Sliders and Pops: A Labor Day Two-fer

It's finally September and cooler weather is here! I feel like half of America wants Fall to be here already and the other half is wishing Summer would stick aound just a little longer. I fall somewhere in between. Autumn is my favorite season (and dog!) so I wish it for it year-round but I'm not quite ready for Summer to be over. I just wish we had cooler temps. I'm not a fan of 105 degree days, where are the 80's? Heck the other day it was after 9pm and still in the 90's- that's crazy!

This menu reminds me of Summer. It's simple and fuss free and can be eaten with your hands. Both can be made ahead of time and require very little time to get them on in your belly. Of course they can be prepared and eaten any time of year but I think they're perfect for rounding out the last few days of Summer. They can be eaten as snacks or as a full meal and kids love them as much as the adults do too. The nice thing about these recipes is you can make as many or as few you need.

I made these ham and swiss sliders on sweet Hawaiian bread, but any soft white dinner roll will do. There's not one element that stands out above the other, but it's the buttery poppyseed mustard sauce that tops it all off that makes it unique. These popsicles taste like a slice of fresh pineapple. The original recipe called for milk but I did an experiment and made half with pineapple juice and those turned out to be better looking and tasting. And you don't need any fancy molds to make them, just fill up paper cups and put a stick in them. Make enough to feed your family or a crowd this Labor Day!

Ham and Swiss Sliders adapted from Christy

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• 12 good white dinner rolls (I used Hawaiian rolls)
• 12 pieces good honey ham
• 12 small slices Swiss cheese
• 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 3 Tbsp. miracle whip

Poppy seed sauce:

• 1 1/2 tsp. poppyseeds
• 2 tsp. yellow mustard
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion or 1 1/2 tsp. fresh minced onion
• 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Cut the rolls in half and place cut side up. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes. Serve warm.

NOTE: Sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.

Pineapple Pops adapted from Everyday Food

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• 3 cups fresh pineapple chunks (or one 14.5-ounce can chunks packed in juice, drained)
• 1/3 cup pineapple juice or milk
• ¼ cup sugar

In a food processor, combine pineapple chunks, juice or milk, and sugar; pulse until almost smooth, with some chunks of pineapple remaining.

Pour half the mixture into a medium bowl (or a glass measuring cup for easy pouring). Pulse remaining mixture until completely smooth; add to mixture in bowl.

Divide evenly among eight 3-ounce molds or paper cups, and insert wooden sticks. Freeze until solid, at least 4 hours or up to 2 weeks (cover with plastic wrap).

NOTE: The original recipe calls for milk to be added to the pops. I made half a batch with milk and the other with the reserved pineapple juice from the can. The juice was hands down more flavorful!

Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Summer Sandwiches

This is not really a post with recipes. I just wanted to show you the sandwiches that we've eaten recently that we've really enjoyed. It's so hot out and there are nights that I don't want to turn the oven on so we turn to sandwiches. Besides them being easy to whip up, they're totally quick and customisable and they're good for lunch or dinner.

Both of these sandwiches are served on OroWeat OatNut Bread. This first sandwich is lightly toasted bread then slathered with Hellman's mayo on each slice of bread. On one slice I added a handful of sweet baby greens, 2 slices of crisp bacon, cut in half, then one hard boiled egg, sliced and seasoned with salt and pepper. A spoonful of garlic pesto tops the remaining slice of bread. We had these again for dinner last night so I had to share them with you- so good!

For tips on how to cook a perfect boiled egg, go HERE.

The second sandwich was a result of a craving. What else is new? It's basically a BLT sandwich with a cornmeal crusted Fried Green Tomato in place of the red tomato slices. Toasted bread with a slather of mayo, sweet baby greens, 2 slices of crisp bacon, 2 slices of fried green tomatoes. I coated the tomato slices with buttermilk and spices (salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper) then dipped them in seasoned cornmeal then pan fried them til golden. We served these with a side of even more fried green tomatoes and ranch dressing. yes, ma'am.

These are our favorite sandwiches right now, besides the usual turkey/cheddar or gooey grilled muenster cheese. Of course we can't forget about the fried egg topped ham and cheese or the Cuban sandwich or the egg salad sandwich either!

What is on your favorite sandwich?

Burgers For Dad

Do you have plans for Father's Day? I think we're going to have Mr. H's parents over for dinner or we may go out to eat at a cute new cafe we just discovered. Not entirely sure yet. My father does not live here and our relationship has deteriorated over the last few years so it will probably be just us four and the doggies :-) I'll stop by to see my step dad and send my grandpa a card but one thing I know for sure is that we will be celebrating my husband and father-in-law this coming weekend.

