Leftover Pot Roast Patty Melts

Inevitably, one of the first things people say to me when they discover that I have two sons is, "Just wait until the teenage years! Your grocery bill is going to skyrocket!" What I want to tell people when they say this is, Going to skyrocket? What is this going to you speak of? Since my older son turned five, my grocery bill has already skyrocketed. 

I don't know what is with Andrew lately, but it's like he has a hollow leg. It's the growth spurt that seems unending. He can eat and eat and eat and then ten minutes later, he's ready to eat again. It's like I already live with a teenager. You wouldn't believe the amount of food we go through in a week.

Since we're on a budget, it's been important for me to continue with my "make it once, use it a bunch of times" food philosophy so there is more room in the grocery column for Andrew's voracious appetite. 'Tis the season for pot roast, so when I made one in the Crock pot recently, I decided to use the leftovers in a couple of different ways. These patty melts were the first use, and in my mind, they may just be the best use of leftovers ever. I mean, come on. Look at all that gooey cheese.

You can use your favorite pot roast recipe for these sandwiches; this is ours. You can also use whatever type of cheese you like. The one thing I wouldn't skip is the special sauce (a combination of mayonnaise, steak sauce, and Worcestershire); it totally makes these sandwiches.

Give these a try, and I guarantee you that before you know it, you'll be making pot roast just so you can use the leftovers for patty melts.

Leftover Pot Roast Patty Melts

For the sandwiches:

2 cups leftover pot roast
8 slices sturdy bread
3 tablespoons butter, plus more for the bread
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
8 ounces sliced button mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
8 slices Colby cheese (or Swiss, or provolone, etc.)

For the sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons steak sauce (like A1)
Dash Worcestershire sauce

1. Re-heat the pot roast in the microwave. Butter one side of all 8 slices of bread.

2. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add onions and mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until onion is softened and mushrooms are browned. Add garlic; season with salt and pepper and cook and stir for 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

3. Heat a griddle over medium-high heat. Place a slice of cheese on the unbuttered side of 4 slices of bread. Top each slice with 1/2 cup of the pot roast, a generous portion of the onion and mushroom mixture, and the other slice of cheese. Repeat with all four sandwiches and top with the other slice of bread, buttered side out. Grill, flipping once, until both sides are browned and crispy.

4. Combine all sauce ingredients. Serve the sauce with the patty melts.

Burger and Fries Friday: Gouda Bacon Patty Melts with Marsala Mushrooms and Onions

I don't think I will ever grow tired of trying new burger recipes. I just don't see how I ever could, not with so many delicious possible flavor combinations out there. One of my favorite combinations for burgers is mushrooms, bacon, and gouda cheese. The beefy mushrooms compliment the burgers so perfectly, and the creamy gouda and smoky bacon just enhance the flavor even more. These patty melts get their inspiration from two other burgers, and the results are simply perfect. What more can I say, really? 

Gouda Bacon Patty Melts with Marsala Mushrooms and Onions

4 burger patties
Salt and pepper
Worcestershire sauce
8 slices bacon, cooked to desired crispness
8 slices gouda cheese
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for the bread
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup marsala wine
8 slices hearty wheat bread

1. Season burgers with salt and pepper and cook in a large skillet to desired doneness. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce to each burger, then remove the burgers from the skillet.

2. Add 1 tablespoon butter to the same skillet and let melt, then add mushrooms and onions and saute until mushrooms are browned and onions are softened. Add garlic and salt and pepper to taste; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Add marsala and cook until reduced, scraping the bottom of the skillet to remove any browned bits.

3. Butter one side of each slice of bread. Top the unbuttered side of four slices with a slice of cheese, a burger patty, two pieces of bacon, a quarter of the mushrooms and onions, and another slice of cheese. Add the other four slices of bread to the sandwiches.

4. Preheat a griddle over medium heat. Add sandwiches and cook, flipping once, until each side is browned and crispy.

Creamy Bacon and Mushroom Marsala Pasta

When the weather gets really frigid, most people crave soup. And while I love soup and it appears on our menu plans at least once a week during the winter months, what I really crave when it's cold outside are pasta dishes. Baked pasta, pasta mixed with creamy sauce, pasta pasta pasta. To be completely honest, I guess this really isn't much different than any other season of the year. I am just a pasta girl.

