Party Hearty...with a sandwich!

A few weeks ago, I hosted my friend Gina's baby shower at my house along with her sister and a few of her other friends. We had lots of yummy food and my contributions were Ham and Swiss Party Sandwiches and homemade mini quiches (I made spinach ones and then ones using this recipe, but with Gryuere). These are the best little party sandwiches. They are different and tasty and always a big hit every time I make them. I've made them for coworkers, Christmas parties, and, of course, the baby shower. They are just delicious. My husband LOVES them and can't get enough. Before he left for the man party (all the husbands got together for a Wii, pizza and beer party at the dad-to-be's house during the shower) he was like "There will be sandwiches for me, right?" He was in luck, as with so much food, we had leftovers of everything. They are quite rich, so you can't eat too many at once. Start looking early for the party rolls though...I know in our area they can be tough to find!

Ham and Swiss Party Sandwiches

3 packages party rolls (should be around 20 in the package...smaller than but similar to dinner rolls...Cobblestone Mills or Pepperidge Farms both make them)

1/2 lb. butter or margarine

3 tblsp. poppy seed (World Market is the cheapest place I've found to get them)

1 tsp. worcestershire sauce

3 tblsp. yellow mustard

1 medium onion chopped or grated (you want this to be very finely chopped)

1/2 pound Swiss cheese, thinly sliced (you need around 15 slices)

Ham (I normally use close to a pound of thin sliced from the deli)

Slice rolls, don't pull apart (keep all 20 tops as one "sheet" and all 20 bottoms as one "sheet"). Mix next five ingredients and cook on low heat enough to melt butter/margarine. Spread sauce on both sides of rolls. Put cheese and ham on bottom part. Put the top of the rolls over the bottom and wrap in foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Slice into individual rolls for serving.

Source: My mom...don't know where she got it from, sorry!

A close up shot

On the display tower at Gina's baby shower (that's them behind the diaper cake)

I must attention whore my first diaper cake, which I was really pleased with (and hey, the sandwiches are in the background!)

I'm baaack...

Wow, long time no post. We've been so busy with a family wedding, friend and family birthdays, our open house, holidays and our vacation that there just hasn't been much time to post. Luckily, life is slowing down a bit. Though I was busy, I was still cooking. Here are a few recipes to end the dry spell:


Hamburger (er...Turkey) Stroganoff

Growing up, my mom made this quite a bit and it was always one of my favorites. She of course always made it with hamburger, as the original recipe calls for. I try to lighten things up of course, so I make mine using ground turkey.

1/2 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced (optional...my mom omits, I add extra)
4 Tbsp butter or margarine (I never use this much...maybe 1 or 2 Tbsp max)
1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey...the picture was using 99% FF ground turkey breast)
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp salt (I only use 1 tsp)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 (8 oz) can mushrooms, drained (I saute some fresh)
1 (10.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted (I use Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom)
1 c. commercial sour cream (I use light and it works fine)

Saute onion and garlic in butter over medium heat. Stir in meat and brown. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and mushrooms. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in soup. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Heat through. Serve over egg noodles.

Source: Cooking in the Original Washington

Dive! Brick Oven Mushroom and Turkey Cheese Sub

I found this recipe in a cookbook and decided to try it a few years ago. It is one we quite enjoy but had forgotten about until recently when we had a few of the ingredients it calls for that we needed to use up. It is very tasty but also quite rich.

4 mushrooms, sliced (1/2 to 3/4 cup)
1 Tbsp butter
salt
pepper
6 oz deli-slice turkey breast (we prefer smoked, recipe calls for roasted)
1/4 cup White Cheddar Dipping Sauce (recipe below)
One 7-inch baguette, sliced open
2 ounces Swiss cheese, sliced

White Cheddar Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 to 2 oz white cheddar cheese, grated or chopped
1 Tbsp butter

Prepare the sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. The sauce should thicken.

Prepare the sandwich by preheating the oven to 450 degrees. Saute the mushroom slices in the butter. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the turkey breast in the microwave until warm. Split the baguette open without cutting all of the way through. Hinge the bread open and spread some of the hot White Cheddar Dipping Sauce on the faces of the bread. Load the turkey onto the baguette. Salt and pepper it. Pour the remaining cheese sauce over the turkey. Spread the mushrooms over the cheese sauce. Bake the open sandwich for 4 minutes. Put the Swiss cheese on top of the other ingredients and bake for 2 minutes more or just until the cheese is melted. Slice the sandwich in half before serving.

Source: A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes

Pasta Pomodoro

This is one of my favorite meals as it is not only easy, but tasty. It also isn't terrible for you, which is always a plus. I think it tastes even better the next day. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

1 8oz package of angel hair pasta (recipe calls for 2 but it's too much...we use whole wheat pasta)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans diced tomatoes, any flavor you like (recipe calls for 2 cups diced roma tomatoes)

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 (10.75 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth

crushed red pepper to taste (we generally omit)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (we substitute 2 tsp dried basil)

Bring large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 minutes or until al dente; drain. Pour olive oil in a large deep skillet over high-heat. Saute onions and garlic until lightly browned. Reduce heat to medium high and add tomatoes, vinegar and chicken broth. Simmer for about 8 minutes. Stir in red pepper, black pepper, basil and cooked pasta, tossing thoroughly with sauce. Simmer for 5 more minutes.

Source: allrecipes.com

Stuffed Shells

I love stuffed shells. All the yummy cheese spilling out just makes them wonderful. I was craving them one night and happened to have a box of shells on hand so voila, the idea for dinner was born. I used two recipes for inspiration so I don't have an actual recipe to provide but here is an idea of what I ended up using:

1 12oz package jumbo pasta shells

1-2 cups of part skim ricotta cheese

8 oz package of mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup or so of parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

Italian seasoning, probably 1/2 to 1 tsp

Garlic powder, probably 1/2 to 1 tsp

Dried Parsley, 1 Tbsp or so

Salt

Pepper

3 or 4 cups of pasta sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil the shells until done and then drain. You may want to rinse in cool water to help get them to handling point sooner. Mix ricotta, 3/4 of mozzarella, 3/4 of the parmesan, seasonings and beaten egg together. Spoon mixture into shells. Spread some sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Place shells in dish. Cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle top with remaining cheeses. Bake for 30-45 minutes.