These burgers would be great to serve for your favorite Dad on Sunday. They're a nice twist on the "regular" burger and they're just as simple but so much better! The bruschetta topping on this burger is what makes it extra special and tasty. It consists of diced tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil and parm cheese- good stuff! I found these burgers on Debby's A Feast For The Eyes. I've seen these burgers on her site before but she recently reminded me of them again and I made them the very next day. We loved them.

We like our burger patties cooked to medium, with a little pink on the inside but even if these were cooked all the way through , they'd still be good. Just don't cook them til they're tough like shoe leather- that's the only thing that could ruin this burger. ha ha! The meat was juicy and flavorful but the star was the bruschetta. The tomatoes were fresh and summery tasting, then you got a little punch from the grated garlic and saltiness from the cheese. I made some pesto mayo to slather on the buns and that finished them off perfectly. Make these this weekend, they'll be a hit, I'm sure! Thanks Debby!

Bruschetta Burgers adapted from A Feast For The Eyes

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Serves 3-4

Bruschetta Topping:

• 2 ripe tomatoes on the vine, seeded
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil or basil puree
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• pinch of kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste

Pesto Mayo:

• 3 Tablespoons good mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon prepared pesto

Beef Patties:

• Ground beef, seasoned only with salt & pepper
• Mozarella or Provolone cheese, to melt on the burger

For the bruschetta: Mix all the ingredients together except salt. Add salt right before topping the burgers so the tomatoes don’t get watery. Set aside.

For the pesto mayo: In a small bowl, mix the pesto and mayo together. Set aside.

For the burgers: Season your ground beef with salt and pepper, then form them into patties of your desired weight. (We prefer 1/3 pound burgers so I made 3 patties, if you don't want them as thick, you can make 4 quarter pound burgers). Cook burgers to your liking either on the grill or on the stove top. Once cooked to your desired internal temperature, place cheese on top of burgers while they're still hot so it melts on the patty.

Assembly: Toast buns or foccacia then generously spread on pesto mayo. Top the bottom bun with patty then scoop bruschetta on top of that. Sandwich it all together with the top bun and eat up.

Yummers!

Thank you and A Salad

Thank you all so much for your kind and supportive emails and comments on my last post regarding my son. Some of them made me smile, some made me cry (in a good way) and I truly appreciate each and every one of them...more than you know.

Moving on to carrot salad. Simple, delicious and good for you. It's vibrant and orange so that makes it fun! And it's a necessity on any Southern buffet line, IMHO.

Whenever we go to our favorite mom and pop restaurant we go through the salad bar and get carrot salad. I love it when they add mini marshmallows to it, because they add a bite of tender sweetness that is just so good. It's also something we always get when we go to Luby's Cafeteria or "Luly's" as the folk on King of the Hill call it :-) So I decided to make it at home and it couldn't be simpler and the hubs gave it two thumbs up!

Carrot-Pineapple-Raisin Salad from Luby's

• 2 lbs. raw carrots, peeled and shredded
• 1 cup chunky or crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup raisins soaked in hot water to plump, then drained*
• 1/2 powdered sugar

Combine carrots, pineapple, mayonnaise, raisins and powdered sugar; mix well. Chill until ready to serve.

Makes 8 servings. (I halved this recipe.)

NOTE: *I warmed the pineapple juice (from the drained pineapple) to soak the raisins in.

And another for good measure- Autumn eyeing my carrot salad :-)

Okey Dokey Artichokey!

This recipe comes from Kraft Food & Family magazine. I was going to link to the site where you can sign up to get the magazine because it used to be free, but now they charge for it! I still get the magazine without having to pay for it, maybe because I've been subscribed for so long, but now it's $12 for a year :-( That's still not a bad price, but I was hoping to hook you all up. Sorry.

Anyway, I've made this recipe a few times. It's so simple and comes together rather quickly. So easy that even my husband who only makes sandwiches and cinnamon toast can make it and has! And he prides himself on it too. That's how good, easy and impressive it is.

Make it this weekend for your Memorial Day BBQ or potluck. Everyone will love it- I promise!



Cheesy Spinach and Artichoke Dip
from Kraft

1- 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1- 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients; spoon into 9-inch quiche dish or pie plate.
Bake 20 min. or until heated through. Serve with crackers and assorted fresh cut vegetables.


NOTE: I used a red pepper blend parmesan cheese for a spicier version. If you want it hot, you can add a few pinches of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
I also added a topping to add a little crunch. I mixed 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs with a heaping tablespoon of mayo, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle on top before baking.

Have a good, safe and cheesy weekend!