Steak Sandwiches!

After visiting my dad's for dinner the other night, he gave us some leftover steak to take home. My dad makes the most amazing steak I've ever had. Leftover meat poses a small problem (at least for the picky of us): it never tastes quite the same as when it was freshly cooked. Now, my husband would have no issue with just eating the leftover steak and some grilled veggies like we did the first night. However, I believe in taking leftovers and ensuring that they will be tasty.
Ensuring tasty leftover steak means putting in the extra effort to get steak sandwiches!!





Ingredients (makes 2 sandwiches)
6 oz of leftover steak, cut into thin strips
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 medium Vidalia onion, diced
4-6 mushrooms, sliced & halved
2 slices of deli sliced provolone cheese
lettuce
tomato, sliced
mayonnaise
2 hoagie buns

Directions
Spray a medium non-stick pan. Then, heat up the sliced green pepper and onion on medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes. Add the steak and mushrooms and cook until all are tender.
On a cookie sheet, place two hoagie buns (sliced open). Fill the hoagies with the steak mixture. top with the deli sliced provolone. Broil on High for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bread starts to toast.
Remove from heat and add the lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Goes great with chips, salad, or fruit.

These steak sandwiches are all the more incredible than restaurant versions because you are completely in control of the quality of the ingredients. From spicing the meat to selecting the perfect hoagie buns, you can make the most delectable sandwich!

"Gourmet" Tuna Sandwich on a Budget!

I grew up with tuna from a can and didn't realize until much, much later in life that there is a such thing as "ahi tuna" and other forms of tuna that do not come out of a can. In fact, these fancy kinds of tuna are served at fancy kinds of restaurants! I remember the first time I went out to eat at a classy restaurant and my mother-in-law ordered tuna. When it came out, it was not ground up and mixed with mayo (much to my surprise), but in fact it was a fillet of tuna that looked very pink and fish-like. I was shocked!

However, I cannot afford to make ahi tuna (nor do we have much a selection for such tasty tuna in the Midwest), so I learn to make the canned stuff taste better. :)

Ingredients
1 can Starkist solid white Albacore tuna
pepper to taste
McCormick's Montreal steak seasoning to taste
garlic powder to taste
2 tbsp of Hellman's mayo
4 slices of your favorite sliced bread, toasted (whole wheat bread for me)*
Romaine lettuce, washed and dried
1 medium tomato, washed and sliced
6 slices of extra sharp cheddar cheese (or 2 deli slices of provolone, Havarti, munster, etc)

*Replace the sliced bread for 2 sandwich croissants and enjoy with chips and/or soup!

Directions
Drain the water from the can of tuna. Then place in a small bowl and crush with a fork. Add the pepper, steak seasoning, garlic powder, and mayo. Mix well.
Toast the bread (unless you're using croissants). Then layer two of the slices of bread with cheese, the tuna mixture, tomato, and lettuce. Top with the remaining slices of bread and enjoy your sandwich with fruit, chips, or soup!

It's a pretty easy sandwich to make, but the spices definitely add something to the sandwich!

How to make your own Beef and Cheddar Melts!

If you've ever been to Arby's fast food restaurant and tried a beef 'n' cheddar melt, you know how tasty, but simple they are. If you've never been, you're not really missing out because I'm going to teach you how to make your own version but even better than the restaurant one.
My husband always had two major gripes about Arby's:
1) they were not particularly well-valued (i.e. expensive for what you actually got)
2) they use deli roast beef equivalent to that of cafeteria food

In order to appease him, I searched for how to make the cheese sauce, which really is the key to the whole sandwich. Turns out, it's pretty easy to make too!

Ingredients for Sandwich
4 onion buns (check your local bakery for these tasty treats; if desperate, use hamburger buns)
8 ounces of pot roast, leftover or freshly made
8 tbsp cheese sauce (see recipe below)
8 tbsp Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy BBQ Sauce

Ingredients for Cheese Sauce
1/3 cup grated extra sharp cheddar
1/2 cup easy cheese
2 tbsp milk

Directions for Cheese Sauce
Combine all three ingredients in a sauce pan and cook over low heat. Stir until cheese sauce is fully melted and smooth.

Directions for Sandwich Assembly
If using leftover pot roast, be sure to reheat it! These sandwiches are far tastier when warm.
Slice the onion buns in half. Put 1 tbsp cheese sauce on top and bottom portions of each bun. Then place the meat on the bottom portion of each bun. Add the 1-2 tbsp of BBQ sauce to each sandwich. Close and enjoy!

Like I said, they are a pretty simple recipe but they taste incredible! They go well with a side of watermelon and chips!

Amanda's favorite paninis in the WORLD! (so far at least...)

As was mentioned in the "Focaccia versus Focaccia bread" entry, my favorite paninis used to come from the Blue Note Cafe. Unfortunately, as the cafe has closed, I am forced to look elsewhere for the tasty paninis. I requested the recipe from the owner and tried it out for myself. It was incredible! Now you can try it too!!!

Before we assemble our panini, we need to make the special tomato sauce.
Ingredients
1 medium tomato
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt

Directions
Take one medium tomato and blend it using either a Blending Stick or a food processor. Season with Italian Seasoning and salt to taste. Refrigerate until chilled. If necessary, add tomato paste to thicken it up.


Now to create our panini!
Ingredients
1 triangle of the homemade focaccia bread, cut in half (width-wise, as in make it skinnier)
2-3 slices of deli turkey (I like smoked turkey the best)
1-2 slices of provolone (if using one slice, cut it in half)
2 tbsp tomato sauce (see recipe above)

Directions
Take your sliced focaccia bread and lay it flat on a plate with the "insides" facing up. Spread the tomato sauce on each half of the bread. Then place provolone on each half. Finally, add the turkey and put the two halves together.
Cook on a Foreman Grill / Panini press for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown on the outside and melted on the inside.
Allow to cool slightly before eating.
Enjoy with everything from fruit salad to potato chips and dip to soup or salad.


Note: the pictures show both kinds of focaccia bread (store bought and home-made), but the process is the same for either style.