Sausage and Pepper Flatbread Sandwich with Cucumber Sour Cream Sauce!

My husband loves sausage. . . and peppers. . . and onions. . .and anything covered in sauce.  So this was a huge hit for him!  It's like a gyro. . .only not so much.  Same idea, except with ingredients my whole family will eat! 

Cooks up quick, great for a lunch or dinner, and sure to please a picky eater!  All my kids loved it. . .but one of them opted out of the sauce. . .ahem. . .Justin. . .

You'll want to make the cucumber sauce first, because it tastes better after it's sat a while.  It also gets a bit more "saucy" if you let it set mixed together for a while before eating.



Sausage and Pepper Flatbread Sandwich with Cucumber Sour Cream Sauce

1 pkg. of the precooked Johnsonville sausages. . . like the ones here.
1 green pepper, sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
salt
pepper
small pat of butter
6 flatbread like the ones here.  Sams Club. . .12 pack for $2.98!

1.  Put the flatbread on a baking sheet and set in a warm oven, about 170 degrees, to warm slightly.

2.  Toss pepper, onions, salt, pepper, and butter in a saute pan.  Heat until veggies are slightly browned, tender, and heated through.

3.  Thinly slice sausages, and add to a hot pan.  Saute until heated through.

4.  Remove flatbreads from the oven and load them up with sausage and veggies. . .top with LOTS of cucumber cream sauce!




Cucumber Sour Cream Sauce

1 cup shredded cucumber. . .I just use a cheese grater and shred away!
1 tsp lemon juice
LOTS of salt (like more than you think you should use)
LOTS of pepper
2 Tbsp finely grated red onion
Enough Sour Cream to coat cucumbers.

  
Mix all ingredients together!  Don't over do it on the sour cream, use just enough to make a thick concoction. . . as it sets in the fridge, the salt will bring the liquid out of the cucumbers making the thick mixture much more saucy. 

Baked Chili Cheese Dogs

My husband LOVES Chili Cheese Dogs. . .but not me. He thinks there's nothing better than cranking open a can of fake chili, and smothering a hot dog in it. Top that with a slice of American Cheese. . .and it's heaven for him! I however, am not a fan of American Cheese either. But I found a meal idea online for a baked chili cheese dog and it actually looked good. Again. . .they were using canned chili and American Cheese.

This version of a Chili Cheese Dog, however, is doable for me! More than that, it's delicious! The first thing I had to do away with was the American Cheese. . .I traded that for a nice, sharp, Cheddar. Second thing that had to go was the canned Chili. I mean really, a meaty stew in a can? C'mon. I made a nice sweet/hot chili for dinner two days ago. . .and this is my leftovers! My pot of chili made just enough for dinner one night, lunch for Dave the next day, and these babies right here!

I bought some really good buns, slathered them lightly with a mayo/mustard mix, and then topped them with the dogs, chili, and cheese. I know the mayo/mustard combo may sounds weird, but trust me on this.

The fact that they're baked makes a "hot dog" actually feel like a special meal. The buns get just the right amount of toasty crunchiness to them. They're hit.

Baked Chili Cheese Dogs

8 hot dog buns
8 hot dogs ( I LOVE Nathans!)
2 cups of chili
1 1/2 cups of cheese
mayo/mustard mix

1. Split open buns, and spread the mayo/mustard mix on each one.

2. Top each bun with a hot dog, and place in a baking dish.

3. Top each hot dog with 1/4 cup of chili, and a heavy sprinkle of cheese.

4. Top with foil, and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Marinated Ham Sammies

To. Die. For. A few years back I had tasted one of these at a party and couldn't get them out of my head. I came across many recipes, but none measured up. I made them several times and then I found the key: Kings Hawaiian Dinner Rolls.

See, they are a combination of every thing sweet and savory, but if you use regular dinner rolls, and not the Kings Hawaiian, they are just not sweet enough. Trust on me this one, it makes all the difference in the world. Being the Sam's Club shopper that I am, I buy these in a 24 count package for $3.88!

These are great as appetizers, and a must have on Christmas and Easter morning when you wanna pop something in the over without doing any cooking. And I don't know about you, but I am SO OVER all the "egg bakes" of this world.

