Chicken Caesar Sub Sandwiches

So my little one is finally on the move - big time. My husband and I are both excited about this finally coming around, since it was delayed a bit, due to medical stuff. But it also has made dinner a tiny bit harder since we haven't finished baby proofing yet, and one of us isn't quite used to having to always keep stuff off the floor. So far the only sacrifice has been a piece of sheet music.... Thankfully replaceable, and with a chunk of it now in my child's stomach, thankfully non toxic. 

So heres a fun recipe that twists up the usual chicken caesar salad for something that will help you get in and out of the kitchen quickly incase you have a little mover too. Or anyone that waits until your back is turned, to go after computer cords, books, the cat, and anything else left laying around. Yes my little one has managed to get the cat's tail a few times much to my cat's surprise. We have a great pet. A more skittish cat would have not been so patient or kind to our littlest one. 

I eat salads all the time. One my favorites is caesar salad but getting the entire family excited about salad for dinner is a bit harder than pizza or a burger. So when I saw this recipe for caesar chicken thighs I knew exactly how to make this a kid friendly, dare I say it, husband friendly dinner..... turn it into a sub sandwich. A sandwich can easily be halved for little hands. It can thankfully be eaten one handed although a bit messy to help the parent feeding the baby in the high chair. Can I get an amen from that one? It's portable so take it with on the way to a baseball game, preseason football game, take with you on that last summer picnic or road trip before school starts. AND this fun new dinner idea only takes 2-3 minutes of prep time, and 35-40 minutes of hands off cooking. Another win for an easy dinner. Pair this with chips, tater tots, or cold watermelon, and crispy crunchy veggies for a healthy dinner.  P.S. If you make extras they make a fabulous lunchtime sandwiches too see the note at the end.

Chicken Caesar Sub Sandwiches

Recipe serves 4

Recipe adapted from I Wash You Dry

Ingredients:

4 chicken boneless skinless thighs (or sub breast halves for a leaner version)
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 tsp dry Italian seasoning, your fav blend
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup of store bought caesar salad dressing + a little extra for the sandwiches
1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese + super thin slices for the sandwiches
4 wheat or white soft sub rolls
2 roma tomatoes or one large one, sliced thinly 
1-2 pieces of kale or romaine for each sandwich

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375. 
2. In a small casserole dish, spray some nonstick spray or use some butter to lightly coat

3. Set up a dredging station. In one bowl put the dressing. In another bowl put the flour and seasonings.  
4. Use tongs or a fork to dunk the chicken, one piece at a time into the flour mixture, turning it over once. Then dunk it into the salad dressing turning it over once until completely coated. Put the coated chicken into the prepped casserole dish. Repeat three more times.
5. Sprinkle the cheese over the coated chicken pieces. 
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cheese should be golden brown and chicken should be cooked all the way through. 

7. Assemble the sub sandwiches. Each sub gets one piece of chicken, some romaine or kale, some tomato pieces, some parmesan cheese and little extra salad dressing or mayo. 

Save any extras for the next day. It tasted great on hardy whole grain sandwich bread. See picture below on the bottom right. 

Creamy Roast Beef Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Lunch time on Saturdays is usually a family event at my house, but totally dependent upon my little hungry one's nap time. Funny how that works. He doesn't even eat lunch with us but yeah. Sometimes its an early lunch at 11am but can be as late as 2pm. Lately we have been eating a bit early because we have 8 am soccer games to go to and by the time noon comes around everyone is hungry. To break up the monotony I grabbed a fun grilled cheese sandwich idea from pintrest. I heart pintrest. 

