Idea of the Week...California Girl Club

 So I'm thinking I need quick, yummy lunches to take to work in the coming weeks. Maybe I'll add soup or a small salad and a half sammy. Either way, I have all these ideas running through my head and here's one...   Grilled whole wheat bread Bacon Tomato Sliced chicken breast Arugala Avocado Mayo Any Questions?  

 

Southern Green Beans and New Potatoes with Ham

Southern Style Green Beans and New Potatoes really aren't an exact science. The recipe varies a lot from family to family, so it's really a matter of taste. If you like more potatoes, more ham, add it.
If you would rather use salt pork, bacon or pork belly, that's fine, too. It's all up to you. This is my version, like my southern mom's and grandmother's before that. Hope you enjoy!


Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced or chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 pound hams pieces,bacon or salt pork
2 to 3 pounds of fresh green beans, ends and strings removed and snapped, if desired
3 cans chicken or vegetable broth
3 cans water (use a broth can : D)
8 or more, baby red or new potatoes, pealed a strip around center of potatoes
1 tablespoons sugar (Yes, I said sugar. It takes away...well, I don't know. Just do it!)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large heavy stock pot, melt the butter on medium high. Add onions and garlic and meat. Cook until onions and garlic are tender and meat has browned a bit. Turn down the heat to medium and add green beans, broth and water. Just cover the beans with the liquid.  If you need a bit more water, add it. Cook beans covered for 35 to 40 minutes. Add, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir well. Add potatoes and cook covered for another 25 to 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Remove lid for the last 10 minutes of cook time. Check and re-season if necessary.




.

Bacon, Egg and Tater Tot Breaskfast Burrito

 Serves 3

Ingredients:
3 eggs, scrambled
9 slices microwave bacon, cooked according to package direction
1/2 cup cheddar cheese or your favorite, shredded
18 tater tots, fried or baked according to package directions
3 flour tortillas

Directions:
Warm tortillas in microwave for 30 to 40 seconds. Divide ingredients equally between warm tortillas, add cheese while ingredients are hot. Fold over one end and fold sides together. Serve hot. You can hold burritos together with a tooth pick if needed.

Bacon Wrapped Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

Dinner for 2 (Double this if hes a big eater like someone I know : ).

2 nice size chicken breast
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 white onion, diced
1 large handful spinach (want more, add it, less...)
1/2 brick cream cheese (4 ounces)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 tablespoon Greek seasoning, such as (Cavender's)
4 slices of Bacon

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Wash chicken breast and make a slit or lengthwise pocket in the thickest side. Set aside.
In a skillet on medium,  heat 2 teaspoons olive oil.  Add diced onion and cook until just tender,  Stir in a very large handful of spinach from the bag.  Cook just to wilt and remove.
In a microwavable bowl, add 1/2 brick of cream cheese and 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella. Microwave for 1 minute. Mix 1 tablespoon Greek seasoning into the softened cheese. Stir well. Add the content of the skillet, spinach and onions and combine.
Stuff the slits in the chicken full and wrap 2 slices of bacon criss-cross around each.
Place stuffed chicken breast in a baking dish and cook for 45 minutes uncovered or until chicken is cooked through and white when sliced into.

Enjoy!

Banana's Foster Pancakes

We love this recipe for banana pancakes. As a side note, I'm well known for buying on sale , markdown and in extreme quantity :) Someday I'll tell you guys about my great pumpkin buy. But that's a story for another day. This time I got this really good bargain on a big bag of nanas and had to use them quick. So I came up with a recipe I like for banana pancakes with banana sauce. We had them for brunch this morning and boy were they good! A dollop of whip cream and a side of bacon and you'll be good until dinner.

Pancake Ingredients:
2 large bananas or 3 small
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoon butter, melted
Cooking spray

Directions:
Heat griddle to 375 degrees or a skillet on medium high. Watch your temp. as these pancakes will burn easily. Lower heat if necessary. On a plate smash bananas, leaving some chunkiness. In a mixing bowl, add all dry ingredients and stir to incorporate. Stir in milk, eggs and butter. Mix well. Add smashed bananas and mix. Don't over mix ingredients. Spray or oil your cooking surface. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup or pour 4 to 5 inch pancakes on hot griddle. When cakes are bubbly on top, turn over. Always slide spatula under pancakes and lift slightly to check for brownness of underside. Repeat until all batter is used.

Banana Sauce:
2 Ripe bananas cubed
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon milk or cream

Directions:
Cube bananas small. Heat butter in a skillet on medium high. Add bananas. Saute bananas for 3 minutes. Add brown sugar and stir. Let cook until bubbling. Stir in milk. Reduce heat and cook for another minute. Remove from heat. Top pancakes and add a dollop of whipped cream if desired.

Cooks Notes: If you’d like to top with fresh strawberries and whip cream instead.

Another Sandwich...

I know, I know, I know...yes, I'm posting another sandwich. This is just how my week is going. After the holidays and all the baking and slaving over a hot stove, I was just ready for a little break. So enjoy!

Cheesy Bacon Potato Salad

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, boiled in jackets and cubed

3 green onions, chopped

6 slices bacon, fried crispy and crumbled

3/4 cup good mayonnaise

1/2 cup plain yogurt

4 to 5 ounces mixed Colby/jack cheese, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Toss all ingredients together, season and gently mix. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cooks Note: If you want the cubes to stay reasonably in tact after you toss the salad, cook potatoes al dente and refrigerate the cubed potatoes until firmly set before tossing mixture together. Otherwise, the potatoes with mash somewhat when mixed.

Texas Style Pastrami & Turkey on Black Rye with Jalapenos
Serves 4 or more

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 loaf dark rye bread, cut lengthwise into three long slices
8 ounces real deli turkey breast (not pressed)
8 ounces deli pastrami
4 slices Provalone cheese
2 large leaves butter lettuce or a nice handful of spring mix
4 to 6 large slices fresh tomatoes
2 to 3 pickled jalapenos, sliced or 15 or so slices
Mayo and/or mustard to taste
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a skillet, add 1/2 tablespoon butter and toast all three slices of bread. In the same skillet, add the rest of the butter and heat turkey and pastrami for 2 to 3 minutes and remove.

Building the Sandwich:
Spread bread slices with mayo or mustard and place pastrami on bottom slice of bread, then add 1/2 the cheese slices to the top of the pastrami. Top pastrami and cheese with tomato and jalapeno slices. Add the middle bread slice and top with the turkey, the remaining cheese and lettuce. Add the top and secure the layers together with a long tooth pick or cocktail fork. Divide into individual sandwiches.

Cooks note: I like my deli meat cut on no. 1 or 2 thickness. This is also the cut we used in our restaurant and everyone seemed to really like it and even commented on it. However, to each his own. If you like thicker slices, ask for it. I prefer this particular thickness because it can be fluffed and is much more aesthetically pleasing. It's just plain looks purdy this way! As my Uncle Frank would say ; ).

Shrimp & Bacon Club with Pommes Frites

This recipe is for 2 sandwiches. That said, these are huge and can easily feed 4 when cut in two. Absolute-a-ly de-licious! We love this sandwich. It is very much like one of the sandwiches we served at our tea room. I gave it a little twist, but other than that this is our shrimp and bacon. Funny, but true story...a lot of the Doctors from the local hospital ate in our establishment on a fairly regular basis. One Doctor in particular loved this sandwich. He ordered it quite often and picked it up to go when he had to. One day he came in to pick up his order and said to me, "I gotta tell you, I couldn't wait to get though with my last patient. All I could think about was getting to my shrimp and bacon sandwich". He said, he just kept looking at the clock and thinking it's almost lunch time! He was an OB GYN! Now you know what they're thinking!

*First prepare garlic mayo sauce and refrigerate to let flavors meld.

Garlic Mayo Sauce:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup good mayonnaise
2 teaspoons garlic powder
Several drops hot sauce, to taste

In a bowl, stir all ingredients well and refrigerate.

Belgian Fries or Pommes Frites
4 cups vegetable or peanut oil
2 to 2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into uniform strips.
salt

Frites Directions:
Pommes frites are fried twice. So this is a two step process. Fill a large heavy bottom pot or deep fryer 2/3 full of oil and heat for deep frying. A thermometer should read 325 to 350 degrees. Dry potatoes well so that they don't splatter when they are lowered into the hot oil. Lower potatoes in using a large spoon and fry for appoximately 5 minutes. Don't over crowd the fries. Fry in as many batches as you need to for your size pot. Keep in mind that you are not frying them completely. Just to a lightly golden color. When fries are the desired color, remove them and drain on paper towels in a colainder. This is the first fry. Let fries rest for as long as possible and then return them to the hot oil to cook to a golden brown color. This should only take 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oil again and drain. Using a large kitchen bowl (a salad bowl works well), place fries with salt and toss well. Serve hot with sauce, if desired. We used the garlic mayo sauce as a dip for the frites.

Shrimp & Bacon Club with Avocado and Garlic Mayo Sauce

(Ingredients make 2 sandwiches, 1/2 for each)

6 medium thick slices bread (I used French bread here)
8 slices bacon, fried and drained well
2 leaves Bibb lettuce or small handful of spring mix, washed if need be
4 slices tomato, washed and sliced
4 slices Swiss cheese
10 medium frozen shrimp, defrosted in warm water, tails removed
Hot sauce

1 avocado, seeded and sliced
8 extra long frilly sandwich toothpicks (4 for each clubstyle sandwich)

Directions:
Add frozen shrimp to a bowl of warm water to defrost. Let sit while you fry the bacon. On a griddle or flat grill, fry bacon until crispy. Remove from grill, drain well and sit aside. Drain shrimp and pat dry with a paper towel. Lay shrimp on one side of the grill and add 2 to 3 drops of hot sauce to each. Fry on each side for 1 or 2 minutes. Set aside. Toast bread on the other side of the grill.

Assemble Sandwich:
Spread one side of each slice of bread with garlic mayo sauce.
Add 1 slice of cheese to a slice of bread and top with shrimp
Top shrimp with avocado slices
Top avocado slices with another slice of bread, mayo side down
Add mayo to the other side of the bread and add another slice of cheese
Add bacon to the cheese and top bacon with tomato slices
Top Tomato slices with lettuce and add slice of bread to top.

Here's where the tricky part starts. Stick a toothpick in each of the four sides of the bread in a cross type pattern, midway between the edge of the bread and the center. Using a bread knife, cut bread diagonally crisscrossing the sandwich in an X pattern. It's a little tricky holding it all together and cutting at the same time but you can rearrainge anything that falls out. Once sandwich is cut into four pieces, join two quarters together, end to end using toothpicks in top and bottom to secure together. Do this for each sandwich.