Showing posts with label Quick and Easy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quick and Easy. Show all posts
Ham and Cheese Braid. I am in love. Not only is this sandwich bread/ braid use only four ingredients, but it is also incredibly delicious!
Yes, you heard that correctly. ONLY FOUR INGREDIENTS. Four ingredients and about half an hour of your time, and you and your family can be enjoying this tasty hot sandwich too!
I had some leftover ham that needed using up and I had also bought some refrigerated crescent dough, which needed using.
I don't know why I do it, but, every time they put that stuff on offer at the grocery store, I end up bringing home one or two cans! Its inevitable.
I can't remember the last time I actually rolled it into crescent rolls. I most always use it for something else. It is actually a pretty handy store cupboard refrigerated ingredient to have on hand!
I use it for all sorts. I have filled them with just about everything under the sun. My Pumpkin Pie Rollups are really popular around here this time of year. So are my Reuben Roll Ups.
To be honest you can fill refrigerated crescent rolls with just about anything and come up trumps! Seriously!
These Cherry Croissants are a real favorite of mine. Cherry Pie filling stuffed into a crescent roll, baked in a muffin cup and then drizzled with an almond drizzle frosting.
I mean, what's not to LOVE about that!
Today I had a quantity of leftover cooked ham to use up. I went searching online and found this delicious recipe on Plain Chicken.
Not only did it look quick and easy to make, but it included a lot of my favorite things. Ham. Cheese. Honey Mustard. A triune of amazing flavors that go together really well.
I also just happened to have everything I needed in my refrigerator. So it was a go from the start!
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE HAM & CHEESE BRAID
Not a lot really.
- Refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough
- Cooked baked ham
- Grated cheese
- Honey mustard
Its simple really.
There are other things you could use rather than the crescent roll dough as well. Ready rolled all butter puff pastry would work very well as would your favorite baking powder biscuit recipe.
You can find mine here. It would work beautifully. Just roll it out into a rectangle and proceed as per the recipe states. It is the same with the puff pastry.
Its my mom's baking powder biscuit recipe, which does make rather a lot, so if you decide to use that, shape and cook half of the recipe as biscuits (which you can freeze to enjoy another time) and half as this tasty braid.
HOW DO YOU MAKE HAM & CHEESE BRAID
Its really simple to make these. As simple as one two three. I like to start by making the filling.
You begin with already cooked ham. You can either use leftovers from a ham dinner, or you can start with cooked ham you have bought in the shops. You need to cut it into small cubes or pieces.
If you are using leftover cooked ham, cut the ham into slices about 1/3 of an inch thick. Stack the slices and then cut through the stack into strips. Then cut the stacked strips into smaller pieces crosswise. (I hope that made sense.)
Pop this into a bowl and add the grated cheese and honey mustard, mixing it all together well. Start preheating your oven now.
Now you need to unroll your croissant dough. I do this right on a piece of baking paper on a baking sheet. You will note that there are already cut separations and perforations in the dough.
Press these closed with your finger tips until you have a solid sheet. (They may fall apart a bit anyways when baking, but not to the detriment of the bake.)
Eyeball the rectangle of dough and visually divide it into thirds lengthwise. Spoon the ham filling down the center third of the dough. It will look like a lot.
Personally I took the cue from Plain Chicken and reserved a bit of it to spoon on the top at the end. As you can see from the photos, it looks really scrumptious that way.
The other two thirds of the pastry rectangle is what will be used to braid over top of the filling. Snip the dough almost all the way to the filling on either side of it.
Make about ten strips on each side, ending about 1/2 inch away from the actual filling. You want each strip to be at least 1 inch in width. The next part is the fiddly part, but even that is fairly easy.
I say fiddly, but it really isn't and there is no right or wrong way to do it. Gently pull the strips up and over the filling to cover it, one at a time and criss crossing them with the strips on the other side.
Just as if you were doing a braid, or plait as it is called in the UK. Don't tug on them too hard as you don't want them to tear. The important thing is that you reasonably cover the filling so that it doesn't ooze out all over the place.
That's it. You have shaped it and now it is time to bake it. (Don't worry if you have reserved some for topping, you don't add that until just before the bake is finished.)
