French Dip Sandwich

1 loaf French bread
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 small onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves (1 halved, 1 crushed)
1 T tomato paste
2 cups beef stock
1 sprig rosemary, chopped
salt and pepper
Worcestershire sauce (a little)
1 lb sliced roast beef
6-8 slices provolone cheese

Cut bread into two halves and toast. Cut garlic in half and rub on toasted bread. Add parmesan cheese. In saute pan, fry onion in oil. Add 1 crushed garlic, tomato paste, beef stock, rosemary, salt and pepper. Add a little worcestershire sauce. Brint to slight boil. Add roast beef slices to sauce and saute. Fork out roast beef. Place on bread. Add provolone cheese. Melt together in oven approximately 8 minutes. Use sauce in pan for dipping.

***I'm not really a big french dip person so to say that I like this recipe is really saying something. My husband on the other hand LOVES this recipe. Every time I make it (which has been twice!) he tells me never to lose the recipe. Hence it made it into my blog.

Classic Potato Salad

6 medium potatoes, peeled
1 cup mayo
1 T vinegar
1 T yellow mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 medium celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4-6 hard cooked eggs
paprika

Place potatoes in saucepan, add water to just cover potatoes. Cover and heat to boiling, reduce heat to low. Cook for 30-35 minutes or until potatoes are tender; drain. Cool. Cut potatoes into cubes. In a large bowl, mix mayo, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Add potatoes, celery and onion; toss. Stir in eggs. Sprinkle with paprika. Chill in fridge to blend flavors.

We just love this potato salad recipe. It's chunky and not to creamy which is what we like. We always add a little creole seasoning which gives it a little extra special flavor. Delicious for a BBQ!

Stuffed Shells

1 pkg jumbo shells
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg slightly beaten
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
2 T italian seasoning
1 cup parmesan cheese
24 oz tomato sauce
2 cup mozzarella cheese

Spread thin layer of sauce on bottom of 9x13 pan. Prepare shells as directed on package, drain and cool. In medium bowl, lightly beat egg; add all ingredients but only 1/2 cup of mozzarella. Mix well. Stuff each shell with about 2 T filling. Place open side up in pan, drizzle sauce over top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes.

***Just a note: I did not use 2 T of garlic because that just seemed like tons so I might have done just a little more than half. I also didn't have onion powder so I just chopped up a couple green onions and threw them in. For the sauce I just used whatever spaghetti sauce was in the pantry. Pretty easy meal- although it does take a little extra time to stuff each shell. It really did taste pretty good. My husband said it made even better leftovers :)

The best brownie cups EVER!!

1 German Chocolate Cake Mix
1 egg
1/2 cup butter

In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, egg and butter until smooth. Scoop batter 2/3rds full into a muffin tin sprayed with non stick spray. Scoop 1 tablespoon pretzel crumble on top of brownie batter. Pat down lightly. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. I did the mini muffin cups and they took about the same time to bake.

Pretzel crumble
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 T brown sugar
1 cup crushed pretzels

*I halved this recipe for the mini cups and it worked perfectly.

1/3 bag of caramels- melt in a saucepan until creamy
1 cup milk chocolate chips

*I just used caramel syrup and it tasted fine.

I found this recipe here and I just had to try it out. She has so many good treats that I want to try out. The only thing is that I can't make them just for us because we will end up eating ALL of them in one night. We have no self-control.
So last night we had people over and I got my chance and these brownies were an absolute hit. I can't even describe how delicious they are/were and my pictures really don't do justice, but they are the perfect combination of chocolate and caramel. Just take my word and try them yourself.

Teriyaki Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
1 cup quick oats
1 egg
1/4 large onion, finely chopped
1/8 cup oil
1/2 cup ketchup
1/6 cup vinegar
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 cup Worcestershire
1/2 T flour

Combine onion and oil in fry pan. Cook onions. Combine ketchup, vinegar, mustard, garlic salt, sugar, pepper, worcestershire, and flour in saucepan. Mix together with the onions and simmer. While sauce is simmering make meatballs. Mix beef, egg and oats. Form into balls and place in glass baking dish. Pour sauce over top and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes.

These are so yummy. I got the recipe from a friends blog and we seriously eat these at least once a month, which for me is a lot. She doesn't quite follow the recipe but I do because I love them just the way they are. If you don't want to have as much kick don't add the dry mustard; although I really think that is what gives it so much flavor. Serve these up with a side of rice and mmnnn you won't be disappointed!

Banana Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 ripened bananas (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
4 T melted butter

In large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside. In another bowl, mash the bananas and then add both sugars, egg, and melted butter. Whisk until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Do not over mix. Drop mixture into sprayed muffin cups and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. If using mini muffin pan cook about 10-12 minutes.

We woke up this morning with gray clouds and a little drizzle of rain and for some reason I just felt like baking something which for me is a little strange. I saw all my brown bananas on the counter and decided why not? So even though we had already eaten breakfast, I whipped these out and they were so good. Light and fluffy. My daughter even ate a few even though she had just finished her oatmeal.


Yum. Yum.

Pulled Jerk Pork

2 1/2 lb pork boneless shoulder
1 T Jamaican jerk seasoning
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup cola
2 cups barbecue sauce

Rub jerk seasoning over pork, sprinkle with thyme. Place in slow cooker. Sprinkle with onion. Pour cola over pork. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. Remove pork from cooker and shred . Remove juices from cooker and reserve 1/2 cup. Return pork to cooker and stir in BBQ sauce and 1/2 cup of reserved juice. Change cooker to high and cook 30-45 minutes. Serve on hamburger or sandwich buns.

Once again, I got this recipe from a neighbor because it was soooo good. I've only made it once myself and I used a really spicy BBQ sauce and it had a little too much kick. Next time I will use a sweeter sauce because the other seasonings give it enough kick for me.