So lets chat about this creamy smoky grilled cheese sandwich. This hearty sandwich filled with cheese and roast beef is bursting with flavor! I can't remember the last time I put 1/4 lb of deli meat on a sandwich before. After grilling it, it had some serious weight! And my usual one slice of cheese was upgraded to 8 small slices of cheese with this recipe. What a big difference! But it was so good and I was definately full afterwards. Going to keep this sandwich recipe in my back pocket for camping, hiking, and days that create hungry appetites. The thick bread toasted nicely producing that great crunch everyone person wants when biting into a perfect grilled cheese sandwich. While the crunch contrasted the soft creamy cheese, the unexpected earthy sage, smoky cheese, and tender roast beef all worked in harmony together. Despite the strong favors, the sandwich as a whole, was completely balanced. I was amazed. It was like the first time I put cranberries on my turkey sandwich thinking I was going to ruin it but it so increased the depth of flavors.  I made the recipe more family friendly by cutting out the most time consuming ingredient (caramelized onions) from the original recipe making it an easy lunch idea. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. It creates a memorable lunch! 

The original recipe is from Running to the Kitchen a food blog with great pictures. 

Makes 2 Sandwiches

Cook time approx 5-10 minutes

Ingredients:

4 pieces of good quality whole wheat bread (or your favorite sturdy bread)

butter

a piece of foil

super thinly sliced gouda cheese (4 oz - this was half of a package for me)

1/2 lb of thinly sliced roast beef

1/4 tsp ground sage (divided)

Directions:

1. Heat your pan. I used a indoor cast-iron grill pan. I love the sear marks it gives. 

2. Butter two pieces of bread and lay them butter side down on the warming pan. 

3. Layer the roast beef and cheese on top of both pieces until you have used all the meat and cheese. Make sure the top layer is cheese. 

4. Sprinkle the sage over the top piece of cheese. 

5. Butter the last two pieces of bread and top the sandwiches with them. Butter side up. 

6. Cook for several minutes over medium heat until you see a nice toasted bottom piece of bread. Give it a peek every couple minutes. 

7. Flip and put a heavy pan or plate on top of the sandwiches to finish cooking. This helps the sandwiches to compress and heat all the way through. Sandwiches should be hot and both sides equally toasted. 

Note: Turn down the heat if the bread is getting too dark and use foil if needed in the shape of a tent to capture some of the heat to melt the cheese. 

Serve with raw crunchy veggies, tomato soup, chips, or your favorite lunch time snacks

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezey

Lunch done. 

I need an easy button

Until next time from my Az Kitchen

Egg Tomato Breakfast Sandwich Melts

This fun breakfast idea is quick enough for early work or school mornings and will put the standard scrambled egg mundane breakfast into a brilliant new light. Most ingredients you probably already have and you can easily adapt to fit each kiddo or adults taste buds. Highlight those last few summer fresh tomatoes from your local grocery store or farmers market with this easy simple breakfast recipe. This original recipe is adapted from skinnytaste.com. Head on over there to check out other healthy options as I rather unhealthified her version hahaha. What can I say, egg whites first thing in the morning isn't going to cut it in my household.

Crunch into something yummy. Perfect Breakfast for my kiddo while recovering on the couch. 

Similar to my banana breakfast this is plate, fork, spoon, & bowl free. So go ahead and make it, hand out paper towels, and eliminate those pesky breakfast dishes with these cute muffin open faced sandwich melts. Yeah, I am looking out for you :)

So I made this two ways. One with fresh spinach and the other without. Both were delish! Makes enough for 2-4 people. My three yr old ate one and was full so it depends on whom you are feeding. I ate two and felt full with some berries.




Next time I am going to do it with bacon. Bacon and tomatoes just taste so good together. I suspect you could try a good number of different veggies to hide under the cheese and it would taste good similar to veggies tasting inside omelets.

Ingredients:
2 whole English Muffins, split in half (she originally used whole grains - I definitely recommend that. I caved and got sourdough)
3 whole eggs
2 scallions/green onions chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup or so of shredded cheese, I used a Mexican combo already shredded for easy breakfast
1 roma tomato, sliced into 4 beautiful rounds
1 tsp olive oil

Directions:
1.Preheat your broiler
2. Put the muffins on a cookie/baking sheet cut side up
3. Toast them for 2 minutes until they start taking on color, then pull them out and set aside
4. In a small-medium sized skillet saute the green onion with the olive oil for 2-3 minutes
5. While onions are softening, scramble your eggs in a small bowl
6. Add the scrambled eggs to the onions. Add salt & pepper to the onions and eggs.
7. Stir and cook the eggs until set, fluffy, and done. Low-Medium heat probably 3-5 minutes.

