My Apologies

Good morning from the Golden State!

This is going to be brief.  I would like to apologize for not recently posting.  I started this blog during my job search to keep me busy, positive and involved.  I’ve recently started a new job and I’m still adjusting to a more consistent schedule and juggling new responsibilities.  I’ve also realized blogging isn’t as fun as it used to be.

My readership and participation are low giving me little motivation and satisfaction.  Because of this, the blog is falling low on my list of priorities.  I’m not quite sure what I want to do.

Peace, Love and Delicious Fillings,

Beth

The Duchess of Sandwich

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

I’m a huge, huge sucker for buffalo chicken wraps when dining out.  If it can be found on the menu, I’m probably going to order it.  Considering I spent most of my life never touching hot sauce or anything very spicy, I’m not really sure where or when this love affair started.

After finding the inspiration for the sandwich in a cookbook, I decided to make a few tweaks and serve it up one Saturday afternoon.  Hubs, too, was very excited.

Along with a new sandwich, we were also trying out a new side dish, homemade onion rings.  In Hubs’ previous life when he ate fried food, he was a huge sucker for onion rings. He loved ‘em.  The inspiration again came from a cookbook.

I took two cereal bowls and filled one with bread crumbs and the other was filled with egg whites.  In with the bread crumbs, I added garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.

Going for a dip.

With a white onion in one hand, Hubs carefully cut the onion into rings.  Before being dipped in the bread crumbs, the rings were dipped into the egg white.  This process took awhile to perfect and left us with gritty fingers and clumpy breadcrumbs, but after making an extra batch of fresh bread crumbs, we had perfectly seasoned and breaded onion rings.

Ready for the oven.

The onions baked in a 425-degree oven for about 15 minutes.

I wanted to get those in the oven first before tackling the wraps.

I had three chicken breast tenderloins ready to go.  The wraps I was working with were not too large, so I only put three on the skillet, one would be cut in half.  The chicken cooked in the skillet for about seven minutes and I didn’t take any pictures because there really isn’t anything too exciting about plain chicken.

Once the chicken was done, I put the three tenders in a plastic container and gave the container a healthy plop of Frank’s Red Hot.  I lidded the container and tossed it.

Tossed chicken!

To keep the chicken warm, I covered it with a lid and began construction on the wraps.  Like all buffalo chicken sandwiches, this one wouldn’t be complete without a ranch-dressing spread.  Instead of opting for high-calorie dressings or light options that taste sort of gross, I decided to make my own.

Using some leftover sour cream that was in the refrigerator, I added a spoonful of Greek yogurt and spices.  My spice blend included onion powder, dill, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  I laid out my whole-wheat tortillas on the counter and gave each wrap a liberal spread.

Dressing on a tortilla!

On top of the spread, I gave each wrap a piece of lettuce and an equal portion of the buffalo chicken.

Chicken

Each wrap then received a sprinkling of shredded cheddar cheese and diced tomatoes.

Ready for rolling!

By the time the wraps were done, so were the onion rings.  I took them out of the oven and they looked gorgeous.

Pretty rings.

I rolled the tortillas together the best I could.  I’ve never been very good at wrapping tortillas.  Each plate got a handful of onion rings, a wrap and some raw veggies.  I love munching on raw veggies.

Lunch is served!

The wraps were excellent and I couldn’t get over the fresh taste of the cheese.  It complemented the chicken perfectly, which did not turn out too spicy at all.  The cool flavor of the ranch was also perfect.

As for the onion rings, those were fantastic.  The white onion gave off a very sweet taste and the breading tasted great dipped in ketchup and my homemade ranch.  Near the end of the meal after many crumbs had accumulated on his plate, I caught Hubs scooping finger fulls of the breading onto his fingers, into ketchup and then into his mouth.  Like I said, he’s a sucker for onion rings.

Breakfast Burgers

This is going to rock your world guaranteed.

There is nothing more satisfying than having breakfast for dinner.  It might be one of our favorite meals to prepare.  Typically pancakes are on the menu, but sometimes we spice it up with eggs and toast or a fun frittata.  For this dinner, I took the typical breakfast sandwich up to a whole new level.

Faithful readers, may I introduce you to the breakfast burger!

In all of its breakfast-for-dinner glory!

One whole-wheat sandwich round smothered with homemade maple cream cheese, two eggs and in the middle a homemade sausage patty.  This, my friends, is a sandwich masterpiece.  How did I make it, you ask?  Why, I’ll tell you.