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the oven, adding the additional ham cheese mixture (if using) for the last five minutes of the bake.
Its done when the cheese has melted, the filling is hot and the pastry is flaky golden brown.
Oh my but this was some tasty. It would make a fabulous lunch served with hot cups of soup, or as a snack on game nights.
You could also add a bit bits to it if you were really keen, like chopped spring onions. But I can promise you it is pretty tasty just as it is.
I really hope that you will want to make this tasty bake. I can already see all sorts of applications for this idea. Tuna melt. Hot chicken salad. Roast beef and cheese, etc. As you can see my wheels are turning in overtime!
Delicious!
Ham & Cheese Braid
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min
Quick, easy to make and using only 4 ingredients. This is a great way to use up leftover ham. Its delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 can of refrigerated crescent rolls
- 1 1/2 cups (225g) cooked ham, chopped
- 2/3 cup (80g) shredded medium cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup (60g) honey mustard
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375*F/190*C/gas mark 5. Have ready a baking sheet which you have lined with baking paper.
- Stir the ham, cheese and honey mustard together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Open your can of crescent rolls. Unroll the rolls lengthwise on the baking sheet. Do not separate into individual rolls. Leave whole.
- Press together any seams or perforations so that you have one solid sheet.
- Spoon the ham/cheese/mustard mixture down the center of the sheet of dough. (reserve some to spoon on the top if desired)
- Cut the sheet into strips down each side of the dough, leaving about 1/2 inch clear next to the filling.
- Pull each strip up and over the filling alternately to cover, creating a braided pattern.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. If you reserved some filling to spoon on top, remove from the oven at 20 minutes, spoon the filling over top and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
- It is done when the cheese has melted, everything is heated through and the pastry is golden brown.
Notes:
If you don't have crescent roll dough a sheet of all butter puff pastry works well. Also in the UK you can use Ready Rol refrigerated Croissant dough. Alternately you can use your favorite recipe for baking powder biscuits. Use one that makes 8 to 10 biscuits.
Have you ever had one of "Those" days? You know the kind of day I mean. A day where everything you touch turns to dust.
This has been one such day for me. I had a ton of stuff to do and nothing was working out. I found myself in a bit of a funk and was quite unsure as to what to cook for my dinner. I was hungry, but really didn't want to put in a lot of time or effort.
I was really late getting up, which made me late doing everything else. I couldn't get my mind to settle on any one thing.
I found out I had to teach in RS/PH next Sunday and am not really prepared. My kittens knocked a glass of drink all over my floor that I had to clean up (thank goodness it didn't end up on my PC).
I knocked my fruit fly trap off the counter onto the floor and it was full of bugs, so I had to clean that up. Blech. Not my cup of tea.
Tomorrow is bin day so I was trying to get my garbage ready to put out. I have two small boxes of broken glass so decided to condense then into one and ended up with broken glass all over the floor. (Try keeping two nosy kittens out of that!)
My bag of plastics and tins, etc. fell over and half emptied on the floor. I had to pop everything back in and decided to mop the floor because . . . well . . . by then it needed it.
I had someone complain about ads on the page and had to explain to them why they were necessary. I wish that they weren't but it is what it is. The only way I can afford to live in a place of my own is if I make an income, and this blog is it.
I am not some huge conglomeration with a bazillion people working for me. I am just me, and I do all the work here. It is not as fancy, admittedly, as some other people's blogs. There are no videos for instance.
My photos may not even be as good as they are on other people's blogs. But I do my best and I do this every day. I spend hours doing it. Cooking. Photographing. Editing. Writing things up. Answering comments, questions, etc.
There are some expenses which I incur to do this. I pay for a registered domain, which is a necessity. I pay for a program which gives my readers the option to print the recipe. I pay for an e-mail program which means I can send out a newsletter each day to let people know I have posted. I pay for photo storage.
I pay for the cost of the food, and all of my utilities. The internet. Electricity, hot water etc.
In return my readers have access to already tested recipes, and there are almost 5000 of them on here. Admittedly I could have a better index system, but I am working on that.
I work hard developing and testing recipes that work out well and won't fail. (so long as you follow the instructions) And I do it every day.
