Blueberry Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Interesting sandwich combo, found here

INGREDIENTS: (for one sandwich)
2 slices of bread (I used Sara Lee or something white bread)
Havarti cheese (cut into pieces)
2 big spinach leaves
~ 1/2c blueberries (I used like half of a small carton)
about 1 T brown sugar
dash of Balsamic vinegar
egg whites
butter
(optional) cooked bacon, I didnt use bacon but next time I will

DIRECTIONS:
make blueberry paste:
Put cleaned blueberries in a small saucepan & heat over med-hi heat. Add in brown sugar & Basalmic vinegar.
Smash up the blueberries with a spoon and boil for a few minutes.
Strain out the blueberry juice (reserve it for other purposes if desired).
Assemble blueberry mixture, spinach, cheese, and bacon on bread.
Heat butter in a skillet.
Brush one side of sandwich with egg white and cook in skillet. Smash the sandwich down with something heavy (I used a small cast iron skillet).
Brush other side of sandwich with egg white, add more butter to skillet and cook.
Serve warm (I served with Campbells Home Style "Creamy Gouda Bisque w Chicken" soup)

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Pear & Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This was AWESOME so good. Found the original recipe here

INGREDIENTS: (for one sandwich)
2 pieces of sliced bread (I used Sara Lee or something white bread)
cooked bacon (I used 4 strips per sandwich)
sliced sharp white cheddar
a few slices of Bartlett pear
2 big spinach leaves
honey
(optional) raspberry jelly (I used Strawberry cuz I had a couple packets lol)
egg (or egg whites)
butter

DIRECTIONS:
Heat up a skillet.
Assemble cheese, pear, spinach, bacon on sandwich. I put jelly on one side and honey on the other.
Melt butter in skillet. Brush one side of sandwich with egg white and place that side down on the skillet.
Smash sandwich down with something heavy like a cast iron skillet.
Brush the other side of the sandwich with egg white, add more butter to skillet and flip over.
Serve warm  (I served with Campbells Home Style "Creamy Gouda Bisque w Chicken")

Second time I made these I used mayo instead of jelly. Both ways were good.

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Sausage Mushroom Lentil Barley Soup Extravaganza

Combined & modified this recipe and this recipe
I loved this, great flavor! Easily modified to make it vegetarian if you want

INGREDIENTS: (fills a 7qt slow cooker)
carrots (I used 2 small bags of baby carrots & cut them into smaller pieces. see photo below)
1 med-large onion, chopped
fresh spinach, chopped (I used prob 30ish leaves)
1 small carton (8oz?) buttom mushrooms, sliced
1 small carton baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
16oz ground Italian sausage
6 oz real bacon pieces
1 c pearl barley
1 c lentils
1 can diced tomatoes
10c desired broth (I made 5 c vegetable broth & 5 c chicken broth.)
minced garlic, to taste
basil, to taste
2 bay leaves

DIRECTIONS:
(Basically throw everything except the spinach in the slow cooker & cook for a few hours).
Cook the sausage in a skillet and crumble. Drain if needed.
Layer in slow cooker:
chopped onion, garlic, carrots, mushrooms (the sliced mushrooms I bought were pretty big so I tore them into pieces)
Then layer in the sausage, lentils, barley, bacon, tomatoes, spices. Pour in the broth and stir it up a little.
Cook for 2-3 hrs on high, or 5-6 hrs on low. Set to warm until serving. Stir in the spinach prior to serving.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu

recipe source is here. this was solid, comparable to oven-style cordon bleu

INGREDIENTS: (makes 6)
3 chicken breasts
4-5 pieces of thick-sliced ham
sliced swiss cheese
toothpicks
1 can cream of chicken soup
1c shredded cheddar (or other cheese)
minced garlic
(optional) splash of champagne/wine
1 c milk
3oz bacon pieces
6-8oz StoveTop stuffing mix
1 stick butter, sliced


