Back ... with new delicious recipes!

Hey, guys! Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged. Some of the recipes I've tried in the past couple weeks have been misses, but some have been definite hits. The three recipes below are some of the best I've made, I think. And the great thing is they're all incredibly easy. 

First recipe: Toasted Italian Subs. I've recently become sort of obsessed with Italian subs, especially since I had the best Italian sub sandwich -- maybe the best sandwich I've ever had in my life -- at Johnny Brusco's in Auburn. I decided to try to recreate it at home, and according to Patrick and my friend Christine, I did a pretty good job! :)

Ingredients:

Sliced deli ham

Sliced deli salami

Sliced capicola or another cured Italian meat (you'll usually find these right next to the salami)

Italian dressing

Spicy mustard

Shredded lettuce

Thinly sliced tomatoes (I use Roma tomatoes)

Sliced onions

Sliced banana peppers

Salt and pepper

Deli sub rolls

Directions:

1. Preheat your broiler on high. Line a cookie sheet with non-stick aluminum foil. If your rolls aren't already sliced, slice them, leaving the rolls attached at one edge. 

2. Spread spicy mustard on both sides of the rolls. Put down your provolone cheese on both sides, then arrange the meats on top of the cheese on both sides. Go ahead and put the rolls under the broiler, probably for about 3 to 5 minutes or until meat and cheese are nicely browned. Check them a couple of times while they're under the broiler to make sure they're not burning. 

3. While the rolls are broiling, get your veggies ready. Slice your tomatoes in thin slices if you haven't already, and do the same with your onions. (I can never find shredded lettuce, so I usually just quickly slice the lettuce into thin strips.) 

4. Place the lettuce, onions and banana peppers into a small bowl, and mix it all up with about 2 tablespoons of Italian dressing (use more if you want).

5. Take the rolls out of the oven and finish up your veggies if need be. Arrange your tomatoes on the meat, then pour the lettuce mix on top. Shake on a little salt and pepper to finish off your subs, then dig in! 

This recipe, Crescent Chicken, pretty much tastes like a serving of chicken casserole wrapped up in a crescent roll. As far as I'm concerned, that's just doing an excellent job of eliminating the middle man. And it's one of the simplest chicken casseroles I've ever made, mostly because I use the ready-to-eat Tyson chicken instead of having to cook the chicken.

Ingredients:

3 6-oz bags ready-to-eat Tyson chicken strips

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

4 tablespoons margarine

4 tablespoons milk

1 medium onion, chopped

Salt and pepper

Chili powder or paprika

2 8-oz cans crescent rolls

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Chop chicken into very small pieces (should be about 4 1/2 cups of meat). Set chicken aside. 

2. Place cream cheese and margarine into large microwaveable bowl; microwave for 15-20 seconds. Stir until smooth.

3. Add milk and onion to cream cheese mixture and stir well. Add chicken into cream cheese mixture and stir well. Add salt, pepper and chili powder to taste, stirring one last time.

4. Break out the cookie sheets (you'll probably need 2 for this recipe). Cover the cookie sheets with nonstick foil (or spray with Pam). Separate the crescent rolls into 8 rectangles (4 for each cookie sheet). Pinch the dough in the center of each rectangle together so they don't break apart when you fill them.

5. Spoon 1/2 cup chicken mixture onto the center of each rectangle. Pull the corners of dough to the center; press together. Bake on cookie sheets for 20-25 minutes.

The third recipe, Baked Club Sandwich Rounds, is very simple to make but looks really nice. My sister-in-law used this recipe not long ago for a pot-luck luncheon and said it was a huge hit. This is another recipe that my friend Christine specifically asked me to blog so that she can make it too. I got this off the Pillsbury Web site, which is a great resource for easy-to-make recipes.

Ingredients:

1 lb bacon -- about 12 slices. (I usually buy the ready-to-serve bacon, the kind you just heat in the microwave for a few seconds. That really makes this a quick recipe.)

1 11-oz can Pillsbury refrigerated crusty French loaf

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese 

2 oz thinly sliced deli turkey (probably about 6 slices)

2 oz thinly sliced deli ham (about 6 slices)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. Either spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray or cover it with nonstick foil. Cook the bacon until crisp and drain on paper towel. Crumble the bacon. 

2. Unroll the dough. (This is the longest part of the recipe for me -- the dough can be very sticky. My advice is to leave it in the refrigerator until you are ready to unroll it -- the colder it is, the easier to unroll. It's also smart to unroll it on top of the cookie sheet so that you don't have to deal with moving it later.) Sprinkle the cheese over the dough. Top with turkey, ham and bacon. Roll the dough back up and pinch the edge to seal. Make 3 or 4 slits in the top of the loaf. Place on the cookie sheet if you haven't done so already.

3. Bake for 23 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes, then slice. This is very good with honey mustard, ranch or blue cheese as a dipping sauce.