I respond to all the comments left, not only on here, but also on the Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, etc. If anyone has a question I do my best to get back to them right away, or as soon as I can!
For years and years I did all of this for not much more than the pleasure of doing this. But, through no fault of my own, last autumn I found myself in need of an income, and so I put ads on the page. I have to say I am very grateful for the income that they bring me.
Were it not for them, I would not have a home. They pay my rent. I never worked in jobs where I had a pension plan and I earn a basic state pension. I get no other benefits. I don't have a partner or a husband to help split the cost of living expenses. This blog is it.
People happily pay for recipe magazines, often at a huge cost, and for recipe books. I was astonished at the cost of a recipe magazine these days when I returned to Canada. $15.99 plus tax for many of the better ones.
And they are filled with ads. You might only cook one or two things from out of them as well.
All it costs you to look at my page is your time. Nothing more, nothing less. And you have access to a data base of almost 5,000 recipes.
I personally think its good value, but admittedly I am a bit biased.
Anyways, thinking about all of this and my comedy of errors around the house, etc. put me in a bit of a funk, and I was having a hard time settling down to making something to eat.
And then I remembered this recipe. Its simple. It uses store cupboard ingredients. Its quick and easy. Most important of all, its DELICIOUS!
Admittedly it is a far cry from a traditional chili recipe. If you are wanting one of those, I do have some very good ones on here. You can find a recipe for a very tasty baked one here: Chili with a Difference
I also have a great recipe on here for Simple Chili. Then there is The Best Chili Ever, always a winner.
White Bean Turkey Chili. Creamy White Chili. Fireside Skillet Chili. Just to name a few. There is no shortage of chili recipes.
Today I am sharing Quick & Easy Chili. Its quick. If you can open a few cans, you can make this. It uses ground turkey, so a bit healthier than ground beef, although you could certainly use ground beef if you wanted to.
It goes together in next to no time and is a real belly warmer.
Its a bit on the sweet side because of the brown sugar used, but its delicious. You could leave that out entirely if you wanted to, or cut it back. I love it with as it is.
It is just spicy enough. It uses a full TBS of mild Chili powder. Don't make the mistake in the UK of using regular chili powder. The chili powder here in North America is adulterated with lots of things like garlic and oregano. Its not pure and is a heck of a lot milder, so adjust accordingly.
You can dress this up if you wish by adding canned corn or green chilies, peppers, etc. But I can assure you, even at its basic right here, its delicious.
Children love this and so do I. I enjoy mine in a bowl with a grated spicy Tex Mex blend sprinkled on top and some crusty bread to mop up all of that delicious sauce. Enjoy, and thanks for listening.
Quick & Easy Chili
Yield: 4
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 30 Min
This is a bit sweeter than most chili's but it is incredibly quick to make and quite delicious. It is the perfect choice when you want something on the table pronto that is filling and belly warming.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 can (15 3/4 oz/ 425g) baked beans with pork
- 1 can (14 1/2 oz/400g) tin of chopped tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (10 3/4 oz/305g) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
- 1 TBS soft light brown sugar
- 1 TBS mild chili powder (in the UK play it by ear)
To serve:
- Grated cheese (I use a Tex Mex blend)
- crusty bread
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the turkey and the onion. Scramble fry the turkey over medium heat until the turkey is no longer pink and the onion has softened. Drain if necessary.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until heated through and all of the flavors have melded together.
- Ladle into heated bowls and serve hot with some grated cheese sprinkled on top and crusty bread on the side.
Sometimes you want a dessert that feels special but that won't take up a lot of time or ingredients. I confess, I can be rather lazy like that at times, in fact I would say most of the time.
My time is precious and I am so busy that it can sometimes be a struggle to get in all the things I need to get done! That's when desserts like Pain Perdu come in really handy.
In France, French Toast is actually called Pain Perdu, which loosely translated means lost bread. It was designed to use up every scrap of bread, especially stale bread.
With its sinfully crisp and buttery crust and exquisitely sweet custardy interior, it turns something which might be thrown away into something quite magical.
It makes a fabulous brunch or breakfast at the weekend, but let me tell you this. Something mystical happens when you make it with leftover cake or sweet loaves.
This isn't breakfast or brunch any longer. This is a fabulously quick, easy and delicious dessert! A dessert I would even serve to company!
