Ham and Swiss Party Sandwiches

I got this recipe a couple of years ago, and everytime I make them they are such a hit!!! Don't underestimate the name. They are SO good and SO good for parties or large crowds. I have already been getting email requests from Chris' classmates wanting this recipe, so I thought I would post it for you all too.....

What You Need:

2 packages of Dinnner Rolls (I bought some soft ones I found at Target..not sure the name....!!)
Swiss Cheese slices
Deli Ham
3 tbsp. mustard
3 tbsp. poppy seeds
2 tsp minced onion
2 tsp. worchestershire sauce
1 1/2 sticks butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Slice both packages of rolls horizontally and place on pan or cookie sheet. Melt the butter/margarine in the microwave. Add poppy seeds, mustard, onion, & worchestershire to butter. Whisk together. Brush mustard mixture evenly and liberally on both sides of rolls. On the bottom top the mustard mixture with a layer of ham and then a layer of swiss. Cover with foil and bake in oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Chicken Ranch Pizza

Jared was a big fan of this one...

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 package chicken breast tenders
• flour for dusting
• 1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust
• 1/2 cup Ranch-style salad dressing
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 4 strips of bacon, cooked

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to according to the package directions on the pizza dough.
2. Dust the chicken with flour
3. Place chicken in a large skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil. Cook until no longer pink, and juices run clear. Cool, then either shred or chop into small pieces.
4. Unroll dough, and press into the prepared pizza pan or baking sheet. Bake for a few minutes to let crust set up then take out.
5. Spread ranch dressing over partially baked crust. Sprinkle on mozzarella cheese. Place tomatoes, green onion, chicken and bacon on top of mozzarella cheese, then top with Cheddar cheese. Return to the oven for the remaining time according to crust directions, or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

French Dip Sandwiches

Cassi - this is for you!  It's easy but sooooo good.... we've decided it's way better than any restaurant French Dip we've ever had.

1 roast (cheapest one at the store - don't buy a nice one)

2 loaves of day old bread from Jimmy Johns ($.40 here!)

2 packs of Au Jus gravy powder mix

butter

mozzarella cheese

Stir up 1 Au Jus packet with 1-2 cups of water (depending on the size of your crock pot) and place the roast in the crock pot with the water/ powder mix.  Add water until it's about half way up the pot.

Let the crock pot cook it on low all day.

When you get home from work, take a fork and shred up the meat (you can do this while it's still in the crock pot).  It should just pull apart really easily.

Heat up the second Au Jus packet according to the directions.

Cut the bread in half length-wise and then again width-wise so you have 4 pieces of bread for 2 sandwiches/ loaf.  Butter the inside of the bread and place it on a cookie sheet butter side up.  Add cheese if you want (I don't like it but Jared does) on top of one of the buttered sides.  

Broil the bread until it's toasted.

Put the shredded meat on the bread and make sandwiches then dip it in the Au Jus you heated up.

Sooooo good!

Skinny Tortilla Soup (the easy way)

Here's what we had for dinner tonight. I tried it this time in the Crock-Pot and it worked great! (Now I know it's not fancy- I'm so intimidated by all your fancy recipes, but hey, we liked it!)

SKINNY TORTILLA SOUP

1 (16 oz.) can refried beans
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth (or bouillon and water)
1 ½ C. frozen corn (we omitted this)
¾ C. chunky salsa
½ C. water
1 C. chicken breast (I used one large frozen chicken breast)
2 C. shredded cheese
tortilla chips

Combine beans, broth, corn (or you know, not), salsa, water and chicken in crock pot. Heat on high for 4 hours (or you could do low for longer). About 30 min before serving, shred chicken and add 1 C cheese.

Serve with remaining cheese sprinkled on top and tortilla chips. I also put flour tortillas filled with cheese in a pan of oil and made yummy cheese crisps.

Black bean salsa quesadillas

I just whipped up one of these quesadillas for lunch and thought I'd share the recipe with you since they turned out awesome!

1 can black beans, drain some of juice off
1/2 cup salsa
shredded cheddar cheese, the sharper the better
few leaves of cilantro, torn
reduced fat sour cream
tortillas, soft taco size, regular or whole-wheat

Using a vegetable processor, pour in 1/4 cup black beans, 1/4-1/2 cup salsa (too much salsa and the quesadilla might end up a bit messy!), and a few leaves of cilantro (torn). Process until chunky and well blended, about 45 seconds to 1 minute.

Butter sides of tortillas. Spread one tortilla with black bean/salsa mixture. Top with cheddar cheese. Place butter side down in pan and cover with other tortilla. Cook until light brown on bottom side, then flip. Cook until second side is browned as well.

Transfer to cutting board and divide into quarters with a pizza cutter. Top with sour cream and more salsa.

YUM :) These would be great for kiddos too--a sneaky way to get them to eat some veggies!

Stuffed Mushrooms

24 large mushrooms
2Tbsp. freshly grated parmesan cheese
1-8oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
4oz crabmeat
2 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 Tbsp. bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. minced shallots
1 1/2 tsp. cognac
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
fresh parsley sprigs
lemon wedges

Remove mushroom stems;clean caps and set aside.  Discard stems.  In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except mushrooms, parsley and lemon wedges. Beat well. Fill each mushroom cap with enough of the mixture to form a dome.  Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes.  To serve, place mushrroms on a platter and garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.

Salmon Marinade

Got this from my mom.  It's really good.

1/4 c soy sauce

2 cloves garlic minced

2 T olive oil

2 T fresh grated ginger (I just grate mine on the cheese grater)

1/3 c brown sugar

Mix the ingredients and then put them into a gallon ziplock.

Put as many salmon steaks in there as you want and then let it marinade for 1/2-1 hour (not any more according to my mom or they're gross)

Then just grill them up on the stove top or grill and they are fantastic.

I put them with rice and broccoli and it was very yummy!