The Best Thing Ever: Roast Beef Pittsburgh Panini

Let me begin by saying I grew up in a small steel town along the Ohio River. I am from a very very small town, but it is only 45 minutes away from Pittsburgh. I grew up making the drive to that beautiful city. One of my favorite things was going under the tunnel in suburbia and coming out to the most amazing city full of lights. It was breath taking.

One of the staples of Pittsburgh for a foodie is the Primanti Brothers. If you ever visit the Pittsburgh area it is a must try. They make the most incredible Panini's.

I made this for my husband Sunday. He was speechless (the first time ever). He loved it. He loved it so much he called me this morning at 7:30 (DID I SAY AM?)to tell me that he can't get the incredible sandwich out of his head and he will be stopping by ASAP for another panini. Of course, I made him another one......That is what wives do? Right?

Anyway. this is a 10! (Rated by the hubby. This is very rare rating. I think, he is a little stingy on the tens or expects to much. LOL)

ARE You READY!? ONCE YOU TRY THIS...YOU WILL NEVER EVER WANT A NORMAL PANINI.

My Pittsburgh Roast Beef Panini:

The Beef

4lbs Lean Roast
1/4 cp. Montreal Steak Seasoning
4-6 cps Beef Broth
3/4 cp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 Red Onion quartered
4 garlic cloves minced

1. Rub the seasoning all over the beef and then sear all sides. Add the broth, onions, garlic, Worcestershire to the pan.
2. Cook 275 for 3-4 hours.
3. Slice Very thin, against the grain. (I used the slicing on my food processor)
4. Add back into the broth. (This meat tastes even better the next day after sitting in this amazing broth)

The Slaw:

Coleslaw (Pre-made package, very thinly cut cabbage)
1/4 cp. Zinfandel Vinegar
2 TB oil
2 TB Sugar

1. Toss everything together and set aside

Fries or Homemade Fries (I cooked 1/2 bag. I makes 2-3 sandwich's)
(Follow directions. I cook them until they are really crunchy)
Provolone Cheese (1/2 lb)
Tomato
Really Really good bread, I used a Three Cheese from Panera Bread

THE ASSEMBLING
Lay out the two slices of bread. Top the bottom with the a few slices of Provolone cheese, Add the Roast Beef, Add more cheese, Add fries, Add the slaw and then the tomato top with the second slice of bread. Slice in half. I secured with toothpicks.

Take A HUGE BIT of the amazing taste of Pittsburgh! YUM!

Hungry Housewifes Famous Nutella Brownies

My husbands all time favorite treat are brownies. I will be leaving him and wanted to make him something special. I went in the store yesterday and bought Nutella for the first time. I found this brownie recipe and new it was a must try. Not to mention, I knew that HH always has incredible recipes and food.

My Nutella conclusion: Nutella is incredible. I do not know how I lived without it. It will be a staple in my home for now on.

My Brownie conclusion: They are way to good for words. You can find the original recipe here
They are by far the best brownies I have ever had. Chewy. Gooey. Yummy. Goodness.
Don't take my word for it. Give them a try!!!



NUTELLA BROWNIES

1 cp. unsalted butter
2 cps. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1 cp. flour
3/4 cp. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
dash of salt
1/2 cp. Nutella
1/2 cp. Smooth Peanut Butter

1. Melt the butter. Add the sugar and mix. Add the vanilla and one egg at a time.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a different bowl.
3. Slowly add to the wet mixture and combine. Do not over mix. Add the Nutella and Peanut butter. Once again, do not over mix.
4. Add to a 9x13 greased pan and cook on 350 for about 50 minutes. When a tooth pick is inserted into the brownies and comes out clean.

Stromboli

Ah.....This is another childhood favorite. My mom would make this and it would be gone in no time. It also another recipe that I do not see that often. To me, it is a comfort food. It warms my soul.

The funny part about making this dish is that I forget my oven was broke. I had to broil high and cover the Stromboli's and then broil low to make sure it is cooked through. It was difficult, but successful.

STROMBOLI (makes one)

1 Pre-made pizza dough
1/4 cp. thinly sliced onions
1/4 cp. thinly sliced red peppers
1/4 cp. thinly sliced green peppers
1/4 cp. thinly sliced pepperonis
1/4 lb. salami
1/4 lb. pepperoni
1/4 lb. ham (I used capicolla)
1/4 lb. provolone
1/2 cp. mozzarella cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1. Cut the peppers, onions, pepperonis very thin.

2. Roll out the pizza dough. (about 16 in on one end, 10 -12 in. on the other side)
Start layering the meat. Add the pepperoni in rows, then the salami over top, then the ham, then the provolone. Top with the mozzarella cheese. Add the peppers, onions and 1/2 tsp. of Italian seasoning.

