Variations on Pepperoni Bread

 

Here are some other fillings we tried inside our bread dough.  I still think the pepperoni and sausage are the best, but these weren't bad.  I followed the same recipe, just substituted the fillings.   The first is a turkey club.  I just layered turkey, sharp cheddar slices and bacon bits. 

The other is a mixture of diced ham, mayo, cheddar cheese and broccoli with a little garlic salt

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Meatball and/or Pepperoni Subs

Well my husband has had big meatball cravings lately, so I tried this recipe out.  Now I am not a big beef eater, so this tastes great with extra pepperoni and NO meatballs!  This is the meatball recipe I used....  http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/02/10/ultimate-meatball-sub-sandwich/

I made the meatballs exactly as the recipe calls for, except for the onion, because I didn't have any.

 However, I did just use jarred spaghetti sauce.  I had a bunch I had frozen, which is what I do whenever I have a little extra sauce from a meal.

 I also spread butter on the inside of my sub buns and toasted them.  After toasting, I smashed open a clove of garlic and rubbed it on the buns.

 Here are the meatballs as they cook in the sauce :)

 I put meatballs, pepperoni, cheese and some sauce on the buns.  Then put it under the broiler for a few minutes.

Not the best picture, but this is mine BEFORE I took off the meatballs!  haha, too meaty for me!

Italian Subs

Super easy recipe. I make them the day before and keep them in the fridge.

Step 1: Open your sub buns and.....

Spread with mayo and Italian dressing.

Step 2: Top with lettuce, tomato, thinly sliced red onion, swiss cheese, ham and turkey. The tomato and red onion are not pictured because I forgot. Actually I never even bought a tomato. How sad :(

Delicious!

Lasagna

You can use the meat sauce from my previous post for this, or just substitue cooked ground beef or sausage.

Step 1: Spread a layer of sauce on the bottom of your dish.

Step 2: Top with a layer of noodles. Yes, they are uncooked regular noodles. NOT the no boil kind.

Step 3: Add a layer of ricotta cheese.

Step 4: Top with your meat sauce or meat.

Step 5: Add a layer of mozzarella.

Step 6: Repeat your layers, then pour about 1/2 cup water in also. Top with cheese and cover with foil. Step 7: Place on a foil lined pan. This will catch any boil over.

Step 8: Bake at 400 for about an hour and 30 mins. Stick a fork in it to test noodle doneness in the center.

Meaty Spaghetti Sauce

I got his recipe from Taste of Home magazine. I tried it on spaghetti first, but didn't care for it. Now I just use it for lasagna meat or as a manicotti filling. It makes a huge batch. I can only fit a half batch in my crockpot, but I will write the regular recipe out below. You can always just half it, if you need to. A half batch makes plenty. I have enough to make 4 dishes with just the half batch. I use what I need and then freeze the rest.

Step 1: Cook the beef, Italian sausage, onions and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, drain.

Step 2: In crockpot stir together tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar, worcestershire, and seasonings.

step 3: Add the meat.

Step 4: Cover and cook on low for 8 hours until bubbly. Remember to discard your bay leaves.

Step 5: Freeze your leftovers. Stamp of Approval Spaghetti Sauce ( Taste of Home Feb/Mar 2009 issue)

2 lb ground beef

1/4 c. minced parsley

3/4 lb bulk italian sausage

2 t. dried basil

4 medium onions, finely chopped

1 t. dried oregano

8 garlic cloves, minced

4 bay leaves

4 cans (14.5 oz ea) diced tomatoes

1 t. rubbed sage

4 cans (6oz ea) tomato paste

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. water

1/2 t. dried marjoram

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 t. pepper

1/4 c. worcestershire sauce

Bacon Cheese Dogs

Step 1: Slice your hot dogs about 1/2 way thru and pull them open a little.

Step 2: Cut a block of cheddar into strips and push the strips into your hot dogs. Place your hot dogs on a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 350 until the hot dog is heated thru and your cheese is melting.

Step 3: Add a strip of pre-cooked bacon to the top during the last few minutes of cooking. I use the pre-cooked stuff that you just pop in the microwave, only you don't need to microwave it for this.

Brined & Roasted Chicken Breast

This is something new I just tried about a month ago. Every few weeks Meijer has been running their split(bone in, skin on) Chicken Breasts on sale for 99 cents a pound. So I bought some and tried a couple different things with it. With grocery prices rising and kids eating more and then the talk of an economic collapse in the future, I figure we can start learning now to survive on less. Yes, depressing I know, but it's better to be prepared, just in case :)

Making your brine. The brine makes the chicken super moist. I never thought I could make chicken as moist & tender as this turns out. You need to do this ahead of time. I put my chicken in the brine overnite, but it needs at least 12 hours to soak.

Step 1: Boil 4 cups of water.

Step 2: Stir in 1/4 cup of kosher salt. (I just used the sea salt I had for my grinder) Once the salt is dissolved, add about 12 peppercorns and 2 cloves of smashed garlic. Now remove it from the heat and let it cool.

Step 3: Once your brine is cooled Pour it over your chicken in a large bag. Put your bag in a bowl or dish first, cause it could leak. Mine has leaked everytime I have made it, it's alot of weight in that bag. Now just stick it in the fridge.

Step 4: The next day take your chicken out of the bag. Discard your brine. I put my chicken breast on a rack on top of a cookie sheet. Then I rubbed some olive oil over the top and sprinkled some chicken something(montreal????) spice on it that I had. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 mins to an hour. Use a thermometer to check temps. It should be 170 in the center.
And of course I forgot to take a picture of the finished product! But it is really good. We like to dip it in a little bbq.

Another idea for the cheap split chicken breasts that I tried, was to cook them on low in your crockpot and then shread the meat. Use it for whatever you like. I did chicken quesadillas with mine. And also some buffalo chicken wraps. There's lots of things you could do with it, and for 1/2 the price of boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can cut the meat off the bone yourself and then you will have the same thing, but I'm too lazy for now :)