Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Everything in Between!

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September 10, 2009

End of Summer Vegetarian-Friendly Pesto Sandwich

This is one yummy sounding submission. It is especially good if you are looking for a lighter or meatless sandwich.

Bart de Snoo writes, "This is damn tasty as lunch but somehow it doesn't work as dinner or snack."

What you need:
2 Kaiser Bread Rolls or any bread rolls as long as it isn't soft.
4 Slices of Tomato
4 Thin Slices of Mozzarella.
4 or 5 Teaspoons of a thick Pesto

**Tip** Add some pepper after you grill this sandwich. It's fantastic!

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (F).,

Step 2: Cut your bread roll in half horizontally, so you get a top and a bottom half. The top half is of no use since they aren't stable enough under the grill.

Step 3: Put the pesto on the bottom half and make sure you cover the surface with the pesto. Next, put the tomato slices on top of the Pesto. Lastly, add the Mozzarella on top of it all.

Step 4: Put your creation in the oven and let it stay there for about 8 minutes or until the mozzarella starts to turn brown.

Yum!



More Sandwich Ideas: Monster Veggie Wraps! Revdeath's Sloppy Joes, Helboar Bacon Buns, Crunchy Boomkin Turkey Melt, Bronzebeard Bacon Melt, Classic BLT, Turkey Day, Any Day Sammie, Carson's Meat Lovers Sammie, Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich,Jack Dandy Special, Sushi Style Turkey Wraps, Simple Chicken Salad, Traditional American Combo Hero, Verminfate's Hawaiian American Combo, Alterac Swiss Melt, Turkey and Salami Sammie, Brogah's Open-Face Turkey Sammie Monstrously Delicious Salami and Cheddar Sammie, Toasty Cheddar and Salami Sammich! The Classic Italian Hero, Salami and Cheese Sammies, Philly Cheesesteaks, Classic and Healthy Chicken Sandwich, Baked Bacon Bites The Golden Blanket Sandwich Tasty Turkey Melt.

September 06, 2009

Baked Bacon Bites

These bacon croissants were a yummy little treat.



What you need:
1 tin of Pillsbury Crescent dough
5-7 pieces of bacon, cooked but not too crispy
Cream Cheese
2-4 tablespoons of melted butter to coat these before baking
**Optional** A handful of washed plum tomatoes

This recipe will make 6-8 of these snacks.

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350. If your bacon is not cooked already, do so now. For tips on cooking bacon, check out the post "How to Cook Perfect Bacon."

Step 2. Open the Crescent tin. The really nice thing about this dough is that it is easy to work with the perforations, or you can pinch them together to make a larger dish.

Step 3. Spread approximately 1 tablespoon of cream cheese onto the crescent dough.

Step 4. Add 1 to 1-1/2 slices of the bacon, ripped up onto the cream cheese.

Step 5. Add 2-3 washed plum tomatoes. You can cut them or leave them whole.

Step 6. Close the Crescent dough.

Step 7. Brush the outside of the dough with the melted butter.

Step 8. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, on a cookie sheet. They will turn golden-brown when finished.

Yum! It's a little naughty, but so worth it. ;)



More Breakfast Ideas: Nubcakes! Aka Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes, Blueberry Nubcakes! Elwynn Forest Lumberjack Special, aka Crepes by Randalflagg, Kiethras's Breakfast Tubers, Sausage and Eggs, Grizzly Frontier Special! Aka Western Style Omelet, Simple Fruits, Great Taste! Telaari Grape Salad, Tundra Berry Salad, Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich, Baked Bacon Bites Curiously Tasty Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Omelet Sammich! How to Cook Perfect Bacon, Brazilian Puss in Boots, by Cygnusbr, Mmm Coffee!


More Sandwich Ideas: Monster Veggie Wraps! Revdeath's Sloppy Joes, Helboar Bacon Buns, Crunchy Boomkin Turkey Melt, Bronzebeard Bacon Melt, Classic BLT, Turkey Day, Any Day Sammie, Carson's Meat Lovers Sammie, Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich,Jack Dandy Special, Sushi Style Turkey Wraps, Simple Chicken Salad, Traditional American Combo Hero, Verminfate's Hawaiian American Combo, Alterac Swiss Melt, Turkey and Salami Sammie, Brogah's Open-Face Turkey Sammie Monstrously Delicious Salami and Cheddar Sammie, Toasty Cheddar and Salami Sammich! The Classic Italian Hero, Salami and Cheese Sammies, Philly Cheesesteaks, Classic and Healthy Chicken Sandwich, Baked Bacon Bites The Golden Blanket Sandwich Tasty Turkey Melt.

Brogah's Open-Face Turkey Sammie

This is something I usually snack on while playing WoW since I have a microwave on the desk next to my monitor. It's toasty, melty, and delicious! Try one for your next sandwich.

2 slices of Multi-grain Bread (I usually use Franz 12 grain), toasted.
Very thinly sliced Sundried Tomato Turkey cold cuts, 4-6 slices depending on their size and your hunger. Sometimes the seasoned turkey slices are smaller than other cold cuts.
Shredded Provolone Cheese.
Crushed Kalamata olives (Usually misspelled as Klamata).

Making open-faced sandwiches:
Step 1. Place the turkey on the bread

Step 2. Add a generous portion of the olives.

Step 3. Finally top it with the cheese.

Step 4. Nuke until the cheese has melted.

That's it!


**Tip** I drape the turkey back and forth across the bread instead of laying the slices flat. Sort of that deli style look if you know what I mean.



More Sandwich Ideas: Monster Veggie Wraps! Revdeath's Sloppy Joes, Helboar Bacon Buns, Crunchy Boomkin Turkey Melt, Bronzebeard Bacon Melt, Classic BLT, Turkey Day, Any Day Sammie, Carson's Meat Lovers Sammie, Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich,Jack Dandy Special, Sushi Style Turkey Wraps, Simple Chicken Salad, Traditional American Combo Hero, Verminfate's Hawaiian American Combo, Alterac Swiss Melt, Turkey and Salami Sammie, Brogah's Open-Face Turkey Sammie Monstrously Delicious Salami and Cheddar Sammie, Toasty Cheddar and Salami Sammich! Baked Bacon Bites The Classic Italian Hero, Salami and Cheese Sammies, Philly Cheesesteaks, Classic and Healthy Chicken Sandwich, The Golden Blanket Sandwich Tasty Turkey Melt.

Spice it up with Catyra

Start building your own basic set of herbs and spices. You can cook so much with just the basics. I'm starting my collection off with tumeric, paprika, oregano, onion powder, and garlic powder. This gives you great diversity and you will probably only have to add one or two spices at a time when finding a new recipe.

Why garlic POWDER? Better yet, why not have some seasoning salt? These contain large amounts of salt in premixed amounts, which you should try not to overuse. Although salt is essential to keep in your diet, try to watch yourself for a week or two to see how much you are actually consuming. Salts are often overused in packaged foods, as well as in some restaurants. Where I used seasoning salt in the past, today I use a mix of paprika, ground mustard, tumeric, onion and garlic powders, salt, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper instead. Try this seasoning mix with kielbasa, some horseradish and toss in a few onions and potatoes. Yum!

**Interesting side note** Just to give you an idea of the great diversity of the spices I listed, I made an almost exact clone of the instant ramen seasoning, except I didn't have any bouillon or chives. The difference is barely noticeable. Check the ingredients on the pack, a lot goes into it.



Also check out the post "Which spices you should always have on hand" for some more basic spicing ideas.

Catyra's Kielbasa and Spinach Sandwich

These are basically a nice twist on the classic kielbasa and kraut sandwich. Try one of these sausage and spinach grills.

This recipe will serve 2 people, or you can be selfish and eat both sandwiches yourself!

What you need:
4 slices of Whole Wheat bread
4oz Kielbasa (I prefer turkey, Eckridge brand)
1/2 cup freshly chopped Spinach
Butter (use the real stuff!!!)
Your favorite Cheese! About 4 slices worth.

Seasonings--choose your own, but sour and spicy taste great with kielbasa. Think of mustard and horseradish for this one. Or you can use: Fresh ground peppercorns when sauteing the kielbasa. Oregano (very small amount) on top of the spinach during assembly. The oregano really adds a lot of flavor to this dish, but can easily be overwhelming. Remember, herbs are great in this case.


Step 1. Slice the kielbasa into very thin slices, the final product should look like a bunch of meaty coins.

Step 2. Saute the kielbasa slices in a pan with some butter (high heat, you're trying to quickly sear the meat to brown it). Set the meat aside for now.

Step 3. Now to assemble the sandwiches. Take two slices of bread and place your first unit of cheese on both slices. I prefer Swiss for this bottom side.

Step 4. Spread your kielbasa slices evenly over the cheese, but leave a centimeter on each side so the sandwich closes.

Step 5. Place your spinach on the slices, then add any seasonings you prefer. Top with another unit of cheese and close both sandwiches with the other slices of bread.

**Note** Both cheeses can be fine shredded or sliced, as long as they aren't too bulky.

Step 6. Take a large pan, enough to fit 2 sandwiches side by side comfortably in. Turn the heat to medium high and when it is heated, add in enough butter to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Obviously this varies depending on the size of your pan, just don't drown your sandwiches. Start grilling!

**Tip** Every once in a while you can rotate the sandwiches around the pan to prevent burning/sticking, then when you're ready to flip, just remove briefly and re-butter the pan. They should have the dark brown, almost black look on both sides and the cheese should make the sandwiches stick together, despite the fillings.


It's not a ton of work, and is really quite fun if you enjoy cooking. I really hope you enjoy cooking if you are reading this, otherwise, you best stick with your hot pockets and Pepsi. The result is quite rewarding, and healthy to boot.



More Sandwich Ideas: Monster Veggie Wraps! Revdeath's Sloppy Joes, Helboar Bacon Buns, Crunchy Boomkin Turkey Melt, Bronzebeard Bacon Melt, Classic BLT, Turkey Day, Any Day Sammie, Carson's Meat Lovers Sammie, Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich,Jack Dandy Special, Sushi Style Turkey Wraps, Simple Chicken Salad, Traditional American Combo Hero, Verminfate's Hawaiian American Combo, Alterac Swiss Melt, Turkey and Salami Sammie, Brogah's Open-Face Turkey Sammie Monstrously Delicious Salami and Cheddar Sammie, Toasty Cheddar and Salami Sammich! The Classic Italian Hero, Salami and Cheese Sammies, Philly Cheesesteaks, Classic and Healthy Chicken Sandwich, The Golden Blanket Sandwich Tasty Turkey Melt.