Monte Cristo Sandwich

I love me a good sandwich and that's what I usually get when I go to a restaurant. When I had the Monte Cristo at Bennigan's I was in love. With all of it's deep fried glory it's became one of my top favorite sandwiches. My preference since alot of the Monte Cristo's are served with powdered sugar and jam, I'm not too keen on. I just prefer mine unsweetened if you would say. I will though eat mine with ranch ;). I usually have ranch as a staple condiment in my house, I will eat it with anything. It's so cliche, everyone loves ranch but not like me. It's my secret obsession.

Ingredients:

Sandwich:
3 slices bread, your choice on flavor
1 slice swiss cheese
3 oz. (a few slices) turkey, deli style
1 slice american cheese
3 oz. ham, deli style

Batter:
2 egg yolks
1 c. ice water
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda

Pre-heat your deep fryer. Make sandwich by layering slice of swiss cheese on bread then turkey on top of that. Place another piece of bread, then ham, american cheese and last piece of bread. Press down to flatten sandwich a bit. Start making your batter by beating the egg yolks. Stir in the ice water. Sift your flour and baking soda together into the ice and egg yolks. Stir together a bit, not too much you want it to be a little lumpy. Slice your sandwich in half diagonally (corner to corner). Dip one half of the sandwich into batter until fully coated. Let excess batter drip off. Drop into hot oil, you can put both in at the same time if your deep fryer is big enough. Fry for 6-8 mins, turning sandwich over in-between so each side is golden. Place on paper towels to drain. Serve topped with powdered sugar if desired.

Cookies and Cream Bars

Boy have I been busy concocting recipes, I think I've baked more sweets this month than ever before. Sugar makes me smile :)

Here is on of the recipes I came across in my baking adventure that is so simple but yet so addicting its not even funny. This has easily become on of my fave recipes I have made.

Ingredients:
1 lg pkg. Oreos
5 c. large marshmallows
4 tbs. butter

Line a 8 or 9 inch pan with foil. In a food processor chop up whole package of cookies until fine. In large microwavable bowl heat marshmallows and butter 1-2 minutes or until puffed up. Add chopped oreos and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread into foil lined pan with spatula. Let set about 10 minutes. Remove foil, cut and enjoy!

BBQ'd Pulled Pork/Turkey Mac n' Cheese

OMG...this recipe is so delicious I had to post this. A month or so back I was doing a little goggling and wanted to find something to use up my turkeyloin and was thinking to do a pulled turkey sandwich. After I got to thinking I was honestly a little sick of sandwiches. Behold the birth of this succulent dish.

I had finaly decided that pasta was up my alley. I wasn't able to find a complete recipe for the pulled meat mac and cheese (I was a little lazy that day and didn't want to come up with my own.) Unfortunately the only recipe I found used way too expensive cheese than this frugal spender. So I just went another easy way and just spiced up my baked mac and cheese recipe! If love could come in a pan, this is it.

Ingredients:
24-48 oz. turkeyloin (defrosted)
16 oz. pasta (penne or spiral or raditore works best since it holds sauce well)
4 tbs. butter
1/4 c. flour
2 c. heavy cream
8 oz. cheddar cheese
1-2 c. BBQ sauce
Panko bread crumbs

Cook turkeyloin in roaster pan at 350 for about an hour. I usually do this early in the day. After turkey/pork (whatever your flavor) has cooled, shred with fork and hands and set aside.

Cook pasta according to pkg directions. Drain and put in baking dish. In a medium sized saucepan melt butter on med. heat. When butter is melted whisk in flour, keep whisking flour for a few minutes (continuing to cook for this long cooks out the flour taste.) Add your heavy whipping cream, let thicken. Slowly add your cheese so each portion will melt evenly and it won’t get clumpy. Whisk until all melted, pour on top of pasta and stir until coated.

In small sauce pan put about 3/4 of the turkey/pork or all if you want a meatier dish. Pour BBQ sauce over top and heat on med-high until all coated and glazed. Add to pasta and stir in. I added a little milk over the top to make it easier to stir. Press down evenly and top with panko. Bake for about 30 mins. I hit the broiler the last few mins of cooking to give the panko a nice crisp. Serve and enjoy!

Juicy Lucy Burgers & Mozzarella Sticks

So being from Minnesota we love our fried and greasy food. It’s just a comfort thing, so tonight lather yourself in comfort.

Juicy Lucy Burgers are a well know Minnesota Favorite, and I love my burgers stuffed with anything. So I hope you enjoy my comfort foods from home.

Hamburgers:

1 lb. ground beef
1/4-1/2 c. bread crumbs
1 tbs. Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
2 slices American cheese (or whatever your favorite is)

Mix beef, breadcrumbs, italian seasoning and salt and pepper together in mixing bowl. Separate mix in 1/4 lb. portions, flatten into patty shapes. Fold the cheese in half then in half again. Place in center of 1 patty. Place another patty in top and shape around cheese. Make sure you seal this real well or cheese will seep out. Heat skillet on medium heat, fry patties. Flip when it starts to get brown. Poke a toothpick through top to let steam escape. Cook until internal temperature is 160 degrees. Top with favorite condiments and enjoys.

Now to give you a nice side dish to enjoy with this delectable burger. Home made Mozzarella Stick. So simple yet soooooo tasty.

