Suiza Chicken Salad Sandwiches

The original recipe for this was called Chicken Suiza Melts, and was shared on Weekend Potluck a few months back, by Siggy Spice.  Looks like she got the recipe from a friend, who got the recipe from Rachael Ray’s site.  This original sandwich was served hot, with broiled cheese, which I am sure is deeeee-licious!  But, seeing as how it’s so beautiful outside, we changed things up a bit, and made it into a cold Chicken salad sandwich, spreading the bread with guacamole and slices of tomato.  YUM!  Try it both ways!

{click title for easy printable}

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• ½ cups Red Onion, Finely Chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic, Pressed
• 1 whole Lime, Juiced
• 1 Tablespoon Honey
• 1-½ cup Green Tomatilla Salsa Or Salsa Verde
• ½ cups Sour Cream
• 1 cup Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese
• 1 whole Rotisserie Chicken, Skin Discarded And Meat Shredded
• 6 whole Wheat Rolls, Split
• 1/2 cup Guacamole, Or As Needed To Spread On Slices Of Bread
• 12 slices Tomato (I used halved grape tomatoes)

Preparation Instructions

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until the onions are softened and translucent. Stir in lime juice, honey and salsa verde and continue heating until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and shredded cheese. Stir in shredded chicken and refrigerate for 2 hours or until chilled. Split the whole wheat rolls and spread the bottom half with a generous amount of guacamole and sliced tomatoes. Add some of the chicken mixture and top with the top bun. Enjoy!

(In a big hurry?  Wholly Guacamole is found in the produce section, and is smashed, seasoned and ready to go avocados! No additives!)

Enjoy!

~T

Tomato Soup and Salami & Muenster Cheese Sandwiches

This is another blast from the past recipe from my youth.  I had to QUICK make it before we turn to March on the calendar and I start putting away the soup recipes and getting out other things in preparation for the warm weather to come!

  This Homemade Tomato Soup recipe has always made me giggle a bit, since it calls for a can of Campbell’s Tomato soup, but hey, who am I to complain when it tastes SOO good!

Nana’s Tomato Soup Recipe

{Click title for printable}

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Onion, Chopped Finely
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ⅛ teaspoons Pepper
• A Dash Of Each: Garlic, Basil, Oregano And Thyme
• 14 ounces, fluid Campbell’s Tomato Soup
• 2 cups V 8 Juice
• 2 cups Milk

Saute onion in butter. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Stir in 1 can tomato soup and 2 cups V-8 juice. Season to taste with garlic, basil, oregano and thyme. Bring to a boil, stirring continually for 1 minute. Add 2 cups of milk and simmer until serving time, being careful not to scorch milk.
Paxton in particular found this Deeee-licious! He had 3 bowls. 

Dale had Ramen Noodles with his sandwich, cause he is a big baby and won’t eat most things that involve warm tomatoes.  🙂

  We usually serve this Soup with Grilled cheese, but when my friend Stephanie Johnson told me about her latest sandwich creation on Facebook, I KNEW I needed to make it ASAP.  She totally had me at the Muenster Cheese!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Sweet Dale stopped by the store and got the things for me on his way home, so I wouldn’t have to wait until a WHOLE nother week to pass before it was grocery shopping day again.  Awww!  🙂  {Ramen? What Ramen? You mean someone made Ramen Noodles for supper?!?!?!?!}

Salami & Melty Muenster Cheese Sandwiches

Ingredients

• 12 slices Beef Salami
• 4 slices Sandwich Sized Muenster Cheese (or More Per Taste)
• 8 pieces Whole Wheat Bread
• 6 Tablespoons Butter

Heat skillet while you butter all the bread. Place first bread butter side down in skillet and quickly add 3 pieces of salami and a nice fat layer of Muenster cheese covering to the edge of the bread. Top with other piece of bread, and grill until golden brown, just like you do your grilled cheese. Flip to side two, turn the heat down a bit and add a lid to your skillet to steam melt the cheese a bit, watching your bottom bread closely.
Pull when it turns golden brown and has a crisp to it, but the cheese is nice and melty!!! Eat it while its hot so the cheese stays gooey!

  This sandwich is FABULOUS, and tastes great with Nana’s Tomato Soup.  A HUGE thank you to my Foodie Friend, Steph, for telling me about this!

Now go, quick and make this!  It’s February 29th, we gotta get our Soup fix before Spring shows up!

