Turkey & Pesto Panini with Provolone and Roasted Red Pepper

Here is a great gourmet style sandwich which is impressive when served, but simple to make.  Change it up by using different pesto flavors and changing up the cheeses.  I don't have a panini press, I use my George Forman grill and that works just great.

Turkey Panini with Pesto and Roasted Red Pepper

1 Arnold Sandwich Thin or Foccaccia bread
2 oz. shaved deli turkey
1 slice Provolone cheese
1 T. of your favorite pesto
1/2 of a whole roasted red pepper from a jar (drain between paper towels)
baby spinach leaves

Spread bottom of sandwich thin with pesto, layer on cheese, red pepper, spinach leaves turkey and top of sandwich thin.  Grill on preheated grill about 3-6 minutes until nicely toasted with grill marks and cheese is melted.  This is a great combination that we like real well, but you can change up the sandwich by using roast beef or ham and changing the pesto and the type of cheese.  Try Swiss or Havarti cheese.  I like spinach pesto but you could use basil or cilantro pesto.

Easy Gyros at Home

I remember the first time I had a gyro.  It was at a food fair with my Mom and I was in my young twenties.  It was a love affair from the start!  Back then (about 30 years ago) they weren't quite as easy to find, at least in our area.  It was always a treat when we would find a restaurant that actually served them.  Now Greek restaurants are more widespread and we have a few in our area.  We still love to go out for the occasional gyro, but I have found a recipe where I can actually make them at home.  I have combined three different recipes that I came upon to make my own version.  Here it is.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.  It is also a quite easy recipe.

1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
2 T. dried oregano
2 teaspoons kosher salt I don’t usually use quite this much, so use your judgment
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.
Return the onion to the food processor and add the meat, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, shredded iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and feta cheese.

Tzatziki Sauce

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt or low fat sour cream
1/4 cup cucumber, grated
1/4 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Stir together the above ingredients and let sit 30 minutes or so to blend flavors.

Stuffed French Toast

My kids loved this recipe growing up.  We got the recipe from a children's cookbook that I bought for my daughter Sadie when she was about 10. I had not thought about this in awhile, until my 20 year old son was here with a friend and mentioned how he would have to make this Stuffed French Toast for them one of these days. I have seen versions of it made in restaurants but usually steer away from items that I can easily make at home. This is simple to make but tastes great.  You can pretty easily make your own variation of this, but this is how we like it.  You can use any flavor jam in this, but we think homemade freezer jams taste best in this.  Strawberry is our favorite but cherry or blueberry are great too.  Depends on what you have in the house.

3 beaten eggs
3/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
10 slices dry white bread
**8 oz. brick cream cheese, softened
**8 oz. jar strawberry freezer jam
butter
powdered sugar

Beat eggs, milk and vanilla in shallow dish.  Set aside. Spread a couple of tablespoons of cream cheese (to taste) on 5 slices of bread.  Spread a couple of Tablespoons of jam (to taste) over cream cheese. Top with remaining 5 slices of bread.  Heat skillet over medium heat til hot. Dip "sandwiches"  in egg mixture. Swirl a pat of butter around in heated pan and fry sandwiches in butter until browned.  Turn over to brown other side.  Serve topped with additional butter and sprinkle powdered sugar over top.

**You may not use all of the cream cheese or jam.  It depends on how much you use according to your own taste.

Pizza Burgers

With the Super Bowl coming up, we need to be thinking of some easy recipes that can be made ahead and served at gametime without much extra fuss.  This recipe is a crowd pleaser, can be eaten out of hand and is easy enough to please the cook who doesn't want to miss out on the game due to food prep.  Serve with a veggie platter, chips and pickles and you are good to go.

Gametime Pizza Burgers

1 # ground beef
1 can Spam or luncheon meat
1 small onion, finely diced
15 oz.can pizza sauce
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Grind spam in meat grinder or shred in food processor.  Brown beef and spam with onion.  Drain: cool.  Stir in sauce and cheese.  You can refrigerate at this point or spoon onto hamburger bun halves.  Bake open faced at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Serve.