How to Have a Meal of Hearty Sandwiches back You Just Don't Want to Cook

Sometimes a cook is just too tired to cook a full meal.  There is nothing wrong with serving sandwiches sometimes, especially these sandwiches.  Hero Ham Sandwiches take only about 15 minutes and you are serving your family warm sandwiches of meat, cheese, vegetables, and of course, bread.  Serve with fruit and you have a complete meal.  The Quick and Easy Meatball Heroes are ready in minutes.  In this sandwich you have meat, soup, cheese, and lettuce.  Again, serve with baby carrots or a bowl of fruit for a complete meal.

HERO HAM SANDWICHES
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced into rings
1 green bell pepper, sliced into rings
1 lb Honey Baked ham slices
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
2 French baguette loaves, cut into thirds
6 tsp Dijon mustard
Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onions and bell peppers; saute, stirring until vegetables are tender. This will take about 5 minutes. Cool slightly. Preheat the broiler.
Lay the baguette sections on a cutting board and slice each horizontally. Spread each bottom part with the Dijon mustard. Layer the ham slices and the onion mixture over the bottom baguette slice and sprinkle a generous tablespoon of cheese over the top. Place the open-face baguette slices on a baking sheet and broil for 3 to 4 minutes until cheese is melted. Replace the top slices and serve warm.
Serves 6.

QUICK AND EASY MEATBALL HEROES
1 pkg precooked frozen meatballs, slightly thawed
1 can tomato soup
1 soup can of water
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Hero sandwich rolls
Shredded lettuce, if desired
In a medium saucepan, put the soup, water, garlic powder, basil, oregano, and pepper. Mix well and heat to almost boiling. Add the meatballs to the soup mixture and cook until heated through. Place meatballs in sandwich rolls, spoon some sauce over meatballs, and sprinkle the shredded cheese over the meatballs. Top with shredded lettuce, if desired.
Enjoy!

Hearty Potato Soup for Paula Deen Sweepstakes

3lbs Red Potatoes, cut 1" chunks, cook in salted water until almost completely cooked (use 8 quart sauce pan) While potatoes are cooking finish the remaining ingredients. In a skillet set at medium temp: Cook 1/3 pkg of smoked bacon cut up in bite size pieces add 1 med onion, cut into small pieces (size of large pea) to the bacon and bacon grease 3 cloves garlic minced, add to onion and cook for additional 1-2 minutes (when cooked set to the side) Check potatoes and if they are almost completely cooked, drain about half the water. (remaining keep with the potatoes) Add to the potatoes: 3 stalks celery, cut into small pieces 1 large carrot cut up into small pieces 1/4 cup red pepper, chopped small pieces 2 cups ham cut into small bite size pieces Stir and keep on med to low heat. For the creamy sauce: In a 1 1/2 quart sauce pan on med heat, add 4 T butter (melt in sauce but be sure not to burn butter) 3 T flour, whisk this in the hot butter until creamy and thick (about 2 minutes), add 4oz of cream cheese and continue whisking until completely blended. 32 oz of chicken stock, slowly whisk this in with butter/flour mixture and cream cheese mixture but only a little at a time until you have added all of it. 1/2 quart of cream, whisk this in after adding chicken stock. Add remaining ingreds to this mixture and continue to cook for an additional 10-15 minutes on low to med heat but be sure to continue stir/whisk. Add half of the cooked bacon, onion and garlic 2 cups shredded ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwVhGTPWeMw&hl=en

A Hearty Ham and Cheese Melt!!

How to make a Hearty Ham and Cheese Melt with Eggs and Tomato Soup!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF8ZrLYqfs4&hl=en

Hearty Fall Soup Recipes

Cream of Lima Bean Chowder

1/2 cup diced bacon
1 small minced onion
1 pint fresh lima beans
3 cups water
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups scalded milk
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley

Croutons

Put bacon in saucepan and cook until crisp. Remove bacon and cook onion in the fat. Add lima beans and water and cook until beans are tender. Thicken with flour which has been rubbed smooth with just enough water to moisten it.

Cook 3 minutes, add milk and bring to the boiling point. Season with salt and paprika. Sprinkle parsley over the chowder just before serving.

Thick Pea Soup with Homemade Croutons

1 1/2 cups split peas
1/2 teaspoon fresh or dried mint, optional
3 pints ham broth (or any other flavor you prefer)
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Wash the peas thoroughly. Soak overnight in cold water. Bring to the boiling point in the water in which they were soaked.

Add the mint and broth. Cook peas till tender, then rub through a sieve. Moisten the flour with a little cold water, stir into the boiling soup and boil 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper if needed and serve with croutons.

Homemade Croutons

Cut a slice of bread into small dice. Bake in a slow oven till golden brown. Or if preferred, melt a tablespoon of butter or shortening and cook the diced bread in it until crisp and golden brown.

Corn Chowder

2 cups cooked corn
1 cup chopped bacon
1 cup potatoes, cut in cubes
1/2 onion, sliced
3 cups water
2 cups scalded milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
2/3 cup cracker crumbs

Salt, pepper

Fry bacon in skillet, and onion and saute. Pare and cut potatoes in one-half inch cubes, parboil five minutes. Add to onion, with corn and water. Cover and cook 20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.

Melt butter in a saucepan, add flour, stir to a smooth paste, pour some of the milk on slowly, stirring constantly. Combine with first mixture. Add crumbs and seasonings.

Hearty Irish Soup Recipes

When you think about famous Irish food, perhaps dishes like beef in Guinness, potato bread and roast ham come to mind. Corned beef with cabbage is another popular Irish dish and the Irish definition of corned beef is silverside, topside, or brisket, which has been picked in brine.

A lot of typical Irish meals are nutritious, flavorful, and hearty. So, what about Irish soup recipes?

