Bagel Dogs

Yet another Real Mom Kitchen recipe that I just couldn't pass up! As I've mentioned before, we are big Macaroni and Cheese fans in this house! That being said, I have more macaroni and cheese AND packages of hot dogs in my stockpile than the average person eats in their entire life. Add to that the fact that I am sick and tired of macaroni and cheese and hot dogs, I knew it was time to start experimenting with new recipes to get these hot dogs used up. What I really wanted to make was Pigs in a Blanket, but I didn't have any sliced cheese on hand, and I was not about to run out to the grocery store just for sliced cheese. So I decided to give this recipe a whirl!

These are super amazingly good! A plump, warm hot dog wrapped up in a blanket of soft, chewy bagel bread just really hits the spot! Next time, I may add some cheese wrapped around the hotdog before I wrap the dough around, but otherwise, I pretty much left this recipe as is and was very happy with the results. As was hubs. Now I'm off to try and find a recipe for pretzel dogs...because this just got the ball rolling on things I can do with the umpteen meeeelion packages of hot dogs I have stored in our deep freeze (okay. not quite that many. but close.)

Ingredients...

...2 cups warm water

...4 1/2 tsp. yeast

...3 T. sugar

...3 tsp. salt

...5 1/2 c. flour 

...12 hot dogs

...2 tsp. baking soda

...1 egg yolk

...Salt for garnish 

Directions...

Pour the warm water into the bowl of your stand mixer and add the yeast. Let stand until foamy. Stir in sugar and salt and turn the mixer on low speed. Gradually add flour until a smooth, elastic dough has formed. Using the dough hook, knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Place the dough into a clean, well greased bowl and turn to make sure all sides of the dough are covered with grease. Cover and let stand in a warm, draft free place for an hour. Once the dough has risen, punch down and place onto a floured workspace. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until about 1/4" thick. Using a kitchen scissors, cut the dough into strips about 1" wide (approximately 10-12 strips). Wrap each strip around a hot dog, overlapping each layer slightly. Place on a greased baking sheet and cover. Let sit in a warm, draft free place to rise for about 45 minutes. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the dough has browned. Serve warm.

Steak Hoagies

When it comes to sandwiches, I'm pretty boring. Growing up, unless it was PB&J, cold meat w/ cheese or grilled cheese, we didn't have it. Which probably explains my fascination with Subway throughout high school. I especially loved Subway's Philly Cheesesteak sub, and ate it frequently as my high school job was next door in the strip mall to a Subway! I don't think I loved it because it was Philly Cheesesteak...I think I loved it simply because it was something different. Something more fancy than PB&J or bologna with a cheese slice sandwiched between two slices of bread.

So that all goes to explain why I have been on a mission lately to find lots of delicious sandwich recipes that I can create right here at home. I found this particular recipe over at My Kitchen Cafe and was very pleased with how delicious this hoagie sandwich came out! It was also super easy to create! This is another recipe that is going into my file for lighter and amazing recipes to put into rotation this spring and summer! The only downside is that this was perhaps a bit on the peppery side, which if you like pepper is a good thing! But if you don't care for lots of pepper on your food (like me) then you may want to scale it back...but don't eliminate it -- it adds a great dimension to this sandwich! I also strongly encourage that you don't skip the broiling process at the end. The way that it melts the cheese into a state of ooey gooey deliciousness and toasts the bun just a tidge makes this recipe seem completely pulled together and not just like you whipped up a filling, spooned onto cold buns and ran (even if that is, in fact, the case...)

Ingredients...

...2 medium sized steaks, cut into strips

...1 T. of equal parts pepper, salt and garlic salt (this is where you would lessen the pepper if you aren't a fan)

...2 T. olive oil

..1/2 onion, thinly sliced

...1 green pepper, thinly sliced

...1 can mushrooms, drained

...1/2 tsp. oregeno

...1 slice of cheese per sub

...sub rolls or hoagie buns

Directions...

Heat olive oil in a skillet until rippling. Cook steak strips in oil until cooked through and no longer pink. Add onion, spice mixture, green pepper, mushrooms and oregano, stirring to evenly coat with all spices. Cook until vegetables are tender and the mixture is heated through. Using a slotted spoon, spoon onto sub roll or hoagie bun and then add cheese. Broil for about 5 minutes, until bun is toasted and cheese is melted.

Egg Salad

Well now that Easter is over and the Bunny has left you with tons upon tons of hardboiled eggs, what to do with them? Even though they are colored, they are still safe to eat, so why not right?!? I've always loved hardboiled eggs, but after Easter there are so many left that eating them plain gets just a little, well, boring. I suggest that you whip up a batch of this egg salad to make sandwiches. Not only will this help to use up all those eggs leftover from your hunt, but it will also give you a much needed break from those leftovers at some point. Even though Ham and Scalloped Potatoes are always delicious, sometimes you just need a break!!

As with the potato salad recipe that I'm trying to crack, my Grandma made the best egg salad ever too! I really wanted to find a recipe that was similar to hers and I found this version over at Allrecipes and decided to give it a go. While it was not much like my grandma's recipe at all, it was really good! I have to say though, you MUST let this sit in the refrigerator so that the dried onion can soften...otherwise it's just gross with hard little onion bits. But if you are impatient like me, don't say I didn't warn you!

p.s. It's also National Egg Salad Week...so now you have two reasons to make this!

Ingredients...