~T

 

Mozzarella Meatball Sub

  This Meatball Sandwich came together quickly and easily after a busy day of running errands.  Don’t skimp on the real Mozzarella!  You can thank me later.  🙂

Ingredients

• 2 packages Meatballs (14 Oz Each Of Italian And Original)
• 1 jar (24 Oz) Of Your Favorite Spaghetti Sauce
• 1 whole Wheat French Bread Loaf (Get A Wide Loaf)
• 4 ounces, weight Ball Of Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
• 4 Tablespoons Softened Butter
• Garlic Powder, To Taste

Preheat oven to 350*. Cook meatballs according to package directions. I did mine from frozen, on the stove top for 25 minutes, covered in spaghetti sauce.

Slice bread lengthwise, being careful not to go all they way through, then spread with butter. Sprinkle with garlic powder to taste. Toast in warm oven a teeny bit while you slice fresh Mozzarella with a serrated knife. You don’t want the bread hard and crunchy like toast, just a bit crusty, as the butter melts.

When meatballs are done, add sauce covered meatballs to your slightly toasty bread, stuffing clear to the back of your non cut side of the bread.  (They won’t all fit.) You can add a bit more sauce if you have any left from the bottom of the pot.

Cover in sliced mozzarella and wrap in foil. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes to get the cheese nice and melty.  Slice and serve hot!

ENJOY! Hugs, T

Italian Beef & Cheese Buns

My momma used to make these for us when we lived in Phoenix. I LOVED it when I saw her hollowing out rolls, because I knew what we were having for supper. In fact, I SPECIFICALLY recall that for my kindergarten birthday, this is what I chose for family supper that night. (I also remember that I got 2 SUPER cool pair of leather high tops that night, in both black AND pink! Oh, I was in 1980’s heaven!)
These Beef & Cheese Buns were as good as I remembered; think lasagna filling inside a French bread roll!

Beef & Cheese Buns

(click title to print at TK’s website)

• 1 pound Ground Beef, With Salt And Pepper
• 15 ounces, fluid Tomato Sauce
• ½ packages Dry French Onion Soup
• ½ teaspoons Basil
• ½ teaspoons Oregano
• 1 cup Cottage Cheese
• ¼ cups Parmesan Cheese
• ½ Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
• 8 whole French Bread Rolls, Hollowed Out

Cook and season meat. Drain Add sauce, dry soup packet, basil and oregano. Simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered. In a separate bowl, mix Parmesan cheese, cottage cheese and Italian seasoning. Cut a thick slice off the top of each French Bread Roll, saving “lid”. Carefully pull out extra bread, leaving 1/4 inch walls.
Divide half the meat between rolls, divide cheese mix and top with remaining half of the meat mixture. Top with roll “lids” and wrap individual buns in foil. Bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes. Dig in!

I’ve never tried it, but my recipe says it can be frozen. Just heat for 60 minutes to thaw and cook. You may need to remove the foil for the last few minutes of bake time to pull moisture from the bread though.
Enjoy this unique and savory supper with a side salad.
~T

Update 2021: We have teenagers now and are making this recipe with 1 pound hamburger & 1 pound sausage and doubling all ingredients. I am buying 18 pack of mini hoagie buns from the Sam’s club bakery section and it works out just right. I’ve also added a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella before closing each bun “lid”. YUM!

We baked at 350* for 20 minutes or until center is warm, without foiling individual buns. Worked out great! I highly suggest these changes!

Florida Family & Tangy Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

I want to start of today’s post with a BIG thank you to Cousin Christy for all her hard work these past 3 days to prepare those freezer cooking posts for us. I LOVED seeing you all get excited about freezer cooking and interact with her.  You are so nice to my family and friends, I just love it! 🙂

  We were blessed to have my Dad and Drea come visit us for a week.  We love it when they come see us!  We KNOW they love us when they leave 81* weather to drive to Kansas JUST in time for our first snow of the season!  (Poor poor freezing Floridians!)

  We had such a great week with them!  We were so busy having fun I got very few photos taken, but here are a few from our week together:

Drea & Avery making Autumn Hugs. Paxton testing out the pretzels.

Pax hard at work unloading the dishwasher.  (Guess its true what they say about little ones learning all they know from watching big sisters and brothers!)

Papa and Avery

Pax was totally obsessed with Papa & Drea’s dog, Harley. He loved to lay on his tummy next to her and watch/copy her every move.

Another gorgeous sunset, painted by the Creator Himself!

Fun with Daddy in the leaf mountain.

The whole gang

Papa’s buddy

Thank you Dad & Drea, for a fun-filled week!

  Drea, you are always such a wonderful help to me in the kitchen and with the children. I love how you jump right in to lend a hand!  Dad, thanks for all you do to help Dale around our property and for helping me get my computer & coupons organized!  The kids ADORE when you guys are here and we can’t wait until we get to see you again.

  Next week, more Florida guests!  How blessed are we?!?!?!

Uncle Chad & Auntie Lauren, coming to KS for the first time as a married couple!  Remember their gorgeous wedding this summer?

  They will bunk up with us this time, since my mom is between homes.  When I say “Bunk up” I do mean Bunk up!!!!  We occupy every square inch of our home, so no cushy guest room here, just the boy’s bunk beds.   Good thing they love us enough to come anyways!  🙂

  I have to come back and add a VERY importnant announcement….

 Chad & Lauren just called us with reallyreally BIG news that couldn’t wait until they came:

They are PREGNANT!!!!!

With IDENTICAL TWINS!!!!!!

{Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!}

 

  I pretty much screamed and then bawled my eyes out when they told me on the phone.  Being a parent is the most amazing job in the whole world!!!!  Their lives are about to change in the most indescribable, incredible ways and they have no idea just how much they will fall in love with those precious babies over & over again. 

  Or, how about just how much their love for each other will grow and change as they love each other as both husband and wife AND mommy and daddy.  This is SO SO SO exciting!

  On to today’s recipe:

  Dale HATES Sloppy Joes, HATES them.  He says they are too sweet and tomato-y.  But alas, I have found THE Sloppy Joe recipe to please both my kids AND my sweet tomato sauce hating hubby.

Tangy Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 1 whole Onion, Chopped
• ¼ cups Water
• 3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Red Pepper Sauce
• 12 ounces, fluid Chili Sauce
• 8 whole Wheat Sandwich Buns

Cook beef and onion over medium heat until cooked. Drain.

In a 3 to 4 quart slow cooker, mix beef and remaining ingredients except buns. (I cannot believe sentences like this make cookbooks, but whatever!  Maybe someone, somewhere mixed their buns into this sandwich mix and complained at the lack of instruction?!)

Cover and cook on low heat setting 4 to 6 hours.

  Easy schmeasy and oh-so good! 

  We served this with french onion dip & chips and raw carrots and broccoli.

Happy Slow Cooking & Congrats to my baby bro and his lovely bride on their BIG news! 

 Twice the babies to love = double blessing from above.  We serve a God of DOUBLE portions and extravagant love!!!

Praise His name!

~T

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Melt In Your Mouth Monday

On the Menu Monday

Tastetastic Thursday

This Chick Cooks

Wonka Wednesday

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

Tasty Tuesday

The Best Italian Beef Sandwiches

  So I know I say this a lot, but the things I type out and present to you are “The Best” that I have found for that category of recipes so far.  (It’s always subject to change!)  So, with that being said, here we go:

  These Italian Beef Sandwiches, made conveniently in the crock pot, are THE BEST shredded sandwiches I have ever had. 

EVER. EVER. EVER.

  We adore all the wonderful seasonings called for in this recipe.  If you stay home all day, beware, your mouth will be watering as you await the supper hour.  And you might be tempted to lift the lid and snitch, but don’t, you are stronger than that.  It’ll be oh-so worth it! 

  Oh, and no skipping the butter toasted bun and broiled provolone cheese, they are non-negotiable!  Yum.

  Without further ado…..THE BEST…..

ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICHES

(click on the title to be taken to TK to print)

• 4 cups Beef Broth
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1½ teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1½ teaspoon Oregano
• 1½ teaspoon Basil
• 1½ teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1½ teaspoon Parsley
• 1½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 whole Bay Leaf
• 2 envelopes Italian Salad Dressing Mix (1 Ounce Packets)
• 3 pounds Chuck Roast, thawed 
• 8 whole Wheat Hoagie Buns, 1 Side Buttered
• 8 pieces Of Sliced Provolone Cheese
• Butter for buns

Preparation Instructions

Combine broth with salt, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, onion salt, parsley, garlic powder, bay leaf, and salad dressing mix in a saucepan. Stir well, and bring to a boil.

Trim fat and place roast in slow cooker, and pour salad dressing mixture over the meat. Cover, and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours, or on High for 4 to 5 hours. If cooking on low, at the 8 hour mark, remove bay leaf and use two forks to shred the meat, and then leave lid off for the rest of the cooking time (if cooking on high, do this with about 1/2 hour left); this allows the juice to soak into the meat.

Serve shredded meat on toasted hoagie rolls. On a cookie sheet, put your desired amount of meat on the roll bottom, top with provolone cheese. Butter top piece of bread and lay butter side up in the same pan. Broil everything for just a minute to melt the cheese and toast the top bun. 

Assemble sandwich and….enjoy!!! Serve with seasoned tater tots and carrot sticks.

 

Enjoy! It’s so stinkin’ incredible!

~T