Cheesy Beef and Mushroom Sandwiches

Appetizers and snacks, Beef, Sandwiches

Evening guys! I hope everyone had a great day. It was a scorcher here, so instead of the pool, we opted to go to an indoor jump place for the girls. My parents came with us and then we all had lunch at Mellow Mushroom. My dad and I both had a calzone; mine was tomato, basil, and black olives and his was steak and cheese.  I have enough leftovers for a few days…those things are bigger than my head!

Tonight I made this new recipe. I had a container of ground beef, but I wanted to come up with a something unique that we have never had before. I also had some mushrooms, an onion, and a random can of cream of mushroom soup. So I thought I might make a take on Philly cheese steak, but more playing up the mushrooms. I also used 2 different cheeses. Cheddar on half and provolone on the other half. Turns out they both taste good! This would be great for a quick dinner on a busy night or even a great appetizer for game night! I am already thinking of new sandwich ideas to use in the future!

Cheesy Beef and Mushroom Sandwiches

4 mini french loaves or one large loaf cut in 4 sections
1 pound ground chuck
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced in a garlic press
1 container mushrooms, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
salt and pepper to taste
CHEESE! I used half cheddar (about 1 cup shredded) and half provolone (6 slices in total)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350
Brown the onion and beef. Season with salt and pepper. Halfway through the beef being browned, add the mushrooms and garlic. Mix well.
Add in the mushroom soup and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Cool.
Slice your bread and scoop out a little of the insides to make room for your beef and mushroom mixture. This is a great snack for the kids or dog =)
Add the beef and mushroom mixture on the bread. Top with your cheese and bake in the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.

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Sausage Parmesan and Stuffed Mushrooms

Pasta, Pork, Side dishes...veggies

So this happened tonight…

008007Stuffed Mushrooms- Brown some ground Italian Sausage. Put in the middle of mushrooms. Top with mozzarella. Cook at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

Italian Parmesan- Brown some Italian Sausage in the casing. Put a bit of sauce (homemade or jarred) to the bottom. Add sausage and top with more sauce and mozzarella. Cook at 350 for 20 minutes   or until cheese is golden brown.

Serve with a side of pasta and crusty bread.

Chicken Tikki Masala

Chicken, grains

Hope you guys are having a great Sunday! Ours was pretty nice. We slept in until 9ish, then I made a yummy breakfast of bacon, hash browns, and scrambled eggs. Since we just got back from vacation, I thought we would be making a trip to Waffle House, but luckily we had these in the fridge. Perfect Sunday morning!

The rest of the fridge and pantry were pretty bare, so the girls and I took a trip to the market. We got enough food to last us a few days. I decided to step up my culinary game by researching and creating new dishes this week. Tonight- Chicken Tikki Masala.

I love Indian food. I mean, for real, I LOVE it. I really could eat it everyday. I know that is extreme, but there are so many things on the menu that I want to try, so it is true. Unfortunately, I am the only one in my family who likes it. My husband and girls tolerate it. Hubby doesn’t like curry or coconut. The girls are still wary of new spices. I would bathe in coconut milk and add curry to all my meat if I could. I love chickpeas more than the average American. I think lamb kebabs should overtake hamburgers. I may be on the extreme just a bit, but there are some really amazing Indian dishes out there that I think you should try.

So I thought I should try this one first; Chicken Tikki Masala. Mild flavors and one of the main dishes on the “kid menu.” I researched a bunch of dishes and here is what I came up with. Everyone loved the chicken and seemed to just be content to eat Naan and soak up the sauce. Just enough leftovers for me =)

Chicken Tikki Masala

Ingredients
3-5 boneless chicken thighs or breasts
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece whole ginger, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 to 2 tablespoons garam masala
2 teaspoons paprika- sweet or smoked
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes- (or use roasted for a more smoky flavor)
3/4 cup coconut milk or heavy cream
Fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
2 cups cooked rice, to serve

Directions

Cook the onion, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of garam masala, paprika, and kosher salt. Cook down, about 10 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes with their juices. Mix for about 5 minutes. Add in your chicken cut up in small, bite-sized pieces. Cover and cook 30-40 minutes. Fifteen minutes before the end of cooking, stir in the heavy cream. Taste and add more garam masala or salt if needed.

Serve over white rice. I would use basmati or jasmine. I cooked it according to package with chicken stock instead of water. I also added 2 tablespoons of butter. Top with fresh cilantro if you like. Serve with a side of toasted Naan bread.

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A to Z Survey- getting to know me through the alphabet

Misc. stuff

A to Z Survey

Hey guys! I’m on a little beach vacay this week, so no real cooking or blogging. We have been eating lots of cereal, bagels, sandwiches, and easy dinners like tacos and pasta. A few meals out here and there, because it is vacation! Lots of coffee, diet coke, cocktails, and wine…detoxing starts next week!  =)

It has been nice to get away and just sit by the beach and relax. The girls have had a blast playing in ocean, sand, and pool. We also went on a banana boat ride and played mini-golf, which were such amazing adventures for us. A couple more days and then back to reality!

I have seen this A to Z Survey on a few other blogs, so I thought I would do one as well.  Hope you enjoy!

A – Age: 38

B – Biggest Fear: ceiling fans, falling down an escalator

C – Current Time: 8:54 PM

D – Drink You Had Last: red wine

E – Easiest Person To Talk To: My bestie and hubby, Rucks

F – Favorite Song: Hallelujah

G – Grossest Memory: When I sliced my thumb apart in my mandolin

H – Hometown: Suburbs in Atlanta, GA

I – In Love With: Rucks, Lizzie, Becca, Katie, Brutus, Pumpkin, Oscar

J – Jealous Of: people who can eat whatever they want without stepping in to a gym, jet-setters, people who have a lot of money and buy stupid stuff

K – Kindest Person You Know: Lizzie. She is my angel.

L – Longest Relationship: Rucks…15 year wedding anniversary this year…off and on before that =)

M – Middle Name: Beth

N – Number of Siblings: 1 brother

O – One Wish: Love, Peace, and Happiness for All

P – Person You Spoke To On The Phone Last: My dad

Q – Question You’re Always Asked: “How are you doing?” “How are the girls?”

R – Reason To Smile: my girls, my hubby, my dog, summer,

S – Song You Last Sang: “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkston

T – Time You Woke Up: Vacation Time 9ish

U – Underwear Color: Black

V – Vacation Destination: Hawaii, Mexico, France, Italy, Colorado

W – Worst Habit: forgetting a coaster, bending my books

X – X-Rays You’ve Had: Dental X-rays and one on my leg when I was young

Y – Your Favorite Food: mussels in white wine sauce and crusty bread, wine, bacon

Z – Zodiac Sign: Scorpio =)

Cheater, Cheater, Spaghetti Eater

Pasta

It is Wednesday!!! Even though I am having a great week, I am so glad the weekend is right around the corner!  Today was a long day, but amazing; I am learning so much in my class, but it is very draining. I knew I needed to come up with a fast dinner, so I took out some ground meat this morning and decided to make spaghetti.

Easy spaghetti. Cheater’s Spaghetti. Normal people who are super busy spaghetti. Wednesday Spaghetti. Not your special Sunday Spaghetti. You get my drift.

Dried noodles, jarred sauce, jarred mushrooms, frozen garlic bread. The only thing I did slightly homemade and special was to cook the ground meat with salt, pepper, and chopped fresh herbs from my garden (oregano and basil). I added the sauce to the meat mixture and then added the cooked pasta to the sauce before serving.

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