Cuban Sandwiches

I saw someone on TV make Cuban sandwiches a while back and I've been craving them ever since. I've never made one, or eaten one so this was a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda deal. I knew what the sandwiches had in them so I figured they couldn't be hard to throw together. A little planning is all it takes. You need to plan time to cook the pork but it's SOOOOO worth it! These are yummy!

Cuban Sandwiches



2 - 3 pound pork shoulder roast (bone-in)
Sliced ham
Swiss cheese
Mustard and mayo
Dill Pickles
Buns
Spicy Rub (recipe follows)

For the Spicy Rub:

3 - 4 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons oregano
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoon lime juice

In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except the oil and lime juice.

Once everything has come together and with the food processor running, drizzle in the oil and lime juice until you have a thick paste.

Rub the mixture all over your pork roast making sure to cover both sides and underneath any folds and in all the crevices.

Place meat on a rack in a pan and allow to set at room temp for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Add 1 cup of water to the pan and allow meat to cook for about 3 hours until tender, turning every 30 minutes or so.

Let meat stand for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Assemble sandwiches using pork roast, ham, cheese and condiments. 

Heat a panini press or grill pan to medium heat.

Spread butter on the outsides of the bread and place on heated pan. Grill in a panini press or place another heavy pan on top of sandwiches to press down. Flip sandwiches over to grill the other side. 

Here's the sammie stuff.

Blend the onion, garlic and 

seasonings in a food processor.

Add the oil....

...and the lime juice.

Rub the mixture all over the pork roast.

Cook for about 3 hours, 

turning every 30 minutes or so.

Build your sammies!

Buttah....buttah the bread.

Then grill!! So delicious!!

Green Chili Potato Soup

I've got a friend in Arizona whose favorite soup is something similar to this. She gets it at a really good Mexican food restaurant there. Now, I've never tasted that soup but based on her description of it being super yummy, I thought I'd try to make my own. I pick good friends because she has good taste in soups. This was really good. If you like to walk on the wild side, add a couple of jalapenos to it and that should satisfy your need for spiciness. Overall....A VERY good soup and one IT Guy enjoyed quite a bit!

Green Chili Potato Soup



2 32-ounce containers chicken broth
2 7-ounce cans diced green chili
2 pounds potatoes ~ large dice
1 large onion ~ large dice
2 cloves garlic ~ minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cups heavy cream (optional)
1 32-ounce bag southern style hash browns (optional)

Pour chicken stock in a large dutch oven.

Add potatoes, onion, garlic and one can of the green chilies and the seasonings.

Simmer on medium heat until veggies are tender.

Using a stick blender, or your food processor, puree until smooth.

Add remaining can of green chilies and the cream and hash browns, if using.

Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for about 45 minutes.

Serve with diced cheese and tortilla chips.

The list of ingredients.

Dice the potatoes and onions and 

add them to the chicken stock with 

1 can of the green chilies.

Allow to simmer for an hour or 

so until the veggies are soft.

With an immersion blender or in 

a food processor, blend until smooth.

Add the hash browns, the remaining 

can of green chilies and the cream.

Bring to a simmer and allow to 

cook for about an hour until potatoes are tender.

Cube up some cheese...

..sprinkle on top of the soup and serve!! 

So yum!

Cream Puffs

If you're a faithful follower of this page then you will know that I am a lover of cream based desserts. Anything with a pudding-y filling is my best friend. Love it! And of course cream puffs fit right into that category. Yum!! And...to make them even better....CHOCOLATE!! I made these to take to a potluck last week and no big surprise...I came home with an empty platter. I guess I'm not the only one who loves creamy, delightful desserts!

Cream Puffs



1 cup water
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium sauce pan, bring water to a boil. Add butter and cook and stir until butter is melted.

Combine flour and salt. Add to water/butter all at once and stir until mixture forms a ball.

Remove from heat.

Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well with a wooden spoon until each egg is mixed in.

Drop mixture by rounded tablespoon onto prepared pan. (Or use a pastry bag with a large round tip and pipe mounds about 1 1/2 inches round and 2 inches tall.

Bake puffs for 15 minutes at 425 degrees then reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for 20 minutes more.

When puffs are lightly golden, remove from oven. Turn oven off. With a serrated knife, cut tops off of puffs. With a small spoon, carefully remove the dough from the inside of each piece...tops and bottoms. Return puffs to the cookie sheet and place back in the warm oven for at least an hour to dry out.

Okay...here we go!

Boil the water, then add the butter. 

Stir until the butter is melted.

Then add the flour and salt all at once.

And stir, stir, stir! Stir until 

the mixture comes together.

Remove from the heat and add 

the eggs..ONE AT A TIME...stirring 

well after each addition. After you 

add each egg, the mixture will appear 

 slimy...but keep stirring so the eggs get incorporated.

Here's what the dough will look 

like after all the eggs have been stirred in.

Then plop little mounds of the 

dough onto a parchment paper 

lined cookie sheet. These are a 

mounded tablespoon sized dough 

ball. You can also use a pastry bag 

with a large round tip if you're proficient in that.

Baked puffs!!

Right after they come out of the oven,

 cut the tops off of the puffs.

Then take a small spoon and scoop 

out the insides of the puffs. You have 

to make room for the filling!

Cream Filling:

*This amount of filling will fill twice the amount of puffs in the above recipe so you might want to make two batches of puffs. I don't recommend doubling the puff recipe. Make a batch..then make another batch. There's something about doubling the recipe that has failed me in the past.

1 5-ounce package vanilla instant pudding
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine pudding. milk, powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir well with a whisk.

In a mixing bowl, whip cream until thick.

Gently fold whipping cream into pudding mixture until well combined.

Fill a pastry bag with cream filling mixture. Pipe some of the mixture into the bottom of each puff.

Here's what you'll need for the filling.

Mix together the pudding, milk, 

vanilla and powdered sugar,

Then whip the cream until thick.

Combine the pudding mixture and 

the whipped cream until well mixed.

Then pipe the cream into the empty

 puffs. You can use a small spoon for this, too.

Filled puffs! And empty lids. Don't 

worry about matching the puffs and 

lids...it won't matter once the chocolate is on them.

For chocolate topping:

1 jar hot chocolate fudge ice cream topping.

In a small bowl, heat about 1 cup topping until warm and liquid-y. Dip the tops of each puff into the chocolate topping and replace onto a filled puff.

Place puffs in a covered container in the fridge and keep chilled until ready to serve.

Here's what I like to use for 

the chocolate topping. It melts 

easily and sets to a shiny, gooey 

finish on top of the filled puffs.

Melt about 1 cup of the topping. 

Then dunk the top of each lid into

 the chocolate and set it on a filled puff.

Store in a sealed container in the 

fridge until serving time. And don't 

forget to call me when you're ready to share!!! <3

Cajun Chicken Stir Fry

Here's another recipe from my MIL. Bless her heart...it was in her collection but I doubt she ever made it. But I did and it was yummy! The next time I make it I'm going to add a few shakes of red pepper flakes...but it's really good as is!!


Cajun Chicken Stir Fry



1 1/2 pounds chicken breast ~ cut into slices 1 1/2 x 3 inches
2 red bell peppers ~ cut into strips
1 large onion ~ large dice
2 - 3 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
3 - 4 cups cooked rice (I used Jasmine rice)
Salt and pepper ~ to taste

In a large bowl, add chicken. Sprinkle on the Cajun seasoning and stir. Set aside.

In a large preheated skillet or wok, drizzle some olive oil then cook chicken until done.

Remove chicken from the skillet.

Drizzle more olive oil in the skillet and cook veggies until tender-crisp. (I added a little Cajun seasoning to the veggies, as well. Totally optional.)

Add chicken back into the skillet and warm through.

Serve over rice. 

Here's the ingredients.

Cut your chicken and sprinkle 

with the Cajun seasoning.

Then brown the chicken in 

a large skillet or wok.

Cut your veggies.

Remove the cooked chicken 

from the skillet and add the veggies. Saute for a bit.

Add the chicken back to the 

skillet to warm everything through.

Serve over rice and enjoy!!!

Cheezy Roast Beef Sandwiches

Okay, okay...I know Cheeze Whiz isn't the healthiest of foods. It may not even be a food. But it's pretty tasty on these sandwiches. It's not like you're eating the whole jar...just a little bit. You can certainly make your own cheese sauce for these sandwiches but you'll be missing out on this tasty little treat the way it was meant to be. These are super good!
Cheezy Roast Beef Sandwiches



1 pound deli roast beef
Cheeze Whiz
Sliced pepperoncini
1 medium onion ~ sliced
Buns

Wrap meat in foil and heat in the oven at 300 for about 20 minutes.

In a large skillet, caramelize the sliced onions with a little olive oil until nice and brown.

Remove onions from the skillet and add a tablespoon of butter.

Slice buns in half and brown in the skillet with the butter.

Heat the Cheeze Whiz and drain the pepperoncini.

Assemble sandwiches. Layer the onion, meat, pepperoncini and drizzle with Cheeze Whiz on a toasted bun.

 
Okay...Let's do this!

 
Wrap the meat in some foil 
and heat in the oven for a bit.

 
Slice the onion....

 
...then caramelize in a little olive oil.

 
Toast the buns in a little butter....

 
...yeah.....

 
Then assemble your sandwich!! Woot-woot!!