Roasted Turkey and Veggie Spread

Sandwiches for lunch can get a little boring from time to time, especially when we're limited here to cold-cut sandwiches (no PB and J here!).

This sandwich was a perfect change up on our normal sandwiches.  It reminds me of the filling from our baked veggie sandwiches.  Yum.

In fact, it's so tasty, I recently whipped up another batch - a vegetarian version - to enjoy for my lunches this week while I'm on spring break.  The veggies packed in this sandwich are wonderful, you won't even miss the meat.

Roasted Turkey and Veggie Spread - Inspired by Sweet Treats and More

4 oz. light cream cheese, softened
1/2 C chopped/shredded carrots
4 oz. mushrooms, chopped
1/2 C broccoli, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 T onion flakes
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 C shredded turkey or chicken (cooked)*
1 T olive oil
Sea Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

*Optional.  Omit for a veggie variety.

Begin by chopping the veggies.  I did this by hand... but would use a food processor if I had one!!  Place the veggies on a cookie sheet, or in a glass baking dish.

Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Toss in the turkey, and mix well.

Place the dish in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees. Roast the veggies for 15-20 minutes, stirring at least once during that cooking time.

Pull the veggie dish out of the oven. Add in the softened cream cheese.

Stir until well coated.

Serve warm, or refrigerate to serve later as a chilled sandwich.

We enjoyed this spread with crackers, atop a slice of bread, and in a "grilled cheese" of sorts, using Havarti cheese!

Linked up to: Recipe Exchange, What's on Your Plate? What's Cooking Wednesday, Tasty Tuesday, Friday Flair

Grilled Apple Cheddar Sandwiches

We were up for trying a new variety to our standard grilled cheese sandwich --

Apples and cheddar.

It was pretty good!


Grilled Apple Cheddar Sandwiches - Adapted from Recipes for You
{Print Recipe}

4 slices of whole wheat bread
4 slices of cheddar cheese
1 small apple, sliced into thin pieces

Layer 2 of the four bread slices with cheddar cheese.

Microwave these slices of bread for 30 seconds to start melting the cheese.

Then, transfer the bread slices to a skillet or griddle.

Top with apple slices and the second piece of bread.

Cook until both sides of the bread are toasted and browned and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Italian Turkey

This turkey was super easy and delicious and worked wonderfully for my sister's graduation open house!  You can use dried, packaged Italian seasoning, but homemade is much better :)

Italian Turkey - Mom

Turkey
1 turkey breast
1/2 C water

Italian Dressing Mix
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 T onion powder
2 tsp. oregano
1 T parsley
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. celery flakes

Place the turkey breast into your crockpot.  


Mix up the Italian seasoning mix and then sprinkle it over the turkey.

Add 1/2 C water.

Cover, and cook turkey on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours until internal temperature of the turkey reaches 180 degrees.

Remove the turkey from the crockpot and shred the meat.

Place the meat back into the crockpot, season with additional Italian seasoning, if desired, and moisten with juice reserved from cooking the turkey, if desired.

Serve atop wheat rolls, tortillas or even eat on it's own.  You can also serve it with BBQ sauce.



This recipe is linked to:

• Slightly Indulgent Tuesday

Grandma's Sloppy Joes

While my in-laws were in town this weekend, I wanted to make something that my father-in-law (the meat and potatoes guy) could eat on his "no chew" diet.  And, I needed something that my mother-in-law could also enjoy, being gluten and dairy free.

I put out an all-call for Sloppy Joe recipes, and one of my cousins-in-law responded with a family recipe!

This simple sloppy joe was a hit at our place... so good, in fact, that my father-in-law didn't know he ate 100% whole wheat dinner rolls :)  Thank goodness for White Whole Wheat Flour!

I've acclimated the recipe to our tastes and dietary restrictions.  The original recipe called for "real" mustard and also for Worcestershire sauce, which has wheat in it.  The recipe below is 100% gluten free!

Grandma's Sloppy Joes - Adapted from Frog Prince's Grandma

1 lb. ground turkey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped (I used 2 T minced onion flakes)
1/4 C chopped green pepper
1 C ketchup
1 T dried mustard
2 T vinegar
2 T brown sugar

Begin by browning the ground turkey with onion and garlic. When warmed and cooked, transfer to a slow cooker.



Add in the brown sugar, vinegar, dried mustard and ketchup.



Stir to combine.

Cover, and cook on low for 1-2 hours.

Then, add in the green peppers.



Continue cooking for 1-2 more hours.

Serve warm atop freshly made hamburger rolls.



Enjoy!

This post is linked to:

• Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy

Left-over Magic, Sandwich Cubano Style

As you can see, we're experiencing some technical difficulties here in Divaland of late. The focus on my camera refuses to focus, even on the ISO setting, and its frustrating the hell out of me. I had grand visions and plans of a beautiful Cuban Sandwich photo, yet you're looking at ... that. Ugh, I'm sorry. It may be time for a new camera. In the meantime, let's eat!

I took the left-over pork roast, sliced it thin, warmed it in the remainder of the pan sauce and set about creating my version of one of the world's most delicious sandwiches. The Sandwich Cubano is a brilliant combination of roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese and pickles, piled together on Cuban bread and grilled until crisp and toasted. Traditionally, the sandwich is made on a sandwich press, called a plancha - which is similar to a panini press. The key to a really good Cuban Sandwich lies in the pressing; it allows the ingredients to fuse together while creating the much desired crisp exterior.

Needless to say, I don't own a plancha. Nor do I own a panini press for that matter ... but I made it work. I used my trusty grill pan, then weighted the toasting beauties down with a cast iron skillet and my tea kettle filled with water! As you can see, the results were magnificent.

There are probably as many recipes for tasty toasted treats as there are people to eat them. This is my version ...

Diva's Sandwich Cubano:

• some thinly sliced roast pork, warm
• some thinly sliced ham
• some aged Gruyere cheese, shredded or sliced
• some Vlasic Stackers Zesty Garlic sliced pickles
• Dijon Mustard
• Emeril's Horseradish Mustard
• olive oil for brushing the pan
• butter for brushing the sandwiches
• some Cuban, Italian or French bread, or long sandwich rolls

Heat your grill pan over high heat until hot but not smoking.

Slice your bread or rolls lengthwise and spread a bit of Dijon mustard on one side and a bit of Horseradish mustard on the other side. Layer some thinly sliced ham on the bottom half of the bread or roll and top with some pickle slices. Layer some thinly sliced roast pork over the pickles and top with some shredded or sliced Gruyere cheese and the remaining half of the bread or roll, pressing down on the bread to flatten the sandwich. Coat the top of the sandwich with a thin layer of butter.

Brush the grill pan with a bit of olive oil to form a thin coat and place the sandwiches, buttered side down, into the grill pan. Weight the sandwiches down with a cast iron skillet, or what have you, as seen above, and grill over medium-high to high heat until crisp and golden on one side. Butter the other side of the bread or roll, then flip the sandwich and continue to grill as directed above until both sides are crisp and golden brown and the cheese has melted. Serve immediately!

The mustard is by no means traditional, that's my spin and I'm sticking to it. You certainly don't need to use two kinds of mustard ... but I happen to like the combination. Do as you see fit. As for the ham, any variety you like will do. Just make sure its thinly sliced. In this case, I used some roasted ham.

You may also have noticed a disparity in the breads. The round roll is whole wheat and, again, by no means traditional. That's my personal choice, I made the husband's on a small, sandwich sized, loaf of Italian bread. As always, the choice is up to you.

I'm well pleased with the results of both my left-over magic and my improvised sandwich press. Necessity truly is the mother of invention. The sandwiches were wonderfully crisp and thoroughly delicious. I can't believe I didn't try this sooner ... though you can bet we won't wait long before having them again.

Bon appetit!

Toasted Sandwiches

Back in the day when I used to buy bread (okay, it really wasn't that long ago... roughly a year or so), Frog Prince would request "Kroger" sandwiches. Which, just meant I made sandwiches on Kroger's take-and-bake French bread. We love these sandwiches -- we even made them for our family before our weddding. Delicious.

But, we haven't purchased bread in such a long time ... thus, no sandwiches.

This made Frog Prince quite sad.

So, I tried a new version of these sandwiches using leftover hamburger/hotdog buns, and they were just about as tasty as the French bread originals. I'll have to try this next time we have French bread too :) I don't know why I didn't think of this before!

Toasted Sandwiches - SnoWhite

Bread/Rolls of your choosing
Garlic powder
Cheese
Turkey breast
Tomatoes, optional

Slice the bread in half and sprinkle generously with garlic powder (to taste, of course). Top with cheese of your choosing. I love making a mozzarella and tomato sandwich. Frog Prince likes turkey and extra sharp cheddar -- experiment with what you like. Mushrooms are quite tasty too.

If you do a veggies that tend to "leak" liquids when cooked (e.g., tomato, mushroom, zucchini), you can either make a layer of cheese on both sides of the bread, or saute them before hand to prevent soggy bread. Then, simply add the veggies, wrap up and toast.



Wrap up the sandwich in a piece of tinfoil lightly sprayed with cooking spray.





Toast in the oven (or toaster oven) for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees. Then, unwrap and enjoy the deliciousness.



Yum.



This post is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Lunches

Sandwiches



Baked Veggie Sandwiches
Corn Dogs (baked)
Cheesy BBQ Open Sandwiches
Crockpot BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Grilled Cheese Ideas
Mozzarella and Pepperoni Panini
Pan-Grilled Veggie Sandwiches
Toasted Sandwiches


Quesadillas



Homemade Tortillas
Garlic Chicken Quesadillas
Quesadillas
Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas
Veggie Quesadillas
Zucchini, Carrot and Black Bean Quesadillas


Salad



Chicken Pasta Salad
Italian Pasta Salad

Good 'Ol Corn Dogs

State Fair season is just around the corner.  Yum.  Not good for me, but, yummy.  Growing up, we hit 2 fairs each year, the smaller county fair that my parents attended growing up, and the big kahuna - THE STATE FAIR. 

I love our state fair.  And, apparently so do many others.  It's repeadidly been given the title of #1 fair in the country.  It's huge, and wonderful, and did I mention everything is on a stick?  

Seriously.  Everything.  More than 60 food options, on a stick. 

Spaghetti?  Yep, on a stick.

Cheesecake?  Yep, on a stick.

Eggroll?  On a stick.

Key Lime Pie?  On a stick.

Deep Fried Milkway?  On  a stick.

Pizza?  On a stick.

Hotdish?  On a stick. 

Local Walleye?  On a stick.

Belgian waffle (called a Fudge Puppy)?  On a stick.

Wildrice corn dog?  You guessed it, on a stick.

and, just in case all that food doesn't make you feel so great -- there's even Pepto-Bismol (on a stick).

Since I currently don't live close enough to make it to the great get-together, I thought I'd try my hand at making something you can find at the fair:  Corn Dogs!  Although, sorry to disappoint - I didn't make them on a stick.

Baked Corn Dogs - Modified from Jessica

1 C whole wheat (or all purpose) flour
2/3 C cornmeal
2 T honey (or sugar)
2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 C milk
1 egg
2 T oil
10 hot dogs

Whisk together the dry ingredients.  Then, make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add in the egg, milk, oil and honey.



Whisk and stir to combine.



Lightly dust the hotdogs with flour. Roll to coat.



Drop the hotdog into the batter. Coat well.



Lay the hotdogs on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.



Preheat the oven to 375. Pop these guys in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes, until they are lightly browned.



Of course, you can insert a stick to make them more authentic. I just went the easy way :)

Or, Laura has a great idea of putting the hot dogs into corndog muffins :)

These were great and really easy to make.  I love that they are baked and thus a little bit healthier too!  Ahhh... a little taste of the fair right in my own home.

This post is linked to: Food on Fridays.

Pan-Grilled Veggie Sandwiches

A simple Balsamic Vinaigrette on tasty bread makes these veggies delightful.

Pan-Grilled Veggie Sandwiches - Snow White

1 loaf Parmesan Italian bread
Balsamic Vinaigrette (salad dressing)
1 medium zucchini, shredded
8oz mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Mozzarella cheese (enough to cover one side of the bread)

Saute the shredded zucchini and mushrooms seasoned with salt and pepper, over medium heat until tender. 

Slice the bread into sandwich-sized pieces.  Drizzle vinaigrette (to taste) over the bread.  Top with cheese, and pop in a toaster oven, or in the oven, to broil until cheese is melted and bread is slightly toasted.



When the cheese is melted, remove the sandwich from the oven, and top with the veggie mix.  It's as easy as that. 



Please excuse the blurry photos....don't really have an excuse, they're just blurry.

The recipe is linked to Grocery Cart Challenge's Recipe Swap.

Mozzarella and Pepperoni Panini

Another great recipe from Lara over at Recipe Shoebox! This tasty sandwich has great flavor and was quick and easy to prepare.

Mozzarella and Pepperoni Panini - Modified from Lara at Recipe Shoebox

1 loaf of Parmesan Italian Fococcia Bread
1/4-1/2 C Balsamic Vinaigrette (Lara has a recipe for how to make your own)
Mozzarella cheese, to taste
Pepperoni (we used Turkey Pepperoni)


Cut your fococcia bread into "sandwich" sized portions.



We got 4 from our loaf. Then, slice them in half.



Slice the mozzarella cheese to taste, enough to cover half of each of the sandwiches. And, pour the vinaigrette into a small bowl.

Brush the bread with the Balsamic Vinaigrette.



Top half of the bread with mozzarella and pepperoni.



Then, place the other bread slice on top.



Place on a grill, in your George Foreman, or on the stove top in a frying pan, and heat/grill until the cheese melts and the pepperoni is warm.



Serve with a tossed salad or green beans, and enjoy.



We think these would be excellent with a pizza sauce on the bread, or with the Vinaigrette and sauteed veggies. Yum.