Category: OKK MEMES & PRIOR CONTRIBUTORS

Cheese and Potato Cakes

A funny thing happened on my way to the Caribbean… I am captivated by leftovers.  Largely due to the cost of ingredients here, I am now doing my best to make leftovers into something new.  This recipe is a great example of what I am talking about.  Rather than fresh made mashed potatoes one night and microwaved cold mashed potatoes the next, I made a whole new dish from the cold mashed potatoes from the night before.

Unless your family watches you cook, they will never know you are serving leftovers.  It is the perfect sidedish, glory from deception… Who could ask for more???

But first, I need to share the credit (well, since I stole the entire recipe, sharing is a generous word from my side, but I digress…)

One of my favorite sites is THE MYSTERY LOVERS’ KITCHEN.  MLK is a fun site, with 6 very talented cooks alternating a weekly recipe posting.  BUT, they also have another thing in common.  Each contributor has a book (most a series of books), featuring recipes and or food as an important part of their murder mysteries.  It takes a bit of reading before you get the hang of which lady and which personality is cooking on any particular day.  But then, I am married, so I am used to one site (person) with borderline criminal schizophrenic personalities.  So I enjoy the blog a lot.

A Cheese Shop Mystery 

One of the stars of THE MYSTERY LOVERS’ KITCHEN is Avery Aames.  Avery has a new book, new series being released soon.  The sassy owner of an artisan cheese shop who also loves a tasty mystery, fights crime and feeds cheese lovers.  “The Long Quiche Goodbye” (don’t you love that title) is due to be released soon, and you can pre-order now!  Recently Avery did a post of a cheese recipe for your leftover mashed potatoes.  It sounded odd, it sounded like it would mess up my pan and not come out as she described… But it sounded really good if it worked as she claimed.



Here’s what she said to do…

Avery’s Cheese and Potato Cake


Ingredients:


1/2 cup leftover mashed potatoes [recipe for potatoes below]

4 thin slices of your favorite Cheese [I used white cheddar]
dash of paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon of oil

Directions:

In a skillet, heat the oil on medium. Mold the potatoes into a flat “ball.” Lay two slices of the cheese in the skillet. Place the potatoes on top. Lay two more slices on top of the potatoes. As the cheese melts, use a spatula and lift the cheese up the sides of the potatoes. Continue to do this for 2 minutes. Flip the “cake” and do the same with the cheese, scraping it up the sides to form a crust around the potatoes. By the time the cheese is cooked to your liking, the potatoes will have heated through.


Serve warm. If you like, add a dollop of sourcream.



Be honest now… When you read this don’t you think that the cheese is going to hit that hot oil, melt all over the pan and get really messy in your pan.  I just could not imagine it working as Avery said it would.  But I was intrigued enough to give it a try.


Actually, I tried it for my lunch before I made it for my wife.  From bitter experience, I have learned to experiment with my lunch before inflicting oddities on my wife.  But I digress…



I had some spicy Chipotle infused Cheddar Cheese that I needed to use up.  Sure enough, as you can see, when I added the cheese to the hot oil, it did melt FAST.  But, as Avery instructed, I continued to push the melted (and rapidly crusting) cheese onto the sides of the tater patties.



And look at that!!!


The cheese did not stick to the pan (as I expected)
The cheese did not burn (as I expected)
The cheese did not ooze out into the oil and never stick to the taters (as I expected)


It worked exactly as Avery said it would (um… is it too late to add “as expected”???)





Avery’s did end up a bit nicer presentation, with a patty look instead of my final look.  I made my patties too big, and I did not have a spatula big enough transfer to a plate before they broke apart.  Next time.


But, what I wanted did indeed happen.  there was no hint that this new dish was made from old left overs.  Thanks Avery, you made me look like a genius!


Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. I was THRILLED with the results.  Crusty, cheesy and filled with new flavors!


 … I CAN COOK THAT! Anyone can!!! And anyone can make this winner…


And BTW…


Avery has a trailer for her book.  Lots of images of cheese, and will whet your appetite for not just a “gouda” mystery, a Great Mystery… Click HERE to see the trailer!

