June in Review

The Recipes
Favorites are noted with an asterisk!

Breakfast

• Gourmet Scrambled Eggs
• Ham, Egg, & Cheese Sandwich
• Java Glazed Cinnamon Rolls*
• Bell Pepper Hole-in-One*

Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki Sandwiches

This is a great, no-hassle recipe that you can fix ahead of time and have ready at dinnertime. The crockpot is an amazing tool to use during the summer when it can be so hot that you can't stand to turn on your oven or slave over a hot stove.

Philly Cheesesteak Calzones

Earlier this month, I posted the first burger recipe in my Philly Cheesesteak obsession and now it's time for the first calzone recipe. Next time I make this recipe, I'll either use my favorite pizza dough recipe OR crescent rolls. But it's Philly Cheesesteak, so you know it's delicious!!

Pass the Cook Book Club: Crunch Burger

I missed out on last month's PTCBC, but I was ready for this month because it featured a cookbook by one of my favorite chefs: BOBBY FLAY!! The cookbook...

Source

Kita gave us three burger recipes to choose from: Greek Burger, Crunch Burger (aka Signature Burger), and Provencal Tuna Burger with Roasted Garlic-Tomato Aioli. I really really wanted to do the Tuna Burger, but I don't know a place to get fresh, good quality tuna up here. I decided to do the Crunch Burger and even went out on a limb and decided to try the horseradish mustard mayonnaise too.

I was surprised at how much I LOVED the horseradish mustard mayo and the burgers were just extraordinary with potato chips on a potato bun. We will definitely be making these again soon. It's safe to say this is my new favorite burger.

14 Unforgettable Chicken Recipes

Row 1 (left to right): Crispy Chicken with Scallion Waffles, Grilled Chicken & Pasta with Basil Cream Sauce, Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Row 2 (left to right): Chicken Parmesan, Baked Fried Chicken, Bacon-Wrapped Chicken with Asparagus, Japanese Steakhouse Hibachi with Chicken & Steak with Veggies

Row 3 (left to right): Popcorn Chicken, Chicken & Asparagus Penne, 3-Envelope Chicken, Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Row 4 (left to right): Slow Cooker Tex Mex Chicken, Creamy Chicken with Noodles, Sweet & Spicy Bacon Chicken

What are some of your favorite chicken recipes?

Feel free to leave links in the comments!

Pizza Burgers

It's no secret that I cannot get enough of some PDub recipes. She posted about pizza burgers and then she posted about supreme pizza burgers very soon after. Both of these are recipes that I seriously wanted to try. Just look at them in this picture Ree posted that I pinned.

Now you may need to go get a napkin and wipe that drool off your chin, keyboard, etc. because those burgers look like they are bursting with flavor and they ARE.

Of course, my burgers don't have burger buns because I have this horrible luck with buns molding - because a lot of times I have to buy fresh bakery buns instead of the prepackaged due to my oldest having a sesame. And these juicy burgers cannot sit on a cheapo bun.

Secret Recipe Club: Zingy Green Smoothie

This month I was on the hunt for a good summer-y recipe from my assigned blog: Food Baby Life written by Aussie mom of two, Susan. I almost went with the The Hulk Green Smoothie...and can't help but have been tempted by these Easy Nutella Brownie Bites or these Cappuccino Brownie Bites. But ultimately I decided upon the Zingy Green Juice recipe and modified it to a smoothie recipe because unfortunately I don't have a juicer. But I really wish I did! I cut down one apple and used Greek yogurt as my base with a little bit of pineapple juice.

I loved how just absolutely delicious this smoothie was. The kids gobbled it up too, which is a huge deal to me because Matthew is much like me where he won't really eat a lot of fruits because of their texture - smoothies/juice are usually the perfect compromise. I can't wait to make it again because I want to put in my popsicle mold! The lemon and ginger really brought out that little zip to make it more than just a fruity sweet smoothie :)

Bell Pepper Hole-in-One

This has to be one of the very best things I've found on Pinterest. I thought for sure I was going to end up with a dud recipe and it was going to be a completely disaster. I just pictured the eggs running out of the pepper ring and being a total mess, but they were so easy to make.

I'm sure there are many different things you can throw in there with the egg while it cooks through, but this is just the basic recipe. It's great for a quick breakfast that isn't the same ole, same ole. Plus they can look really cute and/or fancy for breakfast.

Bacon Hasselback Potatoes

Today is my oldest's last day of Kindergarten. I cannot believe it's already been a whole school year! It's only a little bittersweet because my youngest starts Kindergarten in the fall, so I may get to see the Kindergarten teachers a little longer. AND although at the beginning of the year, I was worried about Matthew warming up to the other kiddos, he's made friends in other Kindergarten classes too. So I'm not at all worried about him going to 1st grade. Cami is completely like her daddy and can make friends with anyone, so she's gonna be set for Kindergarten. Especially since her brother comes home and encourages her to learn and soak up all the stuff he knows.

Completely unrelated to today's recipe, but a little bit of my personal life anyways! Plus there isn't much that can be said about this tasty little side dish. It's an great way to switch up boring old baked potatoes and you get bacon in each bite.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars

I made homemade dulce de leche specifically to make these cheesecake bars. Our monthly steering meeting's potluck theme was Mexican and I thought these would be the perfect dessert. It is a labor of love and took a few hours to make all the pieces of the puzzle, but in the end it was completely worth it. These bars are rich, but unbelievable. They turn out in a completely awesome way - you can see all the layers - and it looks so impressive. I, of course, had extras and took them to the company where they were gone in an instant. I think it's almost expected that I come in with some type of food if I visit :)

Kale Soup

It's definitely not-soup weather for most of the US and finally it's almost not-soup weather in New York. I think we're gonna stay at least in the 70s for now. However, I'm still catching up on recipes I've made in previous months, so you'll have to stash this away for a super cold summer night or fall.

I really didn't like sausage at all prior to this year, but I have come around with all these amazing soups with Italian sausage I've been making. During the cooler months (which is most of the year here), we have soup every Wednesday for dinner. I'm not sure why but Nick is obsessed with soup, so this was his request: Soup Wednesdays. Both of us thought the only thing lacking in this soup was more kale. It was so flavorful.

Homemade Dulce de Leche

I first found out this recipe years and years ago when my friend and fellow army wife, Jaime, stuck a few cans in a saucepan. I was a little baffled and thought she might've bumped her head or something - but she reassured my skepticism with explaining this method of easy and delicious caramel or dulce de leche.

I guess a lot of people call this the bomb method online. You do have to babysit the cans while you are simmering them. They have to stay COMPLETELY submerged in water. As long as they are covered in water completely, they won't explode.

Bang Bang Chicken

I have seen a lot of bang bang shrimp recipes around, but I'm not the biggest shrimp fan so I didn't bother looking to see what it entailed. When I saw bang bang chicken, I definitely perked up my ears. The sauce definitely had my interests peaked. Overall, it has an amazing crunchy coating and the sauce is perfection.

Spicy Hawaiian Fried Rice

Fried rice is one of my absolute favorite things in the whole world to eat. I never really thought of doing any variations of it, but I ADORED PDub's version of pineapple fried rice and decided I should come up with a Hawaiian version of fried rice. And for added measure, add a little heat to it!

Brown Ale & Cheddar Soup

I mentioned in my last beer soup post how much I was digging beer in food. This is perfect situation for me because Nick brews more beer than he can drink by himself and it's GREAT tasting beer. But also funny because when I ask if I can nab a beer for a recipe, he gives me this poor puppy dog sad face. But not his precious brew! But he always loves how the recipes turn out :)

I paired this delicious bacony beer soup with the Jalapeno PJ Cornbread Bites from earlier this week.

Java Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

13 Spiffy Sandwich Recipes

Sandwiches are probably the most made type of food in my house. Grilled cheese, burgers, sloppy joes, you name it, we'll eat it! Today I wanted to share some of our favorite sandwich recipes.