If you are regular readers of mine, you will recall that the other day I baked Mary Berry's Swiss Roll cake. Oh my but it was some good.
But, like any cake, it was best eaten on the day. Its still good the second day, but by the third day it was needing some help. I was going to make French Toast for breakfast this morning and I did.
Using some stale Brioche that I had. And it looked really good. But then I spied the leftover swiss roll sitting on the counter and my wheels started to spin.
What if I used the same method to cook that? What if indeed!
You know me when I get an idea in my head. I won't rest until I execute it! The French toast could wait for another day.
I wanted Pain Perdu . . . made with cake . . . with some fruit and ice cream . . . dessert for breakfast and why not! Yes, I can be very naughty at times.
And so that is what I did and it was fabulous. I cut the leftover swiss roll into 1 inch thick slices and then I dipped it into the cream and egg mixture I had for the French toast and I fried it in butter.
I felt like that was okay because, the cake itself was fat free. Half a dozen of one, six of another.
I toasted it in a skillet in foaming butter until it was olden brown on both sides. The edges all crisp and caramelized.
The interior staying soft, fluffy and soufflé-like. Almost like a bread pudding. Rich from the cream and eggs.
Not overly sweet. It doesn't need to be. There was that sweet swirl from the jam already and then served with fruit and ice cream, you didn't need any more sweet.
This was quite simply fabulous and so quick to make.
I was only going to eat a tiny taste of it (I had only done one slice because I had already done two slices of French toast.)
But before I knew it, it was half gone. Oh my, but it was some good. I abandoned the idea of having French Toast for breakfast and just had this in its place.
I used a frozen mix of fruit on top. Mango, peaches, strawberries. I had bought some raspberries, but they went moldy overnight. I hate it when that happens.
I hate wasting money like that. It makes me not want to buy fresh fruit at all. I think sometimes because we live here, low in the valley we are at the bottom of the food chain or something. I have been very disappointed in the quality of fresh fruit and vegetables available, unless you get it at the Farm market.
Most of the stuff in the grocery shops is sub-standard. People told me before I went to the UK that their food was rubbish. I have news for them. It was a bazillion times better than what I am finding here. But I digress.
Before I knew it, frozen fruit or not, my plate was clean and my breakfast had been replaced with a delicious, quick, easy and fabulous dessert.
Some days are just like that n'est ce pas?
You don't have to use swiss roll cake for this tasty pudding. You can use any kind of cake you fancy that is going a bit stale. Gingerbread, pumpkin loaf, pound cake, etc. All would be exceptional.
A quick and easy dessert from what would normally be thrown to the birds. What more could you ask for!
Yield: 4
A Simple Pain Perdu
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min
A homey comforting dessert that is a cross somewhere between a bread pudding and French toast. A very simple make, this makes the ideal dessert served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some fresh fruit.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (160ml) heavy cream (whipping cream)
- 2 large free range eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
- 2 TBS sugar
- 4 (1 inch thick) slices of your favorite plain cake (I used swiss roll, but you can use pumpkin loaf, pound cake, angel food cake,etc.)
- 1/4 cup (60g) butter for cooking
To serve:
- Icing sugar to dust
- a good vanilla ice cream
- fruit of your choice
Instructions
- Whisk the cream, eggs and sugar together in a large shallow bowl or container. Dip the first two slices of cake into the egg mixture and leave to soak up for 5 minutes.
- Melt half of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter begins to foam, add the cake slices. While they are cooking soak the remaining slices of cake.
- Brown the slices of cake over medium heat, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towel and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining slices of cake in the remaining butter as above.
- Place one slice on each of four dessert plates. Dust with icing sugar. Top with some fruit an a scoop of ice cream and serve immediately. Deliciously simple!
I am sure many of you have heard of Tuna Melt sandwiches. They are a real favorite here. I have several recipes for them on the blog.
There is the Classic Tuna Melt, which is a really good sandwich and my absolute favorite. Then there is the Parmesan Pesto Tuna Melt, also very good.
Then there is the Tuna Melt Casserole. All the flavours of a traditional tuna melt, except in a casserole dish. Delicious! With broccoli, a tasty cheese sauce, pasta and melting cheese on top.
