"Windom" Cheesesteak Sandwiches

A few friends and I were discussing cheesesteaks one afternoon, after which I realized I'd never made them before. The discussion focused on how people wrongly classify Philly cheesesteaks, and "how dare they" call a random cheesesteak made anywhere but Philly a "Philly" cheesesteak. I'll admit: I was a tad nervous of offending Philadelphians, so I decided to make a special note that this was NOT a Philly cheesesteak, but rather a cheesesteak made in Windom, or a "Windom" cheesesteak :)

I've never had an official "Philly" cheesesteak, but I honestly am not sure it could top this wonder of flavor. It.was.amazing!

But enough of that...the recipe!

I found this recipe on AllRecipes.com and went with it! Granted, I added some red peppers to the mix, and I used sirloin instead of round steak. I'd say it was a HUGE hit!

Step 1: Grill up the steak, onions and peppers

Step 2: Make the garlic mayo

Step 3: Spread the mayo on the buns

Step 4: Add the steak/onion/pepper mixture to the bun, then top with provolone and mozzarella cheese


Step 5: Throw them in the oven for 20 minutes (or until cheese gets melty and bread is crispy

My mouth is now officially watering.

These are absolutely delicious! Absolutely horrible for you, but delicious!


Enjoy!

Stuffed Mushrooms

I tend to over-buy on mushrooms when they go on sale. I always have the best of intentions to use them in spaghetti or

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees farenheit.

You start it off with clean mushrooms.

Take off the stems and dice them up. Sautee with diced onions and fresh pressed garlic to your taste.

Once done sauteeing, add in bread crumbs and shredded cheddar and blend well.

Put the mushroom tops in a oven-safe dish.

Stuff the mushroom caps with the mixture.

Bake at 350 for roughly 10-15 minutes until mushrooms are tender and soft and cheese is melty.

Enjoy!

These are some of our favorite "appetizers", and unlike the cream cheese stuffed version, they're slightly healthier. YUM!

Bobo's Chicken Enchiladas

For some reason, enchiladas popped into my head the other day, and ever since, I can't get them out of my head! I was scouring the kitchen for this delicious recipe Mark's Grandma made once, but couldn't find it anywhere, so I decided to try my sister-in-law Sarah (a.k.a. Bobo)'s recipe (that she gave me as part of our kitchen-themed wedding gift 5 years ago - thanks, guys!) that I DID find buried in my recipe box!

I'm always on the lookout for recipes that sound complicated but I know deep down inside aren't difficult, and this looked like one of those recipes.

Chicken Enchiladas

From the kitchen of: Sarah Ropte
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 C milk
1 C low fat sour cream
2 C chopped, cooked chicken (I will shred it)
1 can chopped green chiles
1/2 C chopped onion
12 corn tortillas
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 C shredded monterrey jack cheese
3 C shredded lettuce
1/4 C sliced black olives
1/2 C finely chopped, seeded tomatoes

Combine ingredients 1-3 until blended; Add ingredients 4-6.
Preheat oven to 350.
Spoon 3/4 C of mixture into bottom of 9x13 baking dish.
Brush each tortilla with oil and wrap in plastic wrap; microwave on MEDIUM for 2 1/2 minutes to soften tortillas.
Spoon a small amoutn of chicken mixture onto each tortilla, reserving 1/4C.
Divide cheese evenly among tortillas, reserving 1/4 C.
Roll up tortillas and arrange in prepared baking dish, seams down.
Spoon remaining chicken mixture and cheese on top.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Top with lettuce, olives and tomatoes.

It.Was.Delicious!

I apparently took no photos (or if I did, I can't find them), but if (ok, WHEN) I make them again, I'll post!

Enjoy!

Homemade Salsa

I'm terrible at updating this lately, so I apologize if I have any followers (which is debatable haha). BUT...simply because this salsa was awesome, I must document the "recipe" if you can call it that :)

7lbs tomatoes, diced (larger if you like chunky salsa)
2 large white onions, diced
3/4 of a bunch of cilantro
half a large jar of sliced banana peppers
1 jalapeno, diced
1/2 C vinegar
1/3 C sugar
1 medium green pepper, diced
3 large cobs of sweet corn - slice all the corn off
2 cans black beans
3-4 Tbsp pickling salt

Throw all this stuff in a stockpot and cook it for something like 15-20 minutes until it's bubbly and yummy.

It'll look something like this:

With all the cilantro and peppers, it has a bit of a kick, but nothing too scary, and certainly nothing to burn your mouth. So if you like that kind of salsa, throw in more peppers and brace yourselves!

If you like your salsa really smooth without chunks, throw it in a food processor and blend it up to desired consistency. If you like it chunky (like I do), leave it as is.

I did go ahead and can it, so there's that whole process too (which really isn't that difficult - you throw it in ball jars, put some lids on top and throw it in a water bath for 10-15 minutes, then let it sit until the lids pop. But if you do a smaller batch of the salsa, you can just eat it right up as is if you want. I added a ton of veggies and such because, well, I like it when chips and salsa seem healthier and have lots of veggies. You can add as many or as little of these, though.

ENJOY!

Homemade Pizza

Easy peasy! We bought pre-made crusts and filled them with lots of cheese, pizza seasoning, pepperoni and lots of mushrooms. I don't think we'll buy frozen pizzas ever again! Super easy, and super delicious! I'll let the photo speak for itself :)

Strawberry Trifle

The other evening I ventured to make my first ever Trifle. It was delicious! I got the idea from an email from Taste of Home, and happened to recall that strawberries were on sale ($1.88 for 2 pints) and decided to go for it. It's not very good for you (about 400 calories per serving - yikes!), but is pretty light and fluffy tasting and yummy! Click here for the recipe on Taste of Home's website!