Tag: week night meal

Mock Philly Cheese Steak

As a busy mom of a 7 year old boy and a 5 year old girl there is a lot of balance that has to work its way into life on a daily basis. So, when planning what to bring to a Cub Scout planning committee meeting and feeding my family, I decided to just double up! One sandwich for dinner around the table and one to travel. And the best part was, it took relatively the same amount of time. For under $12, I had dinner and a fun treat for a meeting done. Plus, there was enough left over for my husband to bring in to work the next day!

I developed this recipe a few years ago when I happened to have a pound of ground beef in the fridge and a left over loaf of Italian bread. So, today when I placed my grocery pickup order (which by the way if you have not tried grocery pickup, you really don’t know what you are missing!) I simply doubled up on my ground beef and Italian bread and I was ready to go.

Although the real Philly Cheese Steak is a thing to behold, I take a bit of a Mom-cut with this version and it is a family favorite for a quick weeknight meal. It’s also great to bring to a gathering of friends planning out a year’s worth of Cub Scout events or for game day! Not to mention this hot toasted sandwich is a really solid meal to make ahead and keep in the fridge for later in the week or even pop in the freezer for whenever. (Just be sure to cool the ground beef before refrigerating to be safe) Make fresh each time or get a family pack of meat and make 3 or 4 at a time and pull out of the freezer as needed.

Pre-heat oven while prepping.
Start with an onion.





  • Slice onion in one direction and then turn 90 degrees to dice.

A medium dice is nice here.
Add extra virgin olive oil to a large skillet.
Sautee onions until slightly translucent.
  • Add kosher salt.
Grab a couple of garlic cloves.
Finely dice or put through a garlic press.
Once onions have had time to sautee some, add garlic to pan for another minute or so. Careful not to burn the garlic.
One pound of ground beef. This one is 80/20. Use which ever percentage you are comfortable with.
Salt the meat while it is raw before it goes into the pan.
Once onions become golden brown, it’s time to push them to one end of the pan to add in the ground beef. If you choose to, you could remove them from the pan and add in later. But. like I said, this is a Mom-cut version.
Break up your ground beef and start browning.
I was finding my onions were cooking a bit too much so I angled my pan to have the onions off the flame and focus more of the ground beef on top of the flame.
At this point, add in the dried oregano. Adding now helps to develop the flavor of the oregano.
Drain the fat out of the pan and incorporate the onions with the beef.
Turn off heat. Salt and pepper as desired. Let mixture cool slightly.
Lay out a large piece of foil. You want enough that you have a couple extra inches on each side of your loaf.
This is just an Italian loaf I got from Walmart for a buck.
Cut the bread, but not all the way through. The bread should look like it’s on a hinge.
Bread should be nice and soft on the inside. If you choose to, you could hollow out some of the loaf. I prefer to have the bread in tact.
Use an even layer of real mayo.
Spread it out for coverage.
Spoon on your cooked ground beef.
This is hand shredded mozzarella cheese. I always prefer hand shredded, but I wont hold it against you if you get the prepackaged stuff 🙂
You want an even coverage of both meat and cheese on top of the mayo layered bread.
Carefully close it up without breaking the hinging part of the bread.
Hold for stability. There is a lot going on here.
My foil was not extra wide or anything, so I needed to place a second sheet on top of the sandwich.
Then pinch it all closed. I like to fold it together all the way around and then pinch.
I roll up and again pinch to seal the ends.
Place on a baking sheet or pizza stone as seen here and 25 minutes later, you’ll be done.
This is best eaten hot, but it’s hard to hold hot. So, grab a clean kitchen towel to guard against the heat. And then using a serrated knife, cut into 1-1.5 inch wedges.
When it’s hot, the cheese gets all oozy, yum!

Mock Philly Cheese Steak Recipe

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1 t. dry oregano
  • 1 t. kosher salt
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 loaf Italian bread, parted
  • 1 C. Mozzarella Cheese
  • 2 T. real mayonnaise

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil. Sautee onions until translucent, add a pinch of salt. Add in garlic, sautee another minute. Move onions and garlic over to one side of pan. Add in ground beef to other side of pan and brown. Carefully drain fat from pan. Add oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Mix onions and garlic in with ground beef. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the sandwich: On a large strip of aluminum foil place bread and split leaving a “hinge” at back of loaf. Spread mayonnaise on bottom half of bread. Spread meat mixture over mayo. Liberally place cheese over meat. Close top of bread over top. Wrap tightly with an additional layer of foil, sealing all the way around bread. Place on baking sheet and then in the oven for 25 mins. Slice and serve hot. Enjoy!

Pan Seared Asparagus

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Sometimes a simple side is the best way to go.  And if you haven’t tried asparagus in a while, this is the recipe to try!  Please do not confuse this with the stuff you get from the can all mushy and waterlogged.  This asparagus is a flavorful and substantial side dish that is tender yet still has some body to it.

I did not grow up eating asparagus.  As a matter of fact there really aren’t many Portuguese recipes for vegetable preparation because there was never much room on a Portuguese table for green veggies of any kind (well beyond couves/kale of course)! So, when I became and adult and started exploring the world of veggies on my own, I stumbled upon this one and fell in love!  I created this recipe and buy asparagus whenever it is on sale which is about once a month and serve it at my dinner table holiday or not.

If you have never worked with asparagus, you might be surprised at just how simple it is to prepare…

Start with fresh asparagus. This recipe does not work with canned or even frozen asparagus.

Wash and cut off the woody bottoms… I usually remove the bottom 2 1/2 inches.

