Scrumptious Sandwich Saturdays

Today I am sharing with you one of Madisen's favorite lunches. She loves helping me make these Chunky Egg Salad Sandwiches. I have to be honest with you all and say that I do not put the red onion, the celery or the dill in this recipe when making it with the girls. To them, anything that can be seen or is too crunchy is not OK and will be picked out. I have made this recipe in full with my sister and it was very good! I hope that you all enjoy it.

Chunky Egg Salad Sandwiches

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

12 large hard boiled eggs

1 stalk celery (with leaves), chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 table. chopped fresh dill

2 table. whole - grained mustard

1 table. plus 1 teas. freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teas. kosher salt

Sourdough bread, or your favorite bread, sliced

1. In a small bowl soak the onion in cold water, for 15 minutes. Drain

2. Cut eggs into desired size (I have the girls help me by using the egg slicer and we cut them twice, once length wise and once weight wise).

3. In a large bow, mix together the onion, celery, mayonnaise, dill, mustard, lemon juice, and salt.

4. Add the eggs to the mayonnaise mixture and gently mix them together. Season with pepper to taste. Serve on bread.

Fall Is In The Air!

I sit here at my computer with the windows open and the fresh cool air drifting in. The last few days have been cooler with a few thunder storms and some overcast days. We are coming to fall and I love it! As much as I love summer and all the fun activities that come with it, I am not a big fan of the lack of structure and spontaneity of all the activities.

Now with fall coming we move into a more regular schedule. I do not yet have any children who are starting school, but we do have the start of a woman's bible study class, Awanas, Sunday evening classes and, with all of these activities, brings more regularity to our weekly routine.

With growing up in California we did not have four defined seasons and I have really enjoyed the changes of seasons we have here in Indiana. Soon the leaves will start to change colors and what a beautiful sight that is! I look forward to the smells and scents of harvest, apple crisp cooking in the oven, my favorite Yankee candles Harvest burning on the kitchen table, just to name a few.

I also love this time because I start planning for winter, getting the house ready for a cold winter, going through wardrobes and planning out what everyone needs for the cold weather ahead. I also cannot forget planning for Christmas. I love planing for Christmas: seeking out the right gifts and bringing together all the details for making special memories with our girls, and helping them focus on the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our savior Jesus Christ.

I hope that each of you will take a moment to stop and take in the beauty that God created around us and the blessings that each day holds. It is so easy for me to get caught up in all that needs to be done that it is easy to miss all these wonderful things.

Scrumptious Sandwich Saturdays

It's that time again! Time for another one of our favorite sandwiches. This is a sandwich that I read about over at the homespun heart a few weeks ago and made it right away, and I think it is going to make a frequent appearance on our lunch menu. Today I am sharing the Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

This sandwich is so rich and delicious! It makes for a nice change from the same old grilled cheese sandwich we normaly make, and I normally have on hand all the ingrediants to make it. This recipe makes enough for us to get two lunches out of it. I just froze half of the Italian loaf and defrosted it a few days later and the sandwiches tasted just as good as they did on the first day. I did not use quite a 1/3 c. of the cheese mixture on each sandwich. If you give this sandwich a try I hope you enjoy it!

The Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich

1 pkg. 3 oz cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. mayonnaise

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. seasoned slat

10 slices Italian bread (cut 1/2 inch thick)

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened

Mix cream cheese and mayo until well combined. Stir in remaining cheese and seasonings. Spread about 1/3 c. mixture on one slice bread. Butter both outside edges of bread and toast in skillet until lightly browned.

Family Night

Most every Thursday night we have Family night. Tonight we made mini candy apples. I had found this idea in a recent issue of Family Fun magazine. The girls had so much fun making them. Ours definitely did not turn out as perfect or as cute as they looked in the magazine, but the important part is that we had fun together and they tasted good!

These were a little harder to make then I had hoped. After cutting out the apples, the apples were very juicy which made it hard for the butterscotch and chocolate to stick to the apples. The directions tell you to use lollipop sticks which I think would have worked a lot better than our toothpicks. I was just not able to track down any lollipop sticks. Just in case any of you would like to give these mini apples a try here are the directions. Enjoy!

Mini Caramel Apples

You will need:

• 4-inch lollipop sticks
• Melon baller
• Granny Smith apples (one apple makes about 8 mini apples)
• butterscotch or peanut butter chips (or we used chocolate chips)
• Chopped nuts, nonpareils, sprinkles, shredded coconut, etc
• Small paper candy cups

First, cut the lollipop sticks in a half at an angle (the pointy end will go into the apple pieces easier). With the melon baller, scoop little balls out of the apple. Each ball should have a section of apple peal. Push half of the lollipop stick into the peel of each ball. Pat the apple pieces dry.

Melt the chips according to the package directions. Dip and swirl the mini apples in the melted chips, then roll the apples in nuts, sprinkles, nonpareils, or coconut, if desired. Place the mini apples in paper candy cups to set (If you are going to make these ahead of time you might want to place them onto wax paper to set and then into the candy cups).

Congratulation!

I want to congratulate my sister Sarah and her husband Danny on the arrival of their little bundle of joy. Annika Rose was born this morning at 5:05 am, at 6 pounds 8 ounces, and 20 inches long. Isn't she cute! Annika is healthy and both mom and baby are doing well! We love you both and cannot wait to meet our new little niece and cousin!

Scrumptious Sandwich Saturdays

For the next few Saturdays I want to share with you some of our favorite sandwich recipes. The alliterated title is thanks to my husband. I am following his example as he loves to do this in his sermons. I have to say though he is much better at it than I. 

The sandwich that I am going to share with you today is one that a friend served at a recent baby shower. It was so good that I made it for my sister's baby shower. Every last sandwich was eaten. These little sandwiches are delicious! They would be great for brunch, lunch or dinner. I always love to see a picture of the recipes I cook so I am sorry that I do not have one for you. Hope you enjoy this sandwich as much as we have.

Ham Sandwiches

2 packages of Hawaiian buns

1 pound shaved ham

8 oz. Swiss cheese

Glaze:

3/4 cup melted butter

1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds

2 tablespoons dried onion

1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Mix all the glaze ingredients together and set aside. Cut rolls in half and place the bottom halves in a greased 9x13 dish. Layer with ham and cheese. Top with half of the glaze. Place the tops of the buns on and spread remaining glaze over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Watch carefully as the burn easily. Enjoy!