Examples of Popular Soups and Broths

Although you are just as likely to see a French onion soup on a modern menu in Ireland as a traditional beef and vegetable broth, Ireland is famed for some of its more popular soups. Potato soup, pea and ham soup and mutton broth are very popular and these broths are thick, warming, and delicious served with soda bread or rye bread.

Broth and soup recipes in Ireland tend to be simple combinations of meat or fish, potatoes or barley, vegetables, stock and perhaps some parsley. Turnips, carrots, and cabbage are amongst the most popular vegetables in Irish broth recipes.

You can actually create your own broth recipes by simmering meat in water for a couple of hours and adding some vegetables in the final hour. Add salt, pepper and perhaps some fresh herbs at the end and you will have a warming, flavorful soup.

Maybe you have made an easy French onion soup recipe before, in which case making one of Ireland's famed broths is not that different. Onions are used in lots of Irish recipes and you can use them in pretty much any savory soup recipe, chopped, minced, or sliced.

Recipe for Irish Mutton Broth

This is a typical broth from Ireland and it is easy to make. This richly flavored broth is actually better made a day in advance, left in the refrigerator overnight and then reheated the following day. This recipe serves six people and is very economical to make. Serve it with warm, crusty, buttered bread for sopping up the delicious soup.

What you will need:

2 lb neck of mutton
2 carrots
1 onion
1 turnip
2 tablespoons pearl barley
6 cups water
1/2 head cabbage
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley, to garnish (optional)
How to make it:

Put the mutton in a soup pot and cover it with the water. Bring the water to the boil. Skim the fat off the surface. Rinse the raw barley then add it to the soup pot and cover the pot loosely. Let the mutton soup simmer for an hour and a half.

Peel and dice the vegetables and shred the cabbage. Add these to the soup and bring it back to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer the soup for an hour. Take out the mutton and pick through it, discarding any gristle or bones.

Return the chopped mutton to the pot. Let the soup cool and skim the fat off the top. Reheat it, adjust the seasoning if necessary, and serve with a fresh parsley garnish and some crusty bread.

Hearty Black Bean Soup Recipe With Spicy Hot Chile Peppers and a Splash of Dark Rum

Make this black bean soup as fiery hot as you like. It is very easy to adjust the heat by varying the amount ant types of chiles. Topping the soup with cheese and sour cream will help temper the fire. And the dark rum adds a wonderful twist of the Caribbean to this hearty bowl of bean soup.

2 cups dried black beans
8 cups cold water
3/4 pounds cooked ham, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup diced onion
2 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground hot red New Mexico chile
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup dark rum
4 green onions (with some green tops), finely chopped
1/2 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese
Sour cream
Lime wedges

Sort the black beans and place in a large saucepan. Cover with water and let stand 1 hour, then simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Drain the beans and continue with the recipe in the same saucepan. Add the 8 cups of cold water, ham, garlic, salt, diced onion, whole cloves, cumin, ground New Mexico chile, and the lime juice. Bring to a boil, then reduced heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours, or until the beans are tender and the black bean soup is thick. Taste the soup, and adjust the seasonings accordingly.

To serve, add the dark rum to the saucepan, then ladle into large soup bowls. Top with the chopped green onions, cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and lime wedges for squeezing. This makes 4 to 6 servings.

Polish Stew (Bigos) Satisfies Hearty Appetite and Your Craving For Comfort Food

Several years ago my husband and I attended a conference in Warsaw, Poland. Our hotel catered to travelers and had a cozy coffee shop where travelers sipped pressed tea and savored some of nation's national dishes. I had mushroom soup and, as near as I could figure out, it was made with wild mushrooms and heavy cream.

Interestingly, I did not have Bigos while I was in Poland, I had it at home. The stew reminds me of Hungarian Goulash Soup, which contains meat, potatoes, tomatoes, and caraway seeds.

There are many variations of Bigos. Some call for pork, while others call for ham or beef. Polish sausage is also added to the dish, along with apples and prunes. This is one of those recipes that tastes better the next day. And the next.

According to Wikipedia, Bigos is a Lithuanian dish and goes back to the year 1385. However, "Polish linguists trace the word Bigos to a German rather than a Lithuanian origin." Apparently the word means confusion or big mess. But this tasty stew, eaten with rye bread and potatoes, is far from a mess. It is a wonderful combination of flavors.

The Astray website has posted a recipe for the national dish. In all, there are two and a half pounds of meat (beef and Polish sausage), fresh mushrooms, sauerkraut, white wine, tomato sauce, caraway seeds, and soy sauce. Surprisingly, the reicpe does not call for fresh cabbage.

Myra Waldo includes a Bigos recipe in her book, "The Complete Round-the-World Meat Cookbook," published in 1967. Hers is the classic recipe, with fresh cabbage, sauerkraut, pork and wine. I have adapted Waldo's recipe to my family's taste and health needs.

2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 pound boneless pork roast, fat removed, and cut into cubes
1 pound of polish sausage, thickly sliced
3 cups shredded fresh cabbage
1 pound of sauerkraut, drained
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
1 box of button mushrooms, sliced
1 8-ounce can of salt-free tomato sauce
1 cup lower salt beef broth
3/4 cup dry red wine
1 teaspoon lower sodium salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 or 2 bay leaves
Prepared mashed potatoes (homemade or frozen)

Pour olive oil into Dutch oven, soup kettle or large oven casserole dish. Add the onions and the pork. Cook over medium heat until the meat is brown. Add all of the remaining ingredients, cover, and bake in a 325 degree oven for 2 1/2 hours, stirring twice. Remove bay leaves. Serve immediately with mashed potatoes and a green salad. Makes 6-8 geneous servings.

Copyright 2010 by Harriet Hodgson