Roast Beef and Cheese

Yesterday I made a roast called Buttery Sriracha Pot Roast.  It was delicious but I did have some left over so what do I do with it?  Well, I love roast beef and cheese sandwiches with sauted onions.  My friend loves this too but he is having a problem with a couple of his teeth making it hard for him to chew sliced meat, no matter how tender.  So, I solved this problem simply by putting the leftover, along with the onions and juice, into my processor.  I pulsed just enough to chop but not ground.  Then I mixed in shredded cheese and as Emerald says "BAM."  I have roast beef and cheese with onions that can be eaten even if you do have a tooth problem.  

Add as much or as little cheese as you like or don't add cheese at all until.  Saute some bell peppers, drizzle with a little steak sauce or even BBQ sauce.  No matter how you like your sandwich, the beef is ready for anything you might like to add.

Another good thing about this is that it can be frozen for later use.  This was a great idea that I'll continue to use even after my friend gets his teeth fixed.

4 Wonderful Tastes of Italy

There's nothing like a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce flavored with garlic, topped with cheese and pesto.  These 4 ingredients are what you always want to have on hand when making your tasty Italian dishes.

Tomatoes:
Fresh - Tomatoes are at their peak during late summer but they can be found year-round.  When buying look for vine-ripened for best flavor.  When out of season, you can choose canned which can be just as flavorful.
Sun-dried - For a richer taste, sun-dried tomatoes are a great choice.  They're vine-ripened and have been naturally dried to remove all of their water, leaving them chewy and full of concentrated flavor.

Garlic:
This is actually a cousin of the onion.  When cooking, break apart the head of garlic and remove the skin form individual cloves before shopping.
The smaller you chop garlic, the stronger the flavor.  Chopping or pressing releases more of its essential oils, giving the strong garlic aroma.

Cheese:
Mozzarella - This popular, mild-tasting cheese is great for cooking and foods like pizza because of its great melting qualities.
Parmesan - Is known for its sharp flavor.  This firm cheese is excellent for grating and enhances the flavor of your favorite Italian dishes.
Romano - Is another firm cheese with a tangy, robust flavor.  It makes a great topping for vegetables too and can be substituted for Parmesan when you want a bolder taste.

Pesto:
This delightful sauce is usually made with a mix of basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil.  You can also find other types made form sun-dried tomatoes or red bell peppers.
If you grown your own basil or purchase it fresh, you can make your own pesto.  This sauce adds rich flavor to soups, chicken, fish dishes and pasta.

I've found that these 4 ingredients are a must for my kitchen and I try to never be without them.

Cheese Tidbits

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Cheese Straws

The original recipe for this called for 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese.  I have about 1/2 cup of Parmesan and about 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheeses that needed to be used.  I combined these with 1 cup of cheddar for my cheese.  The original also called for a tsp. of pepper.  This I eliminated but did add a Tbsp. of a herb blend that included Rosemary to half of my mix.  This gave me 2 flavors and also helped me use up some leftover cheese.  So for this dish Think With Your Taste Buds!
View the full recipe by going to Martha's Recipe Cabinet.

Horsey Radish Cheese Spread

Each year I go to the Southern Christmas Show here in Charlotte.  Each year I have to try the different dips that are out for everyone to sample.  I seldom walk away without purchasing at least 1 package.  This year I discovered a new flavor.  It's Amelia's Chowda Shack - Horsey Radish Dip.  The dip is simple to make using the flavoring packet, mayo and sour cream and I love horseradish but wanted to Think With My Taste Buds and see if I could come up with something other than dip.  So in the kitchen I went and this is what I came up with:

1 cup soft cheese (velveeta type), melted
1 pkg (8 oz.) sour cream, softened
1/4 cup mayo
1 pkg Horsey Radish Dip

Mix all together.  Serve with crackers and/or veggies.  When stored in the refrigerator, let sit out for about 30 minutes to soften.

This spread was such a hit at work that one of the girls wanted the order form for Rand Hill Farms so she could order her own flavor packets. 

Sargento Cheese Tasting

Due to my participation with Foodbuzz Tastemaker's program and Sargento, I was chosen to compare Sargento's 100% natural cheese products to other brands on the market.  I gave it some thought and decided that several opinions was better than just 1 so I worked up a little cheese tasting party and invited some of my neighbor friends. 

