Hot Ham & Cheese Sliders

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Ham & Cheese Sliders

These sliders. They’re one of the easiest things to put together, and also one of the most delicious – two things that usually don’t go hand in hand. I first made them for Andrew’s birthday party the year before last – the Dr. Seuss party. Everyone gobbled them up, and raved about them…so I knew I was onto something very good.

We’ve been making them since. Sometimes I make homemade dinner rolls, and sometimes I pick up a package of King’s Hawaiian rolls at the store and call it a night. Then it’s just a matter of assembling the deli ham and cheese on the buns, then drizzling them in this delicious sauce…that’s hard not to site there and eat with a spoon. Bake in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese, and voila! I usually pair with a simple side like potato salad or sweet potato fries for an easy meal.

For lunch, dinner, or even as a munchie for game day – these sliders are always a winner that is sure to please everyone! 

Ham and Cheese Sliders

12 dinner rolls
18 slices deli ham
6 slices Swiss cheese

For the sauce:
5 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp onion, finely minced
1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
3 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp kosher salt
poppy seeds

Slice dinner rolls in half. Pile 1 1/2 pieces of ham onto the bottom of each bun, along with 1/2 piece of Swiss cheese and then top with the other half of the bun. Place in 2 quart baking dish. Repeat with remaining rolls.

To prepare the sauce, heat the butter, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire, onion, and salt in a small sauce pan, whisking until smooth and melted.

Drizzle glaze over sandwiches and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese has melted.

Serve warm.

Source: adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

Cherry-Merlot Pork and Egg Noodles

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Cherry Merlot Pork Tenderloin and Egg NoodlesThis time of year things get so hectic. With all our favorite Fall activities, soccer games and practices, school obligations …often I find that my meal planning falls by the wayside. So, when asked to try a recipe from the Marzetti KitchensSM website to share with you guys – I jumped at the opportunity to try something new! But, it also had to be quick and easy, to accommodate our hectic schedules these days!

So, I’m glad I hopped on over there and checked it out. Because they really do have so many great recipes! I’ve always been a huge fan of their Caesar salad dressing that’s in the refrigerated produce section of the grocery store. Can always find a bottle in my fridge, still working on finding a homemade recipe that lives up to it!

I happened to have a pork tenderloin that I needed to use, so this recipe immediately caught my eye. I adapted it a bit, mainly because I was feeling lazy and just wanted to sear the tenderloin in one piece. Then a quick sauce is made using Merlot, cherry preserves and dried cherries. The pork finishes cooking while the sauce reduces, and then at the end you whisk in butter to make the sauce thick and luxurious. Easy peasy, and so darned impressive! The flavor of the sauce was absolutely delicious, both sweet and savory. Served over a heaping pile of warm egg noodles and a side salad, it made for a hearty and filling meal that didn’t completely weigh you down.  A perfect seasonal dish that comes together quickly for these hectic fall months!

Everyone enjoyed it, and leftovers were killer made into a panini using some brie cheese. So if you’re like me, and in a bit of a recipe funk – head over to the Marzetti Kitchens page to check out all their delicious recipes! I know you’re bound to find something that will “Wow!” your family, just like this meal did for us!

Cherry Merlot Pork Tenderloin and Egg Noodles

Cherry-Merlot Pork and Egg Noodles

1 (8 oz) package egg noodles
1 pork tenderloin
1 1/2 cups Merlot wine 3 oz dried cherries, reconstituted
1 (10 oz) jar cherry preserves
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
2 Tbsp. olive oil
kosher salt
ground black pepper

Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Season pork tenderloin generously with salt and pepper and sear in hot skillet until well browned on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside.

To the pan drippings add the wine, the cherry preserves and the cherries. Bring to a boil and return the tenderloin to the pan. Reduce heat to low and allow sauce to reduce, turning the tenderloin every few minutes to finish cooking evenly until the internal temperature reaches 160. Remove tenderloin from sauce and set aside to rest.

Meanwhile, whisk the butter into the sauce until well combined and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Slice pork into 1/2-inch pieces and serve over the egg noodles. Pour sauce over top of the pork. Serve immediately.

