Ham & Swiss Sliders- A Football Party Must!

So fall has come, and the leaves have begun to bare their gorgeous colors, In a last display of glory before they fall to the ground. My favorite tree is the little apple-like tree in our front yard. It has all the fall colors combined ranging from Green to Yellow to Deep Red...LOVE IT!
But I'm not going to bore you with poems about fall colors ;-)
Fall holds another big past time that most southerners wait the whole year for in eager anticipation...FOOTBALL season.
I am absolutely no football fan, I grew up in Europe and Soccer was the main sports there. But I must admit that I love the idea of getting together and just watching and enjoying (well I guess that depends on if your team is winning or how much you care lol) a good ol' football game.
as of now football is still going on (as far as I know lol) and people are still gathering together to yell at a TV.
I love the team spirit people have. And I've learned a lot about the south and their football!!! don't come between them!!!
Football usually means tailgates and football parties, and these wonderful events usually require easy to prepare yet delicious treats, easy to grab or add to an ever growing plate of food as you dash back to the game. Heaven forbid you miss that ONE second of the game! HellOooooo!!!
These are just that, the ideal football food...sliders...yum! They are easy to make and eat and are simply addictive!!!

Ham & Swiss Sliders
Makes 24 sliders

Ingredients

• 1 lb. deli ham (I used Black forest ham but honey ham is great too)
• 1 lb. Swiss cheese
• 24 Slider buns or King’s Hawaiian Rolls (2 packages)
• 1 stick butter, unsalted
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 1 TBSP mustard
• 1 TBSP poppy seeds

Directions

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray with cooking spray. Slice the buns in half and place on baking sheet. (I was able to squeeze all 24 on one baking sheet) Place one piece of ham and 1 slice of cheese  on each bun.
2. In microwave or on the stove-top  melt butter. Add brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce,  mustard and poppy seeds. Spoon mixture over the top of each bun, coating with mixture. Allow to sit for 30-60 minutes – do not cover!
3. Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

You can prepare the buns a day in advance, just don't cover them with the poppy seed sauce until just before your party.

Recipe slightly adapted from Haute apple pie

Good Old-fashioned "Nana" Bread

Yummy, warm and steamy "nana" bread...yum!

Find the ickiest, smooshiest bananas 

I would love to say that the fresh smell of banana bread(or as my son calls it "nana" bread)is oozing out of the oven in my kitchen right now. Sadly the smell of caramelized chicken Marsala is what I smell...Doh! (palm of hand hits face...repeat times three)I had forgotten to lower the heat... face palm again. Although we missed the sweet beckoning smell of the banana bread. I must say it tasted divine! and since lunch had been so brutally ruined, 8 eager hands were very glad for the sweeter, moister and less caramelized banana-y version of lunch. Banana bread is usually made because you have some very mushy, icky bananas left. and the thought of putting them in a smoothie or a Sunday just doesn't sound or look appetizing. But smashing them up into smithereens and mixing them in with other ingredients until it ceases to resemble something bruised and icky suits us very well. And the smell is should be absolutely to die for...warm toasted walnuts add to the wondrous taste and smell aaaaah...trying very hard to imagine it since all I smell is burnt mushrooms...yuck!

Lika diz ones

My son helped me make these. 2 bananas, 1 egg and a dump truck were somewhat harmed during this en devour, but not to worry everything and everyone ended up fine (except for the egg of course).
My son has an over eager little spirit and can have the urge to over rush things a tad. frustration and patience is something we are working on. I pray one day he will truly find the joy in cooking.
Anyways, My youngest couldn't wait to get his hands on these warm delicious and steamy slices of "nana" bread (the word steamy totally makes me laugh and somehow makes me think of the song "I'm sexy and i know it" except in this case it's dancing bananas singing the song....I'm way to tired for my own good lol)

Here is the recipe for the "nana" bread...hope you enjoy it!


Here are some tips:

• I used plain low fat yogurt instead of the sour cream (turned out great!)
• The bread doesn't really need a crumbly topping since the crust becomes slightly caramelized, sweet and crunchy. 
• The riper the bananas the sweeter and more banana-y the bread.
• Store bread in an air free container, bread tends to dry out fast if not stored.
• If the top starts to darken too fast while baking just lay a piece of foil over the pan, but don't seal it, it needs the air. Just lay it gently on top.

Make sure you spray or grease your pan good!

This recipe filled two loaf pans

Bake baby bake...

