Giardiniera

This is my new favorite garden recipe. This year, only my peppers have really been going crazy. Part of this is because they are one thing the stupid squirrels won't eat! With over 100 peppers, I had to figure out something to make! One of my favorite sandwich shops makes really good hot peppers.  I wanted to make something similar. I also have used Giardiniera in my Italian Beef recipe, and loved it. So I went on the hunt for a recipe that sounded similar. 

Ingredients: 
1 small head cauliflower, broken into small florets (about 5 cups)
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
4 jalapeno peppers, sliced
6 serrano peppers, sliced
1/2 cup salt
1 cup white vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup canola oil
1 jar (10 ounces) small pimiento-stuffed olives, drained

Directions: 
Chop veggies (I used the food processor to speed up and get small pieces)

In a large Tupperware container, toss cauliflower, celery, carrot and peppers with salt. Add cold water to cover. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.

Drain vegetables; rinse with cold water and drain again.  Don't forget this step, or it will be salty!

In a large bowl, whisk vinegar, garlic, oregano and pepper flakes. Gradually whisk in oil until blended. 

Add olives and drained vegetables; toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, overnight to allow flavors to blend.

Transfer mixture to covered jars. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks. Enjoy on sandwiches or by its self!

Adapted from: Taste of Home

Blat

Gotta love fresh tomatoes and lettuce from the garden! This is an easy lunch that I make quite frequently in the summer. 

     

Ingredients: 

lettuce

bacon

avocado

tomato

shredded cheddar cheese

mayo

red onion

sandwich sprinkle from Penzeys

Texas toast

Directions: 

Toast bread in toaster

Pile on ingredients! 

Italian Beef Sandwiches

Another crockpot success! I love cooking in the crock pot on Sundays.  This time I made Italian Beef Sandwiches.  These ones were more like the ones I have enjoyed at Portillo's in Chicago. I had made the Pioneer Woman ones before, but the extra spices and chopped Giardiniera made them much better!

Ingredients:
2lb chuck roast (serves 5-6)
1 envelope Good Seasons Zesty Italian salad dressing mix
4oz pepperoncini, diced
8oz Giardiniera (Chicago-Style Italian Sandwich Mix) drained* I bought Mild, but want to try the hot!
14.5oz can beef broth
provolone cheese slices
hoagie buns

Directions:
Place roast in crockpot, sprinkle salad dressing mix.  (Don't forget your crockpot liner!)

Add pepperoncini peppers, Giardiniera, and beef broth.

Place a lid on top then cook on low for 9 hours, or until meat shreds easily with a fork. 

Shred then place meat back into crock pot and cook on low for 1 more hour.
Split buns in half and toast in oven, add cheese and melt.

Add the shredded meat mixture on top. Top with cold Giardiniera.

*The version of Giardiniera I bought was packed in oil, drain it with a fork, before putting in!   

Adapted from: Iowa Girl Eats

Tomato Basil Mozzarella Sandwich- Paris style!

I have a feeling that I will be having a lot of these sandies with the amount of tomatoes and basil I am growing! They are a great light sandwich, that takes me back to my days in Italy and France!

In 2005, I traveled to Italy and France for a study abroad program. One day we decided we wanted to have a picnic under the Eiffel Tower. So we went to the local market and bought tomatoes, mozzarella, and baguettes.  We took the train to the Eiffel tower, and set up camp! We were ready to eat. However, we did not think that we would need a knife. So we got resourceful, and used a credit card! I sure hope we cleaned it really well first! :) As you can tell, Cody was very proud of himself!

This was one of my most memorable nights on the whole trip! 

"It's All Coming Back To Me!"

 Ingredients: 

Ciabatta bread, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomato, fresh basil, and sandwich sprinkle.

 Directions: 

Drizzle olive oil on the bread and toast for a few minutes.
Add fresh slices of cheese.

Add tomatoes, basil, and some sandwich sprinkle.

Press on panini press and enjoy! 

Pppepperjax Grill- Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

PepperJax Grill has a new line, PepperJax at Home. I decided to try it out! I liked it! It was super easy!

I caramelized the onions in butter and salt and pepper (about 20 minutes), seasoned the meat with salt and pepper and season salt (it cooks in less than 2 minutes!)  Then I toasted some bread and put some provolone cheese on it, and loaded up the sandwich. Quick, Easy, Good! You could add peppers or mushrooms if you wanted to, but I was going super easy!

Veggie Sandies

I seriously can't believe I haven't blogged this recipe yet! It is one of my FAVORITES! It's definitely a keeper! I found it the old fashion way, in a cook book.

In the summer, most of the ingredients can be found at the Farmer's Market.  I like to go on Saturday mornings and buy everything, and then make it for lunch!

Ingredients: 
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 T honey
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
2 small zucchini, sliced (or one zuch, 1 yellow squash)
1 medium red onion, sliced 1/2 in thick
2 red bell peppers, sliced into wide strips
1 foccica flat bread - or your favorite bread or roll
feta cheese ( or herb-flavored goat cheese)

Directions: 
In a zip lock baggie, marinade the veggies in the soy sauce, lemon, honey, and red pepper flakes.
Grill veggies or cook in pan to your liking (reserve a little bit of the marinade to drizzle over your sandie)
Toast the bread
Assemble sandwich!

