Food to Go: Spicy Hot Ham & Swiss Croissants

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We are going on a picnic this weekend!

MGG and I found a wonderful place to relax and have a picnic in Griffith Park.  It's a beautiful area with lot of shade trees, flowers, and a huge grassy area perfect to laze away the afternoon and have a picnic with great food.

On the menu will be some favorites of our such as my Garden Fresh Pasta Salad, Fruit Salad with a Red Currant Raspberry Sauce  , Orange Ice Tea, and Banana Pudding Jars, but the star of the show will be these outstanding sandwiches. 

Steamy hot sandwiches fresh from the oven that are so mouthwatering, and travel like a dream!  One of my favorite sandwiches is a Hot Ham & Cheese.  I've upped the anti on these by making a spicy condiment and placing it all on a hot flaky croissant.  Heaven!

SPICY HOT HAM & SWISS CROISSANTS

These sandwiches are bursting with flavor.  Melty Swiss cheese is the perfect compliment to the delicious deli ham.  The spicy mustard sauce bumps up the flavor and gives them that extra POW that takes these to the next level!  

Oh! and they travel soooo well.  Wrapped up in aluminum foil and hot from the oven just pop them in a bag.  They will stay warm until you reach your destination which could be a park, beach, potluck party or a pool party. We've even taken them to an outdoor concert and they were easy to eat and they taste outstanding.  

These sandwiches will change the way you look at Food to Go....they are a game changer for sure!

Enjoy!




Spicy Hot Ham & Swiss Croissants

serves 4

4 Tbls Spicy Brown Mustard
2 Tbls Mayonnaise
8 slices of Swiss Cheese
1 lb of deli sliced ham
4 Croissants
Aluminum Foil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a small bowl add the mustard and mayonnaise and mix well.
Split each croissant and spread the mustard mixture on each side.  Add 1/4 of the ham to the bottom slice and top with 2 slices of cheese.  Place the top of the croissant on the sandwich.  Repeat with remaining croissants.

Wrap each sandwich with aluminum foil and place them on a baking sheet.  Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.  You want to heat the ham and melt the cheese really well.  Remove from the oven and serve, or pack and take to your destination.

Lightening Fast So-Cal Chili

On weekends I tend to cook meals that are a little more time consuming.  But the day before a holiday, when you have a big bash planned, who wants to spend a lot of time in the kitchen?  Not me.  So that's when I pull out one of my quick weeknight meals.

I'm thinking my Lightening Fast So-Cal Chili sounds perfect.  This chili is a game changer for weeknight meals.  30 minutes is all you need.  Dinner...done.

My dad was a big chili fanatic growing up.  Me not so much.  I do recall my mom making chili often but since I didn't care for it then (finicky eater...) I didn't pay much attention to the type of chili she made.  When I started to appreciate a good chili I set out to find a good beef one.  MGG loves chili, so I had to be on my game to find one (or several) he would enjoy.  Most of my go-to chilis are made with some sort of stew meat or chuck roast.  Those have to be cooked low and slow to become tender. 

So the question was, how do we cook chili on the weeknight and still have a hearty beef chili?  

Use ground sirloin!  The meat still has a 10% fat ratio, and has great flavor.  The plus is that it cooks up quickly!  So by using ground sirloin plus a handful of other ingredients you can have a hearty, slightly spicy, beef and bean chili on the table in 30 minutes.  No joke!

LIGHTENING FAST SO-CAL CHILI

I use California Chili Powder in the recipe, however you can use whatever chili powder you prefer.  I also add in some cayenne pepper for a little heat.  Feel free to adjust it to your liking for a hotter preference or leave it out altogether.  I named this So-Cal Chili as an ode to southern California and all the fresh avocados that are abundant.  So on they go as a topping with a dollop of sour cream which help cool down the spice from the chili.

I hope you enjoy this and try it soon!  Please leave me a comment if you do.  I love to hear from you.

Enjoy!





Lightening Fast So-Cal Chili

1 lb ground sirloin
2 tsp minced garlic
1 large shallot, diced
1 15 oz can chili beans, drained (mild or hot)
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tbls California chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Toppings:  sour cream, avocado (optional)

In a dutch oven add the ground sirloin, garlic, and shallot.  Cook over medium heat, stirring to break up the meat until browned.  Add the chili beans, and tomato paste.  Cook the tomato paste a few minutes then add the water.  Stir until the paste has liquefied and all is well combined.  Add the chili powder and cayenne pepper (if using) and stir until combined.  Cover and reduce heat, simmering for 15 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a slice of avocado.

Drop Cream Biscuits

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Want to learn how to make the easiest biscuits ever?

Well if you can mix together flour and cream then you can have biscuits just like that!  Drop the dough on a baking sheet and bake them until they are golden and tender but slightly crispy. OH Sooooo good! These biscuits are ultra-tender, and the fastest + easiest biscuits you'll ever bake!

Dug out of the depths of my family's recipe box, these biscuits remind you of the ones your momma, or grandma made.  The tenderness can't be beat!  

It's the day before Memorial Day and May 29th is National Biscuit Day! What a better way to honor that with the easiest biscuit ever.  To make the mini-biscuits I used a tablespoon cookie scoop such as this one.  I wanted to have a delicate biscuit to go with our array of breakfast items.  Plus they would double as a side dish for some So-Cal Chili I was making later in the day.

If you would like regular sized biscuits use a spoon and form them to your liking but you may need to adjust the baking time a little so they fully cook.  A simple baking sheet is all that is needed to bake them on.  You should either leave the sheet ungreased, or use parchment paper. (These work really well as they come pre-cut and already sized for your baking sheet)   Both ways work really well.

So if you have a love of biscuits like our family does, be sure to make these really soon.  They really are The. Easiest. Biscuits. EVER!

Enjoy!

Drop Cream Biscuits

makes 12 mini biscuits

1 1/2 cups Self-Rising Flour
3/4 cup heavy or whipping cream

*If the dough doesn't come together readily, dribble in an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons cream, to make it totally cohesive


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a bowl mix the flour and cream until well combined and forms a dough.

Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough onto an ungreased baking sheet. Leave an inch or so between biscuits.  Brush the tops of the biscuits with cream.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until they're light golden brown on top. Remove from the oven.  Serve warm, or at room temperature. Any leftover may be stored in an air tight bag for several days, or frozen.




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