I subscribe to e-mail newsletters from a bunch of different recipe sites, and recently I got one that was all about dishes including bacon. PSA to every recipe site ever: If you want me to make your recipes, send me an all-bacon newsletter. I adapted a recipe for bacon pasta that very week, much to my husband's delight.

Let me paint this picture for you: Bacon is crisped in a skillet, then its drippings are used to saute mushrooms, shallots, and garlic, which are deglazed with Marsala wine. Next comes a silky shower of cream and a decadent sprinkle of parmesan cheese. That whole business is tossed with penne pasta. This pasta has it all; it's smoky, salty, earthy, creamy, cheesy, and luxurious. I think you'll love it as much as my family did.

Creamy Bacon and Mushroom Marsala Pasta

adapted from Food.com

1 pound penne pasta

1 pound bacon, diced

1 tablespoon butter

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 shallot, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup Marsala wine

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta in boiling salted water according to package directions; drain.

2. Meanwhile, crisp bacon in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. Remove to paper towels to drain, and reserve 2 tablespoons of drippings in the skillet.

3. Add the butter to the bacon drippings and once it's melted, add the mushrooms and shallots to the pan. Saute until shallots are softened and mushrooms are browned, then add the garlic. Cook and stir for 30 seconds, then add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add the Marsala to the skillet and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom to pick up any browned bits. After the Marsala has reduced, stir in the cream. Reduce the heat and simmer until the cream is thickened, then stir in the parmesan cheese. After the cheese has melted, stir in half of the reserved bacon. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

5. Toss the sauce with the reserved pasta and sprinkle each serving with the remaining bacon and additional parmesan cheese.

Slow Cooker Cube Steak and Gravy

All I want to eat lately is comfort food. I know this directly correlates to the season -- not the weather, necessarily, since it's been pretty mild here, but more the fact that it's winter and psychologically I just want to curl up in flannel pajamas and not move for 3 months. Hearty, soul-soothing dishes are just the kind of thing I like to eat this time of year, and this recipe is perfect for that. A traditionally tough cut of meat is cooked all day long in the slow cooker then topped with a rich gravy, making it unbelievably tender and flavorful. This was a hit with the entire family, even the boys, who each ate an entire cube steak on their own. We still had leftovers, which Joe put between slices of Texas toast with some Swiss cheese and grilled to make a kick-ass sandwich. I think I may make this again expressly for that purpose.

Slow Cooker Cube Steak and Gravy

adapted from Tasty Kitchen

1 pound cube steak (4-6 pieces)

Salt and pepper to taste

Flour

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 cups water, divided

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

3 1-ounce envelopes beef gravy, onion gravy, or mushroom gravy, or a combination of all three

1. Season cube steak with salt and pepper and roll in flour until evenly coated. Shake off the excess.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Working in batches if necessary, fry the cube steak until both sides are browned.

3. Place cube steaks in crock pot along with mushrooms on onions. Cover with two cups of water. Cook on low for 8 hours.

4. Half an hour before serving, mix the gravy packs with the Worcestershire sauce and the remaining cup of water. Pour the gravy mixture over the cube steaks. Let cook for 30 minutes more or until the gravy has thickened.

Vegetable Tortellini Bake

This is one of those recipes you can modify to include whatever vegetables you have on hand, and it's going to be delicious. In my case...well, I used pretty much All The Vegetables: zucchini, summer squash, bell pepper, carrots, peas, mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes. Since my boys love pasta so much, I thought I might as well sneak a ton of veggies into the sauce so they'd eat them along with the tortellini. Success! I'm telling you, that method rarely fails.

I adapted this pretty heavily from Better Homes and Gardens. Their method, to me, just seemed needlessly complicated. In addition to upping the amount of veggies, I also removed the chicken called for in the original recipe (this dish doesn't need it; it's hearty enough), used half whole-wheat tortellini, and added pesto to the sauce. The result was a hearty dish that somehow doesn't seem heavy, and one that's healthy and delicious too.

