Ham and Swiss Sliders with a Mustard-Poppyseed Glaze

In my many years of cooking and more importantly-eating- I have never made a dish for the first and second time in one week. That happened this past week...and it was amazing.

These sliders have been popping up on my pintrest feed for some time now, and after I got word that some of the guys were coming over to watch the PATS last week, I decided to go for it. These were such a hit that I made them again for my friends Halloween party 5 days later. They are an app if you have 1, a meal if you have 2, and a worthwhile food coma with 3.

Ingredients
1 12-pack of dinner rolls
1/2 lb deli ham
1/2 lb swiss cheese
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 tsp dried mustard
2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp dried minced onion
2 tbsp poppy seeds
Mayo

In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Mix in dried mustard, Worchestershire sauce, dried minced onion and poppy seeds.

 

Cut the dinner rolls horizontally, separating the top half from the bottom half. This can be done in one big cut (if you are feeling fancy), or by cutting each individual roll in half. Put all the bottoms in a 13x9 baking dish.

 

Spread a teaspoon of mayo on each roll

 

Layer the swiss cheese on top of the bread

 

Top the the cheese with a layer of ham. If the ham is sliced very thin, feel free to layer 2-3 pieces on top of eachother. Finish it off with another thin layer of swiss cheese.

 

Place the tops back on the buns and pour the butter mixture on top. Make sure to spread the poppy seeds and minced onion out appropriately. Place the rolls in the fridge for several hours or overnight.

 

 

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes

 

With a spatula, break apart the rolls and serve! I'm getting hungry just looking at these pictures. The butter mixture soaking into the bread truely makes these so addicting. It really escalates the basic ham and cheese sandwich into something your guests will be raving about!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bacon, Cream Cheese Things

My family has been making this app for years, and still can't come up with a better name. If you think of one, please let me know! This is a great alternative to the sometimes boring (but always delicious) pigs in a blanket or bacon wrapped scallops!

What you need:
Cream Cheese
Bacon
Crescent Rolls

Cut each crescent roll triangle in half, and place a half a spoonful of cream cheese on the thick end. Roll each triangle half like you would if you were making normal crescent rolls.

 

Cut each slice of bacon once down the middle and then in half. This should give you 4 smaller slices.

 

Wrap each slice around the rolled up crescent roll and secure with a tooth pick.

 

 

Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Somehow my "all finished!" picture got deleted from my phone, but they look/smell amazing. I mean how can you go wrong with cream cheese, crescent rolls and BACON!

 

 

 

Mom's "Famous" Calzone

Growing up, my parents always referred to their best dishes as 'famous'. This happened so often, that we started referring "Dad's Famous French Toast" or "Mom's Famous Steak Tips" to people outside of our house. I guess I never realized how weird that must have sounded to our friends..."Sorry Betty, I can't come over for dinner tonight because my dad is making his FAMOUS mashed potatoes." They either thought I had celebrity chef's for parents or was trained to compliment their cooking with exaggeration. Either way, we still refer to food this way, and its weird.

On that topic, my absolute favorite dish my mom makes is Italian Calzone. I don't attempt to make it that often, because I know it will never be as good as her's. But its really easy, and inexpensive, so I thought I would give it a whirl!

What you need (per calzone)
- 1 ball of pizza dough
- 1 egg
- 6 slices of swiss cheese
- 6 slices of Genoa Salami
- 4 slices of Ham
- 4 slices of Bologna
- Baking sheet

First stretch out your dough on your baking sheet. Make sure it is wide enough to be able to fold over the width of the meats at the end. Layer your meats in this order:

 Swiss (first 3 slices)

 

Salami

 

Bologna

 Ham

 

Swiss Cheese (last 3 slices)

 

 

Pull the long ends and fold them over the meats. My mom reminded me of the next step after I was done, so it is not shown in a picture. Turn over the calzone so the folded side is on the bottom. Usually the folded side has more dough, so this will make the bread thicker on the bottom, and thinner on the top.

 

Whisk one egg and brush over the top of the calzone. If you don't have eggs, millk can also substitute. This will make the top of the calzone that golden brown color we all love.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown

 

Let it cool for about 10 minutes, cut into 1 inch slices and serve!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

If I could pass along only one recipe- this would be the one! It is the easiest hot app to make for a party, and is a crowd pleaser! And surprise, surprise- it is a crock pot recipe!

What you need:
A crockpot
1 bag of frozen bite size Swedish meatballs
1 can of jellied cranberry sauce
Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce
Toothpicks for easy serving



Let the easiness begin! Pour the entire bag of meatballs in the crock pot, with the can of cranberry sauce and 1 cup of BBQ sauce. Mix it together with a big spoon. Cook on Low for 4 hours (or if you're in a time crunch, High on 2 hours) and mix every 30 min or so.

 

 

 

 annnnnd Mow Town here you come! One tip- this isn't the easiest thing to transport. I like to bring the entire crockpot and reheat on low when I get to my destinations. But you could also dump it all in a bowl and just heat it up in the microwave!