Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

Let me start off by saying, grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are possibly the most amazing sandwiches since the invention of sliced bread, which is fitting since sliced bread is one of the 3 very important ingredients necessary for its existence. With that said, there really is no recipe when it comes to making this sandwich. You basically make a PB&J and then grill it the way you would a grilled cheese. It is pretty phenomenal and a must try. It gives the american staple sandwich a little something extra that you would never expect. By toasting the bread, melting the peanut butter and warming the jelly, it almost becomes a dessert. And who would not want dessert for lunch or even dinner for that matter? However, there is one rule you that you must abide by when making this delowcious sandwich. DO NOT skimp on the ingredients. I don’t care if you are a lotta peanut butter and a little jelly person, or a lotta jelly with a little peanut butter person. In this scenario you are going all out with both. The more the better my friends, so load her up and throw another sanny on the grill, because Mama’s hungry!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Sandwiches

Say what you want about Paula Deen and her ongoing weight, and new-found health issues. I think she is a genius. I don’t care if you are 90 lbs or 490 lbs, who would not want a peanut butter and jelly ICE CREAM sandwich? Okay, maybe my vegan aunt wouldn’t, but that is besides the point. I personally can not wait until I can make these. Keep in mind, when I make them I will probably go the semi homemade route. I am talking store bought ice cream, homemade cookies, but not necessarily from scratch. We will see what kind of mood I am in when it comes time to actually making them. One thing I do know, either way you make them, they will be FABULOUS!

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Cookies:

• 1 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Strawberry Ice-Cream:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 cups half-and-half
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups diced strawberries

Assembly:

• 6 tablespoons strawberry preserves
• Peanut butter chips or chopped peanuts, optional

Directions 

Peanut Butter Cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet.

In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, the egg, and vanilla, and stir well with a spoon. Roll the dough into balls the size of walnuts. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet. With a fork, dipped in sugar to prevent sticking, press a crisscross design on each cookie. Bake for 12 minutes, remove from the oven, and sprinkle the cookies with some of the remaining sugar. Cool slightly before removing from pan.

Strawberry Ice-Cream:

In a small bowl, whisk together the first 5 ingredients. Puree the strawberries in a food processor and add to cream mixture. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker. After freezing in the ice cream maker, transfer to a container and place in the freezer, to freeze solid, for 6 hours before serving.

Assembly:

Spread the strawberry preserves on a peanut butter cookie. Top with a small scoop of strawberry ice cream and cover with another cookie. Roll sides in peanut butter chips or peanuts, if desired.

• Source: Paula Deen
• Cook Time: 12 min
• Recipe Yields: 8 to 9 servings

Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Not only is today Valentine’s Day, but it is also day two of Myra’s Week of Peanut Butter Recipes. As promised I have another delowcious peanut butter recipe that happens to be another Paula Deen recipe. Paula must love her some peanut butter. This one is a peanut butter and banana sandwich. I wonder if I am the only one who does this, but every time I spell the word banana I start singing Gwen Stefani’s ‘Holla Back Girl”. You know what I am talking about? “This sh*t is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S.” I love that song. Not only does it make me want to shake my booty, but it also helps me spell. HA! I am weird I know… Let’s get to frying some peanut butter. Happy Luv Day y’all!

Ingredients

Sandwich:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ¾ cup crunchy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 ½  teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 to 3 ripe bananas
• 8 slices white bread

Topping:

• ¼  cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Sandwich:

In a frying pan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Make sure butter does not burn. In a small bowl mix together the peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon. Slice the bananas into ¼-inch thick slices. Spread the peanut butter mixture on 4 slices of bread and cover with banana slices. Top with the remaining 4 slices of bread. Spread the remaining butter on both sides of the sandwiches. Grill the sandwiches in the frying pan until each side is golden brown.

Topping:

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in shallow plate. Coat the grilled sandwiches with the mixture. Cut diagonally and serve hot.