8. Divide the eggs among the English muffins and top with the tomato and the cheese.
9. Put the muffins back into the oven to broil for another 1-2 minutes or until the tops are melted and golden.

Easy fun breakfast. Any morning in which I don't have to remind my son 

to stop playing with his fork or spoon (as they like to turn into rocket ships at the table) 

is a good morning for me! Lol

The first way I followed the directions above exactly. The second way I added fresh baby spinach 1/4-1/2 cup roughly chopped. I placed the spinach on top of the eggs and pinned it down under the tomato and yummy cheese. The spinach was slightly heated in the broiler but not overheated and wilting.

Enjoy. Happy mornings to ya 

(after you drink some coffee maybe)! 

From my kitchen to yours!

Roasted Herb Chicken with Maple Mustard Sauce

Similar to my last fun "cook once eat twice" adventure, making chipotle black bean zucchini chili and then using the leftovers inside colorful bell peppers the next night in this dish, I have another new meal to makes eating leftovers just as exciting. 

The first meal in the "cook once eat twice" is the major time consuming mouthwatering meal that you expect from a roasted chicken. But the meals you can get from the leftovers are all done in 20 minutes or less. I knew I had found a delicious elegant chicken dinner but stretching and transforming it 3 other ways was stunning. So this really should be called "cook once eat four times!". 

I didn't know a chicken meal could go that far. We only have 3 in my family but everything can be easily doubled to fit the size of your family as well. Just one glitch... talking about 4 different meals in one blog entry is a bit much. So I will just include the links at the bottom of the page for the other meals.

I love finding these types of meals that transform leftovers and I am sure part of it is from my years being a navy wife with a deployed husband. We had back to back sea duty tours, and lots of deployments and "workups" getting ready for deployments. I would either have an entire fridge worth of leftovers if i cooked or end up going out to eat. I am forever thankful to the people who created freezer storage bags so I at least I could freeze some of it. 

Repurposing leftovers also saves time for more important things. The NBA playoffs are going on.... baseball season is in full swing... summer movies are out... Yeah standing in 100 degree weather in my hot Az kitchen isn't such a priority.

So listed below is 2 of the 4 ways I cooked/used up delicous roasted chicken and condiments. It was never the plan to make so meals out of this chicken dinner nor to have extra maple mustard sauce. But wow I was so glad I did. It turned out to make some incredible salad dressing, similar taste to honey mustard dressing.

1st Meal: Roasted Herb Chicken & Root Vegetables 

w/Mustard Maple Sauce 

Dinner #2 : Chef Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing  

Serves 3 or 4 each meal (doubles easily for larger families)
Recipe comes from Real Simple. Salad idea with the leftover dressing is my idea. 

Ingredients for both meals: 

1 raw whole chicken 3-4 lbs
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 & 1/2 lbs red potatoes (was 6 for me)
1/4 cup fresh parsley*( the orginal recipe included this - I did not)
6 stalks of celery, sliced into large 2 inch pieces
2 lbs of carrots, sliced into large 2 inch pieces
1 onion, thick wedges 
1 Tbs oil  + 1/2 Tbs + 1 Tbs (divided)
1/2 tsp salt + 1/4 tsp + 1/2 tsp (divided) 
1/4 tsp pepper + 1/4 tsp +1/4 tsp (divided)
1/2 tsp herbs de provence + 1/4 tsp (divided)
1/8 cup dijon mustard
1/8 cup really good pure maple syrup
tin foil to cover baking sheets
salad fixin's: lettuce, spinach, or green of choice, cherry tomatoes, sliced deli cheese(s) and/or meats (ham/turkey), crutons, little sliced green onion or red onion, peas, brocoli, and or califlower - all your fav veggies whatever they are on a chef salad

Directions for meal 1: 

Roasted Herb Chicken & Root Vegetables 

w/Mustard Maple Sauce 

Preheat your oven to 425.

For easier clean up put tin foil down on a very large baking sheet. Then combine potatoes, onions, 1/4 tsp herbs de provence (salt free), 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, with 1 Tbs oil or butter. Use your hands to make everything is coated.

