French Dip Sandwiches and Baked French Fries

This is a simple dish I've been making for years.  It is a family favorite!

You'll want to make the french fries first.  I always use Yukon Gold potatoes - I just really like them.  I also bake my french fries.  It is so much better for you, and we have come to enjoy our non-oily fries over the years. 

You can watch a how to video of my recipe on allrecipes.com just click here - Best Baked French Fries video

I use about 1.5-2 potatoes per person.  Slice the potatoes lengthwise into about 4 slices. Then slice each individual slice lengthwise again into 4 strips.  These are the size of steak fries.  You can see from the picture about the size I make them. When all the potatoes are in strips, place them in a container or a Ziploc baggie. Add about a tablespoon of sugar - seal and let sit for about 30 mins to an hour.  This will release the water in the potatoes and make them a little more crunchy than you normally expect from a baked french fry.

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.  Drain potatoes and pat dry. Line a baking sheet with foil (double line for easier clean-up). Spray with cooking spray.  Toss those potato strips on the foil. Salt and pepper generously, and I like to add some garlic powder too.  Now you'll want to drizzle them with olive oil and toss them around a bit to make sure each wedge is coated with oil.  The amount of oil will depend on how many potatoes you are making, but start with a tablespoon and add more as needed.  Don't worry if it seems like you oiled them too much, you can drain them on a paper towel after they are cooked.  It is also important to make sure they are in a single layer with space between each fry.

Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 30 mins. Remove from oven and flip the potatoes - I like to turn each individual one over - it really doesn't take a whole lot of time and results in a crispier fry, but if you don't feel like doing that - just move them around a bit and try to get as many of them flipped over as you can (keeping them in a single layer with space between each fry).  Bake them for 10 more minutes and remove from the oven. Drain on paper toweling if needed.

You can start the sandwiches after you put the fries back in the oven for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.  You'll need 1lb rare roast beef, 1 can french onion soup, water, 4 onion kaiser rolls, 4 slices swiss, provolone, or whatever cheese you prefer.  

Heat the french onion soup in a sauce pan with 1/2 a can of water. Add the roast beef and heat through. Meanwhile toast the rolls in the oven. When toasted top with roast beef and a spoonful of the soup. Add cheese on top of the meat and melt in the oven.  Serve with extra juice and french fries.

Roasted Vege Sandwich

Allrecipes.com California Grilled Vege Sandwich

In an effort to add healthier meals to our diet, I decided to add in a vegetarian meal once a week.  I really liked this sandwich and all of the yummy summer veges on top of a delicious piece of Tuscan Garlic Bread from the Publix Bakery.

Don, on the other hand, was not too thrilled with my idea of adding in more healthful meals. He kept asking "where's the beef?" Not that he doesn't want to eat healthy - he just didn't like this sandwich.  He LOVED the veges - we both agree the roasted veges are delicious and we should include them more often.  He did not like the garlicky spread and the Feta cheese on this sandwich. The once a week vege meals might be too much for him - I will have to ease into that a little slower and maybe do once every other week for now...

What does he know - the garlic was yummy and the feta added a nice touch.  I told him there was leftover pizza in the fridge he could eat if he preferred, but he suffered through and gobbled up all of his sandwich.  Usually he'll finish my meal for me, but lucky for him I was really hungry and didn't have any leftovers for him.

Of course, I can't leave well enough alone and made some changes to this recipe. I only made the changes because I don't have a grill right now - still researching which one I want to buy.  Also, I was originally planning to make homemade Foccacia Bread, but I got busy and ended up buying a Tuscan Garlic Loaf I found at the Publix Bakery - I think it was a fine substitution!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup sliced red bell peppers
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 small yellow squash, sliced
• • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • pinch of sugar
  • salt and pepper
• 1/2 loaf of Tuscan Garlic Bread from the Publix Bakery or your favorite bread
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Set aside in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (F). Place veges on a foil lined baking sheet. Salt and pepper veges. Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil over veges and add a pinch of sugar. Toss the veges around to coat well with the olive oil and sugar. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until tender and the onions begin to caramelize. Spread some of the mayonnaise mixture on the cut sides of the bread, and sprinkle each one with feta cheese. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and place in oven for about 5 minutes or until bread is warmed and cheese begins to melt. Watch carefully so as not to burn. Remove from oven and layer with the vegetables. Enjoy as open faced sandwiches.

Roasted Vegetable Orzo

Allrecipes.com Roasted Vegetable Orzo

With a dish like this there is hope for me being a vegetarian someday!  This was so yummy! I made some changes to the recipe mainly because asparagus was $5.99/lb, and I just could NOT bring myself to pay that. As much as I LOVE asparagus, I really felt this dish would still be great without it...definitely more cost effective for sure!