M is for May and M is for Muffins

Actually, in our home, muffins are a 12 month food.  There is something about muffins that always appeal.  Perhaps, they are easy to make.  While this is true, my guess is that we love muffins because of the great variety we can have.  May feels good for fruit as the Spring warmth comes along.  The birds chirp, the leaves come out on the trees, flowers begin to peek up from the ground and muffins are baked.  This month will be Muffin May for me.  If you have any good muffin recipe, please link them here.
Our first muffin is a Merry Berry Muffin with three types of berries residing in the warm casing.  You can choose your favorites for this recipe.  Instead of berries, try cherries or peaches.  What about some nuts or chips?  It is such fun to design muffins.
Tri-Berry Muffins (adapted from Paula Deen’s Blackberry Muffins)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Canola oil
1/2 cup Rice Dream
1/2 cup Egg Beaters
2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups combination of cranberries, blueberries and black berries.
I used fresh blackberries and frozen blueberries and cranberries. Do not defrost until ready to use.

Method:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.Grease or line 18 large muffin pans. (I made 12 plus a mini cake)
3.In bowl, stir together the oil, rice milk and eggs.
4.In another bowl, sift together the flour, 1 1/4 cups of sugar, baking powder and salt.
5.Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the wet mixture all at once.
6.Stir until blended. There will still be lumps. Do not overmix.
7.Fold in the three kinds of berries.
8.Divide batter into prepared cups and sprinkle the remaining 4 teaspoons of sugar over the batter.
9.Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden. (I baked about ten minutes longer because it was still wet. I think the berries caused the extra moisture.)
Enjoy!!!!!

“Ice Cream” Sandwiches – Save Room for Dessert

If it’s Monday, it must be time to follow me down a path of unapologetic, unabashed gluttony.  Right?
Well, not necessarily.  Sometimes even I know when to leave well enough alone and go for a lighter recipe which still leaves me with all the satisfaction of something heavier and, quite possibly, made of chocolate and butter.  The recipe I’m featuring today was introduced to me by my oldest friend, who brought a bunch of these little bits of addictiveness to my apartment one night.  And when I say addictive, I mean it.
And they could NOT be easier! Which, of course, makes it that much easier to develop a habit surrounding them.
Your two main characters?
Fat-free Cool Whip,
 
And graham crackers.  Any kind will do.  I love the cinnamon ones!
Now…if you weren’t me and were actually trying to be “good”, you’d make a sandwich out of a reasonable amount of Cool Whip and two graham crackers.
However, it just so happens that I made these sandwiches on the day I finally decided to try…THIS:
Honestly.  It’s like part of me that was empty and cold has now been filled with light and happiness.  What did I ever do without you, Nutella? I bet there was a lot of crying involved, whatever it was.
It occurs to me that it looks like I took an ice cream scoop to the Cool Whip.  But I didn’t.  It just looks like that.  I don’t want you getting any ideas about me!
Once you make your lovely sandwiches, place them carefully in your freezer container, should you have one – a freezer bag works just as well.  And then put a lid on them and smoosh them and be sad.  If you’re me.  Freeze them for at least an hour and OH.  MY.  GAH. 
You would swear you were eating the fattiest, most decadent ice cream sandwich.
And there’s all sorts of variations on this, of course.  Chocolate graham crackers are rather special, but I’m sure you already figured that one out (frozen Oreo, anyone?).  I knew I was using Nutella here, though, and didn’t want to overdo it.  I bet mini chocolate chips around the outside would be just like a Chipwich…aww I love them!
Let your imagination run away with you…and enjoy!

CADILLACS ~ PARMESAN ROAST BEEF SANDWICHES, DINER STYLE

As I get older I have noticed that there are fewer and fewer mom and pop style diners. I find this very sad. Some of the best soups, salads and sandwiches I have ever had were diner style. With all the chain restaurants these days they do okay, but they also do formulaic recipes with as few ingredients as they can get away with to make it palatable, at least in my opinion. This recipe I made from memory of a fantastic sandwich I had in a roadside diner somewhere in Texas many years ago.




