CLASSIC REUBEN PANINI

I love Reuben sandwich... :)) they’re great for lunch or dinner, any day of the week! Just add some potato chips and a pickle and voilà, you have yourself an amazing grilled sandwich that is sure to please.

Butter, melted
Rye bread
Thousand Island dressing (I’m not really kin on Thousand Island dressing so I spread it on very lightly)
Sauerkraut, drained
Corned beef, thinly sliced
Swiss cheese

Preheat the Panini grill to medium-high heat (375 degrees). I put mine on high because I’m always hungry and can’t wait to dig in. LOL!!! :))

Brush melted butter onto two slices of bread.

On one slice (non-buttered side), spread a layer of Thousand Island dressing.

Top with a generous amount of sauerkraut (be sure to drain as much liquid as possible) and corned beef, and two slices of Swiss cheese.

Place the other slice of bread (buttered side up) on top to form the sandwich.

Grill sandwich for 5-6 minutes until cheese is melted and grill marks appear. Serve immediately and enjoy!

NOTE: this sandwich can easily be made in a frying pan if you don’t have a Panini machine, just like a grilled cheese.

MEATBALL SUB

(slow cooker recipe)
I make my meatballs ahead of time and freeze them. Make up several pounds of beef, freeze them in ziploc freezer bags, and then pull out what you need for dinner. These simmer all day in the crockpot and smell so good! Perfect for a weeknight when you want something hot, but everyone has to eat quick and go.

1 lb ground beef
1 egg
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
garlic salt
salt and pepper
1 tbsp milk
2 cans (15oz) tomato sauce
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

8 Hoagie buns

Mix beef, egg, bread crumbs, garlic, salt, pepper and milk in large bowl.
Shape into small bite size balls.
Cook in hot skillet, turning, until completely cooked. At this point you can let them cool, and freeze them. Or, use them immediately.
Put your meatballs in a crockpot set on low with the tomato sauce and Italian seasoning.
Cook for 6 hours. When ready to serve, preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Place about 5 meatballs on each hoagie, with sauce, parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
Bake until cheese turns golden brown, about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

JALAPENO POPPER GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

(RECIPE POSTED BY DIANA ROSS MADILL)

This recipe has become our favorite 'Grilled Cheese Sandwich'

(makes 1 Sandwich)

2 jalapeno peppers, cut in half length wise and seeded
2 slices bread
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1/4 cup cheddar or jack cheese shredded
1 tablespoon crushed tortilla chips

1. Place jalapenos on a baking sheet, cut side facing down.
2. Place under the broiler on the oven until the outer layer of the skin has blackened about 8-14 minutes...watch carefully!
3. Put the peppers in a sealable container, let them cool and then remove the skins. (I have started to just leave the skins on, much easier, so you can skip this step if you wish)
4. Spread the cream cheese on the two insides of the bread, on one slice sprinkle on the crushed taco chips, lay the pepper pieces on and top with the cheddar cheese. Place the top slice of bread on. Butter both outsides of the bread.
5. Grill until golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2-3 minutes per side.
6. Serve with salsa.....Enjoy!

PIZZA JOES

(made those sloppy joes for supper last night... nice and easy meal.  Gr8 with a nice salad)

1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 lg onion, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
1 med green bell pepper, coarsley chopped (1 cup)
2 cups pizza sauce (2 - 7.5 oz cans)
8 burger buns, split, toasted
1 cup shredded mozzarella chesse

Heat over med - high heat. Add beef, onion & bell pepper; cook 7 to 9 mins, stir until beef is thoroughly cooked.
Stir in pizza sauce. Redue to med heat; simmer uncovered 5 mins
Fill buns with beef mixture & cheese

MY "KILLER BLT"

(RECIPE POSTED BY THEODORE ALTON MCELROY)

4 strips bacon

2 large slices of fresh bakery sour dough bread
Mayonnaise
Black pepper
Fresh sweet Italian plum tomatoes
Crisp iceberg lettuce

