Teriyaki Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich

I promise these are the last photos from my old camera. But, this sandwich was really good! The kids really enjoyed it as a different treat for dinner, now to only find a soup that it will go really good with. We just had it with salad instead of soup.

If you have leftover ham; then you take pineapple and cheese put them in between 2 slices of bread, glaze with teriyaki sauce and walah! You have a Teriyaki Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich.

If you need to refer back to how to make the teriyaki glaze, Click Here and just scroll a tiny bit down for the recipe for Teriyaki Sauce.

Here is what it looked like before adding the final slice of bread:

The final product; Teriyaki Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich:


What I used:
leftover spiral sliced honey ham
pineapple slices cut into wedges
havarti cheese (you can also use cheddar, that is what my daughter wanted instead of havarti, I just like havarti because it melts easy and becomes really gooey with cheese)
leftover teriyaki glaze from shish kebabs
2 slices bread
butter

Just build the sandwich, with bread spread with butter and down on grill (butter side down), then add the cheese; then the ham; glaze with teriyaki sauce; then add pineapple; and glaze with more teriyaki sauce; then one more slice cheese; then slice of bread; spread with butter and put on griddle and cook until golden brown and cheese is melted.

Anyone have any ideas for a soup this will go with? Leave me a comment with your ideas!

Banana Cake with Banana Cream Cheese Frosting

Can we say yummy? This cake was a surprise to me yesterday since I was craving dessert and I didn't have much in the house for anything really spectacular. Well, the way this Banana Cake turned out, it was nothing short of spectacular! You would never know this was NOT a scratch cake. This cake was ooozing of goodness with the bananas, butter, eggs, and it was so moist. Pair that up with a homemade banana cream cheese frosting and this is definitely a winner. I had to raid The Cooking Dad's stash of cake mixes to make this because there was nothing really in the house since I am low on staples (thank god it is almost payday and I can go shopping) so I decided what the heck, we will see how it turns out. We always have cake mixes in the house so that when The Cooking Dad wants some dessert, it is fast and easy for him to make. He likes to feel accomplished in the kitchen too and I like him in the kitchen cooking and baking because that way I do not have to feel like it is always my job because he can do pretty well too and he does quite often.

Anyway, on to the recipe! Just a note: I forgot to put in the baking soda as I was going and the layers were kind of flat but that did not compromise on the flavor and the cake was still moist and wonderful, just not as high as it could have been and since I came out with 3 layers, I am glad that I forgot or else we would have had a mile high cake that probably would have been difficult to frost. But it would have probably been better on the eyes if it was higher. This cake is not the most beautiful cake, but it sure tasted good! Just what the doctor ordered for my dessert craving yesterday!

Banana Cake with Banana Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake:
1 box Pillsbury Yellow Butter cake mix
3 ripe bananas, smashed
1 tsp baking soda

Mix cake to box directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Smash the bananas. I actually had my 4 yr old helper smash my bananas for me as she likes to help and this is right up her alley.

Add the bananas and baking soda to the cake mix. Mix well. (just remember if you want high layers, do not forget like I did)

Put pans in the oven for 30 minutes, check doneness by inserting a toothpick into center of layers; if it comes out clean, it is done. Let cool on racks for 10 minutes. Invert onto racks and let cool completely before frosting. (note what layers will look like when you forget the baking soda, just also note that it still tastes good though, even though they are a tad flat)


Banana Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8oz package cream cheese
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp banana flavoring (I used an espresso syrup for the banana flavoring since I used to drink tons of espresso and now I just use it when I need great flavor for something)
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

(here is the banana syrup I used, you can get it at any cash and carry or where espresso supplies are sold, I get my bottles at Cash and Carry in Olympia because they are just a couple dollars a bottle, lots cheaper than the grocery stores)

Cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add the banana syrup and mix well until creamy. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and mix well. Gradually add remaining powdered sugar mixing until desired spreading consistency. Will frost this banana cake with leftover frosting. Refrigerate leftover frosting for use with cookies or cupcakes, or something else.

If you wanted to you could add a couple drops of yellow food coloring to tint the frosting yellow, for a more spring like cake. But I chose not to do that at this time.
Here are a couple of yummy looking pictures of the finished product! Enjoy! Do try this cake at home, it is so yummy and simple!

Here is the finished cake, before digging in...

mmmmmmmm look at that frosting...

Wanna bite?? Go make your own! This one is mine! Have a great day!

Grilled Pineapple with Rum Sauce

If you are looking for a wonderful dessert, look no further. The Cooking Dad bought a fresh pineapple at Costco and he had this great idea to grill it. He grills everything he can. So while I was at work he looked for a recipe for his grilled pineapple. He found at RecipeZaar which is his favorite go to place for recipes. Just click on the RecipeZaar link in the previous sentence to go straight to the recipe. It was so good!

It was so simple and easy to make, he was really excited about that. He wants to make different things but just is not kitchen saavy... yet. It smelled so good while it was grilling.

The one thing he did differently is he used Captain Morgan's Coconut Rum instead of regular rum and it was fantastic with the little bit of coconut flavor with the pineapple and brown sugar.

First, you have to cut the pineapple into slices and add the rum and brown sugar. Let it sit in the fridge anywhere from 2 hours to 2 days.

Then after it has sat in the fridge soaking up all that rum/brown sugar goodness, you put it on the grill. Grill just until hot and carmelized.

Then you cut it up in chunks and serve with vanilla ice cream and some of the juice from the pineapple. We heated the sauce in a sauce pan and reduced it to a carmelly (is that even a word? well it is now) consistency to put over the pineapple and ice cream. Such a yummy dessert for a spring or summer day. Or, even if you BBQ in the winter, you can make this for a taste of the tropics.


Notes:
- While heating the sauce from the pineapple, watch for flareups while it is reducing because it does still have the alcohol in it from the rum. We got lucky and it did not flare up, but it can if it wants to.
- Another suggestion on the recipe site is that it can be eaten along side a main dish such as ham or pork.

Zucchini Bread

Here is a wonderful recipe for an easy Zucchini Bread. It came from my mother in law who is the master at making this bread. It is such an easy recipe that she has been making for years and years; my kids love it anytime. I made 2 loaves out of this recipe and they were gone within a day and a half by my kids, I did not get any! What is up with that? The Cooking Dad never got any either. Now I have to go buy more zucchini so I can make more, this time maybe I will load up and make about 10 loaves and freeze some, that way maybe we can get some before the kids eat it all. Well, here is the awesome recipe!

Zucchini Bread

3 C flour
2 C sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 C vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 tsp vanilla
2 C shredded zucchini



Mix all ingredients together. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans. Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees.



See... I said super simple and it was.

Notes:
Some other variations that she has done with this recipe to change it up a little.
- Add 1 cup raisins
- Add 1 cup diced apple
- Add 1 cup chocolate chips (seriously, the chocolate chips tastes really good in this bread, I thought it was funny at first, until I tasted it... delicious!)
- Spraying the loaf pans with cooking spray is ok too; that is what I did because I did not feel like greasing and flouring and it worked fine.