Rub the chicken (make sure to remove giblets ect from inside) with  1/2 Tbs oil, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1/2 tsp herbs de provence. The original recipe says to tie chicken up. Not a bad idea. I didn't but would look pretty for guests. I did however make sure I loosened up the skin and really massaged those yummy herbs into and under the chicken skin to flavor the meat.

Nestle the whole chicken around the potatoes and onions on the baking sheet.

On another large baking sheet lined with tin foil (optional but good idea) toss the celery, carrots, thyme, 1 Tbs oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. Use fingers to make sure veggies are coated.

Roast the veggies for 1 - 1/4 hrs. Shake the veggies half way through and checking the temp of the chicken at the one hr mark. Temp for a done chicken is 165 degrees f.

Once veggies are roasted dump into a serving dish and toss with parsley.

Let the chicken rest on a cutting board for approx 10 minutes.

In a small bowl mix the mustard and maple.

Slice up half of the chicken or divide the white and dark meat up among those with preferences. 

Dig into this great "sunday dinner" with those lovely favors only found when you slow roast your veggies. Drizzle the chicken with some maple mustard sauce.  Reserve half of the chicken, veggies, and sauce for another meal. 

Directions for Meal 2:

Chef Salad with Maple Mustard dressing

Create a yummy salad with your choices of veggies. 

I used a mix of baby spinach blend, cherry tomatoes, sliced deli turkey and/or  ham, peas, 1/4th avocado sliced per person, 1 slice of cheese per person sliced. I didn't use crutons but those would be a good chrunchy addition and texture to this summery light dish. I included some lightly roasted nuts (since I like that sort of thing), and sunflower seeds. 

Mix the leftover mustard maple sauce with some olive oil (1/4-1/2 cup approx). 

Whisk very well.

Taste and add 1/8 tsp salt and pepper to taste. 

Drizzle over each person's salad. 

Enjoy the fact that you have TWO healthy veggie filled meals done and ready for the week. Time to enjoy summer. 

Take Care

From my Az kitchen to yours

Elegant Chicken Melts & Vegetable Soup + Cheesy Biscuits ( Dinner x 2)

I just roasted a chicken that I found in a old magazine called Real Simple. I know I heated up my house in southern Az I must be crazy. But it was so beautiful and so good. It was kinda a throw back to the days in which my mom made enormous sunday dinners that everyone ooohed and awwed over. You know what I am talking about right? As a kid having to wait for impossibly long time as the smells waffled through each room, and being shooed from the kitchen anytime I tried to steal a sample. 

Using the leftover chicken & veggies and sauce from Roasted Herb Chicken & Root Veggies with Maple Mustard Sauce I recreated two other meals. Yay. Dinner is already mostly done for two other nights in the busy week. I hope this doesn't make me sound lazy. Cooking once eating but making three dinners. One chicken stretched it several ways. 

Each meal serves 3 or 4. Easily doubled based on leftovers + staples in your pantry.  

Meal 1:  Elegant Chicken Melt Sandwiches

Ingredients: 

1 cup leftover cooked/roasted chicken cut or shredded

2-3 Tbs leftover maple mustard sauce

3 or 4 sourdough english muffins (1 per person) 

tin foil to cover baking sheet 

1/8- 1/4 red onion thinly sliced 

3/4 - 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese or your fav kind of cheese (pile it up high if you're cheese lover)

1 cup of chopped baby spinach blend

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. 

Top the open face english muffins with a spread of the mustard maple sauce instead of the usual mayo. 

Start cooking any additional sides. 

Slice your red onion, shred the cheese, and cut the spinach*

On each muffin layer the chicken, and top with the cheese. 

No green healthy stuff on this one... my man's plate

Bake for approx 10 minutes or until all the cheese is melted. 

Top each muffin with the fresh spinach blend 

Serve each elegant open faced chicken melt with a fun summer side dish. I served my fav vegetable, corn on the cob (which is on sale everywhere), and some store bought potato salad. 