Start with hickory smoked bacon, either Oscar Meyer or Hormel Black Label, place 4 strips on a plastic bacon tree cover with a paper towel and place in the microwave and cook at full power for 4 minutes.
Meanwhile slice 2 large slices of fresh bakery sour dough bread (Boudin's is the best!) or Italian Sesame and put in the toaster for medium, you want it just slightly golden, not dark!
After the toasting lightly coat the toast with either Hellman's real mayonnaise or Miracle whip, then (secret) sprinkle a light amount of freshly ground black pepper.
Slice fresh sweet Italian plum tomatoes length wise, just enough to cover one piece of one piece of the toast.
Add fresh crisp iceberg lettuce in layers (don't skimp!) on the same piece of toast
Lay the bacon on the the empty piece of toast and then bring it all together and slice with a sharp chefs knife and use toothpicks to hold together. 
Serve with Screw Drivers or Bloody Mary's.

CHICKEN TARRAGON SALAD

(RECIPE POSTED BY LOIS APPLESAUCE)

This is the best chicken salad you will ever make!! It is a dish perfect for a wedding shower or special luncheon event.

INGREDIENTS:
1lb. (3cups) shredded or chopped Chicken Breast
1 c. finely chopped Celery
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh Tarragon (I always add more because I love this flavour - just add to your taste)
1 c. finely chopped fresh Parsley
1 c. Mayonaise
1 1/2 c. chopped Red Grapes (tried this with green and still good - but not as good)
1 c. diced Red Onion
2 Tbsp Sour Cream

DIRECTIONS:
Poach and cool Chicken
While chicken is being prepped, prep herbs, grapes and mix together
Add chicken, mayo and sour cream
CHILL for at least 1 hour - longer is better

I only serve this salad on Croissants - nothing else really does it justice

BARBECUE BEEF

(RECIPE POSTED BY SAM ROTHRAUFF)

1 lg Rump Roast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of diced onion
1 pkg McCormick barbecue chicken seasoning or Shake & Bake bbq mix

Salt & Pepper rump roast
sprinkle with remaining ingredients
Cover and bake at 300 degrees for 6 hours.
Shred with 2 forks.
Serve on Buns.  Enjoy  :)

STEAK FAJITAS

Steak of your choice. I used two left over T-bone steaks from yesterday. This also works well with chicken.

*if you didn't season your pre-cooked steak, or if you are using raw meat, increase the amounts of spices a bit**

1/2 tsp garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, minced (used powder this time)
Vegetable oil
1/4 tsp red chili pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, whatever you like for heat
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
juice from 1/2 a lime ( about 2 TBSPs?) If you dont have lime juice you could use lemon juice, or white wine.
one red pepper, sliced
one green pepper, sliced
1/2 an onion, sliced ( I used vidalia because that's what I had. Anything would work)
Salt & Pepper
sour cream, avocado, plum tomato, shredded cheese, or whatever topping you like on your fajitas
Whole Wheat tortilla wraps

Thinly slice up the pre-cooked steak, (or raw if you are not using left overs)
Heat up about a tbsp. of oil in your frying pan over med-high heat, and toss in the steak.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper if you are using raw, or didn't season your grilled steaks, chili flakes OR cayenne, cumin, oregano and garlic powder.
Heat that up well, while stirring fairly regularly.
When its pretty much heated through, add the lime juice all at once, give it a good toss around then in less than a minute dump it out into a bowl to keep warm while you saute the veggies.

While the pan is still hot and has some remnants of the steak juice and oil in it, toss in the peppers and onions with a little salt &pepper, and a little more of the cumin, oregano and chili pepper flakes. Toss them around in the pan until they start to brown up a little and soften a little.
You want the pan to be hot and dry enough to saute them without steaming them and making them too soft.

Now you are ready to put together your fajita.
First warm up your tortilla in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to make it more pliable and less likely to tear.
After it's warm I usually slather some sour cream on the wrap first, then add a few pieces of steak, then the pepper/onion mix, then some avocado, seeded and sliced plum tomatoes
( I use plum tomatoes because they are usually less watery and more meaty) and
sometimes I add shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack.

