Recipe 16: Steakhouse Green Beans

I love the green beans they serve at Texas Road House in Durham, NC. Green beans that I cook at home never taste as good. But, the day I cooked the rib eyes for this blog, I decided to give it another try.

And I think I finally came up with a recipe that comes pretty darn close! The trick is adding the beans to the onions and bacon, instead of the other way around. The red onion also gives it a much better flavor than the sweet white onions.

Here are the ingredients:

1 can cut green beans
1/4 cup of chopped red onion
1-2 pieces bacon, chopped
butter
tip of a teaspoon of minced garlic
salt & ground pepper

Step 1: Chop onion and bacon.

Step 2: Heat frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, bacon, garlic, and a small pat of butter. Saute bacon and onions until bacon is browned and onion transparent. Then carefully pour out most of the fat and return the pan to the burner.

Step 3: Add the can of green beans, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer for 10 minutes

Step 4: Remove from heat and serve with slotted spoon.

Goes great with steak, meat loaf, ribs, chicken, you name it. Let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

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The class I created this blog for ends this week. I'm going to keep this blog going and continue to post recipes. I may not be able to add a new one each week, but I'm going to try to add a least one or two a month, so please keep coming back! 

Recipe 15: Turkey Club

Hi! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! Sorry I'm a little late writing this blog. We've recently had a new addition to our family! A little baby boy, 8 lbs 9 oz, came just 4 days before Thanksgiving.

Ever since his arrival, our days have blended one into the other. I haven't done much cooking at all the past 2 weeks. Thankfully, my mother-in-law cooked an extra turkey breast for Thanksgiving and let us have it. So we've been feasting on turkey and take-out.

One night I felt like experimenting and decided to make us turkey club sandwiches for supper. I got out my camera and started creating. Unfortunately, my kitchen island was taken over by bottles, formula, and other baby stuff, so that's why the photos look a little different this time. And I think I was half asleep when I made these, so the sandwiches don't look very pretty...

Here are the ingredients for making two sandwiches:

Cooked turkey breast
3 slices sandwich bread
6 slices of bacon
1 tomato
Lettuce
2 slices sharp cheddar cheese
Mayo
Salt & pepper
8 toothpicks

Step 1: Cook bacon in microwave or skillet until brown and crispy, then drain on paper towels. While bacon is cooking, slice tomato and peel off a few leaves of lettuce.

Step 2: Toast bread and lay the slices out in order: Top, middle, and bottom. Cover bottom slices with mayo.

Step 3: Place turkey slices on top of the bottom bread slices. Sprinkle with a little slat and pepper and then top with lettuce.

Step 4: Slather mayo on the bottom of the middle slices of bread and place on top of the lettuce. Spread more mayo on top of the middle slices of bread. Then top with tomato slices, bacon, and cheese.

Step 5: Spread mayo on the top slices and finish the sandwiches by placing them on top of the cheese. Secure with 4 toothpicks and quarter the sandwich.

There you go! Pretty simple, but yummy.

Next week I'll post my steakhouse green bean recipe. I've already typed it out, I just have to take some photos of the process.

Sorry if I missed any typos today. I'm working on very, very, very, very, very little sleep thanks to our new little turkey.

Enjoy!

Recipe 14: The Ultimate Submarine Sandwich

Whenever anyone asks me what my favorite food is, my answer is always the same: sandwiches. From hamburgers, to open faced roastbeef, to clubs.

Far and above all, my favorite sandwich is the submarine. When we lived in New York, my dad would take us kids to West Point to watch the Army/Navy football games. I remember one time in particular when we stopped at a sub shop and I had my first submarine sandwich. This was probably in the late 1970s. I've been hooked ever since.

Having limited places to get a good sub, and being a little picky about my sandwiches, I've resorted to just making my own.

Here is my recipe for making a pretty decent sub. The ingredients are listed below:

3 rolls
6-9 slices genoa salami
6-9 slices hard salami
6-9 slices German bologna
6-9 slices honey ham
6-9 slices provolone cheese
1 tomato, sliced
shredded lettuce (approximately 1 cup)
1/8 green pepper, sliced
1/8 red onion, sliced
dill pickle slices
sweet salad peppers
sweet jalepeno peppers
black olives
mayo
mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
dash of salt and pepper

Step 1: Slice rolls, but not all the way through. Pre-heat the oven to 350. Place rolls in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. They will probably be done before the oven is heated. You want them warm on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. I recommend slicing the bread BEFORE you heat it. It keeps the bread from clumping when you cut it.

Step 2: Chop the lettuce and slice the tomato, green pepper, and onion.

Step 3: Mix together the oil, vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to make the dressing.

Step 4: Take the bread out of oven and open them up. Place meat, cheese, and veggies on the rolls, in that order. Spread mayo on the inside top of the roll. Drizzle mustard and dressing over the sandwich fillings.

Step 5: Use a long knife to help push back all of the filling as you close the sandwich. Cut in half. Add a green olive on a tooth pick to form a periscope if you want to have some fun...

Hope you enjoy it!

Sorry for not having any Thanksgiving recipes this week. With the baby coming around Thanksgiving Day, I think I am just going to let my dad and my mother-in-law do all the cooking. I'm taking a break.

Hope you all have a great holiday!

Recipe 13: Cheesy Rib Eye Sandwich

One thing my wife has consistently been craving during this pregnancy is Philly cheese steak sandwiches. I've been sent out to pick up many cheese steak orders and have made plenty of steak-um sandwiches over the past eight and a half months.

After cooking 2 ribeye steaks for dinner last week (one is enough for 2 people, by the way), we had a lot of leftover steak. The next day, my wife asked me to make it into a sandwich for her. Since I'm a nice, loving husband, I did as requested. She loved it and promptly took out another steak to defrost for the next day... Needless to say, I am going to be making plenty of sandwiches before this kid comes into the world. Or at least until the freezer is empty.