In preparation for this little tasting I bought 4 different Sargento cheese flavors - Cheddar, Swiss, Provolone and Cheddar Blend.  I also bought the same flavors in another brand.  Tastemaker had sent me a "Taste Test" fact sheet so I worked up voting vouchers for each of my guests.  They were to judge the different cheeses by look, texture, smell and taste. The cheeses were placed in separate dishes with their name, such as Cheddar, and either an A or B on the dish.  This way my guests could judge each cheese but had no way of knowing which brand was which.  Their ballots were simply marked i.e. Cheddar Cheese A, Cheddar Cheese B with rankings.

Here are the final results:
Cheddar  - Sargento 7; Other Brand 4
Swiss - Sargento 8; Other Brand 3
Cheddar Blend - Sargento 8; Other Brand 3
Provolone - Sargento 6; Other Brand 5

I also served fruit, crackers, fresh made chicken salad and wine along with the cheese.  Apparently, my guests also thought the event was a success considering they all wanted to know when we could do it again.

Home Tips

 Sent to me by a friend

Thought I'd pass this along, some good tips.

DID YOU  KNOW? ,      Take  your bananas apart when you get home from the  store. If you leave them connected  at the stem, they ripen faster.   Store your opened chunks of  cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much  longer and not mold!  Peppers  with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for  eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the  bottom are firmer and better for cooking.  Add  a teaspoon of water when frying ground  beef. It will help pull the grease  away from the meat while  cooking.  To  really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple  of Spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy  cream; then beat them.    Add  garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light  taste Of garlic and at the end of  the recipe if your want a stronger taste of  garlic. Reheat  Pizza Heat leftover pizza in a  nonstick skillet on top of the stove; set heat to  med-low And heat till warm. This  keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this  on the  food channel and it really  works. Easy  Deviled Eggs Put cooked egg yolks in a  zip lock bag. Seal; mash till they are all broken up Add  remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up  mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy; squeeze  mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done - easy  clean up.  Reheating  refrigerated bread To warm biscuits, pancakes,  or muffins that were refrigerated, place them  in A microwave next to a cup of  water. The increased moisture will keep the  food Moist and help it reheat  faster.  Newspaper  weeds away Start putting torn newspaper  in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet  newspapers, Put layers around the  plants, overlapping as you go; cover with mulch and forget  about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening  plastic; they will not get through wet  newspapers. Broken  Glass Use a wet cotton ball or  Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see  easily. Flexible  vacuum To get something out of a  heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper  towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to  your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow  openings. Reducing  Static Cling Pin a small safety pin to  the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt  or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when  wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... Ta  DA! .. Static is gone.  Measuring  Cups Before  you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with  hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup.  Next, add your ingredient (peanut butter, honey, etc.) and  watch how easily it comes right out. ?  Foggy  Windshield?  Hate  foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in  the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with  the eraser! Works better than a  cloth! Reopening  envelope If  you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to  include something inside, Just place your sealed  envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It  unseals easily. Conditioner Use  your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper  than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth.  It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought  but didn't like when you tried it in your  hair. Goodbye  Fruit Flies To  get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it  1/2 with Apple Cider Vinegar And 2 drops of dish  washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn  to the cup and gone forever!  Get  Rid of Ants Put small piles of cornmeal  where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't  digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so,  especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have  the worry about pets or small children being  harmed! INFO  ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS The  heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that  fixes things around the house for us told us that he  wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer  and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always  clean the lint from the filter after every load of  clothes.) He took the filter over to the sink and ran hot  water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material  . I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks  like. Well .... the hot water just sat on top of the mesh!  It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer  sheets cause a film over that mesh - that's what burns out  the heating unit. You can't SEE   the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets  to make your clothes soft and static free. You know how  they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box ...  well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint  screen. This is also what causes dryer units to  potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best  way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and  to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter  out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush  at least every six months. He said that increases the  life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about  that!?! Learn something new every day! I certainly  didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd  share! Note:   I went to my dryer and tested my screen by running water  on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly  collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it  with warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done  in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it ... the water ran  right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all!  That repairman knew what he was talking about!  PLEASE  PASS THIS ON TO OTHER FRIENDS IN YOUR ADDRESS  BOOK. NOT  ONLY COULD IT SAVE SOMEONE'S HOME, BUT IT COULD SAVE a  life !