Source: adapted from Marzetti Kitchens

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Shrimp Saltimbocca

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Shrimp Saltimbocca

A couple of weeks ago we took Jon’s brother, who was in town visiting, to the airport up in Baltimore. I never miss an opportunity to visit a fancy grocery store, so we all went along for the ride. Had a nice dinner, hit up the sale racks at Antrho, and dragged Uncle Trevor through every aisle at Whole Foods before dropping him off at the airport. Then we stopped by the new Wegmans location in Crofton on the way home. I always love visiting their delicatessen, and I couldn’t resist having a few slices of the most gorgeous proscuitto I’ve ever seen sliced off to take home with me. And come home with me they did…along with some awesome peppered salami and sliced chorizo. I had to fend off Jon from eating all the “gabagool” in the fridge.

What he didn’t eat, I decided to use to do a fresh spin on one of my very favorite classic Italian dishes. Traditionally, this is made with a chicken breast. Which is awesome. But our local seafood joint happened to have some gorgeous, large shrimp in this weekend and the wheels in my head started turning.

It was a little bit more time consuming than chicken breasts, just because of wrapping shrimp individually in the prosciutto. But, your efforts are well rewarded. The salty richness of the proscuitto permeates the shrimp, rendering some of it’s fat and getting nice and crispy. Then a pan sauce is made from the browned bits, garlic, white wine, lemon juice, and butter. I served it over pasta, but I think it would be a wonderful appetizer or first course on it’s own. I’m so glad I remixed this one, because I think I like it better than the original!

Shrimp Saltimbocca

1 1/2 lbs large shrimp, peeled with tails left on
6 whole fresh sage leaves
6 thin slices of prosciutto, cut into 1×3 inch strips (4 strips per piece)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup dry vermouth or white wine
juice from 1/2 lemon
3 Tbsp. cold butter
1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Wrap each shrimp with a piece of proscuitto and secure using a toothpick, or by placing 3 or 4 shrimp on a skewer at a time.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add sage leaves and the smashed clove of garlic. Cook until sage leaves begin to change color and are fragrant, about30 seconds. Remove the sage with a slotted spoon.

Add the shrimp to the pan, and cook until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook on other side until golden brown, about 3 more minutes. Remove the garlic clove and discard. Remove the shrimp and keep warm. Repeat with remaining shrimp.

If there is any excess fat in the skillet, pour it off. Add the chopped garlic, stir in the vermouth, scraping up the browned bits, and simmer until it’s reduced to about 3-4 Tbsp. Stir in lemon juice.

Turn heat down to low, and whisk in the butter. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over shrimp, and crumble (or serve whole) the fried sage leaves on top before serving.

Source: adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, May 2008 via Elly Says Opa

Bacon Pimento Macaroni & Cheese

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Bacon Pimento Macaroni & CheeseHomemade pimento cheese is one of my very favorite things on this green Earth. I would also say the same for a good homemade macaroni & cheese. So, to combine the two – and then add bacon for good measure, just seemed natural.

I made crab cakes for dinner the other evening, and as I’d mentioned in Monday’s post – I’ve been kind of seafood-ed out lately. So I wanted to do a side dish that was amped up enough to be a meal on it’s own. I kind of threw this together with things I had on hand, and it turned out so unbelievably wonderful. I know it will be one we come back to again and again!

Bacon Pimento Macaroni & Cheese

2 cups elbow macaroni
4 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. dry mustard powder
2 cups milk
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
5 dashes hot sauce
1 (4 oz) jar pimentos, drained
5 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
kosher salt
black pepper

Preaheat oven to 350.

Fill a large saucepan with water, and bring to a rolling boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt to the water. Add the pasta, and cook for 5 minutes. Drain pasta and set aside.

In the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, and whisk constantly for about 3 minutes…until the flour mixture is a light amber in color. Add in the mustard powder. Slowly whisk in the milk, and continue to whisk for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and add the shredded cheddar cheese and a few dashes of hot sauce, whisking until cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the pasta back into the saucepan with the cheese sauce and toss to coat. Stir in the drained pimentos and cooked bacon.

Pour into a medium sized baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes uncovered, until starting to brown on top and bubbling around the edges.