Center: Philly Cheeseburgers

Clockwise from top left hand corner: Crispy Chicken with Scallion Waffles, Garlic-Rubbed Bacon & Tomato Grilled Cheese, Kinda Like Chick-fil-A Sandwich, Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes, Hawaiian Pizza Grilled Cheese, Big Evil Cheeseburger, Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese, Bacon Chicken Avocado Club Sandwich with Garlic-Basil Mayo, Baconator Burger {Copycat}, Fried Mozzarella Sandwiches, Copycat McDonald's Cheeseburgers, Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese.

What are your favorite sandwich recipes?

Feel free to share links in the comments!

Jalapeno Pepper Jack Cornbread Bites

I was super nervous to make these - I've never really experimented much with an actual batter instead of just dry ingredients and egg. But they were surprisingly kind to me and gave me no issues whatsoever. They were a pretty quick fix too and definitely full of flavor. I normally don't like cornbread, but I think I ate almost half of these bites!

How to Make Mashed Potatoes with Your KitchenAid

Best purchase that I've made for my kitchen to date is my Kitchenaid mixer. It's seriously amazing and with so many attachments, it's incredibly versatile as well. One night I was making baked potatoes and thought of how I really really wanted mashed potatoes. I didn't feel like getting out my hand mixer or using my handy dandy potato masher. I wanted a fast, painless method and *dink* lightbulb came on when I saw my Kitchenaid. I particularly LOVE having the skins on my potatoes and that includes in mashed potatoes.

Sandwich Week: Ham, Cheese, & Egg Breakfast Sandwich

To end Sandwich Week, I thought I'd go with a yummy breakfast sandwich. I personally don't believe that one egg is enough for an egg sandwich, so I doubled the egg...and if you have 2 eggs, you gotta have 2 pieces of cheese. I've also started to put the butter in the skillet instead of buttering the bread and getting my hands all greased up.

Sandwich Week: Pineapple Bacon Burger

I am no stranger to meat + pineapple. I love it with ham, chicken, pork, and definitely beef. My favorite kind of pizza is Hawaiian. I found this burger recipe on Pinterest and recognized the blogger - which is always a plus - love finding new recipes from my fave bloggers.

This is a very easy burger to make and the pineapple definitely adds such a great juiciness to the burger and it's so good with the good ole American cheese and crunchy, salty bacon. Y'all have to take a risk and try this burger! You will not regret it!

Sandwich Week: Philly Cheeseburgers

It's time for a little burger love in the Philly Cheesesteak realm. What makes this burger better than any burger...in the history of burgers...is the beer cheese sauce!

Sandwich Week: Muzzi in Caruzzi

Sandwich Week: Baconator Burger {Copycat}

Back in high school, I used to eat fast food all the time because of marching band, but since getting married and having a family, fast food is rarely something we eat [or sit down restaurants either]. We do get fast food on our long 16-hour road trip to and from New York & Tennessee. But my body has since adapted to NO fast food and every time we eat it - my stomach is in knots.

I've been really big into making copycat recipes lately and this one definitely takes the cake! My favorite fast food places are Wendy's and BK - and I always get either a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger or Baconator any time I go. My husband claimed witchcraft when he ate it - asking how I managed to make it taste like Wendy's!

Sandwich Week: Roast Beef & Grilled Onions

It's Sandwich Week here on Fantastical :) Sandwiches are one of my favorite kinds of food. I think mostly because you can have a sandwich for any meal [including snack] - they are so versatile!

I'm kicking off the week with a recipe I found on Pinterest that I thought my husband would totally dig. And I was right! I couldn't get enough of that ooey gooey cheesy picture that was posted. I really want to try this sammy with actual roast - I'm thinking a BBQ sauce smothered, slow cooked roast :)

Gourmet Scrambled Eggs

I make eggs for breakfast on a regular basis. My husband loves eggs - he begs for them. So it's always nice to have a few variations. Most of the time, I make my own and that's all fine and dandy, but sometimes it's great to have someone else give ideas and combinations for something new to try.

Now since Nick is deployed, I like to eat things I know he wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole...like mayonnaise in everything. This recipe here is no exception. The mayo adds a richness to the eggs and basil and chives together is a sweet combination.