Vegetable Tortellini Bake

adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

2 9-ounce packages refrigerated cheese tortellini

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1 medium zucchini, sliced into half moons

1 medium summer squash, sliced into half moons

6 ounces button mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 red or yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup frozen peas

1/3 cup chicken broth

1 cup milk

1 8-ounce package cream cheese at room temperature

1/4 cup pesto

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9-inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Cook tortellini in boiling salted water; drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Add carrot, onion, zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms, and bell pepper and cook until vegetables are fork-tender. Add garlic; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Add the milk and chicken stock to the vegetables and heat until bubbling. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Add pesto and stir until fully combined. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

4. Add the cherry tomatoes and the sauce mixture to the reserved tortellini and stir to combine.

5. Pour mixture into prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbling.

Ravioli with Bacon Pesto Mushroom Cream Sauce

(Updated with a new photo in April 2013.)

When I saw this recipe for tortellini and pancetta in mushroom cream sauce on Carrie’s Sweet Life, it was a no-brainer that I’d be trying it sooner rather than later. There are so many things about that recipe that I like, and I knew it would suit my family’s tastes perfectly.

But when it came time to make it, I saw that I didn’t have tortellini on hand. I did have cheese ravioli, though, so I decided to use that instead. I knew I was going to use bacon instead of pancetta, because, duh, I always have bacon on hand. And then I thought, heck, there’s an open jar of pesto in my fridge. Why don’t I get crazy and throw some of that in there, too? The resulting dish was so luxurious and flavorful that no one in my family could get enough of it. Joe took one bite and immediately asked, “Is there any more?” That, my friends, is definitely a sign that he enjoys something. The boys both had second helpings, too, leaving me wishing that I’d doubled the recipe so we could have even more leftovers.

This sauce turned out to be similar to the sauce for one of my favorite chicken dishes, but with the addition of bacon. I loved the way the smoky, salty quality of the bacon paired with the earthy pesto and mushrooms and the sweet cream. This one is so fancy, but so quick and easy, and it is definitely a must-try.

Ravioli with Bacon Pesto Mushroom Cream Sauce
inspired by Carrie’s Sweet Life

1 package frozen cheese ravioli
4 strips bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
8 ounces sliced white mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup prepared pesto
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan or Romano cheese for serving

1. Cook the bacon in a large, high-sided skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. Drain all but one tablespoon of bacon grease from pan.

2. Add butter to reserved bacon grease. When melted, add onion and mushrooms and cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms are browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic; cook and stir for 30 seconds.

3. Reduce heat to medium and add heavy cream, stirring occasionally until sauce begins to thicken.

4. While sauce is thickening, cook ravioli according to package directions.

5. Add pesto and reserved bacon to thickened sauce. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

6. Add sauce to cooked ravioli, stirring very gently to combine. Sprinkle each serving with shredded parmesan or Romano cheese.

Roast Beef with Mushroom Gravy

It’s rainy, chilly, windy and gray outside today, so it seems like the perfect day to share this recipe, which will warm you up from the inside out.

Believe it or not, I’ve never had pot roast made in the oven. Not once! My mom always made roasts in the Crock pot, so that’s what I’ve always done too. I love the results so much, I’ve never felt the need to try it another way. For this version of roast beef, I decided to add lots and lots of mushrooms, in the form of actual mushrooms, mushroom gravy mix, and cream of mushroom soup. This mixture makes the gravy for the beef, and it cooks right in it, which makes the meat so tender it literally falls apart. It’s so flavorful and so delicious. With a big pile of mashed potatoes on the side, there simply couldn’t be anything more satisfying on a chilly fall day.

Roast Beef with Mushroom Gravy

1 2- to 3-pound beef roast
2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 10.75-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet mushroom gravy mix
1 cup beef broth or water

1. In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. Season beef roast liberally with salt and pepper. Add beef roast and sear on all sides until caramelized. Add to the bottom of a Crock pot.

2. To same pot, add remaining tablespoon of butter, mushrooms and onions. Cook until mushrooms are brown and onions are soft, then season with salt and pepper. Stir in garlic and cook and stir for 30 seconds. Stir in beef broth and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to release browned bits. Add mushroom mixture to meat in Crock pot.

