Don't sell yourself short -- you make a mean grilled cheese sandwich!

 

The current popular term is panini, not grilled cheese. See, you're a lot more versatile than you thought!

 

This is a great marinade for meat or chicken. Very good with k-bobs and veggies.

All it takes is equal parts of:

Bourbon (strongly recommend Jack Daniels the mash is sweeter)
Brown sugar
Spicy brown mustard
Soy sauce

Mix well and let meat sit in marinade for 2 - 3 hrs or longer. Put meat on grill and about half way through grilling pour on what was left in the bag.

 

I love cheese. All kinds of cheese except those fake, powdered cheeses you find on cheetos and ball park nachos. American cheese and Velveeta are also not my favorites. Velveeta has the consistency of rotted cheese B U T there are a couple of dishes that simply do not work without Velveeta. This is one of them.

Once upon a time there was a restaurant called Baby Doe's Matchless Mine Company which made a mean Beer Cheese Soup. The restaurant was too expensive for our bare pocketbooks so I asked the ingredients and then spent all day trying to duplicate their recipe. I failed, miserably, but I quit trying because the soup I'd concocted was so much better than theirs. You can put this recipe on my headstone.

Dave Bennett's Beer Cheese Extravaganza

Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter
2 cups MILNOT (canned milk with the butterfat replaced with vegetable oil - ummm yummy)
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch or 3 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp dry mustard
8 -10 oz. beer
2 oz. cheddar cheese
12 oz Velveeta
1 tsp or 1 cube of instant beef bouillon
2-4 drops of yellow food coloring


PREPARATION

This begins life like a basic white sauce.

In a double boiler melt the butter then blend in salt, pepper, bouillon and cook until the bouillon dissolves then add cornstarch and cook 2 more minutes.

Add MILNOT or canned milk slowly. Regular milk doesn't give you the same texture. When the MILNOT is first added the mixture will want to thicken into a paste. Using a whisk stir until all lumps are dissolved and mixture is smooth before adding more MILNOT.

When all MILNOT has been added cook until mixture begins to thicken again then slowly add beer (mixture will want to froth). When soup starts to thicken again add grated cheddar and then cubes of Velveeta until all the cheese melts and you have a smooth texture.

It is just for show, but adding 2-4 drops of yellow food coloring makes your brain say CHEESE!

BEER

The beer is what gives the potion it's distinctive flavor. If you taste the soup prior to adding the beer you will find it an insipid little concoction but it practically stands up and dances once the beer is added.

By the way if you are worried about the alcohol content, don't. Alcohol boils off at a very low temperature.

Try not to use a light beer like Coors. Actually you are better off if you use one of those bottom of the barrel beers. Keystone is the bottom of the barrel beer from Coors and it works great.
One thing you should never do is use wine!! It sounds as if it ought to be pretty good, but it doesn't combine well flavorwise and just makes a nasty mess. There is something unique about the blending of the beer and cheese flavors.

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serve with a little crusty bread to sop it up with and you are ready for a meal around the fire on a cold winter's day.

This can be embarrassing to eat in a group so be sure to wear a bib cause you are sure to drop it all over the front of your clothes.

It's not the drops of soup that are the embarrasing part, it's when the others see the drops of cheese elixer on your clothes and lean over to lick it off that's embarrassing. But look at it this way, it's a great way to break the ice at a party.

 

Ok, I'm going to wing this one. It's a simple Cali-Mex recipe I learned from my mother when I was growing up, -- for open faced enchiladas. Although the ingredients are typical of Norte

 

^My mouth is watering simply by reading this one. I like good enchilada recipes. That bourbon kabobs recipe is another one I must try as I love kabobs. Awesome!

 

This one won't fly around here since Dean doesn't like lasagna or creamed spinach, but it's another super fast & easy dinner I used to like.

Creamed Spinach Lasagna

1 box lasagna noodles -- cooked, rinsed and cooled
2 pkgs (small boxes) creamed spinach -- cooked and cooled a bit so you can 'handle' it
1 small jar of spaghetti sauce like Newman's Marinara or whatever you like
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Spray a casserole dish with Pam.
Spread the creamed spinach on each noodle and roll jelly-roll style and arrange them side-by-side in the casserole dish.
Cover the top with the spaghetti sauce (as much or little as you like)

Heat @ 325* for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Sprinkle with the shredded cheese (as much or little as you like)

Return to oven till cheese melts.

 

That sounds like a really tasty dish, Martha. I'll have to try that soon.

 

^ That does sound good! Speaking of Italian, I tried an experiment with eggplant parmesan at a dinner party we gave. Went over well. It's healthier because not fried. Of course we had the +1's pasta sauce and meatballs. And ravioli, too. Anywho, here's the recipe - no measuring again.

Pasta sauce
One large eggplant
A couple of eggs, whisked in a bowl
Bread crumbs (I prefer plain) in a bowl
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated parmesan cheese

Peel and cut a large eggplant into 1/2-inch slices. Dip each slice into the egg, then bread crumbs, so coated. Put a layer in the bottom of a casserole dish. Season if desired (depending on how much seasoning you have in the pasta sauce - I put in quite a bit of garlic, etc). Put pasta sauce in the center of each eggplant slice, or just pour some over the top (not too much). Sprinkle mozzarella over the layer and some Parmesan. Repeat layering until you run out of eggplant. Bake covered (so the cheese doesn't burn) at 350 for about 45 minutes. Leftovers are yummy, if there are any.

 

^^^ Sounds great. We do both love eggplant and I've never been able to cook it where it was good, so I'll try this one for sure!