Now that's a happy smile!

Moist Walnut Banana Bread


Ingredients:

• 
  

• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 1 cup sour cream (I used low fat plain yogurt)
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 1/3 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch pan, or two 7x3 inch loaf pans.Combine banana and sour cream. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and banana mixture. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; stir into the banana mixture. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan or pans.
3. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.

Adapted from allrecipes 

 

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Don't you just LOVE the smell of freshly homemade bread??? mmmm I do! I remember my mom baking bread nearly every week, we would smell the bread and beg mom for a piece the moment it came out of the oven...we would be sooo impatient when she told us no. It had to cool down...
but oh nothing smells better (well maybe the combo of bread and coffee and maybe cookies mmmm I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!)than fresh bread.

Winndixie had a buy one get one sale going on on their pork boneless country style ribs. My hubby LOVES pulled pork and he had asked me if I could make it this past week. I agreed and started to get the crock pot ready the next morning. By the time I had finished and the pork ribs were bubbling away in the crock pot and smelling good...I noticed I had no hamburger buns ore bread for that matter...with three kids at home I really didn't want to pack them all in the car just to get some buns. So decided to make them myself...I've used two recipes so far and both were good but I preferred the last one with the pulled pork and the first one with regular hamburgers.
both are fairly easy and quick to make and even quicker if you own a breadmachine, just follow the recipe and add everything together in the breadmachine then select the dough cycle and voila just pick up at the next step.

hope you enjoy!

Homemade Hamburger Buns (recipe 1)


Ingredients:

• 
  
• buns
• 3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large egg
• 3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• *For best results (a smooth, slightly soft dough), use the smaller amount of water in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate); and something in between the rest of the time.

topping

• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

1.  Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, smooth dough.
2. Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until it's nearly doubled in bulk.
3. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball; flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until noticeably puffy.
4. Brush the buns with about half of the melted butter.
5. Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. Remove them from the oven, and brush with the remaining melted butter. This will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust.
6. Cool the buns on a rack.

Yield: 8 large buns.

Recipe courtesy of king Arthur flour

Homemade Hamburger Buns (recipe 2)

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/4 cup margarine, melted
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the milk, margarine, warm water, sugar and yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes.
2. Mix in the salt, and gradually stir in the flour until you have a soft dough. Divide into 25 pieces, and form into balls. Place on baking sheets so they are 2 to 3 inches apart. Let rise for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake the rolls for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool slightly, then split them in half horizontally to fill with your favorite burgers.

Warm Apple-nut Cinnamon Bread

Warm apple cinnamon bread is the best!

The smell of fresh apple bread is one of the most comforting to me..especially since I have been going through quite a hard spell. Thank God for apple bread...actually thank God for everything really without Him I would not exist or be who I am today, I can't imagine having to go through the trials of this world without Him...life would be so empty! there are tons of great quotes on hardships out there but this one stuck with me :

Better to lose count while naming your blessings than to lose your blessings to counting your troubles. 

~Maltbie D. Babcock 

well as I was saying I decided to make this wonderful really easy bread today to lift my spirits. The smell is so amazing and really does make you feel at home and cozy ;-) I must warn you though that the bread itself is utterly addicting and it is very hard to stop nibbling on it! But please try it...this recipe practically screams out fall  and fits wonderfully with the colder weather we have been having. Serve it slightly warm with a nice cup of steaming apple cider and voila instant calm  ;-)

 Apple Cinnamon bread:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup veg. oil *
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 2 cups diced peeled apples (I used 1 gala and 1 granny smith)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Mix the first 5 ingredients together and set aside.
2. Beat the eggs together then gradually add the sugar and oil until smooth
3. Add the vanilla to the egg mixture, gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. mix well. (the batter will be very thick and sticky, don't worry that is normal)
4. Add the diced apples and mix well
5. Mix the walnuts in 1 tsp of flour and add to batter
6. Divide batter into 2 greased loaf pans, top with cinnamon sugar (optional) 
7. Bake at 350F for one hour (make sure you check the bread after 40 and 50 min just to check progress, every oven is different)

* (yes that is not a typo it really needs 1 cup of oil but maybe try using apple sauce instead for a healthier version, you would need to add slightly more applesauce to get the consistency right but go ahead and try!)

 Again the smell is addicting and so is the taste so beware lol but above all enjoy and remember to thank your Heavenly Father for all He has done!

 

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