Cheese Steak Sandwiches

I like kind of soft inside crusty outside bread for my cheese steaks....

Here I am with the hubs at a backyard BBQ a friend had on a nice weather day we had. 

I had a package of steak in the fridge I was going to have John do on the BBQ this afternoon.  But I had all these tomatoes I wanted to use up.  So I was thinking it might be fun to do Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches instead. I love them and they are really, really easy to make.

Philly Cheese Steaks are really easy if you find sirloin steak on sale....

The trick is to slice the raw steak really, really thin with a sharp knife. That is kinda tedious. It is easier if the steak  is still a little bit frozen.

Slice it thin...son't forget to season it....then just fry it up in a frying pan...and when it is almost done add the slices of provolone cheese so it has a minute to melt on top. I fry the onions and peppers in a separate pan and add them back in right before the cheese is layered on top. 

These tomatoes and the big onion are straight from my garden!

I sliced the steak really thin on the cutting board and seasoned it with Montreal Steak Seasoning. Then I fried it up in a fry pan with a little olive oil. I fried the onions and green pepper slices  in butter and olive oil with a shake of garlic salt until they looked caramelized and soft. You can also add mushrooms.

Coarsely chopped onions

I didn't have green pepper but it is much better WITH it. Sometimes I add mushrooms if I have any.  

But you can just do onions too. They are great on Philly Cheese Steaks! 

I just buy a big loaf of french bread for the Philly Cheese Steaks or you can get day old
bread at Jimmy Johns and freeze it for use later. Their bread is great for sandwiches! 

Then when both were about done I put them in a pan and added the provolone cheese, just like 6 slices all around the top of the meat and onion mixture.  Then I got my french bread ready. The sandwiches really are better the more cheese you add...I know that's not very healthy, but it is the truth.

Now don't those Cheese Steaks look super yumm?

I really like fresh tomatoes on mine....my hubs loves mushrooms. I wished I had some! 

You could add sauteed green peppers to this sandwich too and sliced tomatoes like we like it. That is just personal preference. But you could just go with the steak and cheese and onions on your rolls.

I don't think these are low calorie...but they are so delish!  Just try not to think about it.....

I always look for some steak on sale and this meal is really yummy but very inexpensive too.
Here's our Tuesday night Cheese Steaks!  I made some strawberry shortcake too. I had to do
something with all my frozen strawberries I've been keeping!

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches....yummy and easy! 

They take literally 10 minutes! 

Next time you are at the market get a small steak and try making your own. You will love them.

Broiled Pecan Crusted Salmon

Here is one of my very favorite dinners, baked Pecan Crusted Salmon! 

My favorite way to make salmon I found at a favorite recipe site of mine called all recipes.com called Baked Dijon Salmon. It has bread crumbs, honey and mustard, and chopped pecans. It is wonderful!

Isn't this Pecan Crusted Salmon just tempting looking? 

I start by mixing up the bread crumbs with chopped pecans, a little mustard and honey mixed in...

 Here is my adapted recipe:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 1/2  tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• 4 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
• Lemon Pepper a few shakes
• Lawry's Season Salt a shake
• 
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a small bowl, stir together butter, mustard, and honey. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together bread crumbs, pecans
3. Shake season salt and lemon pepper on each fillet lightly, then  brush with honey mustard mixture, and sprinkle the tops of the fillets with the bread crumb mixture.
4. Bake salmon 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until it flakes easily with a fork.

Then I spread them on salmon fillets and bake....DON'T BROIL! 

I added some salad with fresh tomatoes 

And a side of fresh fruits...

And here it is!  Pecan Crusted Salmon!  

And garlic parsley red potatoes....yummy dinner!

 I love salmon fillets from Costco, individually wrapped. They are so easy and economical. And they always taste fresh. I am never disappointed. And the salmon is so delish. This is a favorite dinner of mine.

 And I had to make a yummy dessert to go with it. I love this chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. If you want my recipe and how I make this devilish dessert link HERE

Don't you want a bite? You know you do!  Yummy........

Bloomin' Onion Copycat FAIL!

Right here is How to Cut  an onion for battering and frying into one of those delectable Awesome Blossoms that I have had a craving for today. They are sometimes called Bloomin' Onions. I'm going to try to copycat Chilis or Outback.

 I think I need to make one bad! So I bought a Vidalia Sweet Onion as big as I could find. 

I read somewhere that you need to put the onion in ice water after cutting and dividing into twelve sections. I tried it. But I think it made the batter not adhere. I think maybe I should have dusted it first with flour.

Anyway, the batter is easy enough. But I'd would dust with flour first, then the egg batter, then with the flour mixture third. That way you have a nice coating.

I have tried making these Bloomin' Onions twice, but both times it was a massive FAIL!

It's already coming apart. I guess I cut too close to the bottom or something. 

Dust, dip and dust again......

It started out so good, right? But now it is all starting to come apart. I hate when that happens. So by the time I had placed this onion into the hot grease, it was quite the mess.I bet the restaurants have some kind of holder for them like those fish holders on a BBQ so pieces don't get lost in hot oil.

I realized at this point it was going to be a messy Bloomin' Onion. My grease also wasn't deep enough to fry the whole giant onion. I tried cutting it into halves and doing one half at a time. No go.  It was a sloppy mess. It is too embarrasing to even show!
                                       

MASSIVE FAIL ..... it wasn't pretty....

but it WAS tasty! 

DIRECTIONS:

1 Vidalia Onion (slice it for onion rings thick) Dust with flour mixture, then buttermilk mixture, then flour mixture again. Let sit for a minute in the flour mixture. Then drop in hot oil on the frying pan for about 2 minutes per side. Put on a paper towel. Use 1/2 Greek yogurt and 1/2 buttermilk ranch dressing mixed in a bowl for dipping sauce. Yummy!

So I started over! Yes, now it is going to be plain onion rings.

Buttermilk mixture: 1 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 egg

  Flour Mixture: 1 1/2 cups of flour,  1 teaspoons Lawry's Seasoning Salt, 1/4 teaspoon paprika,

 1/4 teaspoon pepper, a shake of garlic salt. Mix up.

Dip mix: 1/2 Ranch dressing mixed with 1/2 Greek yogurt. 

Did the dipping and coating just the same, with the same recipe.

For Bloomin' Onion or Awesome Blossom copycat

1 Vidalia Onion
Cut off the top and leave 1/4 inch at the bottom. Peel. 
Then slice into the cut off top like a pie into like 12 sections. 
Put in ice water for 1/2 hour to get it to "bloom"
Pat dry. Then dust with flour mixture and then dip into the buttermilk mixture and again into flour mixture. This is where mine fell apart. So be gentle. Then I would put it into a small deep fryer WITH A BASKET! 

We used to have a Fry Daddy or Fry Baby. Those would work for your onion. Frying pans are not deep enough. That was my problem. Anyway fry that baby up and then lay on paper towels. 

But the rings are just foolproof and delicious and easy.

 My hubs snapped this pic of me as we were both chowing down on these yummy onion rings. See my
greasy fingers? Yeah, you can't make these too often if you don't want to have a heart attack!

But once in awhile is ok. So I'm sticking with them. In fact, I feel a craving coming on right now. Yummy. 

It really tasted fantastic. So I decided after two tries, that I give up on the BLOOMIN' ONION delicacy. I will just have to do it making only onion rings. They are easy. Just slice, dip and fry, eat and enjoy. Life is too short  Bloomin' Onion.

Cream Puffs for Easter

What will I have for my Easter desserts.....mini Cream Puffs!  

And they were so cute on the dessert bar!  

Yummy and easy Cream Puffs! 

My French born sister-in-law Danielle makes these TO DIE FOR cream puffs every year at 4th of July. Everyone has come to expect and love them. She actually can't make a different dessert or everyone gets all bent out of shape. So I have been calling her to get her recipe. I wanted to make them for Easter.

The ingredients for cream puffs are only 4....so easy! 

Water, butter, flour and eggs....

Batter before adding the eggs.....I let it beat a little to let off some of the steam....

Then I added 1 egg at a time and beat for a minute in between eggs.....

The cream puff batter is  like pudding...

Easy Cream Puffs:  My French sis-in-law Danielle's recipe
1 cup water
1/2  cube butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Heat oven to 400. Heat water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour until
mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Let cool a bit till batter is not hot. Beat in eggs one at a time. Drop
dough 1 Tbsp size onto baking sheet using a pastry bag. Mine were about 1 3/4 inches oval x 1 1/2 and I got about 30 little cream puffs. Cook until puffy and golden. I did 14 minutes at 400 and then turned oven down to 350 for 5 minutes. I think from posts I read on other blogs 20 minutes is perfect for smaller cream puffs. Larger ones about 20 minutes at 400 and 4 minutes at 350 but watch them the last 3 minutes. Your oven might be different as I am at high altitude.

These are darling cream puffs too. I LOVED these from HERE at Land O Lakes website.

I piped the batter onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper....

I added a blob of cream puff batter to each of the 4 corners...then pressed the parchment paper on top. It helps
"glue" the paper down to the cookie sheets. 

Here are my finished cream puffs....just out of the oven! 

Now they are ready to fill with the creamy, rich pudding filling....each one was a half a handful ! 

Cool. Cut a slit in the side with a knife. Fill cream puffs with a pastry bag filled with the french vanilla pudding mixture.  Make chocolate icing and spread over top.  Keep refrigerated.
Makes 12 large or 24 small cream puffs (mine made 30 little round ones- bigger than the Costco size) I think this is a perfect dessert to bring to Easter dinner because if you have other desserts, this can be a side garnish and they are so cute and yummy too.

French Vanilla Cream Filling
1/2 pint whipping cream (smallest carton)
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1/2  half cup milk
Whip until thick.

1/2 cup milk, pint of cream and small box of french vanilla instant pudding....

Whip it up and then put into a pastry bag....

Squeeze inside of your little puffs....so easy! 

The filling is really rich and creamy too...I had to pop one in my mouth to taste test it! 

 Chocolate Fudgy Glaze
1/2 slick butter
2 Tbsp. cocoa
2 Tbsp. milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Heat until melted-add 2 cups powdered sugar until melted. Shake a fork
back & forth and then the other way to ice tops of cream puffs.

This was the most delicious chocolate glaze!  

It was easy and quick....

And it tastes like the most divine fudge!  Really!  

I spread it on very generously!  This chocolaty, fudgy glaze was delicious! 

My finished plates of cream puffs....this recipe made 30 puffs....

That was 2 full plates full....enough for a crowd of people....

I added some purple Peeps to the plate of cream puffs... it added the cuteness factor....yeah! .

And I know somebody CUTE who LOVED my cream puffs!  

And somebody else who loved the Easter egg hunt too! 

My cute little girls after their Easter egg hunt...look at all that loot!  

The daddies helped by hiding the eggs and then helping the girls find them all! 

This was very cute to watch, as you can imagine! 

The moms mostly just let the kids run around having a ball! 

Can you tell this one was having a good time too? mmmhmmm......

We found one!  It's pink! 

This may be my favorite pic....."how many did you find?" 

Grandpa giving elephant rides!  Yipee!

My Easter dinner table 2012 minus the ham and cheesy potatoes, salads  and homemade bread...it was all yummo!

Hope everybody had a wonderful Easter dinner!  We sure did!