Optional additional ideas include adding one thick beefsteak tomato slice on top of the melted cheese under the fresh spinach blend, and topping it all with some mustard maple sauce.

 Enjoy this fabulous meal!!! 

Meal 2: Vegetable Soup + Cheddar Biscuits

note: The veggie soup wasn't a huge hit in my house but the biscuits were. Considering I got them to eat veggie soup I am pretty happy about that. LOL I knew going into this one, wasn't going to be the top of my picky family's list. Maybe you'll have more luck at your house. I thought it tasted great :) 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of leftover cooked veggies (such as potatoes, carrots, onion, celery- or any combo of root veggies roasted with olive oil). 

5 cups of chicken broth

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 

1/8 cup baking powder

1 Tbs sugar, 

1/2 tsp salt, 

1/2 cup of really cold butter 

2/3 cup milk

3/4 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of OJ ( I used v8 tropical orange juice - just what i had on hand)

Directions: 

1. Make these awesome biscuits. You can make them small or large as previously described in the link below. 

http://noreservations4lunchdinner.blogspot.com/2013/05/chicken-biscuits-gravy-cheesy-garlic.html 

2.  Make this soup: 

 Heat chicken broth, roasted vegetables, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper - bring to a boil and simmer stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes.

Stir in the orange juice. Using an immersion blender or a blender - transfer the vegetable mixture and puree until smooth.

Serve the yummy delicious vegetable soup with the biscuits, butter, honey, jam, or cheese, on/with your biscuits. The soup is thick but tasty and healthy. The bright orange color (due to the carrots) is like summer time in a bowl. 

Two meals done all with leftovers & staples from your pantries! Amazing. Yes you are. Happy Summer eating :) Now go start roasting your chicken(s) so you can get to using up the leftovers in creative ways. 

From my kitchen to yours. 

Grilled Salsa Chicken Sandwiches

This fun make ahead, grilled chicken sandwiches will delight and treat your taste buds. Trust me. The entire time I was eating dinner tonight, I couldn't help but thinking this chicken would be perfect in enchiladas, fajitas, chicken taco salad, chicken tortilla soup, burritos/tacos.... really. I haven't ever had chicken so take on the flavors of salsa like this did. Pair this moist tender chicken with some heated sandwich rolls, melted mozzarella cheese, creamy avocado, mayo, shredded crunchy lettuce, fresh ripe tomato slices.... yes I was in heaven. It was slightly sweet and slightly spicy. But my 3 yr old didn't even notice the minimal heat... that being said... if you like it heat use spicy salsa and add some hot sauce.

Memorial day is coming, meat is on sale everywhere.... grab your bbq and grill. This marinate works best overnight so it really has a chance to sink in. I had mine frozen for 3 1/2 months and then I defrosted it in the fridge for 2 days. It truly is a perfect make ahead lunch or dinner for summer. This recipe and other great ideas are found at: When the dinner bell rings. There are tons of great ideas and many ways to transform each dish she lists.  Such as   when I took her chili maple chicken (make ahead freezer meal), doubled it, and used it for three different dinners - pizza, grilled chicken & veg, and chicken quesdillas. 

In a large freezer bag combine: 

• 1 1/2 lbs of chicken, boneless skinless breasts, pounded thinner or butterflied for even grilling
• 1 Tbs taco seasoning, no sugar (homemade or store bought packet)
• 1/2 cup mild store bought salsa (or not so mild if you so prefer) 
• 1 cup medium store bought chunky salsa 
• 8 oz apricot jam

Creating Lunch &/Or Dinner:
1. Heat up the grill or bbq - throw these chicken breast halves on for approx 12-16 minutes total cooking time depending on the size of the chicken over medium heat.

2. Heat up some beans, grill some corn on the cob, or slice up watermelon to serve as side dishes

3. Half way through cooking time for the chicken, flip the chicken over, toast up the sandwich rolls on the grill or in the oven. Top the chicken with shredded mozzarella cheese (1/4 cup ea)

4. Slice up some tomatoes, slice one quarter avocado per person, shred some lettuce and put the sandwiches together. Dig in! 