I served this with Roasted Chicken Breasts and it made for a great pairing! Honestly, I think this would go nicely with just about anything or even on its own!  Here is how I made this dish:

Ingredients

• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 summer squash, sliced
• 1 red onion, cut into chunks
• 1 pound portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pinch white sugar
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon chicken base
• 1/2 cup Sake or dry white wine
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 8 ounces orzo pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Place the zucchini, squash, onion, and mushrooms on a foil lined baking sheet; add in garlic, olive oil and sugar, and stir gently to coat vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast vegetables until tender, 20 to 25 minutes  

Meanwhile, melt butter in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in orzo and saute until lightly browned.

Mix the water, chicken base, and wine and slowly add to the orzo; bring to boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15 - 20 minutes.

Mix in roasted vegetables and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve warm. 

Be sure you taste this before adding salt. The Parmesan cheese will add salt and the veges have already been salted, so give it a taste to make sure you need to add more.

I really liked the Sake added to this dish - it really gave it a nice flavor, however, you can change up the liquid to suit your tastes. As long as you add 1 3/4 cups liquid in the end it can be the liquid of your choosing.  If you don't think the wine is going to be to your liking try reducing it to 1/4 cup and add 1 1/2 cups water (with the chicken base). If you prefer to use chicken stock instead of water and base - that is fine too. You can even try a vegetable base with water or vegetable stock.  Make it your own and enjoy! 

Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue

The girls in this house LOVE the Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue from the Melting Pot.  A night out can be a bit of a splurge, so we decided to try it at home.

Grandma gave Madison a portable Induction Cook-top for use at college, and we decided to make sure it works before she hauls it all the way to Savannah (we just really wanted to have some fondue, but making sure it works sounded like a good excuse).  Seeing as my stove has an induction cook-top we are very familiar with the technology and thought it would be perfect for a fondue night. Because it's portable, we could do the cooking right at the table just like being at the Melting Pot!

Here is the recipe that inspired us and the following is how we ended up making it...

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1/2 to 1 cup fresh baby spinach, chopped

1/4 cup artichoke hearts, chopped (we bought the ones in the jar, because getting to the heart of an artichoke is quite a task)

1 tablespoon chopped garlic (it was more like 1.5 tablespoons, but it was a bit too much - even for me)

4 oz Butterkase Cheese (Publix did not have this, so I found it at Petty's, and yes, it was worth it)

4 oz Fontina Cheese

1/4 cup grated Paremsan

flour

dash of Rooster Sauce

Dippers

Tortilla Chips

Various breads cut into bite sized cubes

Apples cut into bite sized cubes (coat with a little lemon juice so the don't turn brown)

Various veges cut into bite sized pieces

Directions

We used one of my regular sauce pans because we needed a magnetic bottomed pan to work on the induction top (love that technology!).  We heated the vege broth in the sauce pan and mixed in the spinach, artichoke hearts, and the garlic.  Turn down the heat before adding in the cheeese

I grated the Butterkase and the Fontina and lightly floured it.  I added it to the vege broth mixture a little bit at a time. Being sure to melt it as I go.  

Tips for working with cheese:  It is important to treat the cheese kindly during cooking.  Too high a temperature or too much heating time can make the proteins tighten up resulting in rubbery globs of cheese in a pool of grease - yuck!  If this happens you can't fix it and your fondue is ruined.  To lessen the chance your cheese will succumb to this sad fate be sure to grate your cheese to increase the surface area that is in contact with the heat source - this will ensure a quicker melting time. Always be sure your cheese is at room temperature before you heat it - again this will reduce the time and heat needed to melt it.  Melt cheese at a lower heat to prevent it seizing up.  Bottom line - Be kind to your cheese and your cheese will be kind to you

With induction technology you really can use a paper towel between the pot and the heat source! Don't try this at home with an electric or gas stove though!

 We had trouble getting the cheese and the vege broth to combine to a good consistency, so I added a tablespoon of flour and mixed it all really well. That worked great.  If I were to make this again, I would probably add in a tablespoon of flour with the vege broth at the beginning to thicken it - I think that might work better, but I haven't tried it. 

This was a fun family night! 

The fondue was really delish (although a bit too garlicky - even for me!)

Slow Cooked Chili

Chili in June? in Florida? Have I gone MAD?  I don't think so, but you never know... I decided to whip up some chili this week because my family LOVES it, and the sausage I use in the chili was on a great sale this week!  I did summerize it though - I reduced the chili powder by 1/2 so it wouldn't have near as much heat.  I think it turned out great - Don had 2 big bowls, and Madison is looking forward to having some when she gets back from TN!

Ingredients

• 1.5 to 2 pounds Mild Italian Sausage
• 2 (16 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained (I use the garlic, basil, & oregano)
• 2 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (garlic, basil, & oregano)
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder in warm weather. I use 2 tablespoons when it's cold out
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• Shredded Cheddar cheese
• Sour Cream

Direction

In a skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.

 Transfer to a slow cooker. Add the next nine ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4 hours. 

I like to use a slow cooker liner to make clean up a snap!

Garnish individual servings with sour cream and cheese if desired.

Recipe inspired by: Slow Cooked Chili