Ham and Cheese Sliders / Roasted Vegetable Sliders

Bring these sliders to your Labor Day gathering with friends this weekend- such a yummy bite of goodness and makes all ages happy. They are a great appetizer or even a quick weekday meal for your family.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

HAM AND CHEESE SLIDERS

1 package Hawaiian sweet rolls, sliced in half 12 count (I made 24 for a staff snack)

½-¾ pound cooked deli ham, thinly sliced

¾ pound Swiss cheese, thinly sliced

½ cup butter, melted

1 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tsp poppy seeds

2 tsp dried minced onion

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon salt

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13” baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

• Using a large knife, slice rolls in half horizontally. Do not separate rolls- try to cut them in half as one big “sheet.”

• Put the bottom layer of rolls in prepared pan, line with cheese, then ham, then another layer of cheese. Add top layer of rolls.

• Make the sauce: melt butter in microwave safe bowl. Mix in  mustard, poppy seeds, minced onion, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Pour sauce on top of rolls, spreading carefully to put over all the tops. If it spills over, that’s ok. Cover with aluminum foil and let rolls sit for 10 minutes.  

• Bake covered for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Take foil off and cook for a few more minutes. 

• Slice into individual sliders and serve warm or cold.   

Layer a slice of mozzarella on the bottom, roasted zucchini and red pepper next and top with rolls spread with pesto

ROASTED VEGETABLE SLIDERS

1 package Hawaiian sweet rolls, sliced in half 12 count

8 ounces fresh mozzarella sliced into 12 slices

3 zucchini

2 red bell peppers

1/4 home made or jarred pesto

Slice zucchini into 1/4 inch slices and red pepper into quarters. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt. Roast over medium heat for 3-5 minutes per side (pepper may take longer). Put peppers in brown paper bag to steam for 15 minutes. Take out of bag and remove skins from peppers. Spread pesto on top

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13” baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

• Using a large knife, slice rolls in half horizontally. Do not separate rolls- try to cut them in half as one big “sheet.”

• Slice zucchini into 1/4 inch slices and red pepper into quarters. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt. Roast over medium heat for 3-5 minutes per side (pepper may take longer). Put peppers in brown paper bag to steam for 15 minutes. Take out of bag and remove skins from peppers. Spread pesto on top layer of rolls.

• Put the bottom layer of rolls in prepared pan and layer with mozzarella, zucchini, peppers. Place pesto roll sheet on top.

• Bake covered for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Take foil off and cook for a few more minutes. 

• Slice into individual sliders and serve warm or cold.   

Easy Chicken Tacos in Instant Pot

We are on day number two of our home-bound living experience and our dinner game going strong! Up to this point, I have not fully embraced the Instant Pot but my boss shared that her family happily uses it almost every night, so I thought I would give it another chance. This yummy dish really did come together in under an hour plus made enough to make tasty salads the next day. If you have a few canned goods and frozen chicken, this is an easy meal!

Easy Chicken Tacos in Instant Pot

1 can black beans (drained)

1 can corn (drained) (could use frozen)

2 cans Rotel (or 1.5 cups salsa)

2 tablespoons taco seasoning (click here for recipe or use ready made)

3 chicken breasts (can be frozen)

avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, slice green onions, salsa-optional toppings 

Place chicken in bottom of Instant Pot. Add rest of ingredients and stir. Select Manual Setting and cook for 20 minutes. Manually vent and shred chicken. If the contents are too soupy, changed to Saute Setting for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. I like to crisp corn tortillas over an open flame on the stove and then serve with avocado, sour cream and green onions and my son loves to add grated cheese. Enjoy!

Spoon a little salsa over lettuce, add some chopped veggies like bell pepper, celery and avocado and top with left over Chicken Taco mixture to make a delicious salad the next day.

Easy Summertime Lunch with Homemade Pesto

This is one of my favorite summertime whip-together lunches--- cottage cheese, homemade pesto and cherry tomatoes. Yum!



Basil Walnut Pesto

2 cups packed basil leaves
1/3 olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
sprinkle of pepper

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender and combine until smooth.

Sauteed Corn with Peppers and Quinoa

My parents just returned from an amazing trip to Italy last night and first thing this morning, my dad visited his favorite Milk Pail Euro market to stock their empty fridge with produce. He is always such a dear and stops by our house on the way home to share a few extra bags of his fresh finds. Today, he brought us tasty late season corn, red and green peppers and some yummy fruit. His delivery inspired me to make a saute of corn and peppers with some quinoa to make a delicious lunch for our family.  This is a simple mix of flavors, to appeal to the plain taste of my children, but I added cumin and cilantro to mine and it was delish!

Fresh Sauteed Corn, Green and Red Peppers

Corn, Pepper and Quinoa Salad

Sauteed Corn with Peppers and Quinoa

1 shallot

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoons butter (optional, but add so much flavor!)

2 heads garlic, minced

4-5 heads fresh corn or 1 10 ounce bag frozen corn

1 red pepper, cut into small cubes

1 green pepper, cut into small cubes

kosher salt and pepper to taste

1 cup quinoa, cooked (Rinse quinoa and put in saucepan with 2 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir, cover and reduce heat to simmer for 10-15 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed. Fluff with fork and let sit until room temperature)

1 teaspoon cumin, optional

chopped cilantro leaves, optional

Saute shallot in olive oil until it starts to soften. Add red and green pepper, and saute for 2 more minutes. Melt butter in middle of pan and add garlic to butter and cook for 1 more minute. Add corn, kosher salt and a grind or two of pepper, and cook 2 more minutes, then take off heat.   Meanwhile cook quinoa. 

Toss all ingredients in a bowl, add cumin and cilantro if you like,  and enjoy!

Baked Vegetable Frittata

Eggs and veggies are wonderful combined together and make a perfect meal any time of the day. Last time I made a spinach and cheese frittata, I baked it in the saute pan. This time I transferred the sauteed veggies into a buttered glass pie dish, and which was thicker and just as delicious!  The beauty of this recipe is that you can use any vegetables you have in your fridge- I had a HUGE zucchini that my friend gave me from her mother-in-law's garden. I sauteed it with a small amount of red onion and seasoned it with thyme, kosher, salt and pepper and sprinkled a little bit of Jarlsberg on top. Delish!

Baked Vegetable Frittata

3-4 cups diced vegetables (ideas: zucchini, mushrooms, red, yellow or green pepper, spinach, kale, tomatoes, squash, asparagus, broccoli, potatoes)
1/4 red onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
6-8 eggs, beaten 
1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar, Jarlsberg, crumbled feta, parmesan)
kosher salt
pepper
whichever herbs you like- fresh basil, dried thyme, oregano

Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add vegetables and saute until softer, but still firm (I cooked the zucchini for about 5 minutes) and season with salt, pepper and herbs. Put vegetables in buttered glass pie dish. Pour beaten eggs over veggies and spinkle top with grated cheese. Bake in 350° for 25-30 minutes until set. Enjoy!

Simple Satisfying Summer Snack

Nothing beats juicy tomatoes, ripe avocado and fresh basil atop a scoop of cottage cheese sprinkled with kosher salt and pepper for a satisfying snack. Yay for summer!

Tasty Cubano Sandwich

We recently returned from a wonderful visit with my husband's family in Portland, Oregon where we enjoyed  some very special family time together. Our kids were lucky to spend a fun late-night evening with their cousins at my mother and father-in-law's house where Grandpa Otto whipped up a few of his specialty Cubano Sandwiches as a snack for them. Our local Portland cousins knew this tasty snack well, but my Palo Alto kids had not yet experienced these delicious bites until this visit....and they adored them! 

My kids loved these sandwiches so much that when we came home, they requested them for lunch three days in a row. We have a small grill pan that we used on the stove and pressed the top down with a cast iron skillet like my father-in-law did. But if you have a Panini press, this would be a really  easy sandwich recipe to add to your list.

Tasty Cubano Sandwiches

4 soft sandwich rolls

1/3 pound thinly sliced ham from the bone (easy to find at your grocery store deli)

4 slices swiss or havarti cheese

thinly slice dill pickles

drizzle of yellow mustard

~makes 4 sandwiches

Cut the rolls in half and drizzle with mustard. Add cheese, ham and pickles. If you happen to have a sliced piece of roast pork, you can add it to the mix and make it a real Cubano, but my kids love it simple without the added pork.

Spray a grill pan with canola spray and put sandwiches on grill pan. Press down on top to "flatten them." Flip to other side when bread is browned and cheese is melted and cook for a few more minutes until other side is browned. Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Bowl with Ground Turkey + Taco Seasoning

This is another tasty combo of roasted veggies with the addition of sauteed ground turkey topped with homemade taco seasoning. I placed the warm roasted cauliflower, sweet potato and zucchini on a bed of raw spinach which helped wilt it, then added sauteed turkey meat from dinner last night and sprinkled home made taco seasoning on top = satisfying and healthy lunch!

Roasted Cauliflower
1 head cauliflower
1 tablespoon coconut oil (Trader Joe's has a great one!)
coconut spray
Himalayan pink salt

Rub 1 tablespoon coconut oil all over head of cauliflower, then break into florets. Place on foil lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with coconut oil spray. Sprinkle Himalayan pink salt and garlic powder on top. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes, turning pieces over halfway.

Roasted Zucchini
2 or more zucchini (roast more than you need and you can save it for lunch tomorrow!)
canola spray
cumin

Slice zucchini and place on foil lined baking sheet sprayed with canola oil spray, then spray tops of zucchini and dust with a sprinkle of cumin. Roast at 400° for 20 minutes.

Roasted Sweet Potato Slices

1 large sweet potato

1 tablespoon coconut oil

coconut spray

kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400°. Line baking sheet with foil and slather 1 tablespoon of coconut oil all over foil. Slice sweet potato into 1/8 inch slices and place on top of oiled foil. Spray top of slices with coconut oil spray and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 20 minutes. 

You can use these slices as "buns" for hamburger patties, serve slices as appetizers with your favorite dip or cut into pieces and put in your lunch bowl.

Tuna Lettuce Rolls for Lunch

Ok- so I bet that tuna is not high on your list of go-to lunches, but it is a great one to remember when you want to make something tasty and quick. Tuna with dill really is refreshing- it's a great protein packed lunch for a hot summer day. I love to add sweet pickle relish- what do you mix into your tuna?   

Tuna Lettuce Rolls

1 5 ounce can albacore tuna packed in water ( I keep mine in the fridge so when I whip up this lunch, it's nice and cold!)
juice of 1/2 lemon
freshly chopped dill
1 celery stock chopped finely
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish* (or dill if you prefer) 
dash of lemon pepper

Mix it all up and roll in lettuce leaves. Enjoy!

*  Wickles Pickles has the best relish- sweet and spicy!

Healthy Lunch Bowl

This combo makes a very satisfying lunch- just saute a handful of sliced mushrooms in 1 tablespoon olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and garlic powder, throw in a handful of spinach and saute until soft. Remove from pan, spray pan with coconut oil spray and saute sliced chicken apple sausage until brown. Put all into a bowl and enjoy!

Pizza Roll-Ups

I am always looking for tasty dinner recipes that can also be used for a simple lunch the next day. You can tailor this recipe to your family's tastes, is easy to prepare and works great the next day! I made two versions for our family- BBQ Chicken Pizza rollups, which channel the flavor of California Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chicken pizza and my kids' favorite, Mozzarella and Bacon. Serve each with a dish of sauce on the side and a hearty green salad and you have yourself a tasty dinner!

BBQ Chicken Pizza Roll-Ups

BBQ Chicken Pizza Roll-Ups

1 ready made pizza dough *
1/2 cup shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken is great for this recipe)
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup shredded momozzarella
2 tablespoons shredded red onion
15 cilantro leaves

Roll out pizza dough on floured board until dough is about 1/2 inch thick and rectangular in shape. Spread BBQ sauce on dough, then sprinkle with mozzarella and top with chicken, onion and cilantro. Roll up length wise and cut into 3/4 inch slices. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 400° for 17-20 minutes until brown and bubbly. Serve with a dish of BBQ sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

Mozzarella and Bacon Pizza Roll-Ups

Mozzarella and Bacon Pizza Roll-Ups

1 ready made pizza dough *

1/4 cup pizza sauce

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

5 pieces cooked bacon, chopped

Roll out pizza dough on floured board until dough is about 1/2 inch thick and rectangular in shape. Spread pizza sauce on dough, then sprinkle with mozzarella and top with bacon. Roll up length wise and cut into 3/4 inch slices. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 400° for 17-20 minutes until brown and bubbly. Serve with a dish of pizza sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

Shrimp Summer Rolls

During our spring break we made a pit stop at Ranch 99, an awesome Asian market, on our drive to La Jolla. My daughters introduced my son to lots of their favorite snacks like Pocky, Shrimp Chips, Hello Panda, Lychee jelly fruit bites, Senbei crackers, mini ball cookies and for some reason they also picked up spring roll wrappers- maybe they thought the rice paper would taste good? They quickly found out that it tastes like nothing, so when we got home the leftover package inspired me to make my first batch of spring rolls. I found rice noodles at Safeway to use in a great recipe from that I had ripped out of an old Martha Stewart magazine while we were at the beach. 

Summer (or spring?) rolls are fun and easy to make and you can tailor them to what you like. I had my kids make their own rolls (of course, they made them simple with shrimp, noodles and carrots) and I loved packing mine with lots of vegetables and basil in addition to the shrimp. 

The Ingredients:

(you can find both of these at Safeway- no need to make special trip to Asian market)

Shrimp Summer Rolls

1/2 pound medium shrimp (about 16), in shells (I actually cooked 1 lb and we nibbled on the shrimp that we didn't put in the rolls- roasted shrimp are a delicious snack!)
1/2 8 ounce package of rice noodles
1/4  small head Napa cabbage, halved, cored, and thinly sliced 
2 medium carrots , cut into 1/8-inch-thick, 3-inch-long matchsticks
1/2 English cucumber  cut into matchsticks
3 scallions, dark-green tops only
a few basil leaves
1 package spring-roll skins (banh trang)

Peanut Sauce, for serving
Sambal oelek (Indonesian chili paste) or spicy chili sauce, for serving

Cook the shrimp in your favorite way- I roasted them like Ina - peeled them, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted 10 minutes at 400°. Cook rice noodles according to package. 

Place all ingredients on table so that you can assemble rolls. Pour 1 inch warm water into bowl slightly larger than spring-roll skins. Submerge 1 skin in warm water until pliable, but still firm, about 10 seconds.

To make rolls: place wet rice paper on plate, then line up 3-4 shrimp in middle, top with veggies, basil and noodles. Fold skin in on the side then stretch the length of the skin around the roll. 

Serve with peanut sauce.

Peanut Dipping Sauce

½ cup smooth peanut butter 

2 tablespoons soy sauce or Tamari

2 tablespoons brown sugar or maple syrup 

1 tablespoon rice vinegar 

1 clove garlic finely minced

½-1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce

3-6 tablespoons warm water

 Whisk all ingredients until smooth.

Tarte Tatin a la Tomate

Tarte Tatin a la Tomate

from a

Provençal Birthday Lunch

Tart Tatin a la Tomate

2 pounds Roma tomatoes

extra virgin olive oil

fine sea salt and ground pepper

herbs de provence (mix of rosemary, basil, oregano and thyme)

1/4 cup black olive tapenade

6 ounces fresh goat cheese

1 puff pastry sheet or 1 recipe pate brisee (french pastry dough) or ready made pie dough (I used puff pastry)

several basil leaves, torn or chiffonade 

Preheat oven to 350° and grease 10 inch ceramic or glass pie pan with 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil.

Halve tomatoes length wise, core them, and use a spoon or your fingers to remove seeds and juice. Arrange in pan, skin side down, in a circular pattern. You can crowd them a little, they will shrink as they bake. Season with salt, pepper, herbs and a good drizzle of olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes until softened. Remove from oven, but keep heat on.

Roll out the dough in an 11 inch circle (I kept the puff pastry in a rectangle and just pushed the corners in when I draped it on the tart) and prick all over with a fork. Spread with tapenade, leaving a one inch margin all around.

Crumble the cheese all over each tomato half in the pan. Lay the dough, tapenade side down, on the cheese, and tuck in the overhanging flaps of dough. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the crust is golden. 

Just before serving, snip or tear the basil leaves and sprinkle over tart. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe from Clotilde Dusoulier, Chocolate and Zucchini Cookbook.

Cooked Veggie Power Lunch Bowl

Salads for lunch is a great way to increase your daily veggie intake and since I actually prefer cooked vegetables to raw,  putting together a melange of cooked vegetable flavors is a great way to "mix in a salad" for me. If you cook a good amount of all these veggies, you can save portions for multiple meals and can eat variations of these in a variety of tasty lunch bowls throughout the week.

Cooked Veggie Power Lunch Bowl

• Saute baby spinach, kale and chard in 1 teaspoon olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt
• Roast cubed butternut squash tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper at 425° until soft, like in this recipe
• Saute cremini mushrooms until soft in olive oil with one shallot sliced and one minced garlic clove
• Add raw sliced red pepper
• Add basil hummus (recipe here) for protein 
• sprinkle with herbs you love (I put fresh thyme on this bowl after I took the picture!)
• Add nuts of your choice for protein, too- I added toasted walnuts in this bowl

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Fall Harvest Salad

This salad is full of complex flavors and pretty colors and so satisfying- the sweet and salty dressing is perfect with the spinach and butternut squash.

Fall Harvest Salad

3 cups butternut squash, cut into cubes
1 shallot, diced
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
sprinkle of pepper

Vinaigrette
1 teaspoon chopped shallot
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons apricot preserves
1/4 teaspoon salt

4 cups baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons toasted walnuts

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a small baking sheet with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper.Spread butternut squash  in a single layer on prepared baking sheet and toss with olive oil and salt,  leaving space between squash pieces. Roast, flipping once halfway through cooking, until squash is tender and lightly browned, about 15 to 25 minutes. 
• 
  
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together vinaigrette ingredients. Just before serving, add vinaigrette to spinach and squash and; toss until thoroughly combined. Top with walnuts and Enjoy!
• Adapted from this recipe

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Caramel Oatmeal Bars + The Price is Right!

A new friend of mine had the chance to fulfill a dream of hers of being in the audience at the Price is Right; lucky for her, it happened to be on the day Bob Barker made an appearance for his 90th birthday! Another sweet friend decided we should make a celebration of Kathryn's 15 minutes of fame on tv and invited us for lunch and a viewing of the taped show. What a fun and decadent way to spend an hour in the middle of a weekday!!

Cindy served an amazing buffet lunch of mixed green salad with juicy pomegranate seeds, roasted beets and an orzo spinach salad= perfect!

Rachel, Martha, Cindy, Kathryn and Abbie ready to view the show

Katheryn offers Bob a caramel oatmeal bar ☺

Caramel Oatmeal Bars for dessert

Caramel Oatmeal Bars

2 cups flour (plus 2 tablespoons to thicken caramel sauce)
2 cups quick oats (I used regular, quick-cooking is best)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups cold butter, cut into small squares

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (12 ounce) jar caramel topping (like Mrs. Richardson's butterscotch)

In bowl combine oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut butter in until crumbly and the dough starts sticking together. Set half of the dough aside for topping and press the other half on the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch pan. 

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. While baking, add 2 tablespoons flour to the jar of caramel topping to thicken it. After 15 minutes, remove crust from oven, sprinkle with chocolate chips and drizzle the topping all over. Press the rest of the topping over the caramel by taking a bit into your hand and flattening it, then laying it on top. Bake for 15-18 more minutes. Enjoy!

  
Recipe from Color Issue

Lunch at the Ivy and New Year's Day at the Rose Bowl

Happy New Year to you all!!

My husband, Jeff, and I are ready to cheer on Stanford at the Rose Bowl!

My mom, son Andrew, Dad, daughter Sophie, nephew McKinley, daughter Madeleine and niece Anika
in the stands at the Rose Bowl

My family just spent the past few days in Southern California enjoying incredibly warm and beautiful weather and having some fun adventures along the way. We were fortunate enough to attend the Rose Bowl again this year to cheer on Stanford and although they lost, we still had some fabulous days together with the fam.

On the way down, we took a side trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain where our kids had a ball going on all sorts of crazy roller coasters. Andrew and I experienced the Superman Ride  together which scared me silly- the ride goes up to 100 miles per hour backwards and sounds like a jet airplane. I had my eyes closed the whole time~What a terrifying thrilling experience I had with my son!

Sophie, Andrew and Madeleine about to go on the crazy Superman ride at Magic Mountain

My mom treated the girls in our family to a lovely lunch at The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles where we thoroughly enjoyed the quaint atmosphere, the beautiful pottery plates and cups and very attentive service. Even though we had no celebrity sightings, it was a wonderful afternoon with just us gals while the guys were hanging out at Venice Beach.

My daughters and I were happy to be together for a special lunch 

 Delicious Lobster Ravioli

Grilled Vegetable Salad with Lobster

All of us enjoyed our fun New Year's Eve lunch together at the Ivy

There were beautiful bunches of roses in every room