Note: If there are any extra chicken pieces they would be excellent the next day on a salad, or a wrap. This was the first time I made this make ahead chicken dish, but it will be a future staple in our household. Hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with yummy bbq food! 

From my kitchen to yours! 

related links:

Chili Maple Chicken (Make ahead) 

Garlic Dijon Chicken (Make ahead)

Turkey Cran Monte Cristo Sandwiches 

Smoky Spicy Chicken Sandwiches 

Turkey Cran Monte Cristo Sandwiches

Hey all. Hope your week is coming along. Have you ever had breakfast for dinner? My husband used to make a sport of this... requesting pancakes and waffles for dinner on a regular basis. He works nights now so that's not really an issue anymore. But if you are craving a dinner/breakfast - try this!! This heated savory/sweet sandwich is AWESOME. The crunchy bread with the spices remind you of breakfast, and then you are hit with the creamy cheese and the semi tart/semi sweet cranberries.... a party of flavors. 

Just incase I am not being convincing enough... this sandwich is a great way to use up leftover thanksgiving turkey or in my case Easter turkey, and it is a lighter dinner choice too - which is perfect for spring. I saw this on pintrest and tracked it down to its original, a Paula Deen recipe. She makes awesome food. Click here to see her recipe. This is not an exception even with the changes I made to fit my family. If the promise of a amazing sandwich doesn't thrill you.... how about a 10 minute dinner from fridge to table meal? Not exaggerating... ten minutes tops.   

Makes 2 Sandwiches - Easily doubled or Halved

Ingredients

1 Tbs butter, unsalted, organic if you have it

4 pieces of bread (thicker works better) 

1 egg

1/4 cup milk (I used 2% - use whatever you have)

1 dash of nutmeg

1 dash of cinnamon

1 dash of salt

1 dash of black pepper

4 oz of creamy Havarti cheese thinly sliced or shredded

1/2 cup of fresh baby spinach (about 20 pieces)

4 Tb cranberry sauce ( 2 per sandwich)

6 oz of turkey from the deli or leftover from Turkey Dinner (ie... Thanksgiving or Easter)

Warning... This was the messiest thing I have made in the kitchen in a long time. I had scrambled egg everywhere LOL. I was like how on earth you do coat these very full sandwiches... I had cheese falling out, cranberries falling out, and turkey falling.... So I wish you the luck. It is worth the extra effort. I promise. 

Mix the milk, spices and egg together in a flat dish. 

Heat the butter in a large skillet.

While the butter is melting put some cranberry sauce on each side of the bread for the first sandwich.

Then put the cheese on both sides of the sandwich. 

Then put the meat on one side of the sandwich and the spinach on the other side. 

Carefully shut the sandwich and dip it into the egg mixture. 

Coat both sides with the egg mixture. 

Then put it in the pan and cook over medium for 3-4 minutes. 

Repeat with the second sandwich. Flip the sandwiches when they become golden and the cheese is melted. Don't be too concerned if stuff falls out... stuff it back in :) 

Serve with fresh fruit or veg! Perfect warm weather Brunch, Lunch or Dinner.

There easy. Messy. Simple. Fun. Tasty. Perfect for weekend brunch or dinner. I know my hubby has this weird thing about cranberries so I will definitely make this again just avoiding cranberries for him. Yes absolutely. It was so delicious. Too bad the sandwich thing kinda prevents eating seconds ;) See perfect for spring and getting back into shape. There are no seconds.... This could be a problem! Hahaha. 

Enjoy

From my kitchen to yours

Related Recipes:

Grilled Cheese Corned Beef Ciabatta Sandwich

Cucumber Cream Turkey Wraps 

2 for 1: Grilled Cheese Corned Beef Ciabatta Sandwich and Corned Beef Irish Stew

I have a two for one special today. 2 recipes in 1 post. Yay consolidation. LOL yes I am sure my husband wishes that would happen when he sees how many pictures of food I have on my computer... 

