Roast Beef Sandwiches with Caramelized Onions

This post could really be an advertisement for how much we love Trader Joe’s…we really do.  Although it was just thrown together with random ingredients we found in our fridge, it turned out to be an excellent meal. 

Roast Beef Sandwiches with Caramelized Onions

  

Ingredients:

·         Whole wheat bread

·         Sliced roast beef (ours was Applegate brand from Trader Joe’s)

·         Smoked Gouda cheese, sliced (also from Trader Joe’s)

·         ½ onion, sliced

·         Handful of kale, stems removed

·         Pesto

·         2 T butter

·         1 T extra virgin olive oil

·         1 tsp brown sugar

·         Salt

·         Pepper

Directions:

1. In a small skillet, melt the olive oil and 1 T butter over medium-high heat.  Add onions and a dash of salt & pepper.  Stir constantly until onions begin to brown (about 5 minutes). 

2. Stir in the brown sugar and continue to cook, stirring constantly until onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes (we probably only did it for 10 so ours were only slightly caramelized...) In the last few minutes, add the kale to wilt. Remove from heat.

3. In a larger skillet, melt the remaining butter on medium heat.  Add slices of bread. 

4. When one side of the bread is toasted, flip to the other side and rub the toasted sides with pesto.  Add the cheese, roast beef, and the onion/kale mixture, and then cover with a lid.

5. Continue cooking until cheese has melted and the other side of the bread is toasted.  Put together your two halve of the sandwich & serve! 

We enjoyed ours with Charles Shaw Blend Shiraz from Trader Joe’s (aka “Two Buck Chuck).  We aren’t wine experts, but this $2 wine is actually very good in my opinion.  In this blind taste test, a sommelier tried several wines from Trader Joe’s and said a comparable wine could easily be sold for $9 to $11 dollars.  We usually grab a bottle or two whenever we shop there. 

Veggie Platter

Our condo has a party at a different person’s unit each month, and this month is our turn to host!  We threw together some appetizer platters - I’m really happy with how the veggie tray turned out. 

We hollowed out a pepper and filled it with bleu cheese dip & ground black pepper.  We also have cheese & crackers, grapes, and chocolate dipped strawberries.  Time to dig in! 

Vegetable Radiatore Pasta

Tonight my friend Katie had me over for dinner – we cooked Vegetable Radiatore Pasta from Trader Joe’s.  It is a tri-colored pasta made with spinach, beet, red bell peppers, and paprika. 

 

 

We topped it with tomato sauce, mozzarella, garlic, and Creole seasoning.  I would definitely have this pasta again.  It would also make the perfect base for a pasta salad. 

It was paired with San Sebastian Vintner’s Red wine (on the San Sebastian Winery’s website, they actually recommend serving it with pasta!) Katie’s fiancé Tony – who I’ve known since childhood – went to school in St. Augustine where the San Sebastian Winery is located. 

A very easy & delicious meal! 

Pumpkin Seed Cheddar Crispbreads, Spanish Dry-Cured Meats & Smoked Gouda

I bought Doctor Kracker’s Pumpkin Seed Cheddar Crispbreads at Publix last week as an impulse buy.  I had never heard of the company, but they looked like a tasty snack.  They are organic and a great source of protein, fiber, and whole grains.  I love that they have so many whole pumpkin seeds – they are very hearty crackers. 

Then while picking up some beers from ABC, we noticed their Campofrio Tapas were on sale for $1.75 so we decided to give it a try.  It contained a trio of traditional Spanish dry-cured meats: ham, pork loin, and chorizo sausage seasoned with smoked paprika.  I especially liked the chorizo. 

And yesterday, we stopped by Trader Joe’s to pick up a few snacks.  We always get some sort of cheese while we are there – they have a huge selection and the prices are amazing for such gourmet cheeses.  This time we chose the Dutch Smoked Gouda – which is one of our favorites.  It has a smoky flavor and creamy texture. 

We put all these products together for a fancy cheese, meat, and cracker spread…probably the first time all 3 of these were combined on one plate, but they paired perfectly together!

Keegan’s Seafood Grille

This afternoon we spent wandering around George C. McGough Nature Park – I’d highly recommend checking it out if you’re in the Clearwater area.  There are trails and boardwalks to hike and lots of wildlife. 

Afterwards we headed to Keegan’s Seafood Grille on Indian Rocks Beach.  Lance had heard of it from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and people had nice things to say about it on Yelp.  From the outside, it didn’t look like anything too special – just a generic sign in a shopping plaza. 

The interior had a slightly tacky nautical theme, but that meant there were lots of interesting things to look at while waiting for our food. 

I ordered the She Crab Soup and Louisiana Bayou Blackened Gator Tail, and Lance ordered the Parmesan Encrusted Grouper Cheek Sandwich.  The soup was creamy and had a decent amount of crab chunks in it.  The gator tail was a little tougher than chicken – more like pork in texture. 

We had never heard of eating grouper cheeks, but apparently it is one of the most flavorful parts of the fish.  His sandwich was served on an onion roll, and the fries were incredible with large chunks of shaved salt.  It was a special that day, so I’m not sure how often it is on the menu, but we’d drive out to Indian Rocks just to order that again.  Lance said that it was the best $9 meal he’s ever had.

We tried to walk off our meal afterwards at Seminole Mall, but it turns out that mall is pretty much just a ghost town – there were about 3 stores still in business.  Surprised it’s not completely shut down…it looked like the scene of a post-apocalyptic movie. 

So, if you’re on that side of town, definitely check out the nature park & Keegan’s – but steer clear of the Seminole Mall.

Keegan’s Seafood Grille is located at 1519 Gulf Blvd, Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785 and is open 11am – 10pm Sunday – Thursday and 11am – 11pm Friday & Saturday. 

Burrito Night

Lance had off work today so he was in charge of dinner. He prepared some amazing burrito toppings. By the time I piled mine up with all the ingredients, I could barely wrap it up in the tortilla – it was as stuffed as a Chipotle burrito. 

Something I had never tried before was adding baked potato – which made the burritos even tastier!  He also chopped up some carrots, which gave a nice crunch. 

Here was the recipe we followed tonight: 

·        Potatoes, cut into slices

·        Salt

·        Pepper

·        Olive Oil

   
1. Rub the potato slices with olive oil, season with spices, and bake in an oven at 400 degrees.  Rotate them every few minutes and take out of oven when cripsy.  

·        Ground beef

·        Black beans

·        Onion, chopped

·        Red Pepper

·        Poultry Seasoning

·        Celery Salt 

2. Cook the above ingredients in a skillet until meat is browned.

·        Flour tortillas

·        Scallions, chopped

·        Carrots, chopped

·        Romaine lettuce

·        Cheddar cheese, shredded

·        Guacamole-Salsa

·        Sour Cream

3.  Pile up your choice on ingredients on the tortillas, wrap, & enjoy!