. And while it's not pre-washed, it's nothing a quick soak in a sink full of cold water can't fix.

1.  In the bottom of your serving dish, whisk together the cranberry sauce, EVOO, orange juice, honey, and mustard.

Don't we all have these ingredients lying around our pantries or fridges?

2.  Layer the lettuce, sliced pear, and cheddar cheese over the dressing.  If you are serving immediately, toss to coat. If you are serving this later, only put the lettuce in the bowl, cover and refrigerate until just before meal time.  Then add the pears and cheese and toss to coat. I promise you, the greens touching the dressing will not wilt.

FYI, this is only about half of that lettuce 4-pack.  Yeah, LOTS.

How can you go wrong with crisp slices of pear and big chunks of cheddar?

One of the reasons I stay away from "fancier" side dishes is I tend to think they require a lot of work and focus and attention.  Then I quickly become overwhelmed with trying to split my precious time in between the Star (the main dish) and the Supporting Players (the sides).

Boy how stupid have I been?!  This salad not only tastes fantastic, but it really requires so little from me.  A quick measure and whisk of the dressing ingredients, and then tossing in the rest of it into the salad bowl. Done. And I even have a Get Ahead option by assembling this but waiting to coat it all in dressing. How fabulously easy is that?!?

Bacon-Wrapped Cilantro Chicken

It's back-to-school time!  Kids are heading back into the classrooms, back onto sports teams, back into organized groups and activities......

In other words, let the REAL insanity begin.

Now, just because we're all racing around from school to practice to scouts to some other such thing does NOT mean dinner has to be equally rushed and crazy.  By now, y'all should know that it pretty much doesn't matter to me how crazy my life gets.

I WILL figure out a way to get a nutritious, home-cooked meal into my family.  And recipes like this one totally make that easier.

Bacon-Wrapped Cilantro Chicken
Recipe slightly adapted from You Hunt, I Gather
Prep time: 5 minutes   Cook time: 30 minutes

1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
12 - 16 chicken tenders
6 - 8 strips of bacon, cut in half

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the cilantro, mustard and honey.

Basically, you want equal parts honey and cilantro, with slightly less mustard.

3.  Add the chicken to the bowl and toss to coat.  Wrap each piece of chicken in a half strip of bacon and carefully lay in the hot skillet (No toothpicks required?!?!?  HALLELUJAH and PRAISE JESUS!!!).  Quickly brown the bacon-wrapped chicken on all sides and then remove to an ungreased baking dish.  You don't want to cook the chicken in the skillet, just get the bacon starting to crisp.

No need to get fancy; use your hands to coat the chicken.

4.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the juices run clear.

I may have gotten distracted unloading the dishwasher while the 2nd batch was in the pan.
Maybe.

When I first saw the measurements for this recipe, I was super skeptical.  I mean, I like cilantro but this really calls for that much?  So glad that I actually followed the recipe for once and didn't reduce it.  The Dijon totally stands up to cilantro's distinct flavor while the honey plays mediator and calms everyone down.  And with the salty bacon coming along and giving everyone a group hug, how could this dish not have a happy ending?!

Seriously, it takes seconds to whip up this marinade and minutes to wrap up the chicken.  And there's no reason why these couldn't be assembled in the morning, waiting to be cooked up when you get home at night.  See?  Homemade dinner is totally doable, even on the busiest of evenings.              

p.s. If cilantro truly isn't your thing then use another herb you like instead.  Just remember that you might need more or less depending on what you pick.  Parsley might need a larger measurement, while rosemary might need to be cut down a bit.  Play around with it!                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Cranberry Pork Tenderloin

One of my all-time favorite food pairs is pork and fruit.  I don't know why exactly but I think there are so many fruits out there that complement pork beautifully!  Apples, pineapples, cherries... I particularly love cranberries with pork.  Must be a family thing.  My brother came up with a cranberry pork chop recipe that is insanely good.  And now that I've said that I'll have to make it again soon so I can share it with you.

But anyway, it's my brother's recipe that gave me the inspiration for this one.  Now, he uses cranberry juice for his sauce, which is great but I very rarely buy juice.  (I know, I'm weird.)  I do try to keep cranberry sauce around though.... and this dish was born:

Cranberry Pork Tenderloin
Recipe inspired by my brother

One 1lb pork tenderloin
1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce*
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

*If it's feasible for you, because I know we're all busy, I'd strongly recommend using some homemade cranberry sauce.  Maybe you stashed some in the freezer after Thanksgiving?  No?  Oh.  Well, if you don't have any leftovers hiding in the back corner of your deep freezer, consider grating a little fresh ginger and orange zest into the canned kind to jazz it up. Just a thought...

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2.  Combine the cranberry sauce and mustard and season to taste with salt and pepper.

3.  Lay the pork in the greased baking dish and pour the cranberry mixture over it, making sure the whole tenderloin is coated.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  LET REST 10-15 MINUTES before slicing.

It doesn't take a mountain of ingredients to make a tasty, flavorful dish.  Sometimes things taste even better because of the simplicity!  I love dishes like this.  Easy.  Throw it in the oven.  Bake some potatoes, steam some veggies and I've got dinner done with very little hands-on time put into it.  I think I spent less than 10 minutes getting everything together.  Gotta love that on a busy night!