I always use saran or waxed paper or aluminum foil around my wraps. It keeps them from falling apart, and helps contain the juices better. It's really easy if you wrap it up, cut it in
half then peel back the wrapping as you eat it.

CHICKEN PITA WITH TZATZIKI SAUCE

(RECIPE POSTED BY MELISSA MOASE)

Ingredients
1/3 cup Hellmann’s® 1/2 the Fat Olive Oil mayonnaise-type dressing
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 small small clove garlic, finely chopped
1 medium medium cucumber, halved and seeded
2 cups cut-up cooked chicken
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 cup sliced red onion
6 (8-in) whole wheat pita breads

Preparation
Combine Hellmann’s® with lemon juice and garlic.
Finely grate 1/4 cup of cucumber and add to Hellmann’s® mixture.
Stir mixture, set aside. Slice remaining cucumber.
Arrange chicken, sliced cucumber, tomato and onion in pita breads.
Optional:
Sprinkle on some feta cheese and add some black olives

TOMATO CHEESE MELT

1 hamburger bun
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper
2 tomato slices
1 tbsp. Shredded Parmesan cheese

On each hamburger bun, sprinkle half of the cheddar cheese and cayenne pepper.
Top with a tomato slice. Sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese over each tomato.
Broil 6 in. from the heat for 4-5 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
Variation: you can add bacon
Yield: 2 servings

ZESTY BBQ CHICKEN SANDWICHES

Slow-cooker recipe
This is one of my favorite recipes.. so good

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
18 oz. bbq sauce (higher quality is best)
3/4 cup Italian dressing
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients except chicken. Reserve 1 cup of sauce mix. Pour remaining sauce into crock pot & add chicken.
Cook on high about 4 hours. Remove chicken and shred.
Strain sauce in crock-pot to remove chicken fat. Add strained sauce, shredded chicken and sauce mix reserved from earlier to crock-pot.
Cook on low 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Serve on toasted bun.
Makes 10-12 Sandwiches

BARBECUE CHICKEN SALAD WRAP

1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
Pinch of salt and pepper
4 cups chicken, cooked, chopped
4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1 tbsp. chopped pickled jalapeño
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning, or to taste
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
Flour tortillas
Shredded lettuce
Chopped tomato

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, salt and pepper; set aside.
Add the chicken to a large bowl. Top with the bacon, onion, celery, pecans, jalapeño, Cajun seasoning and parsley; toss until mixed.
Add the mayonnaise mixture and toss. Can be served immediately, but refrigerate for several hours or overnight if possible to further develop the flavors.
Warm tortillas to soften and add a layer of lettuce down the center of the tortilla. Spoon some of the chicken mixture on top of the lettuce, sprinkle with chopped tomato and wrap.
Serve with a small mixed salad... et voila, lunch is serve. :))

SCRAMBLED EGG SALAD SANDWICH

(I love egg salad sandwiches, but my daughter don't like them because of the smell. So I came across this recipe in a magazine and tried it, my kid loves scrambled eggs so it was an instant hit. Such an easy lunch to make, so much easier then boiling the eggs to make the sandwich :))

4 eggs
Pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 tsp. margarine or butter
2 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. sour cream
1 tbsp. fresh chopped Dill

Beat the eggs, salt and pepper in a bowl. Heat margarine in a pan on medium heat for 1 minute. Pour the eggs into the pan and scramble-fry until done.
Put the eggs into a bowl and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
In a separate bowl add the mayonnaise, sour cream and dill. Add the cooled eggs and mix.
Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Use any bread you like with a piece of lettuce and enjoy.

***NOTE (opt): You can place the eggs on a cutting board and give them a good chop.

BREAKFAST PITAS

1 cup diced fully cooked ham
1/3 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced green pepper
2 tbsp. butter
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Pinch of salt and pepper
2 pita breads (6 in.), halved and warmed

In a large skillet, saute the ham, onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Add eggs; cook and stir over medium heat until eggs are almost set. Add the cheese, salt and pepper.
Cook and stir until eggs are completely set. Spoon into pita halves.
Yield: 2 servings.