Turkey Bacon Avocado Paninis

It has been one of those kind of weeks.

Last Monday, a familiar but most unwelcome acquaintance set up shop in my house- the common cold. And ugh, it has been anything but fun. I've been running the gambit from sore throat to fever to head fog to a lost voice. Truly, by the end of the day Saturday, the hubby and I were communicating by text. I'm normally a very quiet person, but found the sensation of not being able to talk very unpleasant. Not cool when you are trying to watch Oregon football! 😡 Luckily, I'm on the mend. My voice is back and with only a nasty cough left, I'm pretty much over the hump.

Good thing too, because I'm doing the Thanksgiving shopping today 🙀

Monte Cristo Sliders

Happy Friday friends!

I have exactly 6 more recipes that I put together with pictures from my old lens, so bear with me as I burn through my backlog.  I have to say (even with pictures that now make me tilt my head slightly and say "huh" perplexedly) that these little sliders still look yummy. If you are unfamiliar with the Monte Cristo, as the hubby was, this is what a Monte Cristo is:

A Monte Cristo is typically a fried ham-and-cheese sandwich, a variation of the French croque-monsieur. Typically in the United States, you'll find this also made with raspberry preserves and lightly dusted with powdered sugar.

The Ultimate Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich

-with a legit moist-maker!

Calling all "Friends" fans! I've taken on Monica's Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich, complete with a moist-maker! For those of you not in the know, a moist-maker is an extra piece of gravy-soaked bread in the middle of the sandwich. I know all kinds of people hate the word moist, but I'm sorry. It's word that must be used, and used often, by foodies. You don't want your chicken to be dry, you want it to be... moist. Same with cake. And brownies. And steak. And all kinds of meats. So peeps, I apologize, but the word must be used.

Salmon, Gouda, & Fried Egg Sandwiches

Happy Tuesday morning y'all!

I'm here posting again on Tuesday (after I posted on Monday) because I don't think I'm going to be back to the blog until Friday. The hubby and I have a super-busy week.

Isn't it always like that around the holidays?

As I mentioned previously (actually, quite a while ago), the hubby and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year. Which means a lot more work than usual. Haha. Usually we are just grabbing a couple of things and heading out the hubby's sister's house. Not this year. So, the hubby and I will be cleaning house today, with tomorrow being a prep day for the holiday. We also have to babysit our niece and our nephews tomorrow before doing the prep work, which will add a extra kick of pressure tomorrow.  I figure, as long as the turkey is defrosted, the Clam Dip is made, and the Pecan Pie is done, I should feel ready for the holiday.

Should being the key word there :-)

Chicken, Spinach, and Mushroom Melts

I love sandwiches. Love, love, love them. Before this summer and my guacamole-a-thon, I had been on a sandwich kick for a long time. A long, long time, eating a sandwich every day for lunch. I can't explain this behavior, it just is. I get stuck on something, and then I eat it. And eat it, and eat it, and eat it. Pretty much until I'm sick of it. So happened with my turkey sandwich. Here's the thing about my sandwich kicks- they last a long time and they always come back. When I lived in Oregon, I spent most of 2009 on a sandwich kick. The building I worked at had a cafeteria where I found the most magical turkey sandwich. I ate it almost every day that year. Yep, I'm that weirdo. 

Kentucky Hot Browns

If you want me to be completely honest with you, I will. I'd never heard of Kentucky Hot Browns until I moved to Kentucky. Seriously. I'd lived here a year and a half before I even heard the term. I was perusing FaceBook when I saw an article about The Brown Hotel, birthplace of the Kentucky Hot Brown. The story is, in the 1920's, upper class citizens used to come to The Brown Hotel to dance until the wee hours of the morning. After dancing away the night, they would make their bleary way to the kitchen where they would request a breakfast-y type dish. Wanting to serve his patrons something more upper-crust then eggs and bacon, the chef at The Brown Hotel devised an open-face turkey sandwich slathered in Mornay (that's CHEESE!) sauce. The Kentucky Hot Brown was born.

25 Deliciously Cheesy Recipes

You guys.

We are less than 24 hours away from the hubby and I hitting the road to go pick up our little man. To say I'm excited would be an understatement of mammoth proportions. I'm counting down the minutes till it's 8 am here, and I can call the puppy's foster mother to finalize our arrangements. Not that it will help. My brain is all like, "Puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy... Is it time to leave yet? No? Puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy..."

Turkey Bacon Guacamole Sandwiches

Happy Friday!

