Toasted Turkey and Ham Sandwich

Build your own fancy deli sandwich at home!  This sandwich is incredible, simple but incredible!  It's loaded with turkey and ham, don't you hate the sandwiches that are so skimpy with the meats?  It's the centerpiece of the sandwich.  With that said, please use quality meats if you don't you'll get a low quality sandwich.  I had two friends tell me this was one of the the best sandwiches they've ever had so there's two reviews for you =).  

My favorite thing about this sandwich is that it gives me the perfect use for my left over spiral sliced ham.  I often dice any ham we have left and freeze it.  If I'm really lazy about it I will even do it in the food processor, although I do prefer it diced by hand because you can determine the size of the dice.  It just takes a bit longer.  I also used my left over ham for ham and cheese salads, ham eggs, or ham pizza.  So don't through that left over ham out, there's hundreds of uses for it and it freezes so well.

Toasted Turkey and Ham Sandwich

Yields one huge sandwich 

Ingredients:

2 1" slices french bread, sliced on a bias

Mayonnaise, whipped cream cheese or mustard, for spreading

3 oz. thinly sliced, peppered deli turkey (best is Board Head, Columbus brand or Jennie O)

1/4 cup finely diced ham (I used leftover spiral sliced Honey Baked ham)

1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

2 slices ripe avocado

3 slices Roma tomatoes

1/8 tsp Italian seasoning

1 leaf Green Leaf lettuce or Iceberg lettuce

Directions:

Heat a large non-stick saucepan over medium low heat.  Butter pan and toast one (or both side if preferred) of each slice of bread until toasted and golden.  Remove bread from heat and dress bread with mayonnaise, whipped cream cheese or mustard as desired, top one slice with lettuce and set aside.  

Return pan to heat, butter pan again and layer turkey slices into pan.  Cook turkey until lightly golden on bottom (only takes about 1 minute), then flip turkey using a spatula.  Remove from heat and top turkey with shredded Mozzarella cheese, sprinkle with ham, then layer with avocado slices, followed by tomato slices, then sprinkle with with Italian seasoning.  Return to heat and cook until cheese has melted and bottom of turkey is lightly golden.  Using the spatula, carefully lift out layered sandwich filling and lay on top of sliced bread containing lettuce.  Top with remaining slice.  Serve immediately (you may want to cut it in half to be able to eat this one =).

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Rocky Road Oatmeal

Nutritious indulgence.  I love those two words together =).  That's just what this oatmeal is.  It's anti-oxidant rich from the oats, nuts and cocoa, full of calcium from the milk, packed with fiber from the oats, then you get a bit of protein from the nuts.  The indulgence obviously comes from the chocolate chips, marshmallows and sugar (an extra indulgence would be to top it with half and half mmm). 

I won't lie, it's hard to make oatmeal look appealing but I think once you top it with the right amount of goodness, a hard task can become quite simple.  You could delight a loved one this upcoming Valentines day buy serving up this decadent oatmeal (and they'll never how to know how simple it was to make =).

I know I've posted quite a few oatmeal recipes lately.  I just can't get enough of it though.  I love how simple it is to mix things up and create new flavors, not to mention how easy it is to prepare.  This recipe is dedicated to my mom =).  My entire life growing up she'd eat a bowl of oatmeal every morning along with a side of broccoli, ughh.  You're probably thinking wow what a nutritious breakfast, yes it was until she'd mix in a half of cube of butter into it, literally half a cube.  I'm glad you don't do that anymore mom we need you around many more years, here's a much better alternative to that for a delicious way to enjoy oatmeal =).

Rocky Road Oatmeal
Yields 1 serving


Ingredients:
1/2 cup oats
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
1/8 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds
10-14 mini marshmallows (about 1/4 cup)
1 Tbsp milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips (which ever you prefer)
Additional milk or half and half for drizzling if desired


Directions:
In a large microwave safe bowl, combine oats, milk, brown sugar, cocoa powder and salt.  Microwave on high for 3 1/2 minutes.  Allow to rest 2 minutes then remove from microwave and stir in vanilla.  Top with nuts, marshmallows and chocolate chips, serve warm.

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Cheesy Refried Bean Dip

Funny thing, I would really consider this bean dip one of my favorite foods (although I do have a lot of favorite foods =).  When I lived in Arizona I often went to two amazing Mexican restaurants that served warm refried bean dip alongside their fresh salsa, it was incredible to say the least!  Unfortunately, I no longer live there so I had to figure out how to make it on my own.
This is the perfect party snack for the upcoming Super Bowl.  Make this and no one is going to care who wins =). When I make this I often serve it along with fresh salsa, fresh guacamole and sour cream.  They all accompany each other perfectly.  This bean dip is SO easy to prepare, yes it takes a bit of time to cook but the actually prep time is about 5 minutes.  I also use this same recipe to make refried beans, just decrease the reserved water added to the blender to 1 1/4 cups for non dip, slightly thicker beans.  I love refried beans served alongside Shredded Beef Tacos and Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce.  
This bean dip can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week, and reheated on the stovetop on in the microwave (I usually add a bit of water when I reheat it because they seem to thicken a bit once refrigerated).  I even use this recipe to make my own frozen bean and cheese burritos, again decreasing the water added slightly then adding additional cheese.

Cheesy Refried Bean Dip
Yields about 5 cups


Ingredients:
1 lb dry pinto beans
2 quarts (8 cups) water
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp lard (or 2 additional Tbsp butter)
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (plus more if desired)
1/2 cup shredded Monterray Jack Cheese (or an additional 1/2 cup Cheddar)


Directions:
Soak beans in a bowl or pot overnight in 2 quarts cold water (I just soak them in the slow cooker pot so I don't have to clean two pots).  
Drain and rinse beans after soaking.  Place beans in a slow cooker, cover with 2 quarts hot water.  Cover with a lid and cook on high for 4 1/2 hours or low for 9 hours (my slow cooker lids fits snugly but if yours doesn't just keep an eye on the water level to make sure they stay covered).
Once cooked (they should be fully tender when pierced with a fork), laddle out 1 3/4 cups of the water and reserve.  Strain remaining water by pouring beans into a colander.  Place beans, reserved 1 3/4 cups water (if you want thicker beans start with 1 cup then work your way up from there, I just found 1 3/4 cups was a good consistency for bean dip), butter, lard, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and pepper in a blender.  Cover blender with lid and blend on low speed for about 1 minute or until well blended.  Pour mixture into a large bowl, stir in shredded cheeses.  Serve warm with tortilla chips.  
Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 week.

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15 Minute Donuts, From Scratch

This post is going to be short and sweet today just like this simple donut recipe =).  I'm in love and hate with this recipe I made.  Love because they are amazing, and hate because I could eat all of them.  To me these taste just as good (or better) as any cake donut you could buy at your local bakery but you can make these at home in 15 minutes (some done in 15 the entire batch took about 19 to be more exact =).  I made this recipe because sometimes I just can't wait 3 hours for a fresh donut.  These are purely amazing and deliciously tender, enjoy!

15 Minute Donuts

Yields about 30 Donut Holes

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 Tbsp melted butter

2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Granulated sugar, cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar, for coating

Directions:

Preheat oil over medium heat in a 10 inch non-stick fry-pan (keeping an eye on it as it is heating).  In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together milk, buttermilk, sugar and melted butter.  Using a fork stir in dry ingredients and mix just until combine (think of making biscuit dough, you just want to incorporate the ingredients).  

Once the oil has reached 350 degrees, measure out 1/2 tablespoonfuls dough and using your hands gently roll into a ball (gently rolling to keep them fluffy, think of rolling something really fragile.  Again this is like a biscuit dough you don't want to overwork it).  Gently place dough ball into oil and fry until golden brown on bottom then flip and cook reverse side until golden brown.  Carefully remove with metal tongs or a fork and drain onto a paper towel lined plate.  Roll in sugar.  Repeat this process with remaining dough (you can fit about 8 donuts in the pan at once if you can work that fast =).  Note: these are best enjoyed the day they are made.

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