Utah State Marv 'n Joes

Did you go to Utah State University, and now that you are no longer on campus, you find yourself craving those delicious open-faced, heaven sent, Marv 'n Joe sandwiches? OK, maybe you did, and maybe you didn't, but either way, you gotta make this sandwich!

Now is the season where you have tomatoes bursting out of your ears and don't know what to do with them right? This is the perfect solution!

This recipe is slightly adapted from Housewife Eclectic. She apparently got a personal lesson from Marv, himself, on how to make these. I found it a highly entertaining read- go check it out.

Marv 'n Joe

(makes 1 sandwich)

1 slice sourdough bread

approx. 1/2 tablespoon spreadable butter (or softened butter)
sprinkle of garlic salt
fresh cracked pepper
4 slices of tomato
Provolone cheese slice
Parmesan cheese (either grated or sliced works)
olive oil
Vinegar

Spread your butter on top of the sourdough bread. Sprinkle with the garlic salt and pepper. Place 4 tomato slices on your bread. Pour a small amount of olive oil and vinegar, just enough to give the sandwich a kick. Top with a piece of provolone cheese and then the parmesan.

Toss in your toaster oven or you broiler on low until the cheese is bubbly and starts to brown. The browning is very important. The edges should be brown and have a little crisp to it.

My husband absolutely LOVED these. He said they were even better than the original! I'm putting it on my Perfect Dinner Project page for a light dinner. 2 each of these were plenty filling.

The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

My Hubby has a tradition on Christmas Eve that his family makes cinnamon rolls and then eats them for their Christmas Morning breakfast. I decided to try and make them this year. They WOULD HAVE been a total success except for the fact they weren't done all the way through. I either attribute this to the fact I put them in a 9x13 pan when she put hers in pie tins OR I took her own advice and cooked them at 375°F instead of the normal 400°F. BUT Hubby did say they were scrumptious.

Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 quart Whole Milk
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• Plenty Of Melted Butter
• 2 cups Sugar
• Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon
• _____
• MAPLE FROSTING:
• 1 bag Powdered Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
• ½ cups Milk
• ¼ cups Melted Butter
• ¼ cups Brewed Coffee (I OMITTED)
• ⅛ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.
After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).
When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.
Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.
Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.
Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees (see note below) until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.
For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don’t skimp on the frosting.
Note: My rolls don’t work for me at 400 degrees anymore. I now bake them at 375 degrees

Here are my results:

The BEST Zucchini Bread

Still have more zucchini? The only way my hubby REALLY likes zucchini is in zucchini bread form. I have to admit, I have never tried another zucchini bread recipe other than this because it always gets rave reviews and I figure "Why go searching when I've got what I want." It's also great because it doesn't have any eggs or complicated directions, just mix everything together! This recipe originally appeared in my church cookbook.

Zucchini Bread
Ingredients:
1 C. sugar
1 C. brown sugar
1 C. Oil
3 C. zucchini,grated
3 tsp. vanilla
3 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C. nuts/raisins, optional (I don't put in because of my preference)

Directions:
Mix together, Bake for 1 hour at 325°F. Make 1 (9X13 inch pan) or 2 loaf pans.

Here are the results:






Right out of the oven















Yummy Goodness!

Emergency Garlic Bread

I am seriously never buying garlic bread from the store again. Apparently my sister makes this garlic bread all the time using.... hot dog buns! Yep, and it tastes delicious. I use garlic salt instead of powder, but it's so easy to adjust to your tastes. Here's the recipe:

Emergency Garlic Bread

Ingredients:
4 hot dog buns
4 teaspoons butter, or as needed
2 teaspoons garlic powder, or to taste (I use garlic salt)
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven's broiler, or a toaster oven.
2. Separate the bun halves, and spread butter onto the cut side of each one. Sprinkle some garlic powder over the butter.
3. Broil or toast until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
Here are the results:

Apple Muffins

I took a cooking class in high school and I still have my index cards with the recipe we made. It surprising to me how good all the recipes were, however basic. I remember making these apple muffins and loving them.

I couldn't sleep the other morning and got up at 5:00 AM and decided to bake some muffins for my hubbie's breakfast. They turned out yummy, just like I remember them!

Apple Muffins

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 C flour
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/2 C milk
1/4 C oil
1 C grated apple

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease the bottom of cups in muffin pan. In a medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, Mix the egg and milk in a large bowl. Mix the oil and grated apple and add to egg mixture. Add flour mixture to the egg mixture only until moistened. Fill the cups 2/3 full. Bake 15-20 minutes or until Golden Brown.

Here are the results:


I don't think mine turned golden brown because I used my silicon muffin thingy. I don't think it bakes as fast. Anybody else use silicone bake-ware?

Cathy's Banana Bread

When ever I make banana bread, it's gone within two minutes of me removing it from the oven. Literally. Not only does my husband snarf it down, but I usually can't keep my hands off it either! Now, banana bread in general is ALWAYS good but I found a recipe that is to die for, and I haven't ever tried another one since. It's called Cathy's Banana Bread and here it is:

Cathy's Banana Bread
Ingredients:

• 1 cup mashed bananas (I use 3)
  
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 1/3 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch pan, or two 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2. Combine banana and sour cream. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and banana mixture. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; stir into the banana mixture. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan or pans.
3. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.

Here's a picture:

Mom's Meatloaf and Cheddar Bay Biscuits

I LOVE my mom's meatloaf. It was what I grew up on and it is still the best I've tasted to date. Making this the other night sent me on a trip down memory lane.

Mom's Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1-1 and 1/2 lbs ground meat

1 egg

salt & pepper

dried onion (about 1-2T)

Wheaties or Cornflakes,crushed (about 1/4 to 1/2 C)

grated carrots

1 can tomato sauce (small)

Combine all ingredients except only add 3/4 of the can of tomato sauce. Shape into loaf and spread remaining 1/4 can on top of loaf. Bake @ 350F for at least one hour

Here are the results:

I also made some biscuits. If you've ever been to Red Lobster before, you've had my favorite cheese buscuits. They are cheesy and just plain divine! I was very excited when I came upon this recipe that claimed they tasted just like Red Lobster cheese buscuits! They were very excellent and very easy. Try them!
(I put my changes in bold)
Cheddar Bay Biscuits:
Ingredients:
4 cups baking mix (I use bisquick)
3 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded (I use 1 Cup)
1 1/3 cups water (I use milk instead)

1/2 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.In a mixing bowl, combine the baking mix, cheese, and water. Mix until dough is firm. Using a small scoop, place dough on the prepared pan.
3.Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
4.Combine the melted butter, garlic powder, salt, onion powder and parsley. Brush over baked biscuits immediately upon removing from oven.

First Day!

I love reading other people's blogs but I'm not sure how good I will be at my own. I have decided to post what my hobbies are for a few reasons:
A. To show myself what I have done so I can pat myself on the back!
B. To encourage others to try new and different things!
C. To have fun!

My first order of the day was to bake some bread. Bread brings back many memories for me and one of my favorite types of bread is Dilly Bread. Some of it's unusual ingredients include: cottage cheese, dill, and salt but it all comes together and makes it so fabulous. Here's the link to the recipe.

And here's the final product:














Photography is definitely a hobby I need to work on. I'm hoping that the more I cook and photograph, the better I get!

I also thought of making this lovely Poppy Seed Chicken casserole but I didn't have all the ingredients. I decided to go out on limb. Those who know me, know I NEVER have done this before. I usually follow recipes very strictly and I NEVER make up my own recipe. This was a first and it didn't turn out bad surprisingly. I had to use what I had in the cupboards and the fridge. Can I name it Sunday Surprise or is that taken yet? Oh well here it is:
Sunday Surprise:
1 large can chicken
1 small can mushrooms
2 T poppy seed
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 C. sour cream
1 package Stove Top Stuffing

Mix the first five ingredients together and bake in the oven @350 degrees for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare Stove Top Stuffing according to directions. Once chicken mixture is done, remove from the oven and top with stuffing. Put mixture back into the oven for another 15 minutes until bubbly.

Here's the final product:
My Dear Husband ate it and said it was good. He usually gets fed much better than cream of chicken but he is grateful for anything. He's so wonderful!

Thus concludes our Sunday dinner. I was very happy with the results and can't wait to try something new!