Oreo Brownies

Ingredients:

 

1 package Ghirardelli Double Chocolate brownie mix (the kind with the chocolate chips in it)

1 egg

⅓ cup oil

¼ cup water

10-14 Oreo cookies

 

 

Directions:

 

1. Preheat the oven to 325. Prepare the brownie mix as directed with the egg, oil and water.
2. Coarsely crush the Oreos in a large bag with your hands or a rolling pin. I like to leave some pieces pretty big. Pour them into the batter and mix well. Batter will be thick.
3. Pour batter into a greased square baking pan (mine is about 8×8) and bake for 30-40 minutes. Check doneness by inserting a knife into the brownies; if it comes out mostly clean, you should be good to go. But when in doubt, I’d say underbake!

*Courtesy of http://pinchofyum.com/best-ever-brownies

Baked Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

• 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs

Directions:

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter and set aside.

Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until they are very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; return the potatoes to the same pot and mash well. Mix in the milk and melted butter. Mix in the mozzarella and 3/4 cup of the Parmesan. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking dish. Stir the bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the mashed potatoes. Recipe can be prepared up to this point 6 hours ahead of time; cover and chill.

Bake, uncovered, until the topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

 

*Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Real Italian Sub

Ingredients:

1 loaf Italian style wheat bread, unsliced (they are between 16" and 20". You can use white if you like, but the key here is VERY fresh and VERY soft bread)
cooking spray
1/4 pound Boar's Head Black Forest Ham
1/4 pound Boar's Head Hard Salami
1/4 pound Boar's Head Pepperoni
1/4 pound Boar's Head Capicolla (called "Butt Cappy" in the south)
1/8 pound Boar's Head Provelone cheese
1/8 pound Boar's Head Cheddar cheese
1/8 pound Boar's Head American cheese
(All meat and cheese should be sliced on the thinnest setting by your deli. This helps release their flavors, and creates the stacked sandwiches you often see on menu pictures at a sub joint, but never see in the sandwich you purchased)
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
thin sliced pickles
banana peppers
lettuce
1 small can sliced black olives
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
Sub Shop Mayo (recipe follows)
Sub Shop Sauce (recipe follows)
aluminum foil

Preparation:
Preheat a flat cooking skillet over medium high heat. Slice the bread in half length wise, so you have two sandwich halves. Spray each side with the cooking spray. Cook on the pan until it is golden brown. (Note: I use a 6' grill at the restaurant, and I know most of you don't have this at home. I have made this at home also, and you simply have to cook each piece of bread half-on and half-off the pan, rotating to brown both sides of each half) Reduce pan heat to medium. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread out a large piece (or pieces) of aluminum foil and place both halves of bread on it. You will need enough excess foil to come up and over the sub, wrapping it completely, and it's a BIG sub, so give yourself plenty of extra. Spread a healthy amount of mayonaisse on both sides of the bread. On the bottom half, spread the sliced black olives, and a healty dose of banana peppers. On the top, cover with a good amount of the sliced pickles.

Place as much of the salami on the flat pan as you can. Heat it until it starts to look "greasy", and then immediately flip it over. Cook for a few more seconds, and remove. (All you want to do here is to warm up the meat and start to release it's flavor). Repeat with the rest of the salami. Place the salami, layering if necessary, on the bottom half of the sandwich. Top the salami with all of the cheddar cheese.

Cook the pepperoni in the same way. Place the pepperoni on top of the cheddar cheese. Top the pepperoni with all of the American cheese. Top the American cheese with the sliced red onion. Now give it a healthy douse of Sub Shop sauce.

Next cook the capicolla. Place that on top of the sliced onion. Top with all of the provelone cheese. Finally, cook the ham. Ham has less moisture and oil than the other meats, so you're cooking it last is the residual oils of the other meats. Cook until it starts to show some color. Place the ham on top of the provelone cheese. Place the tomatoes on top of the ham. Give it another generous dousing of sauce. Place the lettuce on top. Now place the top on the sandwich, and close up the foil. Place the sandwich on the middle rack of the oven, and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. This simply helps melt the cheese and heat the rest of the sandwich through. Remove from the oven and cut into 4 pieces, and serve with chips, fries, or onion rings.

SUB SHOP MAYO
1 cup mayonaisse
1 TBS Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
1 tsp horseradish

Mix all ingredients until blended and refrigerate until ready to use. This mayo isn't "spicy" due to the horseradish, so have no fear. It makes an excellent spread for any sandwich.

SUB SHOP SAUCE
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
4 TBS sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Add all ingredients into a mixing bowl, and whisk until the sauce has emulsified. This sauce lasts indefinitely, and I refrigerate it soley because of the mustard. Remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before you're ready to use it, and give it a good shake. This sauce also works great on most sandwiches and subs. Enjoy!

Pork Chops with Peaches

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 (4-ounce) center-cut boneless pork loin chops, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 peaches, each cut into 8 wedges
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons butter

Preparation
1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle chops evenly with salt and pepper. Add chops to pan; cook for 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chops from pan, and keep warm. Add shallots, thyme, and peaches to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 2 minutes). Stir in broth and honey; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in butter. Spoon sauce over chops.

Watermelon Salad

Ingredients:

5 cups chopped seedless watermelon
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Divide among 6 plates and drizzle each plate with balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and season wth salt and pepper to taste.

Watermelon Salsa

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lime juice
4 TBSP brown sugar, packed
2 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce
8 cups diced seedless watermelon
2 diced medium cucumbers
1 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
4 TBSP finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 TBSP seeded and minced jalapeno peppers

Whisk together lime juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce in a large bowl until sugar dissolves. Add 8watermelon, cucumbers, red onion, mint, ginger, and jalapeno peppers. Toss gently. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and chill before serving. Makes 8 half-cup servings.

Cranberry Jalapeno Jelly

4 cups washed cranberries (2 - 12 oz. bags)
1 pkg. SureJel
2 cups chopped jalapenos (1 1/2 jars of sliced or whole jalapenos drained)
7 cups sugar

8 1-cup jelly jars

Put the cranberries into food processor to chop and then pour them into a bowl. Add drained jalapenos to processor and chop. Combine cranberries, jalapenos and surejel in a 4-quart microwavable bowl. Microwave on high, covered, for 12 minutes or until boiling, stirring once. Add sugar then microwave another 12 minutes or until boiling hard for 1 minute. Stir once. Pour immediately into sterilized jelly jars. Fill to just under the rim and add lids at once. Check after a day to make sure the seals all popped.