A Man's Man Sandwich

There is a lot of meat on this sandwich.  Need I say more? Enjoy!

Man's Man Sandwich

Jar of pesto
Mayonnaise
Focaccia Bread, sliced in half, length wise
Smoked Swiss, sliced
1 lb Smoked Ham
1/2 lb Salami
1/2 lb Pepperoni
Red Onion, sliced
Tomato, sliced


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Start layering the sandwich according to the pictures below.  Wrap the sandwich in tin foil and bake for 15-25 minutes or until the cheese has melted.  Slice and serve.

Custard Filled Donuts w/ Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

Father's Day is a dad that we cherish our fathers and husbands.  We tend to spoil them rotten and I guess sometimes they deserve it.  So, today that's what Annalise and I did for Daddy/Aaron.  We started our morning with Custard Filled Donuts and ending with Gyros and potatoes on the grill.  Both of which are fan favorites for my husband.  I am going to share with all of you the recipes for Custard Filled Donuts w/ Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting. The links are going to be listed below for the custard and the donuts.

Custard
http://www.grouprecipes.com/63982/homemade-vanilla-custard.html


Donuts
http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/homemade-doughnuts/

Now, instead of cutting a hole in the middle of each donuts I left them whole. Once the donuts are fried and cooled I used a piping bag w/ rounded tip.  I filled the piping bad w/ the custard and then poked a hole in the side of the donuts using the rounded tip, filling the donuts w/ custard until it was oosing out the side. Then I frosted the tops.

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

1/2 c. butter, softened
2 c. powder sugar
1 c. chocolate chips, melted
2 Tbs. Bailey's Creme Brulee Creamer

In a stand up mixer, beat butter until creamed.  Add in powered sugar half cups at a time until. Continue beating until well mixed.  With mixer still running add in melted chocolate and then creamer.  Enjoy!

7 Layer Mexican Casserole

7 Layer Mexican Casserole

2 Tbs olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb. ground beef
2 Tbs bold taco seasoning
1 16 oz re-fried beans
10 oz Frito's Chili Cheese chips, crushed
2 ripe avocados
2 Tbs Fiesta Party Dip Seasoning by Tastefully Simple
12 oz sour cream
16 oz black bean and corn salsa
8 oz Mexican Four Blend Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large skillet saute olive oil, onion, and garlic for about 2 minutes.    Add the ground beef and cook thoroughly.  Once the beef in browned, add and mix in the taco seasoning.  Next mix in the re-fried beans. Once well mixed, set aside.  In a medium remove the avocados from their shell and mash until there in no more large pieces.  Mix in Fiesta seasoning, set aside.  In a 9 x 13 oven safe dish, sprinkle Frito's along the bottom.  On top of that, evenly smooth out beef mixture.  Then top of with guacamole, sour cream, salsa and lastly cheese.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Cherry Bark

Well, It's girls night tonight and I'm hosting a Thirty-One Party.  WOO WHO!  So , of course there is going to be wine and lots of yummy food and treats and this is just one of those treats that I created for tonight.  Enjoy!

Cherry Bark

1 1/2 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. butter
2 12 oz. bags semi sweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped nuts of your choosing
1. fresh cherries, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  On a lined baking sheet, spread crushed Ritz crackers evenly.  In a small pot heat brown sugar and butter.  Bring mixture to a boil and butter is completely melted. Pour brown sugar mixture over top of Ritz crackers, evenly. ( I mixed it all up and then evenly dispersed the mixture on the pan.) Bake the cracker for 5 minutes.  While that is baking melt down the chocolate chips.  When the crackers are done baking, spread the chocolate evenly over top of them.  Then add cherries and nuts.  Let the bark set for 30-60 minutes in the fridge.  Break apart and enjoy.

Sponge Cake with Butter Cream Frosting

My dad needed a sheet cake for a retirement party at his work, so he hired me to do the job.  Now these are not my personal recipes, so I'm going to share the links with you.  However, this is what I came up with.

For the sponge cake visit: http://www.cakeboss.com/CakeBossSpongeCake.aspx

For the Butter Cream Frosting: http://www.thekitchenmagpie.com/buttercream-icing

Open Faced Meatball Sami's

Have I ever told you that me husband is a meat and potatoes man?  Well he is.  When I make meals that don't have meat involved, I swear he starts crying.  To say the least, he loved this meal and I think that it is here to stay.

Open Faced Meatball Sami's

1 lb beef
1 lb ground chorizo sausage
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese and Romano cheese blend
1 Tbs. cooking sherry
1 Tbs. Berbere seasoning
1 c. bread crumbs

Hoagie Buns, toasted
2 jars marinara
provolone cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a large bowl mix together beef and sausage until well blended.  Then add in the onion, garlic, Parmesan and Romano cheese, sherry, seasoning and bread crumbs. Make sure all ingredients are well blended.  With a small 1 inch scoop, scoop small balls into mini muffin pan.  Bake meatballs for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and flip over the meat balls, then bake for another 5 minutes.  When the meatballs are finished cooking, place them into a large skillet and add marinara.  Heat for about 5-10 minutes on lowest setting, just enough to heat up the marinara. Place Hoagie buns in a casserole dish.  Next add meatballs and top off with provolone cheese.  Bake for about 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.

For recipe of Steak Fries, check out previous post: http://strangecup.blogspot.com/2013/04/spicy-olive-burgers-w-seasoned-steak.html

The Wonders of Cream Cheese and Cool Whip

I have another Baby Shower today, so I decided to make some more filo cups and creamy fillings.  However, I came up with some new ones for ya.  Hope you Enjoy! Congratulations Nicole and Dylan!

For Filo cup directions see previous post.

Very Cherry Filling

1 pkg. Tastefully Simple Very Cherry Cheese Ball Mix
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. cool whip, thawed

cherries for garnish

With a hand held mixer beat together the above ingredients, not including cherries.  Pipe filling into filo cups and top of with a cherry.


Chocolate Oreo Filling

1 c. crushed Oreo
2 Tbs. chocolate syrup
2 Tbs cocoa powder
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz cool whip

Mint for garnish

With a hand held mixer, beat together the above ingredients, not including mint.  Pipe filling into filo cups and top with mint.  I also drizzled chocolate syrup on top.


I had left over filling so I decided to make some party favors out of it.  I spread a good amount of filling in between to gram crackers, to make a sandwich.  Then I put them into the freezer to let set, about a half hour.  Well that was setting I melted some semi sweet chocolate chips.  Then I dipping half of the sandwiches into the chocolate, laying them on a wax paper lined baking sheet and then froze them for another 30 minutes, until set.  I put them into cellophane bags and tied them of with a bow.