Here is the real recipe if you want to follow it! It is from Taste of Home

Roasted Veggie Sandie

These veggies would be a great side, all by themselves, but I decided to put them on a sandwich! You could mix up the veggies and toppings more than I did, but I went SIMPLE!

Ingredients: 

1 red pepper

1/2 red onion

3 portabella mushrooms

1/4 c. olive oil 

2 T balsamic vinegar

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475* - Chop all veggies in large pieces. Coat veggies in olive oil, balsamic, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place veggies on foil lined pan in a single layer.  Bake for 15 minutes, and then flip, and cook for another 5-7 minutes. (The mushrooms shrink up a lot, you might want to keep them separate, and add them in for the last 7 min or so.) 

To make the sandwich, I spread goat cheese on my favorite Costco bread, and then added the veggies and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. 

**you could add pesto, chicken, feta, or switch up the bread to make your own sandie!**

Italian Beef Sandwiches

Another Sunday Crockpot meal! Throw it in, its ready in time for dinner! Can't get easier!


Ingredients

• 1 Beef Chuck Roast Whole, 2.5-4 Pounds
• 1 can Beef Broth
• 3 T Italian Seasoning, I used Penzeys
• 1 t Salt
• 1/4 c Water
• 1 t Minced Garlic
• 8 oz Pepperoncini Peppers, With Juice
• Buttered, Toasted Deli Rolls
• Provolone Cheese

Directions
Combine first 7 ingredients in crock pot.

Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until tender with fork.

Butter the deli rolls and toast in the oven. Don't burn, like I did! 

Pile the meat and peppers on the rolls and put the cheese on top.  If needed, put back in the oven to melt the cheese.  Serve with liquids from the meat.

adapted from Pioneer Woman

What I've Been Eating...

Sometimes this blogging thing is hard work and it slows down my cooking! So I have compiled a list of a few of my favorites that I have made over the last few weeks. Why re-invent the wheel if something is good!

Pioneer Woman Restaurant Style Salsa this salsa is by far one of my favorite things from PW! It is so easy, and does not require fresh tomatoes, which my garden had very few of this summer! You don't need to cook it either!

Dinah's Dishes Enchiladas Casserole this is a mom from my school. She makes some great things! This casserole isn't as creamy as some and is probably a lot better for you!

Roasted Veggie Sandies I put my pesto to use and made these delicious sandies! The veggies would be amazing alone too!

King's Hawaiian Roll Ham Sandwiches we did half turkey, half ham and both were yummy! These however, are NOT healthy! They have a whole stick of butter, but man were they great!

Cuban Sandies

I first learned of the Cuban Sandwich when I worked at Cheeseburger in Paradise.  It was one of my favorite things to order if I wasn't in the mood for a burger.  A true Cuban sandwich is made on Cuban bread, which I have not found yet here in KC. But here is my take on the Cuban!

Ingredients for 1: 
hoagie
2 slices of ham
1/3 cup pulled pork**
1 slice swiss cheese
2 slices of pickles
yellow mustard
mayo
melted butter

Directions in pictures first! 

1. Spread on mayo and mustard   2. Add ham  3. Add pulled pork

4. Add swiss cheese   5. Add pickle slices   6. Brush with melted butter

7. Place on panini pan & cook till warm and cheese is nice and gooey. 8. Place on cutting board 9. Cut

10. ENJOY!

**I cook a large batch of the pulled pork in the crock pot and freeze it.  I use the pork in tamales, Cubans, and BBQ sandwiches.

Made By You Monday Welcome!

Let Me Here Ya Say, Gooo Greek! ...

Now that I have that song stuck in your head....

When I cook, I try to cook things using ingredients I have on hand.  Especially now that I am living by myself, I like to re-purpose leftovers.  You can only eat the same thing for so many days before you get sick of it! I had 1 chicken breast and needed a way to make it into a meal. So the Mediterranean sandy was born.

My original plan was to use hummus, however mine was not looking so hot. I needed something to serve as the "sauce." I wanted to make an olive tapenade. All of the recipes I was finding had capers and anchovies, which are not my favorite! So I made up my own!

Green Olive Tapenade sans Capers and Anchovies

Ingredients
1 cup green olives, chopped
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper







Directions: 

Chop olives and garlic, until fine and place in small bowl.
Squeeze fresh lemon over olives (squeeze it upside down to prevent seeds from falling in!).
Drizzle olive oil over the olives, and add salt and pepper for flavor.  For best results, let sit for an hour or so to let flavors meld.

Mediterranean Sandwich

I have made these a few different way, each time mixing and matching different ingredients.  Below you will find a list of ingredients, pick the ones you like, or have on hand, to put an delicious sandwich together! For this sandwich I added an asterisk next to the things I used. 

Bread

• ciabatta rolls*
• flat bread
• sandwich bread



I added Penzey's Ruth Ann's spice to mine


• french bread

Chicken*                                                             

   

Veggies

• roasted red peppers*
• artichokes*
• cucumbers
• red onion*
• red peppers
• olives
• banana peppers

Dressing

• hummus
• olive tapenade*
• Greek dressing
• olive oil
• mayo

Cheese

• feta*
• mozzarella

**If anyone has tips for centering/organizing pictures on a Blogger, please send them my way!**