3. Mix together cream of mushroom soup and mushroom gravy mix. Pour over meat and mushroom mixture.

4. Cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours, until meat begins to fall apart.

Pork Sandwiches with Sour Cream Sauce

I know I’ve said this before, but sometimes I see a recipe and immediately think to myself, “Oh, man, I’ve gotta make that. As soon as I can. I need to make that YESTERDAY.” These sandwiches are a perfect example of a time when that happened. I loved the idea of a pork sandwich, and even more than that, I loved the idea of sour cream sauce. I think it’s pretty apparent by now how much I love sour cream, yes?

Anyway, as soon as Carrie posted these sandwiches, I put them on our menu. I adapted the cooking method pretty significantly since I was making these on a weeknight, and they were perfect. Absolutely perfect. The pork was tender and juicy, and the onions, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese worked together perfectly. And that sauce, my word! It’s so incredibly delicious, and the perfect creamy element for these sandwiches. Add in a crispy hoagie roll, and there’s nothing not to love.

Pork Sandwiches with Sour Cream Sauce
adapted from Carrie's Sweet Life

4 boneless pork chops, at least half an inch thick
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 cup sour cream
Sliced Swiss cheese
Hoagie rolls

1. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a large skillet. Season pork chops with salt and pepper and add to butter. Cook until both sides are browned and crispy. Transfer to a baking dish and finish cooking in a 350-degree oven.

2. To drippings in skillet, add remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until onions are softened and mushrooms begin to brown. Season with salt and pepper. Remove to a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.

3. Remove pork chops from oven. Let the pork chops rest, then thinly slice them and remove them to a foil-covered plate to keep warm.

4. And add juices from the pork's baking dish to drippings in skillet, scraping the drippings off the bottom of the pan with a whisk or wooden spoon. Stir in sour cream. If sauce is too thick, add just enough water to thin it to desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Top each hoagie roll with sliced pork, mushrooms and onions, and two slices of Swiss cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and roll is crispy. Top with sour cream sauce.

Chicken Cheesesteaks

These sandwiches ended up on our menu during one of the weeks when I just wasn’t inspired to meal plan. Nothing sounded good to me, so I went into the folder of recipes I’d bookmarked and picked this one almost randomly. But these chicken cheesesteaks were so delicious and turned out to be such a hit with my whole family that I was really sorry I’d waited so long to try them!

There’s nothing super fancy or complicated about this recipe. It’s just a basic chicken cheesesteak with onions, mushrooms, and a couple of different kinds of peppers. I think that’s what I love about these sandwiches, really, because simple, uncomplicated, delicious food is my favorite kind. They come together very quickly, and they’re a perfect weeknight meal. Joe has been requesting them a lot lately, so look for them on our meal plan again soon (probably next week!).

Chicken Cheesesteaks
adapted from Everyday Food

1 pound chicken cutlets
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
8 ounces sliced button mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
8 slices provolone cheese
4 soft hoagie rolls, split lengthwise
Banana peppers
Mayonnaise

1. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet. Slice chicken very thinly (it helps if the chicken is still very slightly frozen) and season with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and saute until chicken is cooked through and slightly browned on the outside. Set chicken aside.

2. To the same skillet, add the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add peppers, onion, and mushrooms and saute until crisp-tender. Add garlic and season with salt and pepper; cook and stir for 30 seconds.

3. Place hoagie rolls in a baking sheet. Top each roll with chicken, vegetables, and two slices of cheese; broil until cheese is bubbling, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

4. Top each sandwich with banana peppers and spread with mayonnaise. Serve immediately.

Portobello Pesto Pizza

I’ve found that people have strong opinions about both pesto and mushrooms: They either love them, or they hate them. My family falls into the “love” category for both things, and when I saw them paired together in one delicious pizza…Well. Making this recipe was a no-brainer.

This is an absolutely delicious pizza. The cremini mushrooms and pesto work so well together: The mushrooms provide that deep earthiness, and the pesto is so fresh and vibrant in contrast. Topped with tons of melty, blistery cheese, it’s pretty much perfection.

I definitely enjoyed this more than Joe did, though; he thought the pizza needed “something else.” I expect that “something else” that he couldn’t define was some sort of tomato-y element, which I’ll add for him next time I make this – in the form of roasted cherry tomatoes, which I think would be delicious in the mushroom layer.

