Easy Philly Dips

I know I posted a recipe for Philly Dips a while back.  So while it does make a delicious sandwich, I have reached that point in life, as a mother with 2 littles, where making buns from scratch, boiling whole chicken breasts and shredding them, etc just is more time and effort than it's worth. Enter this new version which is so easy it's almost humorous.

I was looking for some other recipe recently and came across a roast beef sandwich Pioneer Woman made; it was similar in concept to the Philly I made but she froze hers.  I decided to adjust my recipe and try a new method. Senor and I put them together the beginning of the month, after my massive shopping trip and rolled them up, tucked them away in the freezer.

Last night was the answer I had waited for...were they good? Did it work?

YES! Senor took one bite and said, "These are really good! Make them like this again!".

The only draw back to these sandwiches is they use deli meat, so they're a bit pricey in comparison with the old method. But, to me, the time and effort saved is well, well worth it. I recommend just making a large amount of them at once, then you can heat as many or as few as you like when the notion hits.

For Sandwiches:
-Hoagie Rolls (I usually buy mine in the deli/bakery section of Publix; they come in bags of 4)
-Roast Beef, 1 lb will get you about 4 sandwiches
-AND/OR Roast chicken, 1 lb/4 sandwiches
-Provolone cheese, approx 1.5 slices per sandwich (this can be the cheaper stuff from the dairy section or you can splurge and pick it up while you're at the deli counter)

-1-2 onions, sliced---vidalia onions are preferrable
-1-2 green peppers, sliced
-2-3 Tbsp EVOO

For Au Jus: (can be made day of or made in advance and frozen; makes enough for roughly 6 sandwiches)
-1/2-1 Tbsp butter
-1/4 onion, finely chopped
-1-2 stalks of celery, chopped
-2 tsp flour
-1 can beef consumme
2/3 c water
-2 tsp dijon mustard
-1 tsp worcestershire sauce

Optional: (for dressing)
-mayo
-spicy brown mustard
-regular mustard
-parsley

Step 1: In a med sauce pan melt butter.  Sautee onion & celery. Using a whisk, stir in flour. Slowly stir in consumme trying to prevent lumps. Add water.  Stir in dijon mustard and worcestershire sauce. Allow it to simmer on low for 15-20 min.

Step 2: If you are going to add a spread to your sandwiches, pull out a cereal bowl. Stir together 1-2 Tbsp mayo, 1-3 tsp mustards, sprinkle in parsley to your liking. Sprinkle with black pepper if you like. Bascially, mix it to your liking. Set aside.

Step 3: In a large skillet, heat your EVOO. Toss in your onions and green peppers. Sautee your onions & peppers to your liking, I like mine to the point of the onions slightly browning.  Now, set them aside and allow them to cool.

Step 4: Arrange your assembly line. Hoagies, dressing/spread, meat, cheese, onions/peppers, squares of aluminum foil.

Step 5: Slice your hoagies down the center (on the side of the roll, or on the top if you prefer to roll like that); smear a little layer of your dressing on one side of the inside of the bun. Now top it with approx 1/4 lb of your preferred meat (I love the chicken, Senor goes ga-ga for the Roast Beast). Top the meat with 1/2 moons of the provolone (It usually takes 3 half-moons for a 6" hoagie--more if you're feeling cheesy).  Then mentally divide your onions/peppers by the number of sandwiches you plan to make and dole out 1 portion onto the prepared hoagie. Place the top of the bun on top of the sandwich. Place the sandwich in the center of the aluminum foil square and roll it up! Place it back in the hoagie bag. Repeat cycle until all sandwiches are complete.

Step 6: Remove your au jus (the consumme mix) from heat and allow it to cool. Place it in a freezer-proof container. Place au jus and sandwiches in the freezer.

Step 7: So when you decide to whip this tasty treat out for dinner (trust me, your husband will think you've done dinner kung fu if you just magically have dinner out of nowhere!) Preheat the oven to 375F, place desired number of sandwiches (still wrapped in foil) in the oven (like little baked potatoes) and allow them to heat until they're hot in the center. It takes 1-1.5 hrs.  The chicken will heat quicker than the roast beast. you can zap them in the microwave for the last few seconds to heat them, too, if you are running out of time.

Step 8: Whilst your sandwiches are heating you can either sit and do your toe nails or re-heat the au jus on the stove in a sauce pan. IF you choose to do your toes, then you can just re-heat it in the microwave in the last 5-8 min of the sandwiches heating.

Voila! Dinner is served! The bread is crusty on the outside, everything is melded and gooey together in the middle and your husband thinks you are a rockstar. Serve it with sweet potato chips, broccoli, fruit, fresh crudites...whatever. You can also add fresh tomato slices to the sandwiches once they're heated enough to split open again. You don't want to freeze them with fresh tomato, so that has to wait until they're being baked.

So that's the easy version. You can always do the more complicated version if you're feeling extra domesticated, but seriously, why?

Indian Chicken Curry

Delicious! This is one of our favorite curry recipes. This is enough for our little family of 4 (really 2 big folks and 2 little folks who count for maybe 1 big person) to last 2 nights.  I usually serve it with rice and two green veggies. Peas are ever popular here and green beans.

6 Tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped (or 2.5 c frozen diced onion)
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 Tbsp curry powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp paprika
2-3 bay leaves
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp white sugar
1/4 tsp salt (maybe even a little less)
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into little bite-size pieces
2-3 Tbsp tomato paste
2 c plain yogurt (now tonight I only had one cup, so I substituted the other with a cup of sour cream)
1.5 c coconut milk
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (I omit this and let everyone heat their curry up to their liking, which for me is none!)
I also like to add in either cooked carrots, sweet potato cubes or even diced tomatoes.

1. Cook your chicken until its done. Set aside.
2. In a small,bowl mix garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaves, ginger, sugar and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat oil. Add onions. Stir/cook for 5-8 min until they're lightly brown.
4. Stir in your spices (you just mixed up In Step 2) and let it cook with the onions for about 2 min, stirring regularly.
5. Add your cooked chicken, tomato paste, yogurt and coconut milk (and any add-ins like sweet potatoes you like).  Stir together well. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, simmer for 20-25 min.
6. Remove bay leaves and add lemon juice.

I serve it over jasmine rice or couscous. If you want one of these, I recommend to begin prep for those during step 5.   Then your rice will be done about the same time.  Also you can start veggies then so your meal is done at the same time.

Try it! It's delicious!