Food for the Classes

 The week before my SEW LOVELY class. I did food for Kristen's Click Class. To keep things simple, I repeated most of the recipes again for my class. Here they are...

These were amazing show-stopping sandwies. It's probably all the butter and cheese.  I got the recipe from the Taste of Home mag, but couldn't find it online and I did alter the recipe...so I just typed it out below. The thing I love the most is that it needs to be prepared the night before, so you just pop it in the oven in the morning.

Sweet Melty Ham Sandwies

• 12 Hawaiian Sweet rolls, sliced
• 1/2 lb. Black Forest Ham, deli sliced
• 8 oz. Gruyere cheese, sliced
• 1 tub chive and onion cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbls. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp. dry minced onion

Arrange the bottoms of the rolls in a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Layer with ham and Gruyere cheese. Spread each roll top with cream cheese; place over Gruyere. In a small bowl, combine the butter, Parm cheese, Worcestershire and minced onion. Pour over sandwies. Let stand for at least 20 mins or overnight in the fridge. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins or until heated through.

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Now this might be my favorite thing I made: warm, soft pretzels. They take a little work, but man, are they to die for. Totally a comfort snack food. Get the recipe here. Be sure to read her blog post, too, which gives tips on how to make-ahead and freeze them.

I used Ken's Steak House honey mustard dip. Delish!

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Ham-stuffed chicken with asparagus: This is a great way to use leftover ham from Easter. If your chicken breasts are large, you will need to half them (otherwise there will be too much chicken in the "roll" and it won't cook). Also, I pan fried it first and then put it in the oven to finish cooking on 350 degrees.

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This picture was the inspiration for my mushroom. But there was no recipe, so I came up with my own.

Tomato Toadstools

• cocktail-sized tomatoes (I got mine at Costco. They are bigger than cherry or grape tomatoes.)
• white string cheese
• herb cream cheese (make your own by adding fresh garlic, chives, salt, pepper, etc. or buy a tub at the store)
• Fresh cilantro leaves

Hollow out tomatoes and try to get most the seeds out. Place them upside down on a paper towel to drain out some of the liquid. Using a butter knife, smear in some herb cream cheese. Cut a stick of cream cheese in half. Then, insert the stick into the center of the tomato top. Right before serving, I insert the stem of a cilantro leaf into the cream cheese center to hold it in place. To make the specks on top, put plain cream cheese into a small zip lock bag and snip the corner off. Then, squirt little specks on the top.

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These strawberries are so divine. Oh....my....stars! Mini cheesecakes. I love them way more than chocolate covered strawberries, which always seem too "strong" to me.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries
from Nutmeg Nanny

• 1 lb large strawberries
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened (can use 1/3 less fat)
• 3-4 tbsp powdered sugar (4 tbsp for a sweeter filling)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• graham cracker crumbs

Rinse strawberries and cut around the top of the strawberry. Remove the top and clean out with a paring knife, if necessary (some may already be hollow inside). Prep all strawberries and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add cