French Dip Sandwiches

This is such a quick and easy dinner.  My daughter loves to dip her foods, so this is a great meal for her.

1-1 1/2 lbs roast beef cold cuts
1-2 baguettes
2 Tbsp butter
1 shallot- chopped
1/4 cup red wine
1-2 Tbsp flour
16 oz. beef broth

Melt butter in pan and saute shallots.  Add in red wine and let alcohol cook out, about 2 minutes.  Add in flour.  Slowly whisk in beef broth.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.  Cut bread in half length wise and dip the inside into the broth mixture.  Then place the roast beef into the broth mixture to warm and top bread.

Lasagna Roll Ups

I love these lasagna roll ups and I love how you can really make so many variations too.  You can really make this with whatever fillings you want.  I think I might try a taco/Mexican version soon.  This one I make with sausage and spinach and an alfreado sauce since my husband is not a huge red sauce fan.

lasagna noodles cooked
1 lb Italian sausage
1 package frozen chopped spinach
8 oz. ricotta cheese

Alfredo Sauce Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
3/4 cups grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Cook lasagna noodles and lay out flat.  Cook and drain sausage.  While sausage is cooking defrost spinach in microwave.  Drain spinach and mix together with sausage and ricotta cheese.  Make alfredo sauce .  Coat bottom of 9 x 13 pan with alfredo sauce.  Lay out lasagna noodle and spread the sausage mixture down the legnth of the noodle.  Roll up the lasagna and place in pan.  Coat all the roll ups with sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I had two bananas that were really starting to turn brown and the thought of just throwing them away made me sad.  I didn't want to just make banana bread because everytime I make it, I think I am going to eat it and then half the loaf gets eaten and the other half ends up in the garbage.  So I thought banana chocolate chip muffins would be a great idea and since school just started it would be a great breakfast on the go.  This recipe came out great and I love that it calls for plain yogurt.


1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I am sure vanilla yogurt would work fine too)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup chocolate chips

In large bowl mix dry ingredients.  In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt, and vanilla.  Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until moistened.  Fold in banana and chocolate chips.  Fill muffin pan, if not using liners then you must grease the pan.  This made just 12 muffins for me, and I filled the muffin cups almost to the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Strawberry Infused Vodka

As we say good-bye to summer, I had a wonderful summery drink that I made with my strawberry infused vodka.  To be honest I think that when I am feeling the winter blues, I am going to be mixing up a drink with this yummy vodka.

Infusing vodka happens to be very easy and I think the flavor is much better than the flavored vodkas that are out there on the shelves.

To make the strawberry vodka you need to hull and slice your strawberries, put them in some sort of air tight container, and then pour your vodka over the strawberries.  I used a mason jar and used about a pint of strawberries.

Then let the strawberries and vodka sit in a cool dark place for about three days and agitate it once per day.  You will notice the strawberries will soon become white.  Once you have let your strawberries sit you will need to strain them.  I used a coffee filter over a strainer.  If you just use the strainer you end up with small bits of strawberry seeds.  Your vodka will end up with this wonderful red color to it.

I then stored my vodka in the fridge and mixed it with seltzer and a wedge of lime.  The best thing about this cocktail, besides how great it tastes, is that it doesn't have a ton of calories either.


My sister-in-law made raspberry infused vodka and we mixed it with lemon-lime soda, a splash of cranberry juice and a wedge of lime and it was a hit at her party!  I think we might try and make our own sweet tea vodka next.

Baked Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese is my son's absolute favorite meal.  Whenever we ask him what he wants for dinner he replies with "mac and cheese".  I am not a huge fan of the neon orange cheese that first starts out as powder, so I tend to make this baked mac and cheese and it is extremely indulgent.

1 lb macaroni (sometimes I use small shells or cavatappi)
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1/2 tsp salt
pepper (to taste)
2-4 cups grated cheese (I tend to use 4 cups and I like a combo of sharp cheddar and monterey jack and I don't use the kind that is already shredded, for some reason I feel it doesn't have as much flavor)
1/2 cup bread crumbs sauteed with 1 Tbsp butter for the topping

Cook pasta according to directions.  In a medium saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour.  Slowly pour in milk while stirring to keep the mixture thick.  Do the same with the cream.  Add in your salt and pepper.  Add in your cheese and stir to melt it.  Pour the pasta and cheese into a baking dish and top with breadcrumb mixture.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

*for a lighter version, use only milk (no cream) and use 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp flour rather than the 4 listed above.

New England Clam Chowder

I absolutely LOVE New England Clam Chowder and have made this recipe a lot over the years, and I love to make this on a cold, rainy Sunday.  Although it is not exactly cold today, I think it makes for a great meal during the aftermath of a hurricane!

2 Tbsp butter
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 Tbsp dried thyme
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp flour
1 pint half-and-half
2 cups chicken stock
1-2 potatoes, depending on the size
2 cans minced or whole baby clams and their juice

In a large pot over medium high heat melt butter. (I like to use my dutch oven for this recipe.)  Add bacon and let the bacon cook a bit and get a little brown.  Add onions cook for 1-2 minutes and then add celery, thyme, salt and pepper.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Add flour and stir and cook for another minute or two.  Add half-and half and stock and bring to a bubble.  While you are waiting for the soup to bubble, peel and cut your potatoes and cook in the microwave for about 2 minutes so they are partly cooked.  Once soup is bubbling, add potatoes and clams.  Bring soup to a boil and reduce heat and simmer until your chowder is nice and thick and can coat the back of a spoon.  The longer you simmer the thicker the soup will get.  I like mine to be very thick, so I simmer it for awhile, about 30-45 minutes or more.

Banana Pudding Gone Amazing

My friend Nicole made this and calls it "Banana Pudding with a Twist" but I think it should be called Banana Pudding Gone Amazing because it truly is amazing!

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Makes an 8x8 dish, for 9x13 double the recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick, softened)

1 cup flour

1 cup coconut flakes

1/4 cup white sugar

1 box instant banana pudding

2 cups of cold milk

2 bananas sliced thin

1/2 container Cool Whip

Combine butter, flour, coconut flakes and sugar in a bowl until a crumbly mixture forms.  Put the crumbs on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 min (stirring once or twice so it cooks evenly) until light brown.  Allow to cool.

Make the instant pudding as per directions on box.

In a 8x8 dish put 1/2 coconut mixture.  Gently top with banana pudding, then a layer of thin sliced bananas, cool whip and the remaining coconut mixture.

Refrigerate until served.