PARMESAN ROAST BEEF SANDWICHES
8 ounces thinly sliced roast beef (close to shaved)
1 firm tomato 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4 ounce can mild green chiles, VERY well drained*
4 slices thick quality sourdough bread
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
mayonnaise

  • Heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat in a small skillet.
  • Saute’ onions until JUST tender.
  • Add green chiles and Worcestershire sauce. Drain well if there is any excess oil.
  • Toss roast beef with onion mixture until heated through and well blended.
  • Grill the tomatoes until cooked through.
  • Butter 2 bread slices. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over butter and immediately press down gently so cheese nestles into the butter. This will form a crispier crust.
  • Press bread buttered side down on hot grill.
  • Add grilled tomatoes.
  • Top with shredded cheese.
  • Top with roast beef mixture.
  • Spread mayonnaise on top slices of bread and top sandwiches.
  • Spread butter on top side of bread and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, pressing firmly again to imbed Parmesan cheese.
  • Flip sandwiches and grill until golden.
*I accidentally picked up jalapenos this last time.
NOTE to self. ALSO good, but way HOT!!!

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Fire Day Friday – Grilled Lettuce Wraps

Welcome to the inaugural Fire Day Friday!


Yes, I know, not a very original concept for me, “Gee, Chris is going to cook something on a grill? I’m SOOOOOOO shocked!” [sarcasm inflection]

But I am going to take a different approach with this theme than on Nibble Me This. There I’m just having fun on my grills without regard to whether someone else could replicate it. Sometimes I am cooking something on a grill to prove it can be done (like recent spaghetti).
Fire Day Fridays are about cooking something with live fire that anyone else can make on any other type of grill. No Big Green Egg required. No special equipment. Fire Day Fridays are about inspiring and getting people to use their own grills.
So it is Friday night, you have gotten home from work and you are ready to relax. You want to enjoy the evening in your back yard spending quality time with your favorite adult beverage, not spend all night in the kitchen, right? Here’s a quick and very easy “Friday night bites”.
Grilled Lettuce Wraps
source: Chris of Nibble Me This
Ingredients
3 ea chicken breasts or thighs, boneless, skinless, cut into 1″ cubes
bbq skewers (if using wood, soak for 1 hour in advance)
8 oz can whole water chestnuts
1 cup Mr. Yoshida’s sauce (or sub a teriyaki sauce)
6 Tbsp chunky peanut butter
2 ea dried red chili pepper (sub 1 Tbsp of red pepper flakes)
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 head bibb lettuce, leaves separated and washed
2 cups cooked sweet jasmine rice
Instructions
Whisk together the Yoshida’s sauce, peanut butter, sesame seeds and chili pepper. Don’t be afraid of the pepper, it isn’t really that hot in the final product. Divide the sauce into 3 portions. You will use them for a marinade, a glaze, and a dipping sauce.

Marinade the chicken with one portion for an hour. If you’re in a hurry, you can skip the hour marinade time, just toss the meat in the mixture.

Skewer 3 pieces of chicken, a water chestnut, and 3 more pieces of chicken. Repeat. TIP: If using thick round skewers, you might split the water chestnut if not careful. Spin the skewer as you push into it so it drills rather than pierces.

Preheat your grill to 350f. If you are using a gas grill, that’s about medium. Place the skewers over the direct heat for 2 minutes. Turn them 1/4 turn, and cook another 2 minutes (4 total so far).

Turn and cook another 2 minutes (6 total so far). Brush with sauce and cook another 2 minutes (8 minutes total cooking time).
Remove from the grill. (You could serve these just as kebabs at this point with the rest of the sauce as a dipping sauce.)
Serve each kebab with a bibb lettuce leaf filled with about 1/4 cup of rice, dice the water chestnut, and top with some rice noodles. Serve with the rest of the dipping sauce.

Then sit around on your patio or deck and enjoy the evening with your family and friends as you eat these. They are a bit messy to eat after the third bite so have plenty of napkins on hand!