Heat your oven-safe skillet over high heat with a bit of olive oil. Place asparagus into the skillet altogether.

Sprinkle with kosher salt and Peppercorn & Garlic rub. (I also like to add in some Hungarian Paprika)

Toss in your skillet with some tongs and continue to get a sear on each piece. Then pop in a pre-heated oven for about 5 minutes.

AAA done

Pan Seared asparagus

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh asparagus, washed and trimmed

3-4 Tbs. olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

 

1/2 tsp. Peppercorn & Garlic Rub

1/4 tsp. Hungarian P

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375°F.  Heat skillet over high heat with olive oil.

Be sure asparagus is dry from washing.  Place in heated skillet. Sprinkle with salt, Peppercorn & Garlic Rub and any other desired spices.  Allow to sear for one minute, then rotate which asparagus are making contact with the hot skillet using tongs.

Once all asparagus has been seared, place skillet in the oven for 5-7 minutes.  Serve immediately. Enjoy!

 

Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake

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My husband often works pretty late and on occasion, I will have a meeting to get to late into the evening as well.  On nights like that I am thankful to have the support of my parents who adore my children.  And my kids love going over to Vavó and Vavô’s house!  But, my mom also works all day, so when they will be there up until bed time and the kid’s need supper, I like to bring by something ready to put in the oven when I can.  something easy and portable is this “Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake”!

Of course if I am making this and bringing it to my parent’s house, then that leaves my husband to fend for himself, not to mention a hungry me when I get home… So, what I decided to do to solve that issue was to make one big batch and divide it among two smaller baking dishes, which was more than enough to feed both homes! (Of course you could make this recipe and freeze half too! – just freeze before the final step of popping it in the oven)

This recipe is great for kids because it has a fun cork screw pasta, cheese and it’s not spicy at all… Of course you could kick it up by using a spicy sausage and spicing up the sauce a bit, but my kids love this version and since Mom and Dad were out working late, the kids win.  It’s got all the same ingredients of a lasagna, but it’s got some semi-homemade ingredients like an easy jarred marinara and it takes about 20 minutes tops to prepare! Then, just pop it in the oven and serve!

This meal is easy enough to be a week night meal, pack away as a freezer meal or serve to a crowd! Let me show you how I did it…

Pick a fun tubular pasta with ridges… I like Cavatappi, it looks like a cork screw. Start this boiling before you do anything else so it can be ready when you finish with the other steps.

Take one package (5-6 links) of Italian Sausage, sweet or hot and take the casings off… Today, I went with sweet because it’s meant to feed the kids. Place in a large skillet over medium heat. I like using sausage in this because it cuts down on some of your work be providing flavor right off the bat, plus my husband loves Italian Sausage.  But, if you wanted to use some ground beef or turkey, that would be fine too! You could even make the sauce without any meat at all!

Dice up an onion.

Add the onions right in with the sausage and add just a splash of olive oil right on top to help them get going.

You want to render out the fat from the sausage and bring everything to a golden brown color. If you have some extra fat in the pan you can either drain it or leave it… I didn’t have much fat left in my pan at all.

Now here is the “Easy” in “Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake”… Add in one jar of your favorite ready-made Marinara Sauce.

For some additional moisture and body add in one can of diced tomatoes… If your family is not a fan of chunks of tomatoes in their food, you should still add in one can of tomato sauce.

Add the tomatoes right in, you want them to cook down a bit.

Add in about 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper.

Place two cups of ricotta cheese in a bowl.

Add two eggs in with the ricotta.

Here is another “easy” ingredient… Add in 1/2 cup of pre-grated parmesan cheese.

Stir together making sure to really work those eggs in.

Next, add in some shredded mozzarella cheese.

Once you have a smooth consistency, add in some Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Once your pasta is drained, add in cheese.

Stir together.

Either divide among two baking dishes like I did, or use one 9″x13″ baking dish.

This is a block of mozzarella… You can find it right in the regular dairy case.

For this recipe, you can dice up about half the block.

Dot the top of cheesy pasta with half of your cubed mozzarella.

Pour the sauce on top.

Spread the sauce.

Dot the top with the remaining cubed mozzarella and some additional shredded mozzarella. Then add on a dash of grated parmesan. Now you are ready to wrap this and pop in the fridge for later or bake.  Whenever you are ready to bake, just place in a 350°F oven for 30 mins.

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Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

1 box Cavatappi Pasta, cooked to al dente

For the sauce:

5-6 links Italian Sausage, casing removed

1 onion, diced

1 tsp. olive oil

1 jar marinara sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp. Italian seasoning mix

salt and pepper to taste

For cheese mixture:

2 cups Ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1/2 cup shredded 3. cheese

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 dash salt

1 dash pepper

For topping:

8 oz. block mozzarella, cubed

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

1 Tbs. grated parmesan

Directions:

Cook off pasta to one minute less than the package ingredients, drain.

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown sausage while chopping it into smaller bits with a wooden spoon.  Add in onions and oil.  Render the fat out of the sausage and drain if needed.  Once sausage and onions are brown, add in jarred marinara and can of diced tomatoes.  To the sauce add in Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.  Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine ricotta, grated parmesan, eggs, shredded mozzarella, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Add cheese mixture to drained pasta.  Place in a baking dish.  Directly on the cheesy pasta add on 1/2 the cubed mozzarella, then sauce.  Now dot the top with remaining cubed mozzarella, shredded mozzarella and parmesan.

Bake in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes.  Serve, enjoy!

*Note: If making this recipe gluten-free, just use a gluten-free pasta and follow all instructions.