Super Bird Sandwich

When I went to Hawaii a billion years ago, ok not that long ago, but it seems like forever.  I figured out what the expensive part of the trip was.  It wasn't the flight or the hotel or even the activities for the day, it was the food.  Seriously!  We ate our first dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Honolulu and the bill for just myself was about $35.  Yikes!!  My friend and I discovered a Denny's right around the corner from our hotel and we averaged about $10 a meal.  Much more affordable, and thus my love of Denny's was born.

There are so many great things to eat there, from the pancake bites to the omelette's.  But my favorite sandwich is the Super Bird.  I order this about 95% of the time.  Then I figured out that I wanted to make it at home.  It's become a weekly thing for me now.  I hope you all enjoy!

Super Bird Sandwich

Sourdough Bread

Tomatoes

Turkey Lunch Meat

Bacon

Swiss Cheese

Butter

Butter one side of 2 slices of  bread.  Slice tomatoes.  Cook bacon (the best way is in the oven so they lay flat).  Then warm up either a frying pan or electric skillet to a medium heat.  You are going to make these the same way you would make a grilled cheese sandwich.  Lay one piece of bread, butter side down on warm skillet.  Then layer Swiss cheese, bacon, turkey, and tomato.  Then you put your second piece of bread on top, butter side up.  Cook on a medium heat till bread is toasted and a light golden brown.  Carefully flip your sandwich over and cook the other side.  Serve warm.

If you want to add mayonnaise or miracle whip you can, but I think the sandwich has enough flavor all on it's own.

French Bread Pizza

Let's face it, sometimes I just don't have time to make extravagant meals.  Between work, kids, school, church responsibilities, soccer, dance, and everything else we have going on, sometimes I am just exhausted by the time I get home.  These are the nights I really need my "go to" meal.  You know, the meal you can put together in under 15 minutes.    I admit, I have several of these meals.  I usually keep the ingredients on hand for the times that we just need something to eat and fast.  This is one of our favorite "go-to" meals. 

French Bread Pizza

1 Loaf French Bread
1 jar favorite pizza sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Pepperoni
(any other toppings you like)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cut loaf of bread in half lengthwise.  Place on cookie sheet, crust side down.  Spread sauce evenly over bread, top with cheese and pepperoni.  Bake in oven for 10-14 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden.

Mandarin Orange Cheesecake

Mandarin Orange Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
6 TBSP melted butter

Filling:
4 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese
1 1/4 c sugar
1/2 c sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs

Topping:
1 package dream whip (prepared as directed)
2 (15 oz) cans mandarin oranges (drained)

Other items needed:
9-inch spring form pan
parchment paper
a large pan or oven safe skillet, large enough that the cheesecake pan will fit inside of (I used the bottom half of my broiler pan because it was big enough and oven safe)

*This recipe takes time, 30 minutes to prep, 1 hour to bake, and atleast 5 hours to chill in the fridge. 

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.  Place a large pan, filled with 1/2 inch of water into the oven while  it preheats.  This is your water bath, which is necessary in order to make a baked cheesecake)

In a medium bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon and butter, till well blended.  Press the crumb mixture into a 9-inch spring form pan that has been lined on the bottom with parchment paper.  Wrap a large piece of tin foil around the outside bottom of the spring form pan to keep the cheesecake dry when placed in the water bath in the oven.  Put the crust in the freezer until the filling is ready to go in.

In a big bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla with electric mixer.  Mix for a few minutes or until the ingredients are smooth and creamy, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl and then add them to the cream cheese mixture.  Blend the mixture just enough to integrate the eggs.

Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the filling into it.  Carefully place the cheesecake into the preheated water bath.  Bake for 12 minutes at 475 degrees, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for about 50 more minutes or until the top of the cheesecake turns a light brown. 

Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool.

Let it cool on the counter for about an hour, then cover and place in fridge for an additional 4 hours (or overnight).

Once chilled, prepare dream whip and spread on top.  Then chill in fridge for another hour. 

Place mandarin oranges on top just before serving.

My search for the perfect cheesecake has led me to many, many recipes that were just - ok.  I mean I love a good cheesecake.   There are a lot of "almost"s out there.  The no-bake version is good in a hurry, but the texture and flavor of a baked cheesecake is really the best.  So after a few "ok" cheesecakes, I found and mixed aspects of a couple of recipes to make this one, and TADA!!!!  We have a winner.  I used mandarin oranges on ours just because I'm not a huge fan of cheesecake that has fruit pie filling as the topper.  This had just enough sweet, but not too much.  Perfect for my family.  Any fresh fruit would be good on it though, strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries, and I think it would be really good with fresh peaches.  One thing to note when making this though is the amount of time the cheesecake has to chill.  I started it one afternoon late before I realized how long it had to sit in the fridge, so I baked it, then let it sit in the fridge overnight, then added the topping and oranges the next night.  So remember it needs to sit in the fridge for at least 5 hours total before eating it. 

Apple and Brie Quesadilla

I saw this made on 'Semi home-made with Sandra Lee' on food network, a couple of years ago. I thought I'd try it out because I was going through a faze of trying different cheeses. It really is super yummy and such a fun, fancy little snack.

Apple and Brie Quesadilla

tortillas (I get the uncooked ones and cook them before I put everything else on.)

cream cheese

brie cheese

thinly sliced apples (the recipe calls for granny smith but I like sweeter apples like fuji)

Cook or heat up tortillas. Spread on cream cheese, place slices of brie and apple on top of cream cheese. fold tortilla in half over filling or cover whole tortilla and put another tortilla on top. Heat a little bit longer or until cheese melts.

Flavored dip (optional) (I only use this with it every once in a while because they taste good with out too)

1/2 c. jam (any flavor but strawberry is good)

1/2 c. apple sauce

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Heat up in microwave and stir every 20 seconds until warm.

Dip quesadilla in this for yummy flavor.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Fettuccine Alfredo
1/2 c butter
2 TBSP cream cheese
1 pint heavy cream
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt & Pepper
2/3 c fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
1 lb. fettuccine noodles, prepared

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. When butter is melted, add cream cheese. When the cream cheese is softened, add heavy cream. Season with garlic powder, salt & pepper. Simmer for 20-30 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Serve over hot fettuccine noodles.

I got this recipe from Jared's cousin Nadalee. This was my first time making it and it was so yummy. I will definitely make it again.

Party dip

1 block cream cheese

1 can chili (any kind, I usually do no bean)

grated cheese(Colby jack is my favorite) as much as you want to grate in

serve with tortilla chips

Melt and stir all ingredients together. Can melt in pot, microwave, small crock pot, etc...

I don't know exactly how Kole and I came up with this recipe but we make it all the time. For parties, family get togethers, bbq's... all the time! And it seriously is so good it's gone with in a couple of minutes (hence all the hands in the picture!) so we usually end up making another batch. This is so easy to make, so next time you have to go to a function this one should definitely be on your list of things to take. And make sure you always have an extra bag of chips on hand too, just in case you need to make more dip.

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
1/2 c chopped onion
1 clove garlic
3 TBSP butter
1/4 c flour
2 c milk
6 medium potatoes
3 cups grated cheddar cheese

In a saucepan cook onions, garlic, and butter until onions are tender but not brown. Add flour, salt & pepper, and milk. Cook on a medium heat until boiling and sauce starts to get thick. Peel and thinly slice potatoes. Grease 1 1/2 q casserole dish. When sauce is done, mix in potatoes and 1 1/2 cups cheese. Put in greased pan and cook at 375 for 45 minutes. Then take out and stir and put remaining cheese on top. Cook for another 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

I adapted this recipe from one that I found in my old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Its a really easy, yummy sidedish that I serve with a lot of things.

Fried Mozarella Cheese Sticks

Fried Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

1 pkg. mozzarella cheese sticks
2 eggs - beaten
1/4 c water
1 1/2 c Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1/2 t garlic salt
2/3 c flour
1/3 c cornstarch

Mix eggs & water in bowl, set aside. In another bowl, mix the bread crumbs and garlics salt, set aside. In a third bowl mix flour and cornstarch. Cut your cheese sticks in half. Get your oil hot, about 350 degrees. One at a time coat each mozzarella stick with flour, then egg, the bread crumb mixture. Fry for about 30 seconds. Put on paper towel to drain.

My hubby got me a big daddy fryer for Christmas so I have been finding recipes to try. This is one that I found quickly online the same night I was making corn dogs. I just happened to have all the ingredients. They turned out great. We ate them with ranch. I think one thing I might try differently next time is to dip the mozzarella stick in the flour, then egg, then flour, then egg, again, then the bread crumb mixture. It might make the coating on the mozzarella stick a little bit thicker.