Big Game Food

The Skins have a big game today. They have lost the past 3 games, and they have been playing kinda 'eh' these days but just because your team is being 'eh' doesn't mean your "game food" has to be 'eh' too.

We love nachos but none with the canned cheese like they serve typically at stadiums. Yuck. Nachos are fun because you can tweak them so many different ways.

Super Deluxe Nachos

1 lb. SHAVED beef (this is the good quality super thin sliced beef your butcher does, similar to 'steak-um beef' but don't use that unless you are desperate.)
1 envelope Taco Seasoning
1 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
shredded cheese
Your favorite tortilla chips
Fresh salsa (I usually make my own but the summer tomatoes are gone)
Chopped Jalapenos (I used three, seeded and deveined)
Sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook your beef with Taco seasoning. Add corn so it will thaw. When beef is cooked add beans. Cover baking sheet with non stick foil. Layer chips on foil and hearty handfuls of cheese. Add layer of hot beef and corn mixture. Add more cheese on top of beef. Place in oven just long enough to melt cheese. About 10 minutes.
Sprinkle on fresh salsa, scoops of sour cream and jalapenos (don't forget all dairy is the ANTIDOTE for the jalapeno evils).

YUM! Have plenty of napkins, your favorite beverage of choice and you will have a happy tummy regardless of how your team plays!

Enjoy!

Smoked Mozzarella Sausage Pizza

I don't know about you but finding smoked cheeses has been hit or miss around here lately. Sometimes I can find the smoked gouda or cheddar and smoked mozzarella is always around. I guess I need to venture farther than my local Harris Teeter? lol

I am ALL about making our own pizza. Sorry I won't do frozen pizza from a box anymore OR calling any local pizza chain either. If we are going to splurge on pizza I am going to make it. Fresh meats, homemade sauce and fresh veggies. The only cheat.....frozen pizza dough. Yup. I am not TOTALLY out of my mind here....gotta have some compromise, right?

I love fresh mozzarella. A very different affect on your pizza if you use fresh over the block stuff and two steps above if you use the 'already shredded' stuff (sorry, I gave up the preshredded stuff too when I found out they add stuff to it to keep it from sticking....I grate my own now too).
I wanted to try the 'smokey stuff' with our sausage to mix it up in our pizza makings....I was great and easy too.

Smoked Mozzarella Sausage Pizza
Lipsmack creation

1 Frozen Pizza Dough (New York Pizza Deli brand puts two in a box, they also make Whole Wheat)
Your favorite sauce (I just used a can of 29 oz store brand plain tomato sauce with 2 T of Italian seasons and some garlic)
1 lb hot italian sausage, browned
1 pint of mushrooms, cooked
1 onion, chopped and cooked
1 lb. smoked fresh mozzarella (found usually in your gourmet cheese section of grocery), sliced
fresh parmesan

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Brown your sausage. Remove from pan. In sausage drippings, saute the mushrooms and onions. Add sauce and sausage. Add fresh garlic if you like. Simmer.

While sauce is cooking, roll out dough on parchment paper. If you do not have a pizza stone, turn over a cookie sheet and that will work (WHY haven't you gotten a pizza stone yet? Just keep in in the oven 24/7 like I do....it's too heavy to take in and out....just leave it be. Actually I take it out only for T-day feast cooking). Rectangle or circle, roll out that dough. Place in oven to parbake (I sometimes have to keep a skewer handy to POP the bubbles). Just cook about 8-10 minutes to cook it through. Remove from oven.

Place sliced mozzarella on baked crust (yes you heard me right, cheese first, don't argue with me!). Place sausage/veggie sauce on cheese. Slide dough back into oven until crust is browned, cheese is melted and bubbly.

Cut into 8 slices and add fresh parmesan on top before serving.

Look at that thing of beauty. You couldn't get a tastier pizza from any box or restaurant, trust me. Homemade pizza rocks. The little extra effort is soooooooooooooo WORTH it!

Commanding you to make more homemade pizza,

Smoky Jalapeno Cheesesteak

Welcome Back! Where you been? Haahahahahaha. No long story what I've been up to....just stuff. Sometimes you just aren't feelin' it. I've felt my cooking at home either was not worthy to blog about or the camera battery was dead when I had something fabulous made. It's always something, right?
Right.


