Ham & Cheese Sliders

I have been seeing recipes for Ham Sliders popping up all over the internet lately so I thought I'd give them a try. I made them for our small group last week and I think they were a hit! :)

I pretty much used the recipe I found at Comfy in the Kitchen.

You will need:
1# thinly sliced ham lunch meat (I used Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Smoked Ham)
8 oz. package Swiss cheese slices (I used Kraft Big Slices)
12 larger Hawaiian flavored dinner rolls
1/2 c. butter or margarine
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/3 c. brown sugar

Cut each of the rolls in half so that you can make a sandwich. Make sandwiches with ham and cheese--I used about 4 slices of the lunch meat and half of a slice of cheese. Place these sandwiches in a 9x13 baking dish.

In saucepan on stove top, combine butter, mustard, Worcestershire, poppy seeds and brown sugar. Bring to a low boil. Pour evenly over the tops of the sandwiches.

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.


ENJOY!!

Cinnamon Rolls

I used to have a bread maker when Tim & I first got married. I used it quite a bit. It quit working shortly after we moved here 6 years ago so I'm wondering if it was damaged in the move?? So I've been several years without one. I decided that I would buy one with some money that I received for Christmas. It has been great!! The kids love having the fresh bread and have fun helping make it being it is SO EASY!!

We made these last night for this morning's breakfast. The kids LOVED these!! I found this recipe over at Money Saving Mom.

Dough:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm milk
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten plus 2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups flour (Add a bit more if dough seems too wet after first few minutes of kneading in the bread machine.)
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Filling: (MSM doubles this...I did not and my family thought it was plenty)
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup brown sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Icing:
1 teaspoon milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
4 tablespoons (or less) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla

Put the dough ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed and run on the dough cycle. After the dough cycle is finished, roll the dough into a large rectangle and spread it with 2 Tablespoons melted butter and 2/3 cup brown sugar mixed with 1 Tablespoon cinnamon.

Roll up and cut into 10-15 rolls and place in two greased round cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned. Spread the icing on as soon as they come out of the oven.

You can also cover the unbaked rolls with plastic wrap, stick them in the refrigerator overnight, and then bake in the morning. (This is what I did. I had to bake them a little longer than the 20 minutes, closer to 30 minutes.)

ENJOY!!

Chicken Salad

I love Chicken Salad! I make it several different ways but this is one of my favorites.

You will need:
2 1/2 c. cooked & cubed chicken (canned chicken works well too if you're in a hurry)
1 c. thinly sliced celery
1 c. red grapes, cut in half (you can use green too...I prefer red)
1/2 c. chopped onions (I've used sweet or red onion)
1/2 c. light mayo
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. cider vinegar
1 1/2 t. yellow mustard
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar
1/8 t. pepper

Combine chicken, celery, grapes and onions together in a bowl. Combine remaining ingredients for sauce and pour over chicken mixture. Refrigerate for an hour or so and serve.

This is super yummy on croissants; but also good on a whole grain bread.

ENJOY!!

Freezer Cooking Day

With the cheap price of chicken and pork loin this week at Meijer, I decided to do a little bit of freezer cooking the other day. I haven't done this in a long time so it was fun getting a lot of stuff done for future use. A lot of these recipes are new to our family so I'll have to let you know what I think later. ;) I will also post the recipes that do not have links later in another post.



In about 4 hours I was able to make:

New! Cranberry Chicken
New! Cabbage Rolls (2 meals)
Banana Bread (2 loaves)http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Chicken Southwest Roll-ups (3 meals)
Beef Southwest Roll-ups (3 meals) Note: I changed the chicken to cooked ground beef.
New! Bada Bing Pork Chops
New! Honey Mustard Chicken
New! Breakfast Burritos (enough for 13 breakfasts)
New! Pulled Pork for Sandwiches (2 meals)

I saved enough plain chicken and plain pork for one meal each. I will choose what to do with these later.

I also had leftover cabbage that I chopped up and put in a bag to freeze. I will use this to throw into some soup some time. I also had some celery in my fridge that was meant for something and I didn't end up using it. So I chopped that up as well and put into two ziploc bags, 2 cups each. I will also use this in soup.



Do you put meals in the freezer for future use? If so...what are your favorite recipes?

Baked Oatmeal

You will need:
3 c. oats
1 c. brown sugar
2 t. cinnamon
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 c. milk
2 eggs
1 stick margarine, melted
2 t. vanilla
3/4 c. craisins (dried cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Beat in (I use a whisk) milk, eggs, margarine, and vanilla. Stir in craisins. Spread into a 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes.

ENJOY! :)

Chicken Rolls

My sister gave me this recipe a long time ago. These are SO GOOD!!

You will need:
1 tube of crescent rolls
Cooked, cubed chicken (about 2 cups or so??)
About 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
2/3 c. milk

In a small pot, combine soup and milk. Heat on low till heated through and well blended (I whisk mine every so often as it warms up). While soup/milk is warming, take crescent rolls and press 2 triangles together to get a rectangle...you will end up with 4 rectangles. Spread chicken and cheese in the centers of each rectangle and roll up and place in lightly greased 9x13 dish. If you have leftover chicken & cheese, throw it in the soup mixture. Pour soup mixture over the tops of rolls (cover tops lightly otherwise they end up doughy). Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Delicious!!!

*If you have bigger eaters, you will probably want to double this recipe. It is just enough for our family of 5.

Hot & Spicy Chili

I love chili!! I just made my first pot for the season last week. YUM!! I love being able to put it in the crockpot and smelling it as it cooks all day! :)

My mom has made chili with sausage for as long as I can remember...and it is YUMMY! Sausage puts a totally different spin on chili! I've taken my mom's recipe and tweaked it a bit to add some more flavor and spice. Last year I submitted it for a chili contest and it won runner-up!! :)

You will need:
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can light red kidney beans, drained
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
8 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 large can of tomato juice
1 small can mushrooms, drained
1 roll of hot sausage
1 T. chili powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 T. seasoned salt
1/2 t. onion powder
1 t. cumin
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. oregano

Brown sausage with green pepper & onions; drain and rinse off with hot water to get rid of grease. Combine meat and all remaining ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low all day. (You can also cook on the stove top and let it simmer for a while.)

We serve our chili with mozzarella cheese (it's what I grew up with and we grew to LOVE!)! I know...most think this is an odd cheese choice.

If you prefer a more toned down version (not so spicy), you can use a mild sausage. I've also toned down the spices to a couple of teaspoons of chili powder, salt & pepper, garlic powder and some basil.