The Last Hurrah: Lovin’ From the Oven/What Did You Bake Today

This is my farewell post here on Our Krazy Kitchen.  Life in the Harried Homemaker’s world has gotten busier than ever and although I hate to do it, I am cutting back on my “extra curricular”  activities.  Please continue to visit me over at my blog.  I so enjoy the friendships that I have made during my sojourn here.
As my swan song, I am simply posting pictures of all of the recipes I have posted here.  You can find them under either of the titles I have used for these Friday posts (Lovin’ From Your Oven or What Did You Bake Today).  Happy Baking, Friends!!!

Banbury Tarts:
 
Clover Leaf Rolls

Whole Wheat Flax Bread 
 
Monkey Bread
Banana Bread

Southwest Biscuit Casserole

Blueberry Muffins
Apple Pumpkin Muffins

Autumn Cake
Molasses Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookies
 
Mummy Cookies

Spoon Rolls
 
Bread Pudding w/ Caramel Sauce

Lemon Pudding
 
Lemon Meringue Pie

Chicken Bundles
 
Crockpot BBQ Turkey Breast

Yellow Cupcakes
 
Banana Cake

Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake
 
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars
 
Donut Muffins
Raspberry Muffins

Easy Strawberry Shortcake
Deep South Caramel Cake

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Pizza Casserole

STRETCHING a side dish for two to a SNOW PEA MEDLEY FOR FOUR

Greetings again…  Occasionally, I have a dish that is so good, I can not wait for Thursday to roll around so that I can share this with all the OUR KRAZY KITCHEN folks.  This dish was the best thing I made this week.  And the surprise came because it was a “need to do something” dish.

OK, let’s start with my problem… I screwed up.

Not uncommon.

This week, we had friends from home visiting.  It has been a week of menu planning, showing off a bit and dining out a couple of times!  But, one evening, I discovered I had screwed up… I planned on a simple sautéed snow peas as a compliment to a Rum Braised Mahi Mahi (the fish so nice they named it twice).  I thought the contrasting colors would make for a nice plate.  My problem was the brain fart I made when shopping.  I can buy these by weight instead of pre-packaged.  When I was shopping, I am so used to shopping for just Jackie and myself, I only bought 1/3rd of a pounds worth.  Just enough for two.  But I had to feed 4 people, and the 4 mile round trip walk to get more was not really an option, due to time restraints and laziness (you decide).

I considered making a cornbread, but I had my heart set on snow peas (a favorite).

So, after spending several minutes staring into an open refrigerator (for the cool breeze, I know what is in my fridge), I pulled out some extra veggies to make a melange…

So, another “not really a recipe”, more of a technique post…

Here’s what I did…

I had…

 1 Red Pepper (diced to the size of the snow peas)
1 Sweet Vidalia Onion (diced to the size of the snow peas)
1/3rd pound of Mushrooms (diced to the size of the snow peas)
1/3rd pound of Snow Peas
5 cloves of Garlic (minced)
2 TBS Olive Oil 

First step is to heat your oil with the minced garlic.  Olive Oil will burn easily, you do not want this too hot.  I set my electric burner to 5.  It takes about 10 minutes for the garlic to infuse the oil.

Now, I was lucky enough to find true Vidalia Onions recently.  they are sweet as is, and when gently sautéed, they get even sweeter.  If I used a “standard” onion, or a red onion as I prefer, I would have sautéed the onions for as long as 40 minutes to caramelize them.  With the sweet Vidalias, there is no need to sweeten them up.

The onions and the peppers are a bit more dense than the peas and mushrooms.  It would take a bit more time to get them heated throughout than the peas and mushrooms.  So I put them in first and flipped them around to get them coated with the oil for only about 5 minutes…

Then I added the snow peas and the mushrooms and continued to flip and coat for another 5 minutes.

Gentle heat and a short cooking time, and they have a great snap to them.  Do not over cook, or they get mushy soft.