Regardless....today fun sandwich is:


Smokey Jalapeno Cheesesteak
by JennyMac's Lipsmack
makes 2 large sandwiches or 4 average

Sandwich Rolls/Hoagie Rolls (per person)
6 layers of Steak-Um meat or slivered beef (about 1/2 pound)
1 onion thinly sliced
6 jalapenos, deveined/seeded and julienned
Smoked Cheese

Slice onions and peppers and saute in pan until soft. Slice beef into strips and add into onion mixture until beef is no longer pink (take just a minute or so).

Prepare your rolls by heating them up in the oven (if you desire a crusty roll). Slice cheese thinly. Slather on the mayo. Put meat into "mayoed' rolls top with cheese. Serve with your favorite chips -hope your mouth is big enough!

Cooks Notes:

1. The smoked cheese is not something you will find in the grocery with all your other cheeses. This cheese I found at a Farmer's Market. It was actually a Smoked Horseradish Cheese....yummy. BUT normally when a recipe calls for a smoked cheddar I have to go to the section of the grocery when I need Saga Brie, Manchego or Guyere cheeses. Look for it. Today I noticed they had a smoked Guyere right next to the smoked provolone and mozzarella. Wow, they are increasing their stock! It shouldn't be too hard to find. These smoky cheeses are also great on burgers for it tastes like you have bacon on it....when you
don't!

2. As for jalapeno....don't be scared to use this and opt for the plain bell pepper. The heat of you sandwich is directly related to how well you remove the seeds and the veins in the pepper. This is your source of heat. When I am feeling crazy for some heat I just slice them up without regard...and also don't forget the cheese on your sandwich is also your saving grace. Any dairy is the antidote to pepper pain!

No ordinary buns for this pork BBQ!!!

Pepper Jack Rolls Baby!

I've been a fan of the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes book and have made my own bread a few times. Yummy! I used the Vermont Cheddar Bread recipe (page 106) as my springboard idea.

Pepper Jack Rolls
adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tbsp. granulated yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
6 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup white cheddar powdered cheese
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 egg, beaten

1. Mix the yeast, salt and sugar with the water in a 5 quart bowl (I used my lidded non air tight food container that I store my dough in).

2. Mix in the dry ingredients, grated cheese, powdered cheese and pepper flakes without kneading, using a spoon. You can use a 14 cup food processor with a dough attachment but mixing this dough directly in the container was just fine.

3. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial use, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 7 days.

5. When baking rolls, dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off dough pieces roughly equal portions (about the size of a plum) Shape each one into a smooth ball. Allow them to rest and rise on a cornmeal-covered pizza peel for 40 minutes (or just 20 minutes if using fresh unrefrigerated dough).

6. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone placed on the middle rack Place an empty broiler tray on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread.

7. Just before baking, coat with beaten egg and stick a few jalapenos on top.

8. Slide the rolls directly onto hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until deeply browned and firm.



Here is one of the final rolls in relation to the place size. Ginormous! Honestly too much bread for me. I think I overestimated my size of plums. LOL. Although K-man was ecstatic about his man sized pork BBQ sandwich!







I could have probably put more pepper flakes in the dough as you can BARELY see the pepper. The bread wasn't a cheesy as I thought it would be. Although bread was fluffy and tender. The crust held up GREAT to the smooshy BBQ inside.

AWESOME!

But when you still have BBQ left and a bit of dough what do you do to restyle your dinner?

BBQ Pork Rolls!

The dough that remained after making 6 ginormous sandwich rolls was just enough to cut into 6 small circles. Using my greased TEXAS sized muffin tin....

Place a handful of green onions on the dough about 1/4 cup BBQ on the onions. Pull up dough around the filling and place in greased muffin tin dough edges down.

Throw a few slices of jalapenos around the dough in the muffin tins. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and put tin on the stove to let dough rise enough to fill up the muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes until brown. Serve with chilly coleslaw...sprinkle a bit of chili powder on top of it to compliment your BBQ rolls. Pickles, some extra BBQ sauce on the side for dipping and PERFECTION!

BTW, making your own Pork BBQ is very easy too!

Bake a Pork Butt according to package directions. Rubbed with favorite dry BBQ dry rub (mine was 6 lbs and it took about 4 hours). Stick a fork in the roast until when twisted is falling apart. Remove from pan and put on plate and let cool until able to tear apart with a fork. Add your favorite bottle of BBQ sauce to pork shreds. DELICIOUS!

Made enough for 4 HUGE sandwiches, 6 pork rolls and package of BBQ for two more average sandwiches for the freezer for a quick dinner another night!

Oink!

Joe, you're so Sloppy!

He SURE was! I don't even remember when the last time I had a sloppy joe! I found this recipe on Oprah's site....tried it and it was delicious. Don't be afraid of some of the ingredients....it turned very tasty!

Sloppy Joes
from Bob Greene on Oprah.com

This familiar dish can be a smart choice with a few small changes that cut calories but not any of the flavor or satisfaction.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 onion , finely chopped
1 large sweet pepper , seeded and finely chopped
12 ounces 95 percent lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 1/4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes , or canned no-salt-added tomatoes
1 cup canned, no-salt-added kidney beans , drained and rinsed, or cooked, mashed with the back of a fork (I omitted this, perhaps it makes the mixture thicker?)
4 Tbsp. tomato paste
4 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Black pepper to taste
4 whole wheat hamburger rolls (about 170 calories each)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add the onion and
sweet pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring.

Crumble in the ground beef and cook until browned; keep breaking it apart with a spoon for about 4 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, beans, tomato paste, cider vinegar, cloves, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Cook for an additional 4 minutes.

Divide the mixture evenly between the four rolls and serve.

Recipes from The Best Life Diet Cookbook by Bob Greene

Nutritional Information:

Per serving, about: calories: 415; protein: 34 g; carbohydrate: 60 g; dietary fiber: 14 g; sugars: 5 g; total fat: 6 g; saturated fat: 2 g; cholesterol: 52 mg; calcium: 72 mg; sodium: 451 mg

I know for some of you it's easier to use the canned mix to make these. But I had all the ingredients on hand....so what the heck? It was well worth it!

Yet another Monster!

*Singing to self* "Oops I did it again...."

Well, it was no accident that I made some Monster Chili Dogs...

Do you have someone in your household that has a fascination with hot dogs? For me, once in a blue moon will I want one. Of course I want only the crunchy ones with skin. But K-man would eat a hot dog with every meal or FOR every meal if he could have his way. So I decided to surprise him not with just a lil ol' hot dog for dinner but a man food -monster sized- chili dog!

Here's what you need:

Monster Chili Dogs

JUMBO franks (mom gets these for me from an Amish Store in Lancaster County PA)
can of chili or pull some out that your stored in the freezer
chopped onion
sub rolls
shredded pepper jack cheese

Chop your onion, shred your cheese, cook your dogs, heat up your chili, toast your buns. Assemble!

Looks like this:

When I say JUMBO, I meant it....here is the comparison. The other one is a Nathan's hot dog. Quite a difference...Get out your rolls now...


So when I say you need sub rolls, I mean it. A regular hot dog roll would not work...

Snug as a bug. Pile on your chili (no pic, it was too blurry, but I figured you could deal)
Add your onions....


Top on your fave cheese.



I love Pepper Jack!


I toasted mine...

But what did K-man want along with HIS chili dog?

Yup, another regular hot dog. With his fave topping of mayo and onions. He was feeling a lil crazy and add a bit of ketchup on his regular hot dog. So there you go proof of the size and what K-man had for dinner. He grabbed it and shoved it in for a bite. Contrarily, I ate mine with a fork and knife and could only eat one side of the roll! By the way, there was a cucumber salad on the side with dinner.....LOL

It's the weekend! Make something fun and messy for your man/family!

Run for your life! There's a monster....

Thank God for Arnold's Sandwich Thins or I'd never been able to get my mouth around this monster! I needed to put some olives for eyes on the edge/side of this burger to have given it a face for the lettuce on top kinda looks like hair....LOL.

Honestly, this was NOT intended to be so huge. I had prepared 4 nice and thin 1/4 lb. turkey burgers. K-man was in the mood for a 'man-food' kinda burger. I gave him some options.

1. Cook two patties and have two burgers.
2. Cook two patties and make a double burger.
3. Put some cheese slices on one and pinch the two together for one 'monster' burger.

His eyes grew wide. Of course, you KNOW what he chose!

Now for the recipe:

Monster Turkey Burger
adapted from Bob Green's Best of Life Diet Cookbook also on Oprah.com

1 pound ground turkey breast
1/4 onion , ground in a food processor (omitted and just doubled the green onion)
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion (scallion)
2 slices whole wheat bread , toasted and processed in a food processor for 1 minute to make crumbs (do this before the onions! I just used 4 halves of the Arnolds Whole Grain Sandwich Thins)
1/4 cup Better 'n Eggs or 1 egg , beaten
2 cloves garlic , finely chopped
1/8 tsp. ground mustard
Black pepper to taste
Vegetable oil cooking spray
4 whole wheat hamburger buns (about 115 calories each, again I used the Arnold's @ 100 cal ea.)
1 Tbsp. mustard
8 leaves lettuce
8 thick slices tomato
4 slices red onion (omitted for I thought the onion in the burger was enough)
2 oz of 70% reduced fat White Cheddar (1 ounce per burger- this is not part of Calorie count below)

Thoroughly mix the turkey, onion, green onion, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, mustard and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Form the mixture into 4 patties.

OR: Slice of two thin slices of low fat cheese and place on top of one burger. Lay another burger on top of the cheese and carefully pinch and seal the edge.

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat.

Lightly coat the pan with cooking spray and place the patties in the pan. Cook
until the pink just disappears in the center, about 4 minutes on each side, or until a
thermometer inserted into the center of the burger reads 160°.

Slice the buns. Spread each top with mustard. Place the lettuce, tomato, onion and a
burger on the bottom bun and cover with the top. Serve.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving, about: calories: 367; protein: 29 g; carbohydrate: 36 g; dietary fiber: 6 g; sugars: 3 g; total fat: 13 g; saturated fat: 3 g; cholesterol: 143 mg; calcium: 118 mg; sodium: 487 mg


Can you get over how that was two little thin slices of cheese? They were barely 1/4 inch thick.

I highly suggest you dip your burger in your ketchup, mustard etc. If you put it on your toppings and bun will slide all over the place. Just the bit of light mayo under the lettuce and the juicy tomatoes made for a slippery burger! K-man liked this burger but I could see in his slightly sad eyes that he'd wish it was BEEF. "Sometimes we eat healthier at home so going out for a burger is a real treat, right hunny?" Uh huh he said.....

LOL

Because you Love him...

Sometimes, I just like to put together a dinner, meal or special dessert for my K-man.  That is just how I am....I like to let him know not only do I love and appreciate him but I am thinking of him and his likes....it's fun to surprise him with something 'special' that HE likes (it's win/win, if I like it too) 

Here is a sandwich I put together for my K-man because it has many of his favorite things...

Rye Bread

Avocado (that man will halve and eat an avocado with a spoon in it's peel with pepper only just for a SNACK)

grilled flank steak (we love the Mc Cormick's MESQUITE marinade)

green onion

cherry tomatoes (I should have roasted them!)

mozzarella

horseradish sauce

Let's put it together!

I heated up the leftover flank steak just enough.  I didn't want to lose too much pink in the meat.  Toast your bread by either toaster or grilling on a pan.  Melt your cheese.  Top with meat on one side....tomatoes on the other.  Cheese is very important for it acts as your 'glue' in a STACKED sandwich.

Now I topped the meat with his avocado with some salt and pepper and some green onions on the tomatoes.

Now carefully....STACK IT...

Cut it open and look at what you got...

Yum!

This sandwich definitely produced a huge smile and lots of "Mmmmm-mmmm's"  He even did the dishes afterward!  Again....win/win situation!

Semi-Reubens

Ok, St. Patty's day has come and gone....many of us have leftovers from our corned beef and cabbage....I don't want hash....How about a reuben? Mmmmm! I love a good reuben sandwich. Tender corned beef, melty swiss cheese, crunchy sauerkraut, sweet russian dressing on hot buttery rye bread....THUD.

Well my K-man likes pretty much all food BUT does not like sauerkraut at ALL. He will eat cole slaw but even plain cooked cabbage is still sketchy for him. When I made the corned beef and cabbage....he looked like a little kid when he was looking at the cabbage on his plate, like: "What is this and do I have to eat it?" I reassured him that is was NOT sauerkraut....he took a few bites and said half-heartedly....'it's good.' I knew it wasn't his thing....clearly some childhood eating memories! LOL...

Anyhow here's my tweaked reuben for K-man to enjoy:

"Un-sour" Reuben

Sliced leftover corned beef
Sliced Swiss Cheese
Rye Bread
Finely shredded cole slaw (says Angel Hair cabbage in salad section in grocery)
Thousand Island Dressing
Horseradish sauce (in your dressing aisle)
Red Onion

1. Toast your rye bread.
2. Thinly slice your COLD corned beef, otherwise it being warm will shred beef.
3. Place sliced cheese on bread when hot out of toaster.
4. Warm corned beef slices in microwave.
5. Squirt on some horseradish sauce.
6. Pile on the beef on the horseradish.
7. Mix shredded cole slaw with dressing. Just enough to flavor it but not to make it drippy.
8. Spread extra dressing on the warmed cheese.
9. Place a few thin red onion rings and then the slaw on corned beef.
10. Top with remaining slice of bread with cheese.

Serve with a dill pickle.

Now THAT is a sandwich anyone can enjoy! Warning a big mouth needed.

I like my Sausage and Peppers Neat, please!

Yeah, you've done it...gotten yourself a big ol' sloppy and drippy sausage and peppers submarine. You probably used like 3-4 napkins. Well, I have a NEATER alternative for you. Just dip and bite!

Neat Sausage and Peppers Sandwich

1 lb package of hot italian turkey sausage
29 oz can diced tomatoes (basil, oregano flavored)
1 package frozen peppers and onions
1 can Pillsbury bread sticks
mozzarella you have on hand

Cook your sausages with the skins on. You can bake yours or put them in a skillet. I used my George Forman Grill to have them drain of the fat rather cooking it in. While the sausage is cooking, put your can of diced tomatoes and frozen peppers and onions in a pan to cook. You are cooking the tomato mixture long enough to cook off all the liquid. Taste your sauce and add any extra italian seasoning, salt, etc. if you desire. Your sausage should be cooked through at the same time the tomatoes have cooked off their extra liquid. Turn off your tomato mixture while your sausages cool. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Open your breadsticks, you have 12 in your can to cover 5 sausages. I used about 2-1/2 per sausage.

Bake your dough covered sausages as the package directions called for (12 minutes). While you are preparing your side salad to go with your sausage rolls (just a SUGGESTION, lol). Get your mozzarella ready to put on top of rolls.


Put on top of rolls when baking complete just to melt the cheese. Heat up your sauce and put in little side dishes.








Bite into your sausage roll....








Take your fork and pile on some sausage and peppers with each bite. Much neater this way, no DRIPS!









A great meal with happy bellies, this is the typical scene after dinner...Daddy and Pookie hanging out on the futon....

LOL....K-man told me to take this picture. He's sticking out his gut on purpose. He wanted me to tell you that not only did this meal taste great but it made him happy that it was healthy for him! Now where are those brownies!

In closing....such a sweet face...

The way to their heart is through their stomach!

This is the heart they want....and make it into a sandwich please!!!

See this bread? Hard to tell in the picture but it's the same width as your 9 inch cake pan. But the yeast dough has risen much higher than your regular cake. The only specialty pan I have in my house (other than a bundt or springform) is this heart cake pan. Someone left it behind after a potluck...their loss is my gain!!!

K-man isn't into the fancy gifts (shirts, cologne, jewelry, etc). He is just happy with a card. When I've gotten him gifts in the past..."it's too much....I don't need anything...don't spend money on me"...etc. But more importantly....K-man always loves is my cooking and is most appreciative. So I thought....this year how about a food gift? He loves the simple stuff....the man food things. I stumbled upon a xeroxed recipe for a sandwich made from a bread loaf baked in one of those animated cake pans and assembled into a huge sandwich for a party....then I remembered my heart pan...hmmmmm. I know what to do for K-man.

Step One: Get a heart cake pan...or any cake pan pertinent. A football, a dog, cookie monster, whatever.

Step Two: Go to the grocery and get from the freezer section a package of frozen bread loaf dough. Get all or any of the other things that go into your sweethearts favorite sandwich.

Step Three: Bake your bread. I cut the dough in half lengthwise and place on heart halves (you can see the crease in the middle from that) you need to do this in order for it to rise evenly.

Step Four: After risen, brush with beaten egg. Cover with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc. I used Crazy Jane's mixed up salt. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Let Cool.

Step Five: Slice bread in half so you have now two hearts. A top and a bottom to your heart sandwich.

Step Six: Slather on your mayo or mustard and fill with all your sweetheart's favorite meat and cheeses.

Step Seven: Serve his favorite soda/beer and watch his light up when you offer him the platter with his GIANT heart sandwich as you say "HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!"

What did I end up making?

Although K-man loves everything I cook. Sometimes he misses the simplicity of his bachelor food or SAYS he wants the simple stuff for he doesn't want me to "work so hard in the kitchen". He has a hard time understanding that I LOVE cooking!!!


He said one day, "you know hunny, you don't have to always make such fancy stuff....I'd be happy with just a grilled cheese sandwich."

*Slice off the rounded top and crusty bottom to have two large heart shaped bread slices.



*Layer your sliced cheese.

*Then layer of bacon and another layer of cheese.











So here you go sweetheart...your grilled cheese sandwich. A special request fulfilled for my love who fulfills my life by making me feel special!!!

Luckily for me...this bread fits perfectly in my George Forman 360 grill!!






And if you are lucky...he will share with you....and K-man did.