French Dip

Oh hey there! Where ya been? ...oh, wait, that was me. Awkward... In all honesty I've been taking the easy way out for the last little while. I still have the a bunch of recipes and photos from the last few months but I've just been too lazy to post. AND... no lie, the babe is kind of preoccupying my mind lately, can you blame me? Motherhood is going to be a huge, crazy, terrifying change and I'm kind of obsessed with planning out my life. SO... the good old blogola fell off my radar. 

Now I'm back with a super duper easy recipe. First you'll need to whip up a batch of my favorite Crusty Artisan Bread  and just break it down into 4- 6 smaller loaves. Easy right?

INGREDIENTS:

Crusty Artisan Bread

Good deli roast beef  (I like mine more on the rare side)

Sandwich sliced provolone cheese or swiss cheese

I pkg Au jus 

Optional:

Butter 

Horseradish

Mayo

A small pinch of thyme and garlic thrown into the au jus

RECIPE:

Follow directions for Crusty Artisan Bread. Instead of making two larger loaves make 4 - 6  smaller loaves. Make sure when you form your loaves you make them into a submarine shape so you can have a good size sandwich.

Cook au jus on stove top per package directions,set aside.

When bread is finished baking and mostly cooled slice in half and load it up with roast beef and cheese (and if you want some butter on the side of the bread without meat, do it to it!) then place under your broiler until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Serve hot and thank me later. 

Ps. Because we were having a super healthy evening I may have made some shoe sting french fries. Totally delicious and oh so right.

Notes: You don't have to make the bread. Instead you could buy some and toast it up really good - but, seriously, the homemade bread really makes it special. 

Recipe: The Gregarious Glutton, Crusty Artisan Bread

Creamy Pesto Chicken Panini

My little family might have a small obsession with pesto. Especially the Kirkland brand from Costco - YUM.  Since my family is only made up of two people and a dog the jar of pesto goes a long way. Fun tip, I freeze mine so it won't have a chance to go bad. 

Anywho, this recipe is simple and delicious and can be easily adjusted to your tastes. 

INGREDIENTS:

Loaf of artisan bread, I used this Crusty Artisan Bread recipe. You can also buy some from your

local grocery store. Just make sure that the bread is dense enough to hold up to being smashed in a panini press. 

Chicken tenders, seasoned with garlic, Italian seasoning, Lawry's, pepper and onion powder

Sun Dried tomatoes

1/4 cup prepared Basil Pesto

1 tbsp mayo 

Provolone Cheese

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS:

Cook your chicken thoroughly and set aside. I used two chicken tenders per sandwich.

Mix 1/4 cup pesto with 1 tbsp of mayo to make a creamy sauce, set aside.

Slice your bread to approximately 1/4 - 1/2 inch slices. Spread your desired amount of pesto/mayo on to the bread  and top with sun dried tomatoes. Next lay your chicken on the tomatoes and top with provolone. If you're like me and like a little extra pesto you may want to spread a little on the second piece of bread also.  But be careful if you spread a ton onto your bread you run the risk of it getting soggy bread - that's why I spread a little on both. 

Once your sandwich is put together brush the outsides very lightly with olive oil and set your sandwich in a hot panini maker.  I think I left mine in my panini maker for about 6 or 7 minutes until the bread was crunchy and the cheese was melted. 

Oh, it was sooooo good and so simple. Enjoy!

Recipe: The Gregarious Glutton

Chicken Salad Sandwich

I recently had a chicken salad sandwich from Costco and thought: Hey! I could probably make that! So, the next week I tried it and it turned out pretty dang good. This recipe is great for make ahead dinners, weekday lunches and parties.

INGREDIENTS:
5 cups cooked chicken, approx. 1 rotisserie chicken, skinned, shredded & chopped
1 cup celery, chopped (about 3-4 stalks)
1 tbsp minced green onion
1 1/4 cup red grapes, halved
1/2 heaping cup cashews, chopped
1 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 tsp Lawry's season salt
Dash of garlic powder
1/3 cup of Mayonnaise (to start)

DIRECTIONS:
Pull apart rotisserie chicken and chop into bite size pieces. Place the chicken in a large bowl and set in the refrigerator. Prepare the celery, onion, grapes and cashews. After everything is chopped, dump everything into the large bowl with the chicken and Stir together. Next, season with lemon pepper, garlic powder and season salt. Stir well. Add 1/3 cup of mayonnaise and mix until everything is well coated. If needed add more mayonnaise until desired consistency is reached.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve on your favorite rolls. My favorite are potato rolls and croissants.

NOTE:
I always take a fork and test the flavor of the chicken salad before I make a sandwich. Sometimes I'll notice that it needs a little more seasoning or mayonnaise.

If you don't want to buy a rotisserie chicken (Costco only 5 bucks!!). You can boil chicken in chicken broth and season with a little thyme, season salt, garlic powder, onion powder...etc.