• Source: Paula Deen
• Prep Time: 15min
• Cook Time: 10min
• Total Time: 24min
• Recipe Yields: 4 sandwiches

Grilled Chicken Pitas

Ingredients

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds)
• 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided
• 2 small tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (¼ pound)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 large Vidalia or purple onion, cut into thin rings
• 6 pita breads
• ½ head romaine lettuce, finely chopped
• 1 (10.6-ounce) jar kalamata olives, drained, halved, and pitted, or other black olives
• 12 slices bacon, fried crisp
• Alfalfa sprouts
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil cooking spray

Yogurt Sauce:

• 8 ounces (1 cup) unflavored yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Rinse the chicken breast and pat dry. Combine 3 tablespoons lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic and 1 teaspoon of the oregano in a glass dish. Add the chicken, turn to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the chicken breast to marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

Combine the tomatoes and feta cheese in a small glass dish. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice, the olive oil, and the remaining 1 teaspoon oregano, and stir to combine. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat a grill to medium heat.

Spray a grill basket with olive oil. Grill the chicken breasts over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until no longer pink in the thickest portion of each breast. Spread the onion rings over the surface of the basket and grill while the chicken is cooking. Turn the basket frequently. The onion rings will blacken as they cook; this will also take 8 to 10 minutes. When the chicken and onion rings are cooked, place the pita breads on the grill for about 2 minutes per side, until grill marks show. Slice the chicken into very thin pieces.

At serving time, put out all of the ingredients and allow each person to assemble sandwiches: Split each pita. Place several slices of grilled chicken, 3 or 4 slivers of onion, a tablespoon of tomato-feta mixture, lettuce, olives, and 1 or 2 slices of bacon into each pita. Top with yogurt sauce and a wad of alfalfa sprouts. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Fold up the sides of the pita and enjoy!

Yogurt Sauce:

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, garlic, walnuts, and olive oil. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Notes: Phew! I am tired after just writing that recipe out. Sounds a little involved for chicken pitas.

• Source: Paula Deen
• Prep Time: 15min
• Cook Time: 20min
• Inactive Time: 1hr
• Total Time: 1hr 35min
• Recipe Yields: 6 servings

Sausage, Peppers and Onions

I have been playing with the Spicy Sausage, Peppers and Onions recipe before, but as I said, I am struggling to perfect it. Every time I make it, it turns out good, but is still missing something. Today I was watching Giada on the Food Network and she was making non other than Sausage, Peppers and Onions. I loved her take on it and think I will try it tonight since the Hubs hasn’t had glowing reviews with my past couple recipes. I know he likes sausage and peppers with turkey sausage of course.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced
• 2 yellow onions, sliced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup Marsala wine
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• 4 to 6 fresh Italian sandwich rolls, optional

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on both sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain.

Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the peppers, onions, salt, and pepper and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano, basil, and garlic and cook 2 more minutes.

Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the Marsala wine, tomatoes, and chili flakes, if using. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the browned bits. Bring to a simmer.

Cut the sausages into 4 to 6 pieces each, about 1-inch cubes. Add the sausage back to the pan and stir to combine. Cook until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.

Serve in bowls. Or, if serving as a sandwich, split the rolls in half lengthwise. Hollow out the bread from the bottom side of each roll, being careful not to puncture the crust. Fill the bottom half of the roll with sausage mixture. Top and serve sandwiches immediately.

Notes: This is great “Italian Street Food” and goes great with Fried Ravioli as the side and Zeppole (Italian Doughnuts) for dessert.

• Source: Giada De Laurentiis
• Prep Time: 15min
• Cook Time:40min
• Total Time: 55min
• Recipe Yields: 4 to servings

Open-Faced Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Sandwich

Ingredients

• 8 medium tomatoes
• 3 (16-ounce) balls fresh mozzarella
• 4 loaves ciabatta, sliced in ½ lengthwise
• 1 cup prepared pesto
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 32 basil leaves

Directions

Core the tomatoes and slice each tomato and each ball of mozzarella into ¼-inch thick slices.

Place the sliced ciabatta loaves on a work surface, and spread each half evenly with ⅛ cup pesto. Place 4 slices of tomato and 3 slices mozzarella side by side on the top of each half loaf and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place 4 basil leaves on top of each sandwich.

Slice each half loaf crosswise into 4 serving portions, making sure that each piece has a slice of tomato, mozzarella and a basil leaf.

• Source: Ina Garten
• Prep Time: 15min
• Total Time: 15min
• Recipe Yields: 10 to 12 servings