After defrosting some ground turkey, I put it in a bowl with a lot of spices.  I would like to thank TasteofHome’s “The Comfort Food Diet” cookbook for this recipe.  The sausage needed sage, fennel seeds, garlic, cayenne, nutmeg, cloves, all spice, salt, pepper and thyme.

Mix the meat with the spices!

The meat and spices were mixed together and I formed two patties that were put into our skillet.

Maybe it’s his farm-boy roots, but Hubs is a sucker for breakfast potatoes.  Homemade ones never seem to be comparable to those at diners, but that’s probably because they are layered with fat and cheese- or as I like to call it, love.  Despite the possible shortcomings of homemade hash browns, we wanted to give them a shot.

We had some baby white potatoes in the fridge that needed to be used.  Hubs cut the little guys into small chunks.  Accompanying them in the pan were chopped onions.  Hubs also chopped up some peppers but those would be joining them later.  We put the potatoes over heat because we knew they would take the longest to cook.

Potatoes!

Our sausage was coming along excellently.

Cooking!

Every sandwich needs an awesome spread.  While the potatoes and meat cooked, it was a great time to start on the cream cheese mixture.

In a small container, I spooned out about four tablespoons of light cream cheese.  In the same container, I squirted in some sugar-free syrup and then added a shake of cinnamon.

This smelled awesome.

I gave Hubs the spoon and he got busy stirring.  He loves to stir.

Stirring!

Hubs did an awesome job stirring the mixture and making it near smooth.  We snuck a few licks now and then and were shocked at how delicious it was.  I couldn’t wait to smother the bread with it.

The sausage patties were done so I put them in an oven-safe container and put them in a warm oven.  Using the same skillet, I poured in 3/4 cup of egg substitute, the equivalent of three eggs.

Egg bubbbbblleeeeeee.

I seasoned the eggs with a little cayenne and pepper.  The eggs cooked quickly and soon they were set and ready to be flipped.

As I stated once in “Swordfish Steaks and Slaw,” Hubs has mad flipping skills.  Mad skillz.

Seriously mad.

Hubs flipped the eggs successfully.  As the second side finished cooking, I put the peppers in with the potato mixture.

Peppers!!!

As the potatoes finished cooking, I started assembling the burgers.

Each of the four pieces of toasted bread received a very healthy spread of maple cream cheese.  Using the spatula, I cut the egg circle into four quarters.  Each sandwich would get two quarters.  One top of the spread, I put one egg quarter, the sausage, the second egg quarter and then followed it with the remaining bun.

I’m salivating as I look at this picture….

Hubs put a heaping pile of potatoes on each plate and then added some orange slices.

Drools….

As a person who loves frozen sausage links and patties, I was amazed at how delicious the sausage turned out to be.  It tasted just like its frozen competitors but without all of the added preservatives and ingredients that I can’t pronounce.  It didn’t hurt that the sausages were incredibly easy to make.

Now, let me just mention the combination of homemade sausage with maple cream cheese.  Wowza.  I love smothering my sausages in syrup so it made sense to make a spread that would mimic that satisfaction.  The maple paired with the sausage and eggs perfectly.  This might have been my best sandwich in a long, long time.

The potatoes were also quite enjoyable, but as I said, they just can’t compare to the hash browns prepared at any diner.

I just took the burger and breakfast sandwich to another level.  Come join me up here.  :)

Turkey Florentine

I could spend all day in my kitchen creating some kind of delicious masterpiece, however, like most normal people I don’t have all day to slave over my stove for dinner.  (Oh man, if I did, there would be a never-ending supply of cookies at my house.)  Sometimes, you just need a quick and easy dinner.  Sandwiches always fit that bill in this house.

I’ll be perfectly honest with you, going into this recipe and blog entry I wasn’t sure what exactly made a recipe “Florentine.”  I’ve seen that word float around in different menus and recipes but was never really quite sure what it meant.  I knew it had something to do with Italy or at least a style of Italian food.  Thank you, about.com for clearing this up.

When a recipe is referred to as “Florentine” it means it has been prepared in a culinary style originating from the Italian region of Florence.  A main ingredient is typically displayed on a bed of spinach and is topped with a mornay sauce- cheese sauce- or topped with cheese which is then browned.

For this recipe, the main ingredient would be deli-style turkey.  And the spinach was cooked with a mixture of garlic and mushrooms.

Cookin’ veggies.

Once the mushrooms were tender and the spinach was slightly wilted, I put the mixture on sandwich bread.  And yes, two of those slices are white, but in my defense they are still whole wheat.

