STROMBOLI

I'm sure most of you have had stromboli before - or at least heard of it.  Some people here in WI had no clue what it was until I made it for a potluck one time.  There were mixed reviews - I guess it is one of those things that if you grow up with it, you love it, if you've never had it before, it's hard to wrap your mind around pizza in a roll. 


I personally love stromboli and I make it a lot.  It is one of those meals that is casual and fun.  I made this the other day and it was a hit.  

Some people make their own dough, but I've always just used the frozen bread dough, and I figure if it ain't broke, don't fix it!  First, I thaw my bread dough and let it raise:

Then I roll it out into a rectangle and get it nice and thin.  Then I make a "paste" out of:

2 egg yolks

1 T. parmesan cheese

1 tsp. parsley flakes

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 T. olive oil

Then I spread that over the flattened dough.  Then, just layer your meats.  I usually use ham and pepperoni and mozarella cheese. 

I chop onion up and some mushrooms:

 

Just had to show off my  new food processor.  I sautee the onion and mushrooms, and place them over the meat and cheese.

 

Roll the dough up (long side) and overlap it,  Pinch the sides.  Brush top with the beaten egg whites.  Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.  Sooooo good and cheesy too!

 

I hope you have a wonderful 2010! 

 

MINI BURGERS

These are just too cute not to take a picture!  I think maybe the restaurant chain, White Castle, came up with these.  I googled it and they also mentioned that Red Robin restaurant serves them.  They are called both 'slammers' and 'sliders'.   I ate them for the first time this summer when I was in Hershey, PA, at Fuddruckers.  They were so cute!

Plus, if you are watching your calories, they are perfect.  You can still eat a hamburger w/o overdosing on fat and calories.  I served these with a side of Weight Watcher fries, that even my firstborn son loves (he is against anything 'fat free' or "weight watcher" friendly).  To make these fries, peel your potatoes, slice them up (I use my Pampered chef garnish tool), then soak them in cold water for about 10 minutes or so.  Drain them and kind of towel them off.  Put about 2-3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil in a bowl, add some seasoning salt, garlic powder, paprika - whatever you like, mix it up and toss with your fries.  Bake at 375 on a baking sheet for 45-60 minutes (depends on how thick your fries are and how crisp you like them).

Add a side of broccoli and you have yourself an actual healthy meal (the bun is made with wheat flour).  Yummy.

 

What's for Dinner?

Do you say "dinner" or "supper" when you are talking about your evening meal? My parents and I have this little "discussion" a lot. I guess I tend to call my noon meal "lunch" and my evening meal "dinner". Don't know why I do that, but I do. Lately, though, because Dan calls our evening meal supper, I call it supper sometimes too. My parents (and my in laws) call the evening meal supper and the noon meal dinner. That totally confuses me - I guess I always went out on a date for "dinner" and we made "dinner reservations", and when I was working, we had "lunch" at noon. Yet, here in Wisconsin, they have "Supper Clubs", which are just restaurants that serve the evening meal. (I have no idea where Wisconsin people go for lunch other than the Marshfield McDonald's (which is always sooooo busy)).

Well, whatever you call it, I have a recipe to share with you. The recipe is called "Marlboro Man's favorite sandwich". We enjoyed this mouthwatering sandwich for our dinner/supper last night. It was easy, quick and ohhhh sooooo yummy. Here is the link: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/marlboro_mans_f/

I love recipe websites. One of my favorite sites is from the Pioneer Woman (see my blog list below), go to her website and you can just click on "Tasty Kitchen" on a top tab and it will take you there. The Pioneer Woman fascinates me. She is just cool! . Anyway, this recipe is from her. It is her husband's favorite sandwich (hence the title of the recipe). I did sort of "lighten" this up - I did not use butter, I used olive oil and not as much as she calls for, oh, and I did add mushrooms too. Let me know if you try this and what you think of it. I can't wait to try her Chicken Spaghetti and Twice Baked Potatoes.

Another recipe website that I really like is Recipezaar, which my good friend, Kim told me about. Here is the link: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes/

I really do enjoy cooking most of the time - it is the clean up I hate. Finding new recipes is fun too! Do you have any favorite places you get new recipes from? Please share!

Thought for the day: Kind words conquer