...8 hard cooked eggs, diced

...1 c. mayonnaise

...1/8 c. dried onion flakes

...1/2 tsp. salt

...1 tsp. mustard powder

...1/4 tsp. garlic powder

...1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions...

Place all ingredients in a bowl and gently stir until well combined. Refrigerate for at least on hour prior to serving. This step is pertinent to softening the dried onion flakes.

Tuna Burgers

This is a story of the misfortunate tuna burgers. Which hubs was leery about. Ever since I made carrot burgers two years ago, he is skeptical of any recipe that is titled "____ Burger". Especially when ground beef isn't the main ingredient.

Well, I guess I failed him again. I'm pretty sure after this tuna burger fiasco he will never again eat anything entitled "____ Burger". The first recipe, for Carrot Burgers...not my fault. The recipe was just rotten and I was attempting to be frugal with a meatless meal. This recipe...okay, kinda my fault. No, totally my fault. Because I made a substitution. And when hubs found out that bit of information he responded with "why do you do that?" I guess that means I make too many substitutions for the sake of frugality. Maybe I should stop that.

I found this recipe in one of the cookbooks I got from the cleaning out of my grandma's house, and I'm sure that as written, this recipe is quite tasty. Maybe even downright good. Just don't make a substitution like I did.

Don't do it!!!

Ingredients...

...1 can tuna

...3/4 c. salad dressing (this is where I messed up. I read it as actual salad dressing. Upon reviewing the recipe after eating this disaster, I realized that they probably meant the mayonnaise like salad dressing. Yeah. Use the mayonaise. Not actual salad dressing. ESPECIALLY not 3 Cheese Ranch Dressing. Don't buy that stuff, ever. BLECH!!)
...1/2 c. diced pickles

...1 c. shredded cheese

Directions...

Mix together all ingredients and spread on a slice of bread. Spread a second slice with butter. Place on a baking sheet and place under broiler until tops are browned and cheese is melted.

To see more great Recipes be sure to check out Colleen's Kitchen Recipe Swap over at And Baby Makes Five, Foodie Fridays over at Designs by Gollum, Food on Fridays over at Anne Kroeker and Friday Food over at MomTrends!

Mini Sliders

This is the most perfect starter for a night out for two reasons. First, they are small enough not to count as a full meal. Second, they are big enough to put enough food in your stomach so that you aren't snacking on the super calorific appetizers all night! Not only would these make a great starter for any party or night out, but they also make a fun and easy meal. The only downside to this recipe? I don't measure. I just guess. So figuring measurements out is up to you and what looks good!

Ingredients...

...1 lb. ground meat
...2 eggs
...Shredded Cheese
...Seasoned Salt
...Minced Onion
...Garlic Powder

Directions...

In a large bowl, combine ground meat, eggs and cheese. Add in seasoned salt, garlic powder and minced onion until the flavor is to your liking. Form small patties from the mixture and cook in a hot skillet until browned all the way through. Serve on rolls or small hamburger buns with the appropriate condiments!

Sour Cream Burgers

This only looks like your typical ham(cheese?)burger. The taste...is out of this world. My usual burger recipe is similar to this. Only sort of though. So I guess that makes it not really similar at all....anyways, I digress. This burger is so moist, flavorful and just delish! Hubs gave his stamp of approval, but I think he just wants me to go back to my "regular" recipe. I'll have to share that with you all the next time I make it. And then you can decide. Because that's just how cool I think you all are :)

Ingredients...

...1 lb. ground meat
...1/2 cup sour cream
...1 (1 oz.) packet dry onion soup mix
...1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions...

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until mixture is well combined. Form patties and cook in skillet, or your grill, until burger is no longer pink. If cheese is desired, add in the last few minutes of cooking to enable melting.

Slow Cooker French Dip

I enjoy a good french dip sandwich. I never much understood the whole au jus concept, but the meat and the sandwich...good! My mother in law gave us some frozen roast beef a few weeks back, and I knew right away that I wanted to try french dip with it.

The Ingredients...

...Roast beef of some sort (beef roast, sliced roast beef, etc.)
...1 beef boullion cube
...2 1/2 cups water
...1 can beer
...1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
...1 bay leaf
...1 tsp. rosemary
...1 tsp. thyme
...1 tsp. garlic powder

Directions...

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 8-9 hours. Serve on rolls.

The Verdict...

These were good! Not quite as good as something you would get in a resturant, but I enjoyed it nonetheless! I made french rolls by using this french bread recipe, and just making 6 mini loaves instead of two larger. It worked out well! I don't think hubs liked this so much, so when it comes time to reheat this as leftovers, I'm going to make Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches with it.

Sloppy Joes!

I love sloppy joes! And I could have SWORE that I posted this recipe already, but I can't seem to find it, so I guess not....

Ingredients...

Sorry, No Picture!

...1 lb. ground beef

...1/4 cup chopped onion

...1/2 tsp. garlic powder

...1 tsp. prepared yellow mustard

...3/4 cup ketchup

...3 tsp. brown sugar

Directions...

In a deep skillet, brown hamburger with onions. When meat is done, stir in garlic powder, mustard, ketchup and brown sugar, mix thouroughly. Cover skillet and simmer for 30 minutes.

My Thoughts...

This is not only delicious, but it's easy too! This tastes just like my grandma used to make her homemade sloppy joes (or, as they're better known as here in the midwest - maidrites). Yum!

To see what other delicious recipes people are cooking up, check out Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!