French Dip Sandwiches

Chris and I absolutely love French Dip Sandwiches - we get them every time we go to Arby's. My original recipe was ok - I just used a packet of Au Jus sauce mix from the grocery store, but it never seemed quite right to me, so you can imagine my excitement when I found this recipe. It's another one from my mom's neighborhood cookbook and it now replaces my old French Dip recipe!

Ingredients:

1 can French Onion soup
1 can beef consommé soup
1 1/2 cans water
1 Au Jus seasoning mix
1 - 1/2 lbs sliced roast beef
4 deli rolls - whichever you prefer
4 slices provolone cheese (you could use swiss if you prefer)


Directions:

Combine soups and water in a crock pot. Add roast beef and cook on low for 1 - 2 hours. Using tongs, remove roast beef from liquid and pile onto sliced deli rolls. Top each sandwich with one slice of provolone and then place onto a foil lined cookie sheet. Place pan under the broiler - I leave my rack in the middle of the oven - for a minute or too, until cheese is melted and rolls are lightly browned. Remove from oven, close sandwiches and then cut in half. Use remaining liquid for dipping.


*The original recipe called for a 3 lb boneless roast, but then you have to pull it out of the crock pot and slice it. That's way too involved for me, so it's easier just to get sliced roast beef from the deli. Because the meat is already cooked, you don't want to leave it in the crock pot for several hours. Just an hour or two is all it needs to flavor the meat, otherwise the meat will fall apart and you'll be left with little tiny pieces. I can tell you this from experience :(

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

My boys love muffins - they'd eat them every day if I let them; but as convenient as boxed muffin mixes are, they're also expensive. I've decided to be brave and try making muffins from scratch. I had a recipe I wanted to try, but Andrew vetoed that; apparently he was in the mood for some apple muffins. I found this recipe on Taste of Home's website and amazingly enough I had all of the ingredients (except for applesauce, but I didn't realize that until I was in the middle of the recipe).

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp canola oil
3 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 medium McIntosh apple, peeled and grated

TOPPING:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp cold butter
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats


Directions

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk, oil and applesauce. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apple. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups half full.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine brown sugar and flour; cut in butter until crumbly. Add oats. Sprinkle over muffins.

Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve with Cinnamon-Honey Butter.


*Since I didn't have any applesauce, I increased the amount of canola oil from 3 Tbsp to 1/4 cup. I used a Gala apple rather than a McIntosh, but that's all I had on hand. I just realized that the recipe said to grate the apple - I cubed it. Guess I should be a bit more careful when reading the directions. They turned out yummy though - I liked the bits of apple :)

Cinnamon-Honey Butter

You can whip up a batch of this honey butter in no time and it's sooo yummy! I served it with Cinnamon Apple Muffins, and I think it would be divine on some pancakes or waffles.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a small bowl, beat the butter, honey and cinnamon until blended. Serve with warm muffins. Refrigerate leftover butter.

Chris' Spaghetti

Growing up, my version of spaghetti was noodles with warmed up sauce. If we got fancy we added ground beef or meatballs. I thought it was pretty good - until I tried my Mother-in-law's recipe. From then on, I was hooked. She made this for us all the time when we were newlyweds. I finally asked her for the recipe and although I don't think mine turns out quite like hers does, it's still pretty good.

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 jar traditional spaghetti sauce, plus 1/2 jar of water
1 package McCormick Thick and Zesty spaghetti mix
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Brown hamburger until cooked most of the way through; drain the grease. Add the garlic, onions, bell pepper, salt and pepper; cook about 5-7 minutes. Add the spaghetti sauce, water, tomatoes, spaghetti mix and tomato sauce; stir over low heat. Cover and simmer on very low for about 30-45 minutes. Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions then top with sauce. *I generally cook 1 box of noodles (1 lb) so that I have leftovers for the next day.

Ginger Lime Marinade

Spring and Summer weather is my favorite because it means that I can dust off the BBQ grill and pull out my favorite marinade recipes. I just found this one in my Mom's ward cookbook and was so excited to try it. I wasn't disappointed - it smelled great while cooking and tasted even better!

Ingredients:

3/4 c. Italian dressing
3/4 c. honey
4 Tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag, add chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least a few hours - I think I left mine in for 4 or 5 hours - and then you're ready to grill.

*You can also freeze this recipe. After combining marinade and chicken place flat in freezer. When ready to use, defrost and then grill.

Easy Funeral Potatoes

A good Funeral Potatoes recipe is a must have for any Mormon girl's recipe box. That's a little inside joke - if you've never heard of Funeral Potatoes, it's just a cheesy potato recipe that is served often at church dinners and funerals - hence the name. It seems like everyone has a different version of the recipe! Although this one isn't too much different from most that I've tried, it turned out really yummy and was fast to put together.

Ingredients:

1 bag (2 lbs) frozen hash browns, southern style
1/2 c. melted butter or margarine
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1-2 Tbsp dried minced onions
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese


Directions:

Pour hash browns in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix remaining ingredients together, then pour mixture over the potatoes and mix together. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 350 degrees, covered, for 30 minutes then remove foil and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

*the original recipe didn't say to cover the potatoes and of course, as it was cooking I decided to check my email. As you can see, I let the cheese get a little too brown on top. I think it would be better to cover the potatoes for a bit, so I added that into the instructions.

Creamy Fettuccine with Rainbow Veggies

I found this recipe in my mom's ward cookbook and just had to try it. I have a sudden and unexplainable need to try every recipe that includes asparagus, which is odd, because my parents could never get me to try it while I was growing up.


I have to admit, I was slightly worried about the cream sauce - I've been trying to start a diet for months now - but some awesome new recipe always gets in my way! However...it hardly uses any cream or butter compared to some recipes I've made. The end result is a very light, cheesy taste. Besides - the veggies cancel out any of the bad calories. Trust me.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt (for cooking pasta), plus 1/4 tsp for sauce
2 Tbsp butter
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 lb. asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces (upper half of spears only)
1 small zucchini or summer squash, cubed
1/2 c. finely diced carrot
1/2 c. diced red or yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 lb. fettuccine
1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley


Directions:

In a large pot, combine 3 to 4 quarts of water, olive oil and salt, then bring to a boil. Meanwhile in another pan, melt the butter over low heat. Stir in the garlic and warm gently for 1 minute. Add the broth, veggies and 1/4 tsp of salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pan and continue to simmer the veggies undisturbed for 3 minutes, then stir in the cream.

Remove the pan (with the veggies) from the heat and leave it covered. Add more salt to taste if needed. Once the water has reached a boil, gradually add the fettuccine to it. Cook the past according to the package, then drain. Quickly bring the veggies back to a simmer then add the drained pasta. Continue to simmer the mixture over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes while carefully tossing the noodles up from the bottom of the pan with tongs or 2 forks. Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle in half of the Parmesan cheese. Toss once more. Serve at once using the parsley and remaining cheese for garnish.

Serves 4 to 5

*I've made this a couple of times now and I can tell you that substituting fat free half and half for the heavy cream doesn't work very well. Stick with the heavy cream - it's much better. The veggies and sauce will be pretty soupy until you add the Parmesan cheese at the end. Once you do, the cheese soaks up some of the sauce and makes it a bit creamier.