If you ever find yourself with left over steak, here is a simple recipe. The ingredients are below:

left over, cooked steak
chopped red onion (approximately 1 cup)
chopped green pepper (approximately 1 cup)
2 tablespoons butter
4-5 slices of provolone cheese
2 french sandwich rolls
salt
pepper

Step 1: Heat 1 to 2 teaspoons of butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and green pepper. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Saute until onions start to turn brown.

Step 2: Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice rolls without cutting all the way through. Add to oven while it preheats. Leave in for 7 to 10 minutes. The rolls should be ready before the oven reaches 350. You just want them warm on the inside and a little crispy on the outside.

Step 3: Thinly slice the steak and add to skillet. Add a dash of salt to the meat. Mix well and cook until meat is heated through.

Step 4: 30 seconds before you are ready to remove the steak, cover steak mixture with slices of provolone cheese. Let it melt slightly, then and remove from heat.

Step 5: Open rolls and stuff the cheese, steak, and vegetables inside. Close roll and cut in half.

Keep plenty of napkins handy!

Ok, enjoy this recipe and I'll be back soon!

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I decided to add this blog early because the baby's due any time now. I planned to do a Thanksgiving Day recipe for next week, but that will likely not happen. I have another recipe I made last week, that I will probably write tonight or tomorrow and post in the next day or two.

Recipe 12: Pan-Seared Rib Eye

Being on a tight budget, my wife always keeps an eye out for whenever Foodlion has steaks on sale. And then she gets me to buy a couple when I go shopping. We then put them in the freezer until we have a special occasion.

We've had two rip eyes in the freezer for about a month now. And my still very pregnant wife suddenly got a craving for them. Since it was too cold out to grill, I decided to cook them the way I cook T-bones: in the oven.

It's easy to do and the steaks don't need much added flavor. I would put a ceiling fan on or crack a window, though, because it does get a little smokey.

Here are the ingredients:

1 or 2 rib eye steaks (thawed)
High heat cooking spray
Salt
Pepper

Step 1: Stick a cast iron pan or oven proof skillet into the oven. Then pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees.

Step 2: Sprinkle the thawed out steaks with salt and cracked black pepper. Once the oven reaches 500 degrees, take out the skillet (using an oven glove). Leave the oven on. Very lightly spray the skillet with cooking oil and put it on an eye set at high heat. If you don't have cooking spray, lightly brush vegetable oil on both sides of the steaks before seasoning them. Sear each side of the steaks in the skillet for 30 seconds each. This is the smokey part.

Step 3: Then immediately stick the skillet and steaks back into the oven. Cook both sides 2 minutes each for medium (3 minutes each for medium well).

Step 4: Take steaks out of oven and place on a plate loosely covered in tin foil for 2-5 minutes. This gives the juices time to come back.

The steaks go great with potatoes, steakhouse green beans, and a side salad.

If you happen to have any steak leftover, I'll show you what to do with it in the next blog.

And maybe I'll post the yummy green bean recipe another time.

Eat up!

Recipe 11: Spaghetti Sandwich

I debated about posting this one. It's too simple and some people might thinks it's a little weird. My daughter loves this "recipe" though, so I thought I'd share it anyway.

Whenever we have spaghetti, the next day I like to make myself a spaghetti sandwich. My wife thought I was nuts the first time I made one in front of her. My daughter, on the other hand, thought I was a genius and asked to have a bite. Now, every time we eat spaghetti, she asks me make her one. Like father, like daughter, I guess...

The ingredients are simple:

Left over spaghetti (I used the spaghetti from the last recipe, but added in some leftover taco meat)
2 slices bread. I prefer french bread. My daughter likes plain old white bread.
Butter
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning
Paprika
Grated parmesan cheese

Step 1: Spread butter on toasted bread slices. Then sprinkle on a little garlic, a pinch of Italian seasoning, a touch of paprika, and a bunch of parmesan.

Step 2: Heat spaghetti in microwave oven. Then heap spaghetti on top of one bread slice and cover with other. Cut diagonally if desired.

Hey, don't knock it 'till you try it. Kids will love them. Best served on bath night, though.

Enjoy!

Recipe 10: Basic, But Yummy, Marinara Sauce

This recipe for marinara sauce came from America's Test Kitchen, on PBS. My wife saw it on Tv one day, and wrote it all down. I didn't make any modifications to it, expect for cutting the garlic amount in half. It's an extremely delicious sauce. I've told my wife that I'd like to add sausage or meatballs to it, but we love the sauce just like it is... so I left it alone. For now, anyway.

Here are the ingredients:

1/4 cup grated onion
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 clove of garlic* (1 teaspoon jarred minced garlic). 
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons fresh basil or 2-3 teaspoons dried basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt
black pepper

*The original recipe called for 2 cloves of garlic. I just found this too strong for my stomach.

Step 1: Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Added grated onion and oregano and cook for 5 minutes or until onions are caramelized.

Step 2: Add garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook for 30 seconds. Then add tomatoes and sugar. Turn up heat to bring sauce to a boil. Then cover and simmer at medium/low heat for 10 minutes.

Step 3: Remove from heat. Add oil, basil, and a small palm full (approximately 1/2 teaspoon) each of salt and pepper. Stir well.

Step 4: Pour 1/2 of the sauce on your choice of pasta and mix well. Then top each plate with additional sauce.

It's great on spaghetti noodles with a small side salad and garlic bread.

My 2-1/2 year old loves it too, but she'll only eat it a certain way. I'll blog about that next time.

Enjoy! And thanks, America's Test Kitchen!