No seasonings, didn’t need to add any extra tastes… just the veggies in oil… and the verdict was…

WOW, did this all work well together.  Some night soon, Jackie and I will just dive into a big bowl of this as a main course.  Snappy al dente texture, different vegetable tastes, plenty of flavor from the garlic oil.  I watched everyone eat, and this was the dish that disappeared from everyones plate first.

It was an accident and a rush to compensate for a shopping mistake.

What a lucky accident!  No one knew I was making it up as I went along.

Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. What a shock … I CAN COOK THAT! Anyone can!!! And anyone can make this winner…

Queen of Sheba Cake – Save Room for Dessert

I was feeling a bit ambitious one day and decided to tackle a recipe which had been haunting me for quite some time, ever since I heard of its use in the movie Julie & Julia.  Then I watched the movie and saw the Reine de Saba (Queen of Sheba) cake and knew I had to make it happen.

Fast forward a few months to the day when it actually DID happen.  This cake is quite unlike anything I have ever eaten before.  That extraordinary taste and texture totally made up for the extra bit of time it took to make the cake happen.  I can only imagine that the use of egg whites lends that lighter-than-air texture, and you can really taste the almond extract.  Heaven!

If you have a little time and a little patience, I beg of you: Please, make this cake.  It completely lives up to its reputation as one of Julia’s best recipes!

I’m going to go lighter than usual on the pics since this is a rather long process and I don’t want to make the post even longer!


Reine de Saba (Queen of Sheba)

3 ounces sweet baking chocolate
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate (I used a total of 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate)
2 tablespoons dark rum or strong coffee (I used water for this – no rum on hand and a coffee hater in the house)
4 ounces (1 stick) softened unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
The egg whites
3 room temperature egg whites (a scant 1/2 cup)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
A pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup blanched almonds pulverized with 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup plain bleached cake flour
First I pulverized the almonds in the food processor along with 2 tablespoons of sugar.  The sugar helps keep the natural oil in the almonds from making everything stick together.  By “pulverized” I mean I chopped and chopped and chopped until I couldn’t chop no more.  They were as small and crumbly as they were going to get and were just flying around the processor so I decided enough was enough.
Once this was done, I beat the butter in the stand mixer until it was light and fluffy, then added the sugar and beat it for another minute.  Then the egg yolks joined the party and everything got all mixed up and transferred to another bowl in order to make room for my egg whites once their time came.
Julia’s method for melting the chocolate and rum/coffee involves a double boiler system where water is heated until it simmers in a large saucepan, into which a smaller saucepan with the chocolate and liquid is lowered and allowed to rest for 15 minutes until it is all melted and smooth.  I did things her way.
Once melted, the chocolate gets mixed in with the egg yolk mixture.  Along with that goes the pulverized almonds and almond extract.  
Sidenote: I love almond extract and I don’t care who knows it.
THEN it’s time to whip the egg whites in your nice, clean bowl.  First beat them for only a minute or two until they are foamy.  Add the cream of tartar and pinch of salt, then continue to beat at a higher speed.  When you’ve reached a soft-peak stage, add the sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.
Take about 1/4 of the stiff egg whites and mix them into the chocolate mixture.  Then fold in the rest, alternating with sprinkles of cake flour, until everything is incorporated.
Whew.  This chocolaty mess goes into an 8 inch buttered and floured cake pan and into your 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  Then it needs to cool for at least 2 hours.
Time for frosting!

2 ounces sweet chocolate
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate (again, I used all semi-sweet)
1 1/2 tablespoons rum or strong coffee (this time I used milk instead)
A pinch of salt
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted softened butter
Pretty easy, this part.  Melt the chocolate and liquid of your choosing, using a double boiler system (this time I used a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water) and once that’s melted, add the butter one tablespoon at a time and incorporate.  Don’t forget that pinch of salt – it does wonders!  After this is cool, beat until thick enough to spread.  It will be quite thin prior to cooling, but once it has cooled it transforms into a lovely, smooth frosting.







I used sliced almonds and chocolate curls to decorate – use your imagination!


