Thursday, February 15, 2018

Hot Italian Sandwiches

Sometimes life gets so busy that you don't have time to make an elaborate 4-course dinner, right? And sometimes you just want to make something quick and simple so you can have more time with your family instead of spending the evening slaving away in the kitchen, right? And let's face it... sometimes you just want a yummy sandwich. This definitely fits the bill and is a favorite at our house. Enjoy!


Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
Pinch of salt
6 hoagie rolls
9-oz. smoked ham
4-oz. salami
4-oz. pepperoni
12 slices mozzarella cheese
1 jar prepared marinara sauce of your choice



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine butter, garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt. Reserve 1-2 tablespoons of this mixture and evenly spread the rest on the insides of each hoagie roll.
3. Spread a thin layer of marinara on the insides of each roll.
4. Layer 2 slices of ham, 3 slices of salami, 4 slices of pepperoni, and 2 slices of mozzarella inside each hoagie roll.
5. Fold the sandwiches closed and place on a sheet pan, with the top of each hoagie roll facing up. Brush the top of each roll with the remaining herb butter mixture.
6. Bake sandwiches for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bread is toasted. Serve warm with additional heated marinara for dipping.

Monday, February 5, 2018

Oriental Chicken Salad

Pregnancy cravings can be a crazy thing. I haven't craved anything out-of-the-ordinary, really, in fact my biggest craving has been for potatoes. Potatoes in ANY form... baked, fried, mashed, raw, doesn't really matter. Recently though I started craving this salad from Applebee's. Like, I HAD to have it. I decided to try to make it at home and it turned out so well! The dressing.. oh, the dressing! And the crunchy texture of the salad... yummy yummy yummy. Enjoy!!!


Ingredients:

Salad:
4-6 frozen, fried chicken strips (yes I totally cheated and used frozen ones though you are welcome to fry your own if you feel so inclined LOL), prepared according to package directions and then cut into bite-size pieces
3 c. chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 c. chopped red cabbage
1/2 c. chopped napa cabbage
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
3 Tbsp sliced almonds
Dry chow mein noodles (no measurement here, just add them according to your own taste)*


Dressing (makes one cup):
1/2 c. honey
3 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. sesame oil

This makes a fairly large salad, so if you are only making it for one person you can certainly reduce the amounts (or you can do what I did and make the whole thing so I could have it again the next day LOL!)

*Be sure to add the chow mein noodles just before serving the salad. You definitely want them to stay crunchy. If you are planning to have the salad more than once only add noodles to the portion you plan to eat.... no one wants soggy noodles when you eat this the next day!