I still love weekends, even though I'm not technically part of the work force anymore. Fridays were my favorite day of the week as a school-aged kid. It remained my favorite day all the way through college, and even up through all my subsequent jobs. The day I quit my corporate job? Well, it was a Tuesday, but Fridays were still my favorite day at that point. I mean, aren't Fridays the best? When it's 5 o'clock pm after a long workweek, and you still have the entire weekend of possibilities in front of you? I loved that feeling.

25 Easy Chicken Recipes

Happy Friday! Happy March Madness! 

The NCAA tournament has been going as planned for the hubby, with Kentucky chugging right along. My bracket is looking awfully precarious, though I do have Kentucky winning it all. As long as Kentucky can keep on winning, I'm still in it. But barely, and by the skin of my teeth. I'm in 4th place in the family pool. Out of 5. I guess you can't win em' all.

Philly-Style Chicken Sandwiches

I put this recipe on my "idea" list for the blog about 6 months ago. I have a sticky note where I keep all my ideas for upcoming blog posts. I add to it, make something, scratch that off, add a couple more ideas, start the process over.

25 Super Bowl Snacks, Treats, and Meal Ideas

Good morning, and happy Tuesday!

I meant to publish a post yesterday, but the morning ended up being way too hectic. The hubby and I had to leave the house at 7 am yesterday to drive my car about an hour away to the Nissan dealership. It was not the best day for travel (thank you, East Coast Blizzard!), not to mention the problems I was already having with the drivability of the car.

Top Recipes of 2014

Well peeps, it's almost 2015. Only 2 more days. 2 days that are holidays to me every year. 2 days, you ask? Yes. Today is my birthday (!!!) and tomorrow is, of course, New Year's Eve. I coast right into the new year every year after 2 lively days of celebrating.

Oh my gosh, typing that sentence just brought Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah Song" to mind. "Instead of 1 days of presents, we get 8 CRAZY nights". LOL. Instead of 1 night of celebrating on New Year's Eve, I get 2 crazy nights :)

25 Meatless Meal Ideas

Yay! It's Friday!

My 25 Easy Mexican-Inspired Recipes post went over so well, I thought I'd do another 25-recipe roundup. The Mexican-Inspired post was one of my most viewed posts of last month, so I think, I think, you guys like them. It's unusual that my most viewed post of the month is posted on the last day of said month. Plus, I have another reason I'm doing a roundup. Occasionally I get into a mood where none of photographs look good to me. I've got 3 posts in the pipeline and I couldn't bring myself to post any of them because none of them were "good enough". These moods come and go, so I'm guessing I'll end posting all of these recipes at some point. I suspect all photographers are like that at some point.

Meatless meals. While the hubby and I are by no means vegetarians (as evidenced by the 2 large New York strips we devoured early in the week!), we do try to eat a balance between lean meats and meatless meals. We mostly eat chicken, which we have 3-4 times a week while the rest of the week we eat meatless. Once or twice a month, we eat steak or ground hamburger. Some weeks, we have a couple of turkey meals. Some weeks, we have a couple of seafood meals. We rarely eat pork anymore. The most pork we eat is bacon a couple of times a month. I know a lot of people don't consider a meal a real meal unless it has meat. However, in the last 2-3 years that the hubby and I have been experimenting with meatless meals, we've found meatless doesn't have to be light or un-filling. Meatless meals can be just as satisfying, sometimes more so. I've found you can eat a lot more when you are eating more vegetables than meat. I've also found my weight is easier to maintain with the hubby and I's current grubbing. Plus, the best part- meatless meals tend to be cheaper. Meat is expensive, and only seems to be getting more so these days. I'd highly recommend trying a meatless meal once or twice a week, just to try it out and see if it's something that would work for you. 

Well, the weekend is here and the hubby has to work all weekend. Boo. I've got a busy day on tap that includes a trip to the big box store, the dreaded Walmart, prepping the hubby's lunches for a stint of day shifts, a photography session, and making a large batch of soup. Whew. It's going to be a busy day. Tomorrow, I'm starting up workouts again (feeling lots better!) and cleaning house, and Sunday shall be reserved for football and reading. So that's my weekend, hopefully yours is going to be a tad more exciting than mine :)

Have a great weekend bloggy friends!

1. Creamy Broccoli and Cheese Soup

2. Spinach Artichoke Pizza

3. Cheesy Eggplant and Orzo Casserole

4. Grilled Heirloom Tomato Caprese Sandwiches

5. Mediterranean Falafel Salad

6. Garlicky Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta

7. Greek Salad Sandwiches with Hummus

8. Oven Baked Eggplant with Alfredo Sauce

9. Orecchiette with Roasted Peppers and Spinach

10. Chickpea Minestrone

11. Pasta e Fagioli

12. Pizza Margherita

13. Porcini Mushroom Risotto

14. Parsley Pesto Pasta

15. Roasted Fennel, Chickpea, and Tomato Soup

16. Rotini with Salsa di Limone

17. Roasted Vegetable Pizza

18. Spanish Rice Soup

19. SW Chopped Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing

20. Traditional Greek Salad

21. Winter Minestrone

22. Whole Wheat Tortellini with Corn and Tomato Relish

23. Zucchini and Brown Rice Casserole

24. Eggplant and Orzo Casserole Soup

25. Black Bean Flautas with Avocado Dipping Sauce

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Treasure Box Tuesday

Texas Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Creamy Coleslaw

Oh yes, it's time for a slow-cooker treat!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again- I don't pull out the crockpot near enough. I don't know why this is, because crockpot dinner days are my favorite. It's a magical feeling, almost like going out to dinner. As if you didn't have to cook. I'm one of those people who's filled with energy in the morning and during the day, but by 6 pm? I'm tired. Cranky. I don't feel like working anymore. So if there's a meal in the crockpot, and all I have to do is pull out some hamburger buns and coleslaw I made in the morning- I'm a happy camper. I'm an especially happy camper when that dinner in the crockpot is tender, delicious, and coated in a delicious concoction of BBQ flavor.

Pulled pork is so versatile. I started out over the summer with an 8 lb roast. I cut it half, and froze the half that became this Texas Pulled Pork. The half that I cooked in the summer probably made us 6-7 meals. This half that I cooked this week also made that many meals. We had sandwiches for dinner one night, and then sandwiches for lunch another day. I made Hawaiian Pizza out of a large quantity of pork. And then last night for dinner, we had sandwiches again. And there's still a little bit left. Pulled Pork Hash might be in the works...

I can't advocate pulled pork enough. Seriously. Nuff' said. 

If you like pulled pork, you are going to love this recipe. The sauce is lip-smackin' good, and only seems to flavor the meat more the more days after it's been cooked. The meat, literally, just falls apart when it's done. The sweetness of the coleslaw is the perfect foil for the slightly spicy pork. Gosh, I'm getting hungry just thinking about these...

Ok. Trying...not...to...think...about...BBQ :)

It's Friday! Does anyone have anything exciting planned for the weekend? I think I'm on the tail end of my cold. I'm feeling like I've gotten most of the crap out of my lungs. Therefore, I'm thinking I might try an experimental run tomorrow. I actually went to the gym yesterday, but I noticed I was getting very fatigued and out of breath after 20 minutes of cardio. I know I've lost some fitness in this almost-3 week hiatus from exercise, but I think the fatigue yesterday was because I still had some crud leftover in my lungs. Either way, every day I'm feeling better. And thankful for that! I'm also planning on making cookies, tackling that pumpkin I didn't get around to yesterday, making a trip to the library (I've been devouring books lately), and making a trip to Lowe's. Some evil animal in the backyard has made off when not 1, but 2 of my suet feeders. Not only did they take off with the suet baskets, but they completely broke another feeder I have out there. I'm a little irritated with whoever is doing this, my best guess being a raccoon. More than a little irritated, because as I look out the window now there's a poor little woodpecker looking for his missing suet. Poor little guy. 

One more thing before I run off, since I mentioned the library. I've really been trying to branch out this year and read some books I wouldn't normally choose. I do this by going to the library and haphazardly picking up a book. Or by going to different sections and picking the first book my hand lands on. I've found some really good authors by doing this. However, I just finished a book last night that has left me puzzled. It was "Love Me Back" by Merritt Tierce.  It ended on one of those notes where you ask yourself when you finish, "What was the point of that?". It's weird, because the book read easily. And fast. But when I turned the last page and discovered I was at the end... I was flabbergasted. The book just suddenly ended. The other odd thing about this book is the author wrote in a weird tense the whole book. I think I'm going to have give this book some thought, because I'm sure there is some meaning buried somewhere. It felt like a "fluff" book, but I'm not entirely convinced it was...

Anyhoo, I think I've covered enough topics for today. I'm all talked-out :) 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients (serves 10-12):

Pulled Pork-

1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp yellow mustard

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 large onion, chopped

1 tbsp garlic, minced

2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 tbsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2- 1 tsp crushed red pepper 

1 (4 lb) pork shoulder

Coleslaw-

2 tbsp white vinegar

3 tbsp mayonnaise

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 cups cabbage, shredded

hamburger buns

Directions:

1. Combine BBQ sauce through crushed red pepper in the bottom of crockpot. Stir to combine. Place roast in pot, spoon sauce over roast until it's covered. Place lid on crockpot. Cook on low for 8-9 hours. Remove lid, and shred pork with 2 forks. 

2. In a small mixing bowl, combine white vinegar through black pepper. Stir to combine. Add cabbage, and toss to coat.

3. To serve, ladle pulled pork onto hamburger bun. Top with slaw. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

Pulled Pork recipe adapted from Allrecipes. Slaw recipe adapted from About.com.

Looking for other sandwich recipes? Try these!

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

Mom's Sloppy Joes

Turkey Pesto Avocado Sandwiches

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Treasure Box Tuesday

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

I don't use my slow cooker enough.

There, I said it. I, simply and plainly put, don't use it enough. The slow cooker is near the top of my list of favorite kitchen appliances that are never used. Along with the blender. And the blow torch. And the electric wok. I should use it more, it makes dinner easy-peasy. It's been pretty hectic around the house lately, to the point where I'm usually tired by early evening. A long, complex meal has not sounded like the ticket. But with the slow cooker, you can expend all your energy in the morning completing the prep, and just be ready to go at dinner. Doesn't that sound like winning for everyone?

I prepared this last week when my MIL was staying with us while her carpet was redone. The hubby's uncle helped the hubby move his mother's furniture and pull up the old carpet, so we invited him to feast on French Dip's as well. This recipe worked perfectly for a hectic day! I got an absolutely stunning roast at the Farmer's Market (organic, grass-fed, not fed hormones, etc.) that I threw in the crockpot after prepping for 5 minutes. The roast is cooked in a beef broth mixture that makes the house smell delicious all day.

This was one of those dishes that the hubby hovered around whenever he could. Yes, he was at his mom's working most of the day but anytime he stopped back by the house, he was pressing his nose to the lid. The roast had been cooking for 7.5 hours when he came home for good. It was then that he decided he must open the lid and check the tenderness. I warned him against (you know, letting all the heat out!) but I had a feeling it was probably done. Sure enough, fork tender. I ended up pouring about 3/4 of the liquid into a stockpot on the stove, and leaving the remaining liquid in with the meat. The hubby couldn't make his sandwich fast enough. I'd bought plenty of sandwich hoagies, but it turned out one sandwich was filling enough for everyone. 

There's something magical about dipping those hot, beefy sandwiches covered in melted Swiss cheese into those little cups of broth-y goodness. I must say, I was pretty darn proud of my au jus. The sandwiches were a big hit in this house, and a fairly economical one at that. The magical slow cooker transforms cheap roasts into deliciously tender sandwich fare. If you have a roast beef lover in your house, make this one today!

One more tip- I bought a roast on the bone. After the roast was cooked, I fished out the bone and froze it. On Saturday, when I made a gigantic batch of marinara out of 15 lbs of tomatoes, I threw the bone in the sauce while it simmered all day. Magical! Get bones, save bones. That's my advice for the day :)

My little brother will be here on Thursday! Yes, I'm positive he'll be here Thursday. I've written it down, the hubby's written it down, the brother has called to remind me... It's safe to say I'll be a wee more prepared than last time! We don't have too much planned for this visit, although we will be attending a Red's game in Cincinnati which I'm excited for. He's looking forward to some relax and de-stress time, plus some home-cooking! I've only received one request so far, and it's for Buffalo Chicken Pizza. Done, and done! I'm sure I'll receive some more requests along the way, we'll just have to see. Other than pizza, the only other item I have planned is making Blueberry Danish. 

In the meantime, I'm going to be busy. Very, very busy. Still training, but now throw in cleaning the house, cooking, baking, gardening, bathing the dogs, and trying to squeeze in photo shoots. Like I said before, it's hectic around here right now.

Hey, it keeps me young! Have a great day everyone! :)

Ingredients (makes 5-6 large sandwiches):

1 onion, chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups beef broth

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp honey

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 1/2 lbs chuck roast

sandwich rolls and sliced Swiss cheese (for serving)

Directions:

1. Combine onion through black pepper in slow cooker. Stir to incorporate. Place roast in slow cooker. Spoon broth mixture over meat. Place lid on slow cooker, and cook on low for 8 hours.

2. Remove beef from slow cooker. Pour 3/4 of liquid from slow cooker into stockpot, retaining the remaining liquid in the slow cooker. Place stockpot on stove over low heat. 

3. Place beef back in slow cooker with remaining liquid. Using two forks, shred the beef and coat it with remaining broth. 

4. Sandwich beef between rolls, top with cheese, and serve with reserved au jus.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy. 

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these:

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Shredded Beef Tacos

Buffalo Chicken Mozzarella Melts

Linked to: Treasure Box Tuesdays, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday