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One weekly date that I try to keep as often as possible is going over to my son's house every Tuesday and eating lunch with his two children. One is almost 3 and the other is 6 months old. I started when there was only the oldest and we called it "Lunch with Spencer." Now that I babysit my daughter's baby, Emily, I take her along and it is a nice time for these cousins to connect.
I usually stop at a different take-out restaurant and pick up food for everyone. Since my son works from home, I get lunch for him, my DIL, myself, and the kids. (Well, Emily mostly shares with me and Amelia is too young for that kind of food yet, but you get the idea.) I have started to learn what everyone likes. For example, if I stop at Subway, I know my DIL likes the meatball sub. Recently, I was looking at Jan D'Atri's website. She published a version of a Meatball Sub Casserole that I thought looked delicious and I figured that my DIL would really enjoy it. I tried it out and it was very tasty. DIL did really like it! My only problem was that I like to do my garlic bread slightly differently and I decided to make my own meatballs. I wanted the bread to come out a little crispier the second time I made it. So, I took her awesome recipe and adapted it to my taste and this time, it really hit the spot with ME! I am going to make this version and take it to "Lunch with Spencer" and see how everyone likes it.
Click on the pictures to get a quick overview of what I did:
One warning! There is a lot of stretchy, melty cheese in this casserole that can be kind of deliciously messy! I sure didn't mind that though!
P.S. It is even better if you use good cheese!
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We have people over for dinner quite often, whether it is family or friends who are like family or people we are just getting to know. When I have the same people over very often, I have to change up what I cook, but when I am having people over for the first time, there are a few menus that I go to for "company meals." Now that my girls are all off living on their own, I asked them what meals they like to serve when they have friends over. We came up with a nice variety of choices! Some can be served a little nicer, but many lend themselves to more informal, comfortable, and delicious nights of food and gathering together. So, today for Friday Faves the question is:
What do you like to serve company for dinner?
2. Coming in at a close 2nd to taco night is Green Chili Burro night. This one involves a roast in a crock-pot and once again all of the Mexican toppings. Plus, there is usually rice and beans to go along with it. Maybe some Guacamole. If we are having a large crowd, I sometimes serve both tacos and burritos.
3. Lasagna is always a great crowd pleaser and you can serve a lot of people with it and some salad. Alicia shared her recipe for the Best Lasagna Ever awhile back. And Lindsey made a Zucchini Lasagna here. Now I am really hungry for lasagna just thinking about it!
4. Along those Italian lines, Lindsey and Maddy both like Spaghetti! Lindsey likes to be able to toss the sauce in the crock pot and Maddy can make it without meat. Lindsey may even serve it over spiralized zucchini. 5. Stuffed Shells are similar to Lasagna, but maybe a little fancier? They are a favorite of Lindsey's. 6. Speaking of crock-pots, they can really help relieve the stress of getting food made and the house straightened for company at the same time! Or, if you work the day that company is coming, you can just throw something in it in the morning and it will be delicious and ready by the time you get home. One of my favorite go-to meals, and my family's favorites is this Chicken Casserole that I showed in the crock-pot, but often make in the oven as well. People always love it. I am still just learning how to use my Instant Pot, or I am sure that I would have recipes on here for using it, too.
6. The final thing that we love to serve is grilled burgers, my husband's favorite! Practice and find the method that you love when it comes to grilling burgers, add all of the toppings and some good sides and you will be set!
What do you like to make for company? Leave us a reply in the comments!
Past Friday Fave you may have missed but shouldn't have:
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I have seen many recipes over the years for Monte Cristo Sandwiches. They have intrigued me and I have wanted to give them a try, but for some reason I never have. Well, that changed Saturday morning. For some reason, I was thinking about the book, The Count of Monte Cristo, when I woke up in the morning. Then, I thought about breakfast for my husband and I and BINGO, I decided that Saturday morning would be the morning that I gave Monte Cristo Sandwiches a try! (Yup, that is how my mind works.)
A traditional Monte Cristo Sandwich is a breakfast sandwich made with Ham & Cheese, fried in butter and served with a side of strawberry jam and sprinkled with powdered sugar. The sandwich is first dipped in a egg batter, like French Toast before frying it. Since I love French Toast, the Monte Cristo Sandwich is right up my alley. It is believed to be based on a French sandwich called Croque Monsieur. I have seen many variations on the recipe, and today I am sharing my own, made with smoked turkey and provolone cheese. It came out so well, I am excited to try other variations of the meat and the cheese. The thing that is amazing about this breakfast sandwich is how great the strawberry jam tastes with the meat and cheese! It is the perfect combination of sweet and savory and made a really nice breakfast on a very nice day. My husband really liked the sandwich and preferred it to be really crispy, toasty. Of course, I used homemade strawberry jam on it. I didn't serve it on the side, I put the jam right on the sandwich with the turkey and cheese. I used a honey-wheat bread for our Monte Crisos, but any variety of bread would be great. The possibility of combinations are endless! Click on the gallery of photos for an overview of how to make this special breakfast sandwich.
Here are a couple of tips:
Here is the recipe that I made:
The next time you want something a little different and a little special for breakfast or brunch, give Monte Cristo Sandwiches a try!
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We have still been having cold, rainy weather here in Phoenix and I've got to tell you that I have actually been enjoying it as I anticipate the approaching summer months. It occurred to me that I had better get some baking out of my system now before we hit those scorching hot days when I won't be turning on my oven.
I like to read April J. Harris' blog. She has some wonderful recipes and this one, a Blackberry Apple Cake, was very tempting to me. Unfortunately, I didn't have blackberries or some of the other ingredients called for in the recipe. But I did have some frozen blueberries and Honeycrisp apples, so I decided to make something similar, but different with the ingredients that I had on hand. The result of that decision came out quite delicious!
For ease of removing from the pan after it is baked, be sure to use a greased 9" spring form pan. I made do for years without a spring form pan, but after I got one, I realized how nice they are. I found this great set on Amazon that has 3 sizes of pans plus spatula and smoother at a great price!
You will smooth the thick batter into the pan and then top it with a brown sugar cinnamon mixture and the apples. It looks great in the pan, even before you bake it!
Now, you bake it for 45 min. The aroma is so amazing, warm and inviting! It makes your mouth water just looking at it. Here it is straight out of the oven.
I let the kuchen rest for about 10 min. after coming out of the oven. Then, removed the outer ring and used a long spatula to set it on a serving platter. This is the beauty of the spring form pan. You don't want to flip those beautiful apples upside down and hide them! The long, offset spatula is another tool I didn't know was so helpful until I got one. It is a simple thing, but is such a big help for jobs like this one.
This fruity kuchen will make a beautiful dessert or even nice breakfast coffee cake. My husband and I ate dessert first last night! That is one of the beauties of being empty nesters! You can do what you want!
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also enjoy these:
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
June 2024
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