I have never made them and NOT had someone ask for the recipe. As a matter of fact, once you do make them, not only will people ask for the recipe, you'll be known as "the girl who brought those little ham things" at every future gathering.

I suppose I should mention that there's an astronomical amount of butter involved, but it's the Holidays. . .grab the butter and run with it!

Make them. Seriously. Tonight.

Marinated Ham and Swiss Sammies

24 Kings Hawaiian Dinner rolls, split
24 pieces of ham, folded neatly to fit in dinner roll
24 small pieces of swiss cheese, again, nice and tidy inside that pillowy little roll
3 sticks of butter (take a deep breath. . .you're not eating them every day.)
4 Tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestishire sauce (if your worried about any ingredient is should be this one. . . made from fermented fish. Not even kidding. Saw it on Dirty Jobs.)
3 Tbsp spicy mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar

1. Arrange the bottom of all the buns in a large baking dish. I use a 10 x 15 pan.

2. Top each bun with a piece of ham, a piece of cheese, and the top of the bun. Some recipes say to put mayo on each bun, but the butter has left me feeling guilty enough.

3. Mix together the rest of the ingredients and microwave until melted.

4. Pour over sandwiches, cover with foil, and refrigerate over night.

5. Assuming you were smart enough to make these the night before Christmas, means that in the morning, when the kids are dumping stockings and you want to crawl back in bed, toss these bad boys in the oven, and wait for pure bliss! 350, until everythings melted and gooey. usually about 25 minutes.

Chicken Salad on Croissants

This is my FAVORITE FOOD EVER!!! Not even kidding. I know it's pretty random, but it's just so good!!! I hated it when I was younger. Thought it was the weirdest combination ever, but as I grew so did my taste buds.

I love the creamy with the crunchy. The salty with the sweet. It's just so incredibly, intensely, decadently, delicious.

This, again, is a "mix to your liking" kind of recipe so I will just give you the ingredients that I put in MINE.

You really can't go wrong!

Chicken Salad Croissants

Mayo
Miracle Whip (I like to use half and half. Too much mayo makes me gag, and I love that tangy zip of Miracle Whip!)
Chopped onions
Chopped celery
Red Grapes
Cashews
Cooked, diced, chicken
salt and pepper
1. Combine all the ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Don't add the cashews until right before you serve to keep them nice and crunchy. I also don't like to over-do it on the mayo/miracle whip combo either.
2. Serve on a great big, buttery, pillowy, croissant! (Sam's Club are the best!)

Sausage Po'Boys

As mentioned before, I'm a big fan of sandwiches. Not, however, a big sausage fan. Having said that, this is really good!!!

The last time we were at Disney World we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter. Now we're not really "food court" people, our whole trip revolved around our 5 Star restaurant reservations, but one day, in a pinch, we hit up the hotel food court.

The day we were there, they were serving all sorts of sandwiches. My choice: The Fried Shrimp Po'Boy Sandwich. (Ah-Mazing!) Dave's choice: The Sausage Po'Boy Sandwich. Now this trip was 8 months ago. . .and Dave still has not shut up about this sandwich. So finally, I made it for him. It's not Disney. . .there's no Mickey Magic involved. . .but it's still really good!

Sausage Po'Boys

5 sausage links (The kind that are like brats. I used some Seasoned Chicken and Provolone Sausages that I found at Sam's Club.)

1/2 Onion

1/2 green pepper

1/2 red pepper

Coleslaw (I made my own, but you don't have to. Basically, you don't want to use super wet coleslaw. The crunchier the better, and not too much dressing.)

5 Sandwich Rolls or Ciabatta Rolls

Butter

Olive Oil

1. Slice sausage links on the diagonal creating large, thin, slices. Brown in a pan with a small amount of olive oil.

2. Thinly slice the peppers and onions and toss them in another skillet with about 1 Tbsp of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Cook veggies just until slightly browned and crisp/tender.