DIRECTIONS:
In a bowl mix the cream of chicken, milk, cheddar, garlic, wine.
Pour half the mixture into the bottom of slow cooker (enough to just cover the bottom).
Pound down the chicken breasts, and cut each breast in half (to make 6 halves total).
Butterfly each breast, and stick a piece of ham & swiss inside, close back up & hold together with a toothpick.
Place all the breasts in slow cooker. Pour the rest of the soup/milk mixture over them.
Sprinkle the bacon on top.
Pour the stuffing mix on top of that.
Place sliced butter on top.
Cook 4-6 hrs on low, or 2-3 hrs on high (till chicken is 160F).
Remove the toothpicks before eating, unless you are retarded.

note: I have also done a version of this in the oven instead of slow cooker, turned out very good (see last photo)

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Chicken Bacon Ravioli Carbonara

Found this recipe here it was pretty awesome! Added extra bacon & a couple other slight mods

INGREDIENTS:
2 chicken breasts
minced garlic (to taste. I used a lot)
oregano, parsley, rosemary, basil
~40oz frozen/refrigerated ravioli (I used a 20oz pkg of cheese ravioli & a 20oz pkg of meat ravioli)
3c chicken broth
2 eggs, beaten
1 or 2 c half & half (I wanted to use 2 but I had like 1.5-ish)
1c grated parmesan
1.5c shredded cheese (I used some mexican blend & cheddar cuz that's what I had)
~6oz real bacon pieces
~12oz alfredo sauce

DIRECTIONS:
Cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces.
If ravioli is frozen, set it out so it defrosts a bit.
Add some oil to a big skillet and cook the chicken over med-high heat.
Drain out juices, add the chicken back into the skillet, along with the seasonings and minced garlic.
Mix it up and cook for a few minutes, reduce the heat a bit, and add in the broth, half&half and eggs.
Add in the ravioli and cover, let it simmer a few min.
Remove lid and let it continue simmering till the sauce thickens/reduces a bit.
Add in the parmesan, shredded cheeses, and bacon.
Add in alfredo sauce as needed. (I added the whole jar bc I wanted the pasta to be more sauce-y).

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The "Pork Three-Way"

Our friend got this epic pork roast for bbq night from John's Butcher Shoppee and it was awesome!!!

INGREDIENTS:
4 lb sausage-stuffed, bacon-wrapped pork roast
onion, chopped
Worcestershire sauce
teriyaki sauce
minced garlic
garlic&herb seasoning

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 375F.
Place chopped onion in bottom of a baking dish. Sprinkle some sauces/garlic on top of it.
Rub roast with some seasoning.
Place roast on top of bed of onions, bake for 1.5 - 2 hrs, (until it reaches 145F internal temp).
Remove from oven and let rest a few min.
Nom.

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Refried Beans

Turned out awesome!!! Found recipe here

INGREDIENTS:
3 c dry pinto beans (16oz bag)
1 onion (or half a big onion). Skin removed & cut in half, (not chopped).
minced jalapeno (to taste)
minced garlic (a few big pinches)
few dashes of: cumin / oregano / chili powder / cayenne pepper
9 c chicken broth

1 c shredded mex cheese
1 packet taco seasoning

DIRECTIONS:
Rinse off the pinto beans, place in bottom of slow cooker.
Cut an onion in half and place in the slow cooker. The onion will pretty much dissolve as it cooks.
Add in the jalapeno, garlic, seasonings.
Pour in the broth and stir everything.
Cook on high for 8 hrs. (If liquid evaporates, add water as needed. I added an additional cup of water about halfway thru cooking).
Strain the beans from the liquid, reserve the liquid. Remove any big onion pieces.
Add 1 c shredded cheese and 1 packet taco seasoning to the beans, and mix using a hand mixer (or potato masher).
Serve warm.

note* Add any reserved bean liquid if you want to thin out the beans. Also save it if you have any leftovers to help thin the beans when reheating. Can store the extra bean liquid on top of the refried beans in the same container. I haven't tried freezing the leftovers but I read that it freezes well.

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