On the bread…

The vegetables were then topped with a turkey and shredded mozzarella.

Cheese me.

I cooked each sandwich one at a time so not to crowd the pan.  Once the first sandwich was done grilling, I let it sit in a warm oven, a trick I learned from my mother when she made pancakes.

Grilling!

The side dish for the evening was going to be easy.  A few post ago, I had made reference that Hubs and I were trying out a side dish.  We were going to dine on asparagus sticks once again.  I wasn’t upset with this.  I steamed up a bunch of the green vegetable and once again, Hubs took the job of giving the asparagus an ice bath far too seriously.

Steaming.

Instead of making a fresh batch of dipping sauce, we had some leftovers in the fridge which was still fresh despite the posting dates of these entries.  This recipe originally posted with “Ginger Pork Rolls.” For those of you that are new, the dipping sauce was a combination of mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, prepared horseradish and Worcestershire sauce.

Once both sandwiches were grilled, Hubs cut them diagonally and they were served with the cooled asparagus and some grapes.

Dinner is served!

Dinner was fast and simple.  I found the sandwich a little dry and I ended up dipping the sandwich in the horseradish sauce more than the vegetables.  Next time, I may spread a little mayo on the bread just to moisten things up.  I didn’t feel like I was traveling to Florence, but I did feel satisfied and happy.  It was a good and easy dinner, and sometimes those are the best.

Sausage Burgers

I’ve been in a creative rut when it comes to sandwiches and Rachel Ray came to the rescue yet again.  The title of the sandwich is what caught my attention first.  I mean, who doesn’t love a classic-Italian sausage covered in onions and peppers?

This sandwich was quick, easy and simple.

In a bowl, I combined ground meat, fresh minced parsley, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds, salt and pepper.  I mixed the patties and formed to patties which I placed in a hot skillet.

Burgers!

As always, Hubs was busy chopping veggies.  He chopped up some onion, green pepper and red pepper which were placed in another skillet.

Why yes, Hubs did go overboard with his chopping.

The burgers cooked on the skillet for about five minutes on each side.  Once cooked through, I placed a slice of provolone cheese on each burger, allowing the slices to melt.

That’s the happiest blanket ever…

For side dish, we went simple because our minds had been fried through exhaustion from the week previous.  Chips to the rescue!  This was the first time in a long time we had chips in the cupboard.  These weren’t just any chips, my friends.  These were Pop Chips, potato chips that are never fried or baked.  The potatoes are popped with a little heat and pressure.  We’ve tried many of the flavors- a personal favorite is sweet potato- but tonight we had cheddar.  Believe me, cheddar is also another favorite.

The onions and peppers were soon done and looked fantastic.  The bread was already toasted and two slices received a patty.  The burgers were then piled high with onions and peppers.

Drool…

Each plate received a handful of chips and a homemade pickle spear.  Dinner was fast, easy and holy crap delicious!  The burger tasted just like an Italian sausage which I guess, should have been expected.  I wasn’t prepared for it to taste dead on.  The flavor of the fennel really came out and the parsley gave it not only a great color, but a nice, fresh flavor.  It was awesome and a welcome treat.

Homemade pickle in the corner!

Not a Sandwich: Carrot Cake Jam

It’s time for a jam session.

Canning and preserving is something Hubs and I have talked about doing for a very long time.  We always found good excuses not to do it- money, space, time, etc.  I’m not sure what got into us, but finally, something pushed us over the edge and we bought the equipment.  It’s harder to find excuses to try something new after you’ve made the investment into the necessary equipment.

On Memorial Day, we tried our hand at pickles and despite being rather salty, they came out perfectly, crunchy with a zest.

With a successful pickling session, we wanted to try to make jams, jellies or preserves, which we thought we all practically the same.  We were wrong.

For jams, the fruit is in the form of pulp or it has been crushed and the final results are never as firm as jellies.  Conserves are a kind of jam that contain two or more kinds of fruit.  Jellies use fruit juice and the finished product is firm and clear.  Unlike the other two, the fruit used for preserves comes in the form of chunks in a syrup or jam and bits of fruit are visible.

I’m glad we were set straight, however, we still use those three words interchangeably.

I had purchased a catalog that had pages and pages of different recipes for pickling, preserving and canning.  We were really excited and for our first jam experience, picked a delicious sounding recipe, carrot cake jam.

Sneak Peek!

The recipe called for interesting ingredients, which is one reason why we were so excited about it.