Mozzarella Sticks:

8 pieces of string cheese
1/2 c. flour
1-2 tbs. milk
1-2 eggs
1 c. Italian flavored panko bread crumbs Oil for frying

Cut each piece of string cheese in half leaving you with 16. In 3 separate dishes place flour in one, mix together milk and egg in another and lastly panko. Start by dipping the cheese in flour then eggs then panko. Place on plate and put in freezer for about a half hour to let panko set. Remove and fry in oil for a few minutes until panko crisps and browns, making sure not to cook cheese out. Drain on paper towels. Serve with marinara sauce or my fave ranch!

Cookie Dough Cream Pie

Amazingly at the request from my non sweets loving husband I made this pie last weekend. I brought it for dinner over to my in-laws house and it was a hit. If you enjoy rich flavor combinations together that this pie is for you. Tricky to make since you have different components but well worth the work.

This pie called for a homemade crust but I had a pre-made one on hand already so I used that instead.

Ingredients:
1 pre-made pie crust (your choice)

For Cookie Dough:
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, room temperature 3/8 c. granulated sugar
3/8 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 tsp. milk
1/2 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

For Filling:
3/4 c. light brown sugar
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. whole milk
3 egg yolks
1 tbs. unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Topping:
1 c. heavy cream
3 tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Bake crust for about 7 minutes. Cool completely.

To prepare cookie dough, beat butter and sugars and in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed (or by hand) until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Using some of the dough, make 8 small (1/2" in diameter) balls. Place on a non-stick baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until edges are lightly golden. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Reserve remaining dough (dough can be made 1 day in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature prior to using).

In a medium saucepan, mix sugar, flour and salt. Stir in 1 cup of milk, mix until smooth, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat.

Beat the egg yolks with the remaining cup of milk. Temper the egg mixture with a small amount of the slightly cooled milk mixture then blend this into the larger saucepan with the cooling milk mixture.

Return saucepan to the heat and bring to a boil again, stirring constantly, lower heat and simmer until mixture is the consistency of thick pudding, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in butter and vanilla. Set aside.

While filling is cooling, break off pieces of cookie dough and press them into the cooled pie crust. You want an even layer of dough approximately 1/2" thick (you may have leftover dough, but remember, it's eggless! so enjoy it!)

Pour in filling on top of dough layer, leveling the top with a rubber spatula. Filling should come up about 1/2" from the top of the crust. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

Whip cream until it begins to form soft folds. Add sugar and vanilla, and beat until cream holds stiff peaks. Gently spread all but 1/3 cup of whipped cream on top of cooled filling, smoothing top into a slight dome. With remaining cream, pipe or dollop mounds evenly around the pie, and garnish with mini cookies.

Butterfinger Blondies

I honestly have never made blondies before. I have accumulated quite a collection of recipes for them though. I had finally decided that I was going to make them and I'm so happy I did. These were amazing, they were a hit with everyone. I had brought a few of these to my mother at work foe her to try. Poor her she had brought them home and she had only gotten to take a bite at work because I made her (I love to see the expressions on peoples faces when they try my baking.) Anyways poor lady brought them home and apparently my dad thought they were all for him so he ate them all up before she got the chance.

Thanks to Pinterest and leading me to the Six Sisters Stuff site I had found these delicious concoctions. The only alteration I made to this recipe was to use a different frosting then they had used. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1c. butter
1 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
2 c. coarsely chopped Butterfinger Bars (approx 16 “Fun Size” bars)

Preheat oven to 350° Cream butter and sugars in mixing bowl. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until incorporated. On low add your dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking soda) until just combined. Stir in your chopped Butterfinger. Spread in a 9×13 baking dish and bake for 25 minutes until center is set. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Butterfinger Frosting

Ingredients:
3 tbs. flour
1 c. milk
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 fun sized Butterfingers

Make paste of flour and milk over heat. Remove from heat and let cool completely in refrigerator. Mix granulated sugar, butter and vanilla with mixer. Cream until fluffy and then add the paste and mix at high speed until it fluffs up. Add Butterfingers and mix until combined. Spread on top pf blondies and enjoy.

Garlic Bread

Who doesn't love garlic bread? It is a staple in my house. Last night while rummaging around in my freezer I had a few loaves of bread that I had stashed. I have been buying the discounted bread off the bakery racks at Walmart and freezing them for future use. I had already decided to make some Alfredo and what goes good with pasta? You guessed it- Garlic Bread.

I had already saved a few recipes for garlic bread when I had come across some while searching around bigoven.com great website that let's people like me upload our own recipes and share with the masses.

This one was different as it used the cheese from the Kraft mac and cheese boxes. Luckily enough Kraft makes there cheese prepackaged in little bottles for uses on popcorn and such. Luckily I had some on hand since I stocked up on it because my husband liked to make his own mac and cheese and always stole the packets out of the boxes.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1 tbs. Kraft mac and cheese cheese powder
2 tbs. Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-1 tbs. italian seasoning
1 loaf french bread

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or by hand to blend. Cut loaf of bread in half lengthwise. Spread butter mixture on each loaf. Broil in oven on low until melted and golden. Watch closely it will burn quick and you don't want to have to discard the mummy creation you just made. Serve with fave pasta or pizza or whatever you enjoy eating with it.