I have even made a Tuna Melt Tart. Equally as delicious. I just love Tuna Melts.
I usually have leftover chicken in the house that needs using up. I eat a lot of chicken. Its probably my protein of choice.
I am always looking for tasty ways to use it up. Today I decided to create a Chicken Melt sandwich recipe. A sort of a riff on the classic tuna melt, but open faced, and with some different flavors in the mix.
I decided to go with some Tex Mex flavors and make it a tiny bit spicy. I love interesting sandwiches, don't you? Boring is highly over-rated!
And this delicious open faced chicken melt sandwich is anything but boring!
I shredded some cooked chicken, leaving it rather chunky. I have a confession. I am not overly fond of shredded meat. Its a consistency thing.
Yes, I am not a lover of pulled pork, or pulled anything else. I just don't like stringy meat. Call me crazy.
So some of it is shredded, but I left a lot of it chunky as well. I mixed that with some mayonnaise for creaminess, and some sparky spice.
Taco seasoning. (You should how much heat you want to add.) Lime juice. Salt, pepper. And Tabasco sauce.
You can use the red tabasco if you want, but I really love the green tabasco sauce. I splash it on all sorts.
Eggs, in soup, on sandwiches, etc. And it goes fabulously with the other flavors in this sandwich, I have to say. I just love the stuff.
I also added some grated Jack cheese. Spicy Jack. With Tex Mex flavors. Just enough to bind the chicken together with everything else.
I also added chopped spring onion, or scallions as they are also called. These add a bit of color, some sharpness and some crunch.
This all gets mixed together and then piled onto slices of rustic bread. I used a sour dough boule I had bought at the shops.
You want a sturdy bread. Something which is going to stand up to that filling. No wimpy bread allowed!
Just pile the chicken filling onto the bread, spreading it out a bit. Then sprinkle on some more cheese. I like to be a bit generous with the cheese.
But that's me. Your sandwich (s) is/are ready now to pop under the grill. It doesn't take very long to warm them up and melt the cheese. Not long at all. Your chicken should already have been warmed anyways.
I usually pop it into a bowl and warm it in the microwave while I grate the cheese and chop the onions. Easy peasy.
Once they are heated through the the cheese on top has melted, and the edges of the bread are turning golden brown, you sandwich is ready.
Just pop them onto a plate and sprinkle some more chopped spring onions over the top. I like to serve some salad leaves on the side. For health reasons. (ROFL)
If you want to you can splash a bit more hot sauce on top. Yum!!
These are delicious knife and fork sandwiches. The quantities I have given are for two sandwiches, but you can easily double it to serve more.
Or half it yet again to serve only one, which is what I did.
This made a delicious light lunch. Perfect for one or two. Nothing else needed, although if you wanted to serve them with a light soup, that would generally go down well also.
Something light though. Like a tomato soup or some such. You won't really want anything hearty.
And there you have it. The Southwest Chicken Melt Sandwich. For two. Deliciously simple and incredibly filling.
Southwest Chicken Melt Sandwich
Yield: 2
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 5 MinTotal time: 10 Min
Tangy spicy chicken salad on a slice of sour dough, topped with cheese and grilled. This makes a delicious lunch with some salad on the side!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (135g) cooked and shredded chicken, gently warmed
- 2 tsp taco seasoning
- 1 TBS fresh lime juice
- 1/2 tsp tabasco sauce (red or green, you decide)
- 1/8 cup (30g) mayonnaise
- 3 ounces (85g) Jack cheese, shredded and divided
- 3 spring onions, washed and thinly sliced, divided
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 thick slices of a sour dough boule
Instructions
- Place your oven rack about six inches away from the broiler and preheat the broiler.
- Combine the chicken, mayonnaise, taco seasoning, lime juice, hot sauce and half of the cheese and spring onions in a bowl.
- Place the slices of bread onto a baking tray. Divide the chicken mixture between each slice, covering them completely. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.
- Pop the baking tray under the broiler and cook the sandwiches for 3 to 4 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the edges of the bread are turning golden brown. Watch carefully so that they don't burn.
- Serve topped with the remaining spring onions and some salad on the side if desired. Delicious!
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