In our big saucepot, we combined shredded carrot, an undrained can of crushed pineapples and a pear, peeled and chopped.  For spices, I used cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Combined!

Once combined, the mixture needed to boil until the pears were tender.  That didn’t take too long because the fruit was rather ripe.  We did, however, use the potato masher a few times to give the mixture a more jam-like consistency.

Oh and Puppy helped too….

Hard at work…

After it had boiled, we added a package of powdered fruit pectin.  Adding sugar was the next step, but earlier in the process, we had decided to make a sugar-free treat.  To do this, we had purchased apple juice concentrate which we knew would do the trick after reading other recipes in the catalogue.

The mixture had to come to a boil once again.

Chunky goodness.

While all of that was going on, we had to sterilize the jars and prepare them for the jam.

Taking out the hot and sterilized jars!

The jam had soon boiled and the consistency was finally changing.  The mixture was becoming thicker.  Hubs ladled the hot mixture into our half-pint jars leaving some headspace.

It was an intense canning operation.

We had filled five jars but we weren’t done yet.  They needed to be processed.

One down, four more to go!

The jars were returned to a boiling pot of water and sat in the hot bath for five minutes, long enough for the plastic lids to melt and seal.

Five minutes in the bath!

The buzzer rang and the jars were done with their bath and needed to be cooled.  Naturally, we used the window sill, because baked goods always cool on the window sill.

The lighting in my kitchen blows and I’m too lazy to open up PhotoShop…

Now, we have five jars sitting in our kitchen.  We haven’t opened one up yet, but we did sneak several spoonfuls during the cooking process and were amazed with the tasty results.  I’m really excited to try this with toast.  It will bring my relationship with cream cheese and toast up to another level.  Will we make jam again?  You better believe it.

Pizza Puffs

I love technicalities.

Technically, pizza can be classified as a sandwich because it does require the sandwich basics, bread, a spread and a filling.  Hubs and I have made an assortment of pizzas for a variety of meals, but I haven’t chronicled them.  Really, I don’t want to because including pizza varieties would really necessitate another blog.  I don’t want a pizza blog; I want to blog about sandwiches.  However, our most recent pizza creation was too awesome not to brag about.

This past Saturday was pizza night.  We hadn’t made pizza in a very long time so we were excited for the change of pace, but I wanted to do pizza night a little differently.  I wanted to make the meal blog worthy.

With the help of a tupperware container and my muffin tin, I made it so.

Instead of buying pre-made crusts, Hubs and I have always opted to make our own whole-wheat variety.  In a mixing bowl, we combined whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, yeast, applesauce- in lieu of oil- and hot water.  The batter was mixed and kneaded until a sticky ball formed.

Hubs mixing!

The ball was then left in the bowl to rise after being covered with a piece of plastic wrap covered in cooking spray.  Hubs punched the dough down after 15 minutes and it was ready to roll out.

Kneading.

On a floured countertop, Hubs rolled out the pizza dough into a long, thing piece.

Roll out

With a plastic container that has about a five-inch diameter, Hubs cut out circles.  Each circle was then placed on the one-cup measuring cup to stretch it out before placing it in a greased muffin cup.

Stretching the dough

In the muffin tin

Once the dough was in the muffin tin, I took care of toppings.  My pizza sauce is a simple combination of tomato paste and spices and the mixture was spread on all of the dough cups.  I then sprinkled in a little cheese and some veggies Hubs and chopped while we were waiting for the dough to rise.  Each cup then received some slices of turkey pepperoni before getting sprinkled with more cheese.

Stuffed

I pinched the dough of each cup a bit before placing the pan into a hot oven.  The dough made six pizza puffs and there was even some extra.  Because I only have one muffin tin and we both didn’t want to wait for the first batch to cook and then cool, we opted to make mini-pizzas.  Hubs rolled the scraps together and cut out three circles with the same round container.  We put them on a baking sheet and they shared the oven with the muffin in.

Ready for the oven!

After 10 minutes, we had pizza puffs.

Great, googly-moogly! We have pizza puffs!

We each had three puffs, leaving the three mini pizzas as leftovers.  It was the same recipe  as so many other pizzas we’ve made in the past, but by just changing how we made it, it changes Hubs’ entire outlook on pizza night.  He couldn’t get over how fun they looked and how much fun they were to eat.

Awesome. Just awesome

Served with one of Hubs’ famous very-veggie salads, pizza puffs were a hit.

Hubs’ Very Veggie Salad!