And here comes the geeky English major in me: Another thing I love about this pizza is the alliteration. Portobellos, pesto, provolone, parmesan…I’m tempted to throw in some prosciutto or pancetta next time I make this, too, just for one more “P” ingredient!

Portobello Pesto Pizza
adapted from Brown-Eyed Baker

1 pizza crust (make your own, or buy a thin-crust one at the store, which is what I did without shame)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup pesto (homemade or store-bought)
8 ounces provolone cheese, shredded
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Arrange pizza crust on a rack or pizza stone in the oven. Pre-bake according to recipe or directions on package.

2. In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and add the sliced mushrooms and shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the mushrooms have released all of their liquid and both the mushrooms and shallots are soft and browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Spread the pesto over the pizza dough, just as you would pizza sauce, leaving a 1/2-inch border uncovered. Spread the mushroom and onion mixture evenly over the pesto, and then top with the provolone and parmesan cheeses. Place your baking sheet or pizza pan into the oven.

4. Bake until the crust edges brown and the cheese is golden brown in spots, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, slice and serve.

One year ago: Baked zucchini macaroni and cheese

Burger and Fries Friday: Marsala Burgers

It’s way past time that I shared my new favorite burger with you. I know I say that about a lot of the burgers that I share -- that this one or that one is my favorite -- but I honestly believe that this one is going to be very hard to top. It’s a little bit fancier than your typical cheeseburger, but it’s so easy and quick to prepare, so it just may be the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner for the sweetie in your life.

These marsala burgers have such awesome, rich flavor. The mushrooms add a great earthy quality, and the marsala deepens the flavor incredibly. The burgers are dunked in the marsala pan sauce, making them irresistibly juicy, and then they’re topped with creamy, decadent smoked gouda cheese. With a huge pile of roasted asparagus on the side, these burgers are gorgeous. Simply gorgeous.

Marsala Burgers
adapted from elly says opa!

1.25 pounds ground beef
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup marsala
1/2 cup beef broth
4 slices smoked gouda
Butter-grilled hamburger buns for serving

1. Lightly mix together the ground sirloin and Worcestershire. Form the mixture into four patties. Season on both sides with salt and fresh pepper.

2. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add a little olive oil and when it shimmers, add the burgers. Cook the burgers until they are just undercooked to your liking (so if you like your burgers medium, cook until medium rare). Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Add the butter to the pan, and then add the onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Saute until tender and the mushrooms have lost all their juices. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the marsala. Scrape up any browned bits from the pan and reduce the liquid by half. Add the broth and reduce again by half. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Add the burgers back into the pan and continue cooking another minute or so. Top with the cheese and melt. Serve the burgers on butter-grilled buns and top with the mushroom mixture.

Chicken with Pesto Mushroom Cream Sauce

First of all, I need to apologize for the terrible picture. It was taken on a night when there wasn’t a lot of light left in my kitchen (those are happening more and more frequently now that it’s getting darker earlier, SOB), and I was so eager to eat this that I really didn’t bother to take the time to try to get a good shot. So, sorry.

I hope the picture doesn’t deter you from trying this, though, because let me assure you: This chicken dish is amazing. Earthy mushrooms are paired with pungent garlic, sweet cream, verdant pesto, and bright fresh lemon juice to make a sauce with a perfectly balanced flavor profile. In less food critic-y terms, this stuff is just yummy. :)

I served ours over angel hair pasta tossed with a touch of butter and parmesan cheese and a side of cheesy roasted tomato bread (recipe coming tomorrow!) and we were all very, very satisfied after dinner. This is great comfort food, especially now that the weather’s starting to cool down for real. And as an added bonus, this looks and sounds really fancy and is worthy of company, but it went from pan to table in less than 30 minutes. Bestill my heart, it just may be the perfect meal.

Chicken with Pesto Mushroom Cream Sauce
adapted from Joelen’s Culinary Adventures

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup prepared basil pesto
2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cooking chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and tent with foil.

2. Add 2 tablespoons butter to skillet and cook mushrooms until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add cream, broth and chicken to skillet, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

3. Transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with foil. Return skillet to high heat and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in pesto and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Serve sauce on the side or over chicken.