Make.  This.  Cake.  It’s exquisite and well worth the time.  It would be great as an impressive dessert for a special gathering!

FIRE DAY FRIDAYS

Later this week we are losing our resident baker, Kristen to her Harried Homemaker life.  She has been a great asset to OUR Krazy kitchen and will be sorely missed.  We wish her well and hope she’ll visit often.  We are also blessed to be gaining Chris from Nibble Me This as our new resident grill master and another male voice.  Dave from My Year on The Grill and right here on Thursdays for I CAN COOK THAT! is our other resident grill master, but that silly tropical island has a rule about grilling and he’s being so good to abide by it.  He must be going through withdrawals by now though!  Be sure to join us for FIRE DAY FRIDAYS here at OUR Krazy kitchen.

SLOW COOKED MEAT BALLS

On the weekends when we are going to be home all day, I LOVE the smell of something scrumptious cooking and this recipe is one of my favorites. The great thing about this recipe though is that it’s great for working moms during the week too.

SLOW COOKED MEAT BALLS
1 1/2 pounds ground beef*
4 slices stale sourdough bread made into crumbs
1 JUMBO egg, beaten
1 medium Vidalia onion, finely chopped
1 can cream of golden mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and herbs
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon basil

  • With your hands mix together the ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, onion and half the seasonings.
  • Form into 1 1/2 inch meatballs.
  • Spray the bottom of the slow cooker lightly with PURE.
  • Gently lay the meatballs in the bottom of the slow cooker.
  • Mix together the soup, broth and tomatoes.
  • Pour over meatballs.
  • Cover and cook 7-9 hours on low.
*I like to make my own ground beef when brisket is on sale. It makes for a richer tasting beef flavor! Thank you Tyler Florence!

AND DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO ENTER:


I was recently made aware that there is a wonderful online shopping experience available right from your desk top. Whether you are looking for TV stands, dining room furniture or cookware, they have it all.
Remember all these wish list posts I did about all the wonderful quality kitchen dreams and wishes I have? Well, all the items I’m dreaming about to complete my dream kitchen are available from these sites from CSN stores and so are yours!


Maybe you need a new spice rack like this one? How can you get it for free? By joining in on this giveaway of course! The winner receives a $60 gift certificate for them to use as they wish on any of the CSN.stores websites.

Kamenstein 16 Jar Acadia Wood Spice Rack

Want to enter? Head on over to 3 Sides of Crazy for YOUR chance!
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Italian Tomato Pie – Simple Saturday

T’is the season for nice fresh tomatoes! This recipe originated from a basic tomato pie, but has taken twists and turns along the way. It’s so good – definitely a must try!

Ingredients

  • 4 tomatoes, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • 2 chopped green onions (more or less to taste)
  • 2 cloves finely minced garlic
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 pound bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
  • Salt, pepper, oregano
  • 1 (9-inch) pre-baked deep dish pie shell

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice tomatoes and season with salt. Layer the tomato slices, basil, onion, bacon, ricotta and 1/2 mozzarella in pie shell. Add another layer of tomato, top with remaining mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with oregano and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and browned.
Additional options – this can be made without the bacon, cheddar cheese can be added if desired, ricotta can be replaced with mayo for a more traditional tomato pie, and it can be made with or with without a top crust.
Enjoy!

Mexican French Bread Pizza: Lovin’ From the Oven

Thank goodness for good online recipe sites. My favorite two are Taste of Home and All Recipes. If I am in a cooking rut, I am almost 100% guaranteed to find something delicious there. Here is an easy meal that all the family is sure to love. Add or subtract ingredients according to your tastes.

Mexican French Bread Pizza:

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 1 can (2-1/4 ounces each) sliced ripe olives, drained
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 loaf (1 pound) unsliced French bread
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Colby Jack cheese
In a large skillet, brown ground beef and onion. Add salsa, olives, salt, chili powder, garlic powder and cumin. Slice the loaf of French bread in half lengthwise. Spread equal amounts of the ground beef mixture on each half. Sprinkle one cup of cheese on each half. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees.