French Dips with Italian Attitude (Rachel Ray)

This recipe brings back special memories for me. My mom had this meal ready for my husband and I when we brought our son home from the hospital. Not only does it bring back memories but it taste amazing. This is a great meal to have with company. I double this recipe but it goes quickly. I served it with a salad and Paula Deen's macaroni and cheese. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  1 wide baguette
  2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
  1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  1 small onion, chopped
  2 large clove garlic, divided, 1 chopped, 1 crushed
  1 tablespoon tomato paste
  2 cups beef stock
  1 sprig of rosemary leaves, chopped
  Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  1/4 pound sliced roast beef
  6 slices provolone cheese

Slice baguette open lengthwise just shy of actually completely splitting it open; you want it to open like a book and stay together. Then cut the bread in half so that you have 2 books. Transfer the bread to a cookie sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown, 8-10 minutes, or toast under the broiler but keep an eye on it so it doesnt burn! Once the bread is toasted, rub cut side with the crushed clove of garlic then drizzle it with a little EVOO and cover it with grated cheese.


While the bread is toasting, heat a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add onion, chopped garlic, tomato paste and rosemary, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook until the onions start to get soft about 2-3 minutes. Add beef stock, bring up to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes to let the flavors come together.


Using tongs swish a few slices of roast beef at a time through the hot broth then transfer to the cheesy garlic bread. Once all the roast beef has been mounded on the bread, top each half with 3 slices of provolone cheese and transfer to the broiler or oven to melt the cheese.

Creamy Mac and Cheese (Paula Deen)

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoon (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
3 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cup (about 10-ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
2 cup uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8 ounce box isn’t quite 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Directions

Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Add eggs. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Broccoli Mango Salad

½ c. ranch salad dressing
2 Tbs. orange juice
2 tsp. prepared horseradish
4 c. chopped fresh broccoli
1 large , ripe mango, seeded, peeled and cubed or sliced
½ c. thinly sliced red onion
1 11-ounce can mandarin orange sections, drained
½ c. cashews

In a large mixing bowl combine ranch dressing, orange juice and horseradish. Add broccoli, mango and red onion; toss to mix. To serve top with oranges and cashews.

Starbucks Cinnamon Scones

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 egg, separated
3 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup buttermilk*
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

* I didn’t have this on hand, but easily made do with 1/3 cup milk and a squeeze of lemon juice for acid.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then have a trusty helper mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the butter and mix until crumbly. In another bowl, mix the egg yolk (save the white for later) with honey and buttermilk until blended. Then, add to the dry mixture. Stir until just combined.

Using floured hands, form the dough into a ball on a floured surface.
Roll or pat it out until it’s roughly a half an inch thick and 8 inches in diameter. Cut pizza style into equally sized pieces.
Put onto a greased baking pan.

Then, wisk the egg white until frothy and coat the tops of the scones. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle on top.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes. I took mine out just prior to 10 minutes and they were perfectly flaky.

According to the recipe, these are done. But I felt something was lacking. Glaze!
To make the glaze, I simply mixed a bunch of powdered sugar with a touch of milk until nice and thick. Then, drizzle. I topped with a dash of more cinnamon. Perfection!

2/26/11 - 3/11/11 Menu Plan

Breakfast 

French Toast Rollups

Muffins/yogurt

Scrambled Egg Muffins/fruit

Cereal

Pancakes/fruit

Lunch

Chicken Salad/fruit/veg

Mac and cheese/fruit/veg

Hot dogs/fruit/veg

nuggets/fruit/veg

Leftovers

Dinner

Saturday - French Dips w/Attitude (Rachel Ray)/Mac-n-cheese (Paula Deen)/raw veggies

Sunday - Bruchetta Style Chicken over Risotto/Pizza

Monday - Lasagna (my mom's, the best!)/salad/bread

Tuesday - Chili in bread bowls

Wednesday - Aimee's Stuffed Chicken/veg/biscuits

Thurs - Nutty Coconut Fish/rice pilaf/green beans

Friday - Bacon Stuffed Cheeseburgers/mango broccoli salad

Saturday - Buffalo style pizza

Sunday - Monte Cristo's/fruit

Monday - Fajitas/mexican rice

Tues - Mom Mom's Buttermilk Chicken/ cauliflower gratin

Wed - Spaghetti/bread/salad

Thurs - Sesame Beef Stir Fry(Jessica Seinfeld)/rice

Fri- Family night out!

Taco Soup

My mom gave me this recipe. Our family loves it and I love it even more b/c it is SOOOOO easy. :)

Easy Taco Soup (Makes 10-12 servings, crock pot full)

1 pound ground lean hamburger ( I used 2 pounds)

1 large onion, chopped

4 cups water

1 (16 oz.) can light red kidney beans, drained

1 (15.5 oz.) can pinto beans, drained

1 (15.5 oz.) can niblet corn, drained

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 (10.75 oz.) can tomato soup

1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes wth green chilies

1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce

1 (1.25 oz.) package taco seasoning mix

1 teaspoon salt

Garnish:shredded cheese, sour cream, crushed taco chips

In a large Dutch oven,combine ground beef and onion. Cook over medium-high heat, until beef is browned and crumbles;drain. Stir in remaining ingredients; except for the garnish. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour. Garnish each serving, if desired.

Or you can cook in a crock pot on low. However, you need to brown ground beef and saute onions first.