Chicken Spiedie Sandwiches

I was talking to my friend Gwen this morning about the "thousands" of recipes I use all the time that aren't on this blog.

Gasp!

She told me I needed to get on that. (wise advice)

And so, when I was craving this for lunch... and then again when I devoured this at lunch, I said to myself, spend the 15 minutes to post it on the blog. You'll be happy I did.

I adapted this recipe from My Kitchen Cafe (which is were the picture came from... sorry I ate mine way to quickly to even think of taking a picture myself) She adapted the original recipe from Cook's Kitchen

1/2 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 Tbs fresh basil, finely chopped (or 1/2 Tbs dried basil)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 Tbs lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts about 1 1/2 pounds

salt and pepper for seasoning chicken

6 6-inch sub rolls (buy the costco ones, you won't regret it.)

2 Tbs butter

Prick chicken breasts all over with fork, cut into 1 1/4 inch chunks, season with salt and pepper and place in a ziploc bag. Combine oil, garlic, basil, oregano, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes in a large bowl. Pour all but 2 tablespoons oil mixture over chicken, seal bag and set in refrigerator to marinade. Marinade chicken for 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Whisk mayonnaise and vinegar into reserved 2 Tbs of oil mixture. Sauce can be made ahead of time and refrigerated, covered for 2 days.

Remove chicken from marinade and place on grill. (You can thread it onto skewers if you're worried about the chicken falling through your grate. I always just cook it on my foreman.)

Grill chicken until cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes, turning once or twice if necessary.

Split your rolls in half lengthwise and butter. Place them on your grill or griddle and get them nice and toasty (this is an essential step to yummy-ness. Don't skip it unless you hate yourself.) Place your cooked chicken on your toasted sub rolls and drizzle with mayo mixture.

Yes, that's all. That's it.

You may be tempted to add cheese, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, etc. but just go ahead and try it plain and simple once. Believe me, I'm a "I bet I could make this a little better by adding ____" but this one... I just don't know. I always love it the most just plain and simple, chicken, bun, and sauce.

Anyway, enjoy!

Sloppy Joes

I make a mean sloppy joe. I don't make them often...not exactly sure why... I guess sloppy joes just aren't my type of food?? Regardless, these are delicious! My husband sure loves them. Not your school lunch, manwich sloppy joe. My family found this recipe 10+ years ago in a Pillsbury "cookbook", we have never looked back. Yum!

1 lb hamburger

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup ketchup

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 Tbs brown sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 Tbs vinegar

1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

In a large skillet, combine ground beef, bell pepper and onion. Cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain well. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover; simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes enough for 6-8 people.

Baked Southwest Sandwiches

This is a recipe I found in a taste of homes cookbook back when I was a teenager. We really loved them. Then we lost the recipe, found it again, and my mom included it in her cookbook. Tonight I happened on the idea of this sandwich and we loved them. I had never made them for Brandon or the kids but everyone ate them right up. But hey, at my house, if there is avocado and olives on something (tomatoes in my case) it is a definite winner!

1 can (4 1/2 oz) chopped olives, drained

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup chopped green onion

8 slices french bread

3/4 to 1 lb thinly sliced turkey

2 ripe avocados, sliced

2 medium tomatoes, sliced

3/4 cup shredded cheese (I use the fiesta blend)

In a bowl, combine olives, chili powder, cumin, and salt; set aside 2 Tbs. Add the mayo, sour cream and onion to remaining olive mixture. Place bread on an un-greased baking sheet; spread 1 Tbs of mayo mixture on each slice. Top with turkey and tomatoes. Spread with another Tbs of mayo mixture; top with avocados and cheeses. Sprinkle with reserved olive mixture. Bake at 350* for 15 minutes or until heated through. Makes 8 servings. (but not really, I would count on 4-6 people, depending on your mix of bigs and littles.)

Hamburger Buns

You have to try these just once. Very yummy. This is my mom's recipe. It makes between 10 and 12 large hamburger buns. (We halved it and got 5, 5 inch diameter buns)

2 packages (2 tbl.) dry yeast
½ cup warm water
1 ½ cups milk or water
½ cup soft shortening or oil
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
7-7 ½ cups flour

Dissolve yeast in the ½ cup warm water with a pinch of sugar. Mix other ingredients with ½ of the flour. Add yeast. Beat until satiny. Add remaining flour to form a soft dough. Let rise until double. Shape into balls (for big buns, make your balls the size of tennis balls.) and let raise on cookie sheets. After dough has doubled, pat down into buns. Bake 12 – 15 minutes at 400*. Buns will rise enough in the oven. Put oven rack on next to the top

Game Day Burgers

I got this recipe from my allrecipes cookbook. (you can also go to allrecipes.com) So yummy. SO HUGE!! Not even kidding. Because these are a "stuffed" burger, meaning there is cheese and other yummy delights inside, the finished product ends up being a 4 in wide 1 1/2 in tall hamburger. WOW. Fun times, these have mushrooms in them, my husband had no idea. (by the way, this is only HALF of a hamburger...yeah, they were HUGE)

2 lbs ground beef
2 (1 oz) pkg dry onion soup mix (I only had dry french onion, go figure, tasted great. I'm not sure what the difference would be.)
1 large potato, peeled and shredded
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1 cup diced fresh mushrooms (I used canned)

Combine beef and onion soup mix.
In a separate bowl, mix together potato, swiss, and mushrooms.
Form 6 large patties*. Make a pocket in each and stuff with filling mixture. Seal back up.
Cook 5 minutes on each side or until burgers are no longer pink.

*We halved this recipe and it still made 4 excessively large hamburgers. Also, I divided the meat into 8 equal portions and then made 8 really skinny hamburgers. Pilled the filling on half of them, topped each with another patty and then sealed the edges. (So I made a hamburger sandwich)

P.S. We found these easier to eat with a knife and fork.

Guacamole Chicken Wrap

1 Whole Wheat Tortilla (you can also use a flour tortilla)
2 TBSP guacamole
3 oz Foster Farms Grilled Chicken Breast strips (you can also use a regular chicken breast, grilled ans cut into strips)
2 TBSP chunky salsa
1/4 cup lettuce
2 TBSP sweet peppers

*You can make additions or omissions to your taste*

Spread guacamole on tortilla. Top with lettuce, salsa, sweet peppers and chicken. Roll and secure with a toothpick. Enjoy!

This is a Weight Watchers recipe.

Ham and Apple Bagel Sandwich

Lunch is the hardest meal for me. I can never think of things to make, especially since I am not a huge sandwich person. I always love it when I find simple "recipes" for yummy lunches that I would have never thought of on my own. Don't let the apple with meat and cheese thing scare you, it really is quite good. (Plus, every thing is better on a bagel.) I have often thought of substituting the miracle whip for cream cheese. Sara Lee also makes a really good cranberry honey mustard that I think might be really yummy with this.

1 whole wheat bagel, split, toasted
2 tsp. miracle whip
6 slices Deli Ham
3 slices Granny Smith apple
1 Tbsp. Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

SPREAD bagel halves with miracle whip.
TOP 1 bagel half with ham, apples and cheese. Microwave on HIGH 30 sec. or until cheese begins to melt.
COVER with remaining bagel half.

Ham and Swiss Rolls

These are some of my absolute favorite rolls. They are so simple, only 3 ingredients, but the flavor is awesome! I always wonder why I don't make them more.

12 Rhodes frozen dinner rolls, Texas size
1 cup Swiss cheese, diced
1 cup Pre-cooked ham, diced

Thaw out your rhodes rolls. When they are completely thawed, flatten and work into a disk, much like you would pizza dough. Place 1-2 Tbs of diced ham and 1-2 Tbs of diced swiss on each flattened roll. Fold in the side and seal up the edges. You should end up with a roll shape. (Think of it as a surprise, people just think they are eating regular rolls and then...SURPRISE! Yummy Goodness!) Place the rolls on a greased baking sheet, bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 min.

I usually just serve these with some fresh fruit and a nice salad. Makes a nice light summer meal or snack. So yummy!

Serves 4 (unless you love them like me, then you're lucky if it serves 2)

Mini Meatball Subs - Giada De Laurentiis

Meatballs:
1 small onion, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 large egg
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
10 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground pork
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Marinara sauce, 26-ounce jar (see comments)

Sandwiches:
12 (3 to 3 1/2-inch diameter) Italian rolls, split, warm
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
3 ounces sliced provolone

To make the meatballs: Whisk the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in the beef, veal, and pork. Using about 2 tablespoons of meat for each, shape the meat mixture into 1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a baking sheet.
Heat the oil in heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Working in 2 to 3 batches, add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to a plate. Pour off any excess oil. Return all the meatballs to the pan. Add the marinara sauce. Simmer over medium-low until the sauce thickens slightly and the flavors blend, about 10 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. (The meatball mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before continuing.)
To make the sandwiches: Spoon the hot meatballs with some sauce over the bottoms of the rolls. Place 1/2 slice provolone on top of meatballs and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Spread more sauce over the roll tops, then fold the tops of the rolls over and serve.
Cook's Note: The sandwiches can be assembled then wrapped individually in foil. Rewarm the sandwiches in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes.