Pesto Turkey Sandwiches

Wow, sorry for the blogging hiatus!  It was unintended, but I had lots of fun spending time with family and friends lately!

I love pesto so so much.  I throw it in dishes all the time, and I love spreading it on sandwiches.  This turkey sandwich is different from other turkey sandwiches in that the turkey is cubed instead of sliced sandwich meat.  Which makes leftovers super tasty (seriously, I used mine on pizza last night!).  This sandwich recipe is also easily adapted to a make a wrap instead of a sandwich.

The ease in which this came together was also fantastic.  While this could be an everyday meal, it works great if you have leftover turkey after a big meal.  A unique turkey sandwich for post-Thanksgiving eating!  

PESTO TURKEY SANDWICHES

Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com

Adapted from: http://damndelicious.tumblr.com

• 2 cups diced turkey
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt (or sour cream)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• hard rolls
• spinach
• sliced tomatoes
• sliced mozzarella (the fresher, the better)

In a bowl combine the turkey, pesto, yogurt (or sour cream), salt and pepper.  Mix until combined.  Spread the mixture on top of sliced rolls and heat up to melt the cheese (microwave or broil in the oven).  Top with tomatoes and spinach.  

Creamy No-Boil Mac and Cheese

I could really live in a world full of comfort food.  Creamy soups, warm homemade bread, gooey pasta dishes. . .Mmmmmm. . . .

Fall came a bit unexpectedly here this week.  I was enjoying a nice weekend, full of good weather and then BAM!  High of 44degs expected tomorrow??  And the wind has been blowing, I thought I was going to be lifted up like Dorthy in the Wizard Of Oz and flown away somewhere else.  At the very least, the contents of my neighbors yard was going to end up in my yard, along with branches from their tree.  

On another note, sometimes my fridge has unexplained cartons of cottage cheese.  I don't really use cottage cheese.  In a pinch I use it in place of ricotta, but I usually have ricotta on hand.  So then I try to find ways to use up said cottage cheese, that's different than using it as a sub for ricotta.  This recipe just called my name. The ease of it, the gooeyness.  You can't beat throwing everything into a pan and letting it do it's thing.  

Yup. Right up my alley.  

CREAMY NO BOIL MAC AND CHEESE

Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com

Adapted From: Plain Chicken

• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp powdered mustard (1 tsp if using regular)
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1 pound grated cheddar cheese
• 1/2 lb pasta noodles, uncooked (I like penne or rigatoni, but elbow works great)

Preheat oven to 375degs.  In a food processor or blender, blend all but cheddar cheese and pasta.  Combine the mixture with the UNCOOKED pasta noodles, and all but about 1/2-1 cup shredded cheese.  Spoon the mixture into a greased 9inch square pan.  Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes.  Uncover the pan, stir it all gently, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and bake uncovered for another 30 minutes, until browned.  Let cool for a little bit, and then serve.  

Shredded Beef Nachos

Here's another recipe using the roast I posted on last week.  I've been sharing these recipes with you all, because we're a small family.  We can't just eat a whole roast in 1 sitting (or even in 1 week!) and I find it really helpful to have multiple recipes using the meat so it doesn't go to waste.  Or stuck in the freezer to be forgotten. . . .

We started out with French Dip Sandwiches, the first day we made the roast, then Tacos, and now Nachos.  And if you're like us, and STILL had meat leftover after those meals, here's a few more options: follow the recipe for tacos, but instead make them into enchiladas.  Add cheese and the meat mixed with salsa to a tortilla, roll them up, place in the pan and cover with more cheese and enchilada sauce.  OR add that mixture to a tortilla, roll up burrito style (tucking the ends of the tortilla in) and fry to make Chimis.  

Or just keep eating these nachos, because they're super yummy! These would also be the perfect addition to your football weekend. 

SHREDDED BEEF NACHOS

Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com

• Leftover shredded roast
• Salsa
• Grated cheese
• Diced tomatoes
• Sour cream
• Guacamole
• Chips

Arrange your chips on a plate, or on a baking sheet (depending on how much you're making).  Sprinkle with some cheese, arrange the meat around, sprinkle with more cheese (particularly over the meat) and place in the oven.  Broil until the cheese is melted.  WATCH IT!!  The broiler will likely burn your nachos if you walk away.  It only takes a few minutes to make.  Top the nachos with sour cream, guacamole, and tomatoes (or salsa).  

Stuffed Zucchini

I have been so inconsistent in my blogging lately, and I apologize to you, my readers.  All three of you. ;)  Regardless of my blogging attendance, which has been poor, I hope you'll give this recipe a try.  Fall is ALMOST here.  The mornings are cool, I've started putting a jacket on when I wake up!  I don't turn my little window a/c on until the afternoon, so I've felt brave enough to start using my oven a bit more.  

If you happen to have any small zucchini left in your garden, these recipe is perfect for it! It's creamy, with fresh flavors from the garden.  I ate the whole zucchini myself.  Well, not in one sitting, but still.  It was good. I loved the combo of the flavors.  

STUFFED ZUCCHINI
Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com
Adapted from: Kayotic Kitchen
(serves 2)

• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 Tbsp sour cream
• 1 small to medium tomato (a roma works because since they're not so juicy)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 2 slices cooked, and crumbled bacon
• salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 400degs.  Cut the zucchini in half, length-wise, creating boats.  Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh from the inside.  Leave enough attached to the skin--about 1/2-1/4" all around.  This gives you that perfect boat shape.  Save the innards and chop them up into small bits.  Chop up your tomato too.  Combine the zucchini flesh, tomato, sour cream, most of the cheese (save some for topping), and bacon in a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place the boats in a greased baking dish, and fill 'em up with the filling.  Go ahead and mound it up.  As they cook, they'll be ok.  Or they'll leak out everywhere.  You just never know.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake for about 20 minutes, and then turn the broiler on for just a minute to brown the top.  Make sure you watch it!

Grilled Stuffed Peppers

Gooey, cheesy, grilled goodness.  If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know of my love for oozy, melty cheese on everything.  And these hit the spot!  I can't handle too much heat, so stuffed jalapenos are a bit too much for me.  These tiny sweet peppers?  Perfect!  Not too much heat, but with that crunchy pepper holding in all that wonderful cheese. . .

I couldn't stop eating them, they were the perfect bbq appetizer.  And I wanted to cry as the cheese oozed out as they were grilled and caught on fire.  Such a waste. 

GRILLED STUFFED PEPPERS
Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com
Adapted from: Food And Wine

• Approx 2lbs mini sweet peppers (I found my in a bag at Winco)
• 1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened to room temp
• 8oz cottage or ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese 
• salt and pepper (lots of pepper)
• olive oil 

Cut the tops off the peppers.  If you have mad skills, try to leave them attached a little bit.  If not, we'll use some toothpicks to keep them on. Use a butter knife and scrape out the insides of the peppers and the caps, getting the membranes and seeds out.
In a bowl, mix together the cheeses and salt and pepper.  Be generous here with the pepper.  Lots.  Place the cheese mixture in a ziplock bag, press out all the air, and seal.  Cut a tip off and squeeze the cheese mixture into the peppers.  Or use a piping bag to achieve the same results.  Use a few toothpicks to secure to pepper caps to the rest of the peppers.
Heat your grill up to not quite high.  Brush the peppers with some olive oil, and grill for a few minutes on each side.  Be careful, these get soft fast, and the cheese starts oozing out.  Serve warm.

TIP: Peppers can be made ahead of time and refrigerated overnight if needed.  Let them come to room temp before grilling.

TIP: Have leftover cheese mixture?  Serve it over the Grilled Corn Guacamole.  So tasty!

(Linked up at: See Ya In The Gumbo, )

Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese--Crazy Cooking Challenge

It's that time of the month again!  Time for the Crazy Cooking Challenge.  Can I tell you how much I love participating in this challenge every month?  It's so fun for me to go through others blogs and find recipes to fit the parameter of the challenge for the month.

This challenge was perfect for me.  I LOVE grilled cheese sandwiches.  I lived off them in college, and still eat them quite often.  I especially love when the cheese oozes out of the sandwich, becoming crispy and fried in the pan.  {{drool}}

This sandwich was quick to put together, and had the wonderful taste of spinach artichoke dip.  I used sourdough bread and it was perfect.

Don't forget to check out the bottom of this post (if you follow in a reader, you'll probably have to click over to the actual blog) and see all the other crazy cookers out there who made grilled cheese sandwiches!

SPINACH ARTICHOKE GRILLED CHEESE
Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com
slightly adapted from: A Couple Cooks

• 3 cups chopped fresh (washed) spinach
• canned artichoke hearts (about 3), chopped
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp sour cream
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used a provolone mozzarella blend)
• 4 pieces bread (I used sourdough)
• garlic powder, salt

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the spinach.  Sprinkle with garlic powder and some salt.  Saute just until limp, then add the chopped artichokes.  Saute for another minute or two, until everything is heated through.  Drain off any liquid in the pan, and add the sour cream and some more salt (just a pinch).
On each piece of bread, spread butter on 1 side.  Heat a griddle pan to medium heat.  Add 2 slices of bread to the grill, spread some cheese, the artichoke-spinach mixture, and some more cheese (approx 1/2 cup per sandwich).  Top with the rest of the bread.  When the bottom is browned, flip the sandwich and cook until the other side is browned.