Food... fresh from the basement

Just what have I been fixing, in my basement laundry room turned kitchen??? (that almost sounds like I've been cooking up something illegal, no such luck.)  Paninis, lots of paninis. Although, Chicken Noodle Soup is in the crock pot right now, because it's April 18, and it's snowing outside...  Anyway, back to Panini's.  I found the Food Network's 50 best Panini Recipes, and printed them up, I also found "Panini Happy"  a wonderful blog, dedicated to Panini's. 

I've discovered my husband had NO CLUE what he was talking about, when we were in San Francisco, and he opened his mouth to tell me "I don't like sourdough bread."  Because what he ment to say was "I've never had sourdough bread."  It's a panini favorite for him.  He likes ham, whatever sliced Cheese I have on hand (kraft singles do not count as cheese when it comes to paninis, they're really runny, harder cheese, stiffer cheese works a lot better), typically Mozzerella, Provalone, Meunster.  Virginia Ham is terriffic.  Some sliced tomatoes, and something dark green; Spinach leaves, or Arugula, are delicious.  Put them on hard bread, Sourdough, Seeded or Unseeded Rye, Chibata Rolls, and press :).  Last night, we had Turkey Bacon Ranch sandwiches.  Sourdough bread, ranch on the bread (thin), Provalone, Spinach, Tomatoes, Turkey, Bacon, and Tomatoes.  Really good.

A few nights ago, I was tired, and I was stumped. I cooked up some Schwans chicken patties (my husband used to love these, almost as much as he loves a burger fresh off the grill), I brought them out, and his face fell.  He wanted a  Panini.  Oh, good to know, he's in love with the panini press too.

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto works great as a sandwich spread, so does traditional Basil Pesto, so does olive oil.  And I just keep mixing up the combinations...

And as great as Paninis are, I really miss an oven baked chicken breast.  I'm looking forward to my kitchen being done.  Soon.  I might even get to put stuff in cabinets next weekend... So soon... and when our kitchen is done, what will we do with the panini press?  Find a nice spot for it in the kitchen.  It doesn't need to live in the fruit room (pantry) downstairs, with the crock pots and electric skillet.  It will get used more often than those.  Because the man I married, who had said, "I don't like lunch meat sandwiches, I eat enough of them when I'm in the tractor" has become a fan of a hot deli sandwich, a Panini, and I've always been. :)

PS: even peanut butter and banana sandwiches taste better off the panini press.

Creative Cooking part 1

With the Kitchen being gutted for a total renovation, and me not wanting to figure out how to move the stove back upstairs, from the basement, I've got a limited arsenal to cook with.  I've got the BBQ Grill (haven't used it yet), a panini press/griddle, an electric skillet, and a crock pot.  I've got a microwave, too, but I don't like microwave cooking.  The chest freezer makes for great prep space, and my gadgets sit nicely while I cook.

Spaghetti:
So, did you know, you can freeze your spaghetti sauce?  I did, and luckily I typically make 2 batches each time I make it, so I had some frozen, just ready for use.  I put it in the crock pot, and let it heat all day.  Why not all day?  I knew I wanted spaghetti, the day before, so I was ready.  I didn't even thaw the sauce completly, first, just dumped it in.  When it came time to cook the noodles, I grabbed my electric skillet.  It holds water, it heats up a lot faster than my old stove ever did, and in less than 10 minutes, I had noodles, ready for the sauce.  It was wonderful!

Chili:
Really, for me, the best way to do chili is in the crock pot.  When I cook it on the stove, it always wants to stick to the bottom.  Take your chili recipe, and put it in the crock pot.  Cook your meat first, use the electric skillet if you don't have a cook top :)  Let it cook on low all day, or high for about 3 or 4 hours.

Sandwiches, Gourmet:
Any sandwich, any bread, and a panini press, is an amazing combination.  Some mustard and miracle whip mixed up to make a nice little sauce, a few types of deli meat (several types of ham is kiler!), some tomatoes, some nice dark green lettuces, or spinach leaves, press for a few minutes, and you are a master of the laundry room kitchen!!!

BBQ Beef:
Again, the only way I do this, is in the crock pot.  A hunk of beef roast, and sauce.  Sauce: Katchup, worchesire sauce, a little liquid smoke, mustard, and some brown sugar.  Cook on low all day (or if you forget, just do high for 3 or 4 hours), throw it on some hoagie buns, and viola, you're a lean, mean, bbqing machine!

Stuffed Pork Chops:
Luckily, HyVee had these all prepared for me.  I cooked them on the panini press, and I cooked them at high.  I don't reccomend High, maybe medium would be  better, the outisdes got a little tough, but the flavor was delicious. I added a side of Rice Pilaf (cooked in the electric skillet) and a spinach salad.  All my meals come with a salad, or a fruit salad.

This is just what I've done, so far, along with Schwan's Chicken patties (those are pretty good on the panini press, too), and Schwan's fish sticks.  The fish sticks cook up really nicely in the electric skillet, foil on the bottom, lid on the top, cook about 5 minutes longer than the package suggests.  Delicious!

Hope that some of you find these ideas helpful! :)