Hot Italian Turkey Sandwiches

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good turkey and American cheese sandwich as much as the next girl. But sometimes, it’s nice to fancy up a plain old sandwich for dinner. This recipe does just that. It elevates deli turkey to a truly delicious level with the addition of roasted red peppers, sautéed mushrooms and onions, and a creamy pesto mayonnaise. I made all four sandwiches, had one for myself and gave Joe two, and took the fourth with me to work for lunch the next day (and it reheated really well) -- but let me tell you, I had to fight Joe for that sandwich! He could have eaten a third one with no problem, he loved these so much. We’ll be making these sandwiches a lot. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Deborah!

Hot Italian Turkey Sandwiches
source: adapted from Taste and Tell

1 teaspoon oil
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 cup thinly sliced onion

Salt and pepper to taste
4 hoagie rolls, split
8 ounces sliced cooked turkey
1 cups roasted red peppers, patted dry and sliced
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 tablespoons basil pesto
3/4 cup mayonnaise

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onion; saute 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Top half of each roll with turkey and peppers, spoon on onion and mushrooms, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

4. Mix pesto and mayonnaise; spread onto top of each roll.

Roasted Vegetable Subs

I’ve mentioned my love of roasted vegetables before. I love the deep, nutty flavor, the texture, the beautiful colors. I pretty much love everything about them.

I was inspired to make these subs after Joe and I loved the roasted vegetable soup I made a while ago so much. I thought roasting the vegetables with some balsamic vinegar and piling them on rolls with tons of cheese would make for an absolutely delicious dinner – and I was right. These subs were so yummy that we didn’t even miss the meat. The balsamic vinegar adds an additional depth of flavor and a wonderful tang that’s just delicious, and the melty cheese is a nice contrast to the crisp-tender vegetables. You could use any combination of vegetables you like; asparagus, zucchini, or a poblano pepper for a little kick would also be delicious. I kept ours simple with a combination of bell peppers, onions, garlic and mushrooms. I can’t wait to make these again! (Only next time I won’t burn the rolls; I got distracted by two little boys who shall remain nameless.)

Roasted Vegetable Subs

1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound whole button mushrooms, quartered
1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 sweet Italian rolls, split and toasted
6 slices provolone cheese

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Arrange vegetables in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet; add olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper and toss to combine. Roast, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until golden brown and tender.

2. Pile half of the vegetables on each roll and top each with 3 slices of cheese. Broil to melt cheese, if desired.

Roasted Vegetable Soup

I know, I know: It's March-almost-April, and it's not really "soup season" anymore. But if your weather is anything like ours here in Ohio, it's bound to change in five minutes, and you just may have a few more rainy, chilly days before it warms up for good. On one of those days, this soup is the perfect thing to make for dinner.

I'm loving roasted vegetables lately. I just love the deep, slightly charred flavor that results in roasting them. And I mean, just look how beautiful they are. How could anything so gorgeous not taste amazing?

You can use any combination of vegetables you like for this soup; asparagus would make this more spring-y, tomatoes would make it sweeter, and potatoes would make it heartier. Trust me, you don't want to wait until the fall to try this one.

Roasted Vegetable Soup
source: adapted from Pillsbury Christmas 2007

2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups sliced zucchini
1 red onion, halved lengthwise and chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can vegetable broth or chicken broth
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat oven to 475 degrees. In small bowl, combine oil, rosemary, salt and pepper; mix well. Set aside. In large bowl, combine all vegetables. Add oil mixture to vegetables and mix well to coat. Place vegetables in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet.

2. Bake for 30 minutes or until vegetables are golden brown and tender, stirring halfway through baking time.

3. In large saucepan, combine roasted vegetables, broth, cream, and parsley; mix well. Cook and stir over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated and slightly thickened.

Rigatoni with Chicken, Bacon and Mushrooms

This recipe comes from a high school friend of mine, who posted about having this for dinner on Facebook one day a couple of weeks ago. It sounded so good that I knew I had to try it immediately, so I asked her for the recipe, which she was happy to provide. I put it on my menu that week, and we loved it. This is seriously a restaurant-quality meal. It's so flavorful and delicious. It's the kind of meal that causes you to make indecent noises while you're eating it. I'M NOT EVEN LYING.

The original recipe called for sherry, but my friend doesn't cook with alcohol so she replaced the sherry with apple juice. I decided to do the same, since we don't have sherry in the house -- but we do have apple juice because Andrew drinks the stuff like it's going out of style. I'd encourage you to do the same. It sounds strange, but the apple juice really works in this dish. It provides just a hint of fruity sweetness that's a nice balance to the salty bacon and the earthy mushrooms. And don't you dare skip the basil, either -- it's an absolute must that takes this dish over the top. I can't wait to make this one again.

Rigatoni with Chicken, Bacon and Mushrooms
source: adapted from a high school friend

16 ounces rigatoni
Garlic powder
Dried oregano or Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
6 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup apple juice
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
15 fresh basil leaves, julienned
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup heavy cream
Parmesan cheese

1. Cook rigatoni in boiling salted water according to al dente. Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken with garlic powder, oregano or Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a pan at medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked through. Keep warm.

3. Using the same pan, cook the bacon just shy of crispy. Add mushrooms and onions and cook until onions are translucent.

4. Increase heat to high and add apple juice and chicken stock. Stir with a wooden spoon to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil and let cook for 2 minutes.

5. Add tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and half of the basil; season with salt and pepper. Reduce to medium low heat and cook until the sauce begins to thicken, about 15 minutes.

6. Stir cream and remaining basil into the sauce. Transfer rigatoni to a large serving dish; top with cooked chicken and pour sauce over. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Mushroom and Spinach Turnovers

I'm finding that I'm really enjoying mushrooms lately, which is odd for me since I spent most of my life disliking them unless they were on pizza. This bodes well for my venture into twice-weekly vegetarianism, since mushrooms are meaty and hearty and filling and are part of so many meatless entrees. My almost two-year-old, however? He is not a fan. He picked the mushrooms out of his turnover and only ate the pastry and the spinach. Not that I'm complaining -- my toddler is eating spinach. That in itself makes me feel like I'm doing something right.

I found this recipe in a recent issue of Rachael Ray's magazine, and I knew immediately that I wanted to put it on our menu. Mushrooms mixed with cream cheese and stuffed into puff pastry? I am IN. I changed the recipe up a bit to reflect what I had on hand, and I put the spinach in the pastry instead of serving it as a salad on the side as Rachael suggests, and I have to say we all really enjoyed these. They were really filling as an entree, but could easily be made into small pockets and served as a yummy appetizer. I definitely recommend giving these a try!

Mushroom and Spinach Turnovers
source: adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray, February 2010

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound white mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 cups baby spinach
Salt and pepper
Grated peel and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut into small pieces
1 (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and onion, season with salt and pepper and cook until the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Stir in spinach until wilted. Transfer to a bowl along with the lemon peel; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream cheese and 1 teaspoon lemon juice.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 puff pastry sheet to an 11-inch square, then halve it. Repeat with the other pastry sheet. Arrange one-quarter of the filling crosswise on 1 half of each piece of pastry, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Brush the borders with some egg, then fold the pastry to enclose the filling. Cut 2 vents into each turnover and crimp the edges; transfer to a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with more egg. Bake until puffed and golden-brown, about 18 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Chicken Cacciatore Risotto

With temperatures in the 40s, cloudy skies and biting winds, and snow in the forecast for the end of the week, today seems like the perfect day to share this risotto recipe with you. Risotto is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods; it's the kind of meal that just warms the soul -- and the body, especially when the weather's getting chillier.

This recipe is adapted from a cookbook I inherited from my stepsister. She was getting ready to donate a bunch of cookbooks to charity, but I couldn't resist going through them first to see if there were any I wanted. This particular cookbook caught my eye immediately, since it contains recipes from the Mediterranean countries -- an area whose food I unequivocally love.

The recipe as it's written in the cookbook is very basic, consisting of only chicken, chicken broth, tomato sauce and some garlic. But to me, that's just not chicken cacciatore. When I think of chicken cacciatore, I immediately think of mushrooms, onions, and green peppers in a thick tomato-y sauce. So I added all of those things to the recipe, and I must say that this turned out wonderfully. Even Andrew liked it, and the leftovers heated up really well for lunch the next day.

Chicken Cacciatore Risotto
source: adapted from Viva la Mediterranean

1 cup arborio rice
5 to 6 cups warm chicken stock
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
8 ounces mushrooms, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 14.5-ounce can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. In a high-sided skillet over medium-high heat, heat a small amount of olive oil. Add onion, bell pepper and mushrooms and cook until peppers are crisp-tender and mushrooms are beginning to brown. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Add rice to pan and cook until it begins to brown and smells nutty, then add about 1 cup of warm stock to the pan. Cook over medium to medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed. Keep adding stock and stirring until the liquid is absorbed until rice is completely cooked (the whole process should take anywhere from 18-22 minutes).

3. Stir in chicken, diced tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and parsley until heated through. Top servings with additional parmesan cheese and parsley, if desired.

Worcestershire-Glazed Vegetables

Last week, we did something that Joe absolutely dreads doing every fall: We put the grill away for the year. But before we put it away, we said goodbye to the grilled foods of summer in style: with gorgeous T-bone steaks, velvety baked potatoes, grilled banana sundaes (I'll share the recipe tomorrow), and these vegetables.

This vegetable medley, a mixture of zucchini, mushrooms, pearl onions and garlic, is one of our favorite pairings for steak during the summer months. It's a delicious side dish, and equally as yummy piled directly on top of the steaks themselves. The vegetables are already rich and earthy, but the Worcestershire sauce really adds something special and makes them unbelievably flavorful. You could absolutely cook the vegetables on the grill in foil packets, but I like the caramelization they get in a saute pan.

Worcestershire-Glazed Vegetables
source: Cassie

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium zucchini, sliced into half-moons
5 ounces button mushrooms, stemmed
1/2 cup pearl onions
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1. Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add zucchini, mushrooms, and onions and cook until vegetables are tender. Add garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and red pepper flakes; cook and stir one minute.

2. Add Worcestershire sauce to vegetables. Reduce heat to low and cook until the sauce thickens and coats the vegetables.

Prosciutto Pork Kabobs

Oh, how I love prosciutto. I think I would eat its salty deliciousness with, in or on pretty much anything, but my favorite thing to pair it with is pork tenderloin. Something about the pork-pork combo really gets me. In the words of Emeril, pork fat just totally rules.

When I saw these kabobs combining prosciutto-wrapped pork pieces with zucchini and mushrooms, I was immediately smitten. Even though Joe over-cooked them just slightly (he got distracted with talking to our neighbor over the fence), they turned out to be just as delicious as I'd hoped. Because I never buy flavored oils (seriously, why spend the money when you can make your own so easily?), I used regular olive oil that I added a few cloves of crushed garlic to and cooked over low heat until the oil just started to bubble. The flavor infused perfectly.

Nothing screams "summer" like a grilled kabob, so this meal was a nice way to say goodbye to summer as we welcome the cooler weather.

Prosciutto Pork Kabobs
source: Better Homes and Gardens New Grilling Book

1/4 cup garlic-flavored olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 pound pork tenderloin
3 ounces thinly-sliced prosciutto
8 ounces fresh whole mushrooms, stems removed
2 small zucchini and/or yellow summer squash, cut into 3/4-inch thick slices
2 tablespoons finely shredded parmesan cheese

1. In a small bowl combine oil, lemon juice, and crushed red pepper; set aside.

2. Trim fat from pork. Cut pork into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Cut prosciutto into 1 1/2-inch-wide strips. Wrap a strip of prosciutto around each pork cube. On (metal or water-soaked wood) skewers, alternately thread pork cubes, mushrooms, and zucchini, leaving a 1/4-inch space between the pieces.

3. For a charcoal grill, grill kabobs on the greased grill rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 18 to 20 minutes or until pork is no longer pink and juices run clear, turning once halfway through grilling and brushing with the oil mixture during the last four minutes of grilling. (For gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place kabobs on grill rack over heat. Cover; grill as above.)

4. Just before serving, sprinkle kabobs with parmesan cheese.