3. Cut rolls lengthwise and butter the inside. Lay rolls on heated pan, butter side down, and brown.

4. Layer bread with sausage slices, saute'd peppers and onions, and coleslaw. Top with top of bread and serve.

Jimmy Johns California Beach Club: The remix

OK, before you read, know this: It's only a sandwich. Nothing special, not necesarily a "recipe" even, but if you've never had it. . .here you go.

I'm sure you've all been to Jimmy John's. . .and if you're lucky, you've all tried the number 11! The California Beach Club. Turkey, cheese, sprouts, cucumbers, tomato, and my fave: Avocado. It is amazing. Yes, I know, it's only a sandwich, but I happen to LOVE sandwiches. My husband and I recently had a conversation about our mutual love of sandwiches. "If you could only eat one kind of food, for the rest of your life, what would it be?" That's simple, "Sandwiches!" You can do anything with them! Hot sandwiches, cold sandwiches, open-faced sandwiches, sub sandwiches, panini sandwiches. . .the list goes on. You gotta try the Jimmy Johns version. You can't beat their bread, but when preparing for a crowd, make these!!!

I made them on croissants, but normally I'll buy a big loaf of french bread at Sam's Club, and make them that way.

California Beach Club

Croissants or French Bread

Turkey

Provolone Cheese ( I did provolone and cheddar)

Thinly sliced Cucumbers

Thinly sliced Tomato

Alfalfa Sprouts

Shredded Lettuce

Mayo

Avocado

Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder

Few shakes of lime juice

1. Mash up your avocado with salt and pepper. Add in some garlic powder and lime juice.

2. Spread the bottom half of you sandwich with Avocado Spread.

3. Spread the top half of your sandwich with mayo.

4. On the bottom of the sandwich, layer cheese, turkey, cucumber, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, and lettuce.

5. Fold sandwich shut, and CHOW DOWN!

Garlic Chicken Mozzarella Sandwiches

Now don't get down on me about the calorie count of this sucker! It's a whopper, but boy is it tasty! I served these open faced, and ate just one. My husband however, had three. The garlic toast is perfect for soaking up all that spaghetti sauce, and topped with thick slices of the Mozzarella cheese, it's melty, gooey, and tasty!

The funny thing is, I NEVER buy Texas Toast. I rarely be anything in a box or prepackaged, but I had a coupon, and thought I'd grab a box. It was less than a dollar! My husband loved it, and the kids were obsessed with the garlicy bread.

Garlic Chicken Mozzarella Sandwiches

2 frozen chicken breasts, seasoned, grilled, and thinly sliced

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 box (8 pieces) of Light Texas Garlic Toast

16 slices of Bellgioso Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

1. Prepare Texas Toast as directed on the box. I bought the light kind and according to someone whose had the regular variety, the only difference is the amount of butter. The light kind was half the calories, and in my opinion, very good.

2. While your toast is baking, combine the chicken and spaghetti sauce in a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until heated through.

3. Once chicken and toast are done, assemble your sandwiches. 1 piece of toast, topped with about 1/3 cup of the chicken/sauce mixture, and topped with 2 thick slices of cheese.

4. Bake for about 5-7 minutes until the cheese is melted and gooey.

Grilled BBQ Ranch Chicken Sandwiches

I'm always looking for ways to stretch our budget when it comes to meals. There's no need to put an entire chicken breast on a sandwich when you can slice it and serve it that way. This sandwich is always a hit at our house. With the char-grilled taste of the chicken, combined with sweet BBQ sauce and spicy ranch dressing, it pleases everyone!

Grilled BBQ Ranch Chicken Sandwiches

2 large chicken breasts (I buy the bags of chicken in the frozen section of grocery store.)

BBQ Sauce

4 buns

lettuce

Tomato Slices

Southwest Tortilla Strips (In salad dressing aisle near croutons.)

Ranch Dressing

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper and grill.

2. Let chicken set for a bit and slice it thinly.

3. Toss with BBQ sauce to coat. (My favorite brand is Sweet Baby Ray's.)

4. Meanwhile, when the grill is still hot, lightly toast buns.

5. Layer Bun with BBQ chicken, lettuce, tomato, Tortilla Strips, and ranch dressing.

Chicken Bacon and Ranch Bagels

This was a leftover dinner. All of it. Leftover Everything bagles, leftover chicken, leftover bacon. Last nights dinner, revamped to become this nights dinner.

Chicken Bacon and Ranch Bagels

1 Everything bagel
3 Tbsp ranch dressing
1/2 chicken breast, cooked and diced
2 thick slices of cheddar cheese
2 slices of bacon, fried crisp and chopped

1. Toast bagels in toaster just until warm and slightly crisp. Not even browned.

2. Top each bagel half with 1 1/2 Tbsp of ranch dressing. You can do more or less. I made this for Dave, and he loves his ranch dressing.

3. Top ranch with diced chicken.

4. Layer cheese on top of chicken.

5. Sprinkle with bacon.

6. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

White Castle Burgers!

Ok, so Dave was sick today, and he's kind of a cry baby when he's sick. Because he can be such a whiner, I wanted to make him a really special dinner. I know what you're thinking. . .Does White Castle really scream "special dinner?" Not for most people, but you don't know Dave. He's obsessed.

It's been said that his Mom craved these little burgers when she was pregnant with him. Where we live, however, there is no White Castle. If there were, he's probably be a thousand pounds heavier. So I found a recipe, tweaked it a bit, and made them for dinner. They were great! SO CLOSE to the real deal!

I put plenty of pictures with this post, so you can see exactly how I did this. It's out there on many other recipe sites as well. If you like White Castle, you gotta give these bad boys a try!


White Castle Burgers!

1 1/2 pounds hamburger
1 onion, finely chopped
1 package Lipton onion soup mix
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
Cheese slices
Pickles
Ketchup
Mustard

1. In a large bowl mix together the hamburger, Lipton Onion Soup Mix, peanut butter, and milk.
2. Sprinkle chopped onions evenly in a 10 x 15 pan. (At this point I toasted the onions a bit, but you don't have to do that.)
3. Scoop the meat mixture over the onions in the pan.
4. Flatten the meat and spread/smooth it out.
5. Put it in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. The meat will shrink.
6. Add your cheese slices. Put it back in the oven for 7-10 minutes (until cheese is melted).
7. Then add the tops of your buns and place back in the oven for about 5 more minutes.
8. Remove burger tops, and top with a pickle.
9. Slice the burgers with a pizza cutter and pick up the slider/top bun with a spatula and set it on the bottom bun.

Shredded BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Shredded BBQ Pork Sandwiches

3 to 4 lb pork loin (I usually buy the really big ones from Sams Club or Costco and cut it into thirds. I'd use one of the thirds for this recipe.)
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 pkg. Lipton Onion Soup Mix
3 cloves garlic
1 cup BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's. . .SO GOOD!)

1. Toss all ingredients into crock pot.

2. Cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours.

3. Should fall apart when touched with fork.

4. Serve on a bun with our without cheese!

Pizza Sandwich Sticks

Pizza Sandwich Sticks

8 slices of good bread
8 slices of smoked provolone cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 jar pizza sauce

1. Mix together butter, cheese, and garlic powder.

2. Spread mixture on to 4 slices of bread.

3. Put bread, butter side down, on grill pan.

4. Top each piece of bread with 2 pieces of provolone cheese.

5. Butter last 4 slices of bread.

6. Top cheese, with last slices of bread.

7. Cook like grilled cheese sandwiches.

8. When sandwiches are done, cut into sticks, and serve with pizza sauce.

Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

This idea came from my sister Kim. She makes it for breakfast every day. One day when I was visiting her she made it for me. I'm not a huge egg person, and typically, I would not get up and make myself eggs for breakfast. This however, I make almost every day now. The kids love it too. It's your typical "McMuffin" style sandwich, but without the fat and calories. Today I made mine using a Pepperidge Farm Deli Sandwich Round, but typically I use a Thomas's Triple Health English Muffin. Low Cal. . .High Fiber. And here's another little side note: Kim has tried all the different brands of the Fat Free American cheese slices, and they all seem to have a weird texture, aftertaste, or tang to them. That is all but one brand. Borden. It's the only one I buy. It melts great, tastes great, and has no weird fat-free taste to it.

Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
2 Weight Watchers Points without Bacon Pieces, 3 Points with Bacon Pieces

2 egg whites
1 Tbsp Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Pieces
1 English Muffin or Deli Sandwich Round
1 Slice of Fat Free Cheese
Salt and Pepper

1. Using non stick cooking spray, spray a frying pan and turn on heat to medium. Let pan get hot.

2. Pour egg whites into the pan and cook until bottom of eggs are set.
3. Sprinkle the bacon pieces, salt, and pepper over the egg whites.
4. Cook until whites are set.

5. Fold egg whites until they will fit on your sandwich.
6. Pop English muffin into the toaster and toast.

7. Put the eggs whites onto the muffin bottom, top with cheese, and top of English muffin.

California Burger

Easy. Healthy. Tasty. Doing Weight Watchers has me on the constant lookout for foods that are filling, and healthy, and taste great. It's easy to get stuck in the rut of eating the same meals day in and day out, but I'm always looking for alternative. This burger makes you feel like you're eating a lot, but without the calories.

California Burger
Only 5 Weight Watchers Points per burger!

1 Lean Turkey Burger (I buy the big thick ones from Costco. They come in a package of 12 for $9.00)
1 Pepperidge Farm 100 calorie Deli Sandwich Round
1 to two Tbsp. Avocado Sour Cream Spread
2 tomato slices
1 pickle slice
Several onion slices
Shredded lettuce

1. Cook Turkey Burger according to pkg. directions.

2. Layer bottom of the Deli Sandwich Round with burger, onion, tomato, pickle, lettuce, Avocado Sour Cream Spread and top of Deli Sandwich Round.

3. Indulge in a filling, healthy, and delicious meal!

Grown Up Grilled Cheese

I know, this is going to sound weird, but my kids (except for one) HATE cheese. Especially melted, gooey, yummy cheese. My oldest, Justin, will eat NOTHING if he thinks there's even been cheese near it. My middle, Ava, likes cheddar cheese only, but not melted. And then there's the baby, Tessa, who loves all cheese, but holds a special place in her heart for string cheese. It's hands down her favorite snack. Because of all the anti-cheese people in our house, we don't eat grilled cheese very often, but when we do, oooohhhhhhhh it's delicious.

Grown Up Grilled Cheese

2 slices of good bread
2 tsp mayo
2 tsp butter
1 slice cheddar cheese
1 slices muenster cheese
2 slices of your favorite deli turkey (I like cracked pepper turkey)
2 slices of ham
Diced onion
Diced green pepper
Diced tomato

1. Butter one side of first piece of bread, and put in small frying pan butter side down.

2. Spread mayo on the other side of bread in pan.

3. Top with 1 piece of cheese.

4. Sprinkle with onion and green pepper.

5. Put the meat on top of the onion and green pepper.

6. Top meat with tomato, and place last piece of cheese on top of that.

7. Spread mayo on bread, and place mayo side down on top of cheese.

8. Spread butter on top of bread piece.

9. Cook sandwich on one side until cheese is melted and sandwich is browned. Flip, and cook on the other side.

Steak and Pepper Sandwiches

Steak and Pepper Sandwiches

6 Steak Rolls
1 small onion
1 small green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp butter (Plus more for buttering the rolls.)
6 slices provolone cheese
1 Large steak, grilled however you like it. (We used a New York Strip. This steak was just over a pound, and made more than 6 sandwiches. We also prefer our steak pretty rare.)
Mayo
Salt and Pepper
Garlic Powder

1. I had my husband grill the steaks. While he was taking care of this. . .I made the veggies. Saute pepper and onion with the garlic until tender, but still crisp. Salt and Pepper to taste.

2. Spread butter on rolls and toss on the grill after the steaks for a nice crispy texture. Watch them closely so they do not burn.

3. When the rolls are done, spread may on top and bottom.

4. Thinly slice the steak, and take a few pieces and set on the bottom of the roll.

5. Top with peppers and onions.

6. Place a slice of provolone cheese on top of peppers and onions.

7. Place under the broiler just long enough to melt the cheese.

8. Top with top of roll. . .and enjoy!