3. Roll. Roll toward you and tuck like a burrito. When you finish rolling tuck the ends to the bottom and seal. Brush the egg wash and the rest of the 1/2 tsp. of Italian seasoning on the Stromboli

4. Cook on 375 for 30-45 minutes.

Enjoy.

The Forgotten Cookie: No Bakes!

As I said before, I have a broken oven and it is putting me in baking withdraw. LOL.
I told my husband yesterday that I was thinking of going to one of my girlfriends house to bake in their oven. His response:

"Are you crazy?" "Why can't you just wait?"

For those foodies who also have that undying passion to bake can relate. It has been almost a week since my ovens heating element exploded on me. I actually ordered the part for next day delivery. I hope to get it today. CROSS YOUR FINGERS FOR ME.

Anyway, I was trying to come up with a great cookie for my baby girls without baking...

Then I remembered the days my mom would make these insanely yummy cookies. I could eat the whole batch. (Still could...)It was a huge hit. My girls loved them.

NO BAKE COOKIES

found on allrecipes.com

1 stick of butter

1/2 cp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cps. vanilla sugar

pinch of salt

3 HEAPING TB of unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cps instant cooking oats

1/2 cp. peanut butter

1. Add the butter, milk, vanilla, vanilla sugar and salt to a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Boil for one minute and remove from oven. QUICKLY add the oats and peanut butter. Then spoon onto parchment paper. Let set up.

Let me just say, I have had trouble with no-bakes sitting up. You have to let it rapidly boil for only a minute and then add the remaining ingredients.

ENJOY!!!!

Chicken Gyros and an Apology

First of all, I apologize that my posts are not as frequent as I would like.
It will be cray for the next month. I am leaving for a family vacation August 14th. I can't wait. I have not seen my twin sister, little sister or nephew since Christmas and my parents since March. I am counting the days. I am preparing mentally for driving 11 hours with two little girls by myself. If you have an advice...PLEASE TELL ME!

My dilemma is that when I get back from vacation we are suppose to move and vacate our residence by Sept. 1.

My husband sold a HUGE job in Gainesville, FL and he will have to be there to oversee the project. But we are not exactly sure when his company will send us there....so we are in limbo. BASICALLY, we are not sure where we will be September 1st. I have started packing to move and for the family trip. Cross your fingers for me!!!

Plus, I cannot bake. IT is killing me. My heating element in the bottom of my oven EXPLODED!!!

For some reason, they said it was over used..LOL

Thanks to my readers and followers for their faith and understanding. I love you guys!

Pita Bread
Peppy's Pita Bread at Allrecipes.com

1 1/8 cp hot water
3 cps AP flour
1 tsp salt
1 TB vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1. throw everything in the bread machine in this order. If you do not have a bread machine you can add everything to a mixer and let rise for about an hour.
2. Roll into 12 in. rope then cut into 8 equal pieces. Then roll out the equal balls 6-7 inches around the pita. Cover. Let sit for 30 minutes.
The recipe say to bake at 500 for 5 minutes...MY OVEN IS BROKE. I Broiled the bread, but it still turned out really great.

The Greek Tzatziki Sauce

2 cps of Light Greek Yogurt
1 English Cucumber, seeded and diced up
3 garlic cloves, pressed
3 TB. Lemon O Olive Oil
2 tsp. vinegar
salt and pepper

I mixed all together...Yum.

The GYRO

4 chicken breast
1 cp. Greek salad dressing

I marinated the Chicken in the salad dressing over night. Before making the Gyro, I pulled out and allowed to get to room temperature. I added a few tablespoons of butter and browned the chicken. The chicken was really good.



2 cps of lettuce, cut very very thin
1/2 onion, cut very thin
1 tomato, cut very thin

TO ASSEMBLE: I open a pita and then layed the chicken, the tomato, the lettuce, the onion and topped with the sauce. Serve.

I did not steam or warm the pita and wish I had....

ENJOY!!!!

Book Review at my Fav. Site!

Check out http://hungryhousewife.blogspot.com/ It is one of my all time favorite sites. She reviewed a wonderful book called "too many cooks".

Give it a gander. If I win the giveaway I will tell you all about the book. It sounds fantastic!!

Peach Vanilla Ice Tea

Peach Vanilla Tea, what could be better in the 100 degree FL weather?

Not to mention, I made this decaf so my two little girls could have some too.

It is pretty simple. This is how I made it:

2 peaches sliced in wedges
1 1/2 cp water
1 vanilla bean
1 1/2 cp. sugar

I made a simple syrup. I brought this slowly to a boil and then I shut it off and let it sit for 30min to an hour. I used a potato masher to bring more of the peach juices out. I only pushed down on the peaches without breaking the peaches apart.
When finished put through a strainer and add the simple syrup to a pitcher.

I cooked 4 big tea bags or 8 small in my tea kettle with 4-6 cps of water until it whistled. I then added it to the pitcher. Topped the pitcher off with ice and water.

Makes 1 gallon.


Enjoy!!