Hot Hoagies

I've made this before but forgot to take a picture of it!  Now I can share a super simple recipe that you can use if you're short on time or just don't feel like putting in an hour + on dinner!

3/4 c. butter, softened

1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix

6 hoagie buns, split

12 to 16 oz. luncheon meat (whatever you love!)

12 thin slices cheese (you choose!)

Combine butter and salad dressing mix; spread 1 tablespoonful inside each bun.  On bottom of each bun, layer one slice of meat, two slices of cheese and another slice of meat; replace tops.  Spread 1 tablespoon butter mixture over top of each bun.

Place on a baking sheet.  Broil 6 in. from heat for 2-3 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.

Personally, I like having the first meat layer turkey, then swiss, then ham.  Easy quick meal!

Successful Fried Rice

I love all kinds of fried rice, from the fresh home-cooked to the Panda Express version.  But I’ve only attempted it once.  We were living in Peru and I REALLY didn’t know what I was doing…the final product proved that.

But I stumbled upon this blog post a few days ago and had to try it. Fortunately, all the ingredients (or at least those from this recipe that I wanted to use) were in the house already – whoohoo!

A tasty success.

A little tidbit probably unknown to most of you: Over the past 100 years, there have been many Asian immigrants to Peru – I believe mostly from China, but I could be mistaken.  So, there are little Chinese/Peruvian restaurants everywhere called “Chifas.”  You can find fried rice almost everywhere in Peru, though it’s not an original dish to the country.  We most often heard it called “Arroz Chaufa.” 

At the very inexpensive restaurants (~$1 USD for a gigantic plate of fried rice), you never really knew what exactly would be in the dish – sometimes it looked more like leftovers all fried together.  But we just ordered and enjoyed.  It’s usually best not to ask questions.

2009 Flashback: Christmas Dinner

Dishes I made:
Mashed potatoes (small yellow potatoes) with brown gravy
Sautéed green beans
Sweet potatoes (with marshmallows/brown sugar/cinnamon)
Homemade frozen crescent rolls (with butter/jam)
Turkey ham
Carrots (sliced and cooked)

For Dessert:
Peppermint Cake
Vanilla Ice Cream

We invited Leanne Bennett, Alyssa Klassen, and Rachael Miller over for dinner.  The 5 of us ate a giant yummy feast, if I do say so myself. :)

P.S. This was all prepared on my tiny range with one oven rack! Ha.