Pepperoni Rolls

These were an instant hit, and easy to make.

Yield: 36

1 bag (36 count) frozen dinner rolls

pepperoni slices (about 230)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Arrange frozen rolls on a large sheet cake pan or platter. Allow space between the rolls.

Cover with paper towels or kitchen towel, and thaw at room temperature for 1 hour.

When rolls are softened, flatten a roll in palm of hand. Arrange 6-8 slices of pepperoni in the roll. Add small amount cheese.

Fold sides up to cover pepperoni and roll into a ball or oval shape. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Continue doing same with all of the rolls. When arranging on baking sheets, keep about 3 inches between each pepperoni roll. Cover with kitchen towels and allow to rise at room temperature for about 4 hours.

Bake @ 350 degrees until rolls are light golden brown.

Remove from baking sheet onto a paper towel lined plate to drain grease from the bottom, if necessary (I did not need to do this). Allow to set for about 2 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Store in an airtight container or wrap individually in cling wrap.

Whole Foods Chicken Salad

We finally got a Whole Foods grocery store out here in the desert. In their deli counter was a real good looking chicken salad, so I decided to try it out. Oh my gosh, it was so good! I told BreeAnn, who was with me when we bought it, that I could make this easily. And easy it is! I have no actual ingredient amounts for this, just add as you feel you would like. I will, however, give you approximate amounts on some ingredients.

Rotisserie chicken from Costco, or wherever
Sliced celery
Sliced red seedless grapes
Whole or halved pecans
Mayonnaise (1/2 cup)
Fage non-fat plain Greek yogurt (1/2 cup)
Sugar (1-1/2 to 2 tsp)
Curry powder, to taste

Remove the skin before you dice up the chicken. I save it, along with the carcass and simmer it to make stock for soup. There is a lot of flavor in that baked chicken skin (and I always buy the darkest roasted chicken in the case, just for this reason). Obviously you can use as much chicken as you wish, and as much celery, grapes, and pecans also.

Toss all this in a bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, blend the mayo, yogurt (must be Greek yogurt because it's thicker). Add sugar and curry powder to taste. Then just toss it with the chicken mixture.

At our Sam's Club they sell an outstanding multi-grain bread called Eureka. Oh my gosh, it is so darn good! So soft and tender. Just loaded with grains and nuts. And this chicken salad on some of this bread is EUREKA!  Everyone in this house is crazy for this combination in a sandwich, but the salad is just as good eaten plain.

Chili Dogs

Dave is a Wiener Schnitzel addict. Now I mean, if someone can love those dogs with canned chile on them, they're gonna go nuts with a homemade Coney Island style sauce. Up in Wisconsin we can get hot dogs with a natural casing on them. Try to find this kind of dog if possible. They crunch with every bite.

1/2  lb  bacon, cut into small pieces
1  large  onion, chopped
2  lbs  ground beef
4  garlic cloves, chopped
1  (15 oz)  can  tomato sauce
1  cup  beef broth (plus more if simmered longer)
2  Tbs  molasses or honey (I use molasses)
2  Tbs  sweet paprika
1  Tbs  ground cumin
1  Tbs  chili powder
1  tsp  cayenne (optional, but I use it)
Salt to taste (I omit this)

Natural casing hot dogs
Buns for the dogs
Chopped red onion, for garnish
Shredded cheese, for garnish (mild cheddar or pre-shredded Mexican blended cheeses are good choices)

First make the chili. Fry the bacon over medium heat until it begins to get crispy. Then add the onions and fry over high heat, stirring often, until they begin to brown. Add the ground beef and chop up while cooking. Cook over medium-high heat until the beef is browned, but half-way through cooking add the chopped garlic.

Once the beef is well-browned, add the tomato sauce, molasses, and beef broth. Add all the spices except the cayenne. Stir well. Bring to a simmer and taste. Add salt if necessary, and the cayenne if using. You can add more cayenne and chili powder if you like things really spicy, but it's best to taste it first.

Let the chili simmer gently for at least 30 minutes before you start grilling the hot dogs. You can cook it as long as two hours if you want to, but you will need to add more beef broth all along the way when it gets dry.

Grill your dogs over medium heat until they get a light char. Grill the opened buns briefly, if you want to. No more than one minute as they will burn easily. You can paint the buns with butter,vegetable or olive oil, before grilling, if you want to.

Top with desired garnishes, and have plenty of napkins on hand.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Sliced sourdough bread
Butter or margarine
Monterey Jack, Longhorn, and Swiss cheese slices
Red onion, thinly sliced
Chopped black olives
Chopped, seeded tomato

Butter the outsides of bread. Put the buttered side down on griddle, or large frying pan. Layer slices of the various cheeses, onion, tomato, and olives. Top with a bread slice (buttered side out).

Grill very slowly on both sides, over low heat, to be sure the cheeses melt.

Bacon, Egg, and Avocado Sandwich

Makes 2 open-face sandwiches.


2  slices  sourdough bread, whole grain preferred
1  ripe avocado, thinly sliced
4  slices  tomato
4  strips  bacon, cooked
2  fried eggs

Fry bacon to desired crispness; set aside. Reserve bacon grease in the pan. Slice tomato and avocado. Set aside.

Butter both sides of bread. Place on a griddle and lightly fry on one side. Turn and fry on the other side until golden. Meanwhile, fry two eggs in the bacon grease left in the pan, easy-over.

On the lightly grilled side of the bread, lay two strips of bacon on each slice.  Then place half the avocado slices and two tomato slices on top. Place the fried egg on top and serve.