So I am late in posting this... but its still March for roughly 72 hours so I am charging ahead full speed just pretending like it is still mid-March. Ignore me if this doesn't make sense. I may need professional help or just another cup of coffee. To my benefit I saw corned beef still in the meat section of the store, so other people must be buying it also. If you are also late to the corned beef blissful party try either one of these recipes. They are both awesome! I believe after the first bite of the sandwich my husband was doing the "we're not worthy" hand motions. The next day he asked for it again and was sadly disappointed. Who would've thought a grilled cheese would be asked for twice in a row.... yeah. its that good. 

The grilled cheese sandwich was an idea I got from Kevin at Closet Kitchen because he has some crazy good sandwiches over there, and the amazing Irish Stew was adapted from Skinny Taste. 

Corned Beef, Butternut Squash, 

Cabbage Stew

This stew is pretty easy. The taste is great. My son has asked for it two days in a row. Even though I cut the recipe in half almost I am thankful I could comply. Chop & Rinse. Saute in olive oil. Simmer for a couple hours. Eat. Got it? No? Well okay some more detailed directions are below.  Serves 4-6 people

Ingredient List:
1/2 butternut squash (approx 1 cup, chopped)
1 tsp olive oil (eyeball it)
1 leek (chopped and rinsed)
1 Tbs minced garlic
4 whole carrots small or medium sized
2-3 lbs corned beef brisket (with peppercorn seasoning packet)
6 cups of water
3 bay leaves
1 turnip (peeled, chopped) 
1 large russet potato (scrubbed & cubed)
1/2 head of cabbage (chopped)
Salt 
Pepper
1/8- 1/4 cup (one handful) of chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Chop and rinse all veggies - especially the leeks

2. Saute all the veggies (except the potato & turnip & cabbage) for 5 minutes in the olive oil in a large soup/stew pot with a lid

3. Add in the garlic and saute for another 2 minutes

3. Add in the meat, water, and parsley. The water level should be over the meat completely.

4. Simmer on low for 3 hrs - lid on. 

5. Pull the meat out, shred it with 2 forks, put most of it back in 

(save some of it for sandwiches later in the week)

6. Add the potatoes, cabbage, and the turnip to the pot simmer on medium for 45 minutes. 

7. Pull out the bay leaves, taste for additional salt or pepper, and enjoy. 

* I garnished my bowls with some fresh parsley and a tiny bit of raw cabbage for crunch. 

Meal 2: Grilled Cheese 

Corned Beef Ciabatta Sandwich - Yum!!!

Lets preface this one by saving if you love grilled cheese - you'll love this one! If you like good quality bread and fancy deli sandwiches you'll be in heaven. The chewiness of the bread paired with creamy cheese and (crunchy pickles on mine) and then the super moist tender flavor packed meat... wowza. 

Makes 4 Sandwiches - serve with chips, tater tots, fresh veggies, fruit... ect

Ingredients -  approx 1 lb of cooked sliced or shredded corned beef

4 large ciabatta rolls

4 slices of cheddar cheese

4 slices of mozzarella cheese

4 slices of Harviti cheese or your favorite kind of cheese 

pickles (optional) 

sliced avocado (optional)

Olive oil 

Salt & Pepper

4 Steps to THIS amazing Sandwich: 

1. Drizzle olive oil on the bread and throw them on a grill pan (to get those lovely grill marks). Lightly sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper ( 1/8 tsp) for approx 3 minutes. Ciabatta is thick so i do this to get give the bread a head start. 

2. Layer the meat and cheese so the meat is surrounded. Putting the top of the roll on top and smashing it down. Putting a plate with a can on the top isn't a bad idea either. LOL I really need to get a panini press or something with a lid. For now... this works just fine. 
Cook it until you start to see part of the cheese melting - takes about 5 minutes on medium low. 

3. Gently flip them and grill the other side. Cook for about another 4 or 5 minutes - keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. If the cheese isn't melting as fast turn up the burner. If the bread is browning too fast, turn down the burner and increase the cooking time. 

4. Serve them hot with pickles and sliced avocado on the side. 

Enjoy this awesome sandwich and the fact that this dinner only took 5-8 minutes to make. 

2 for 1.Enjoy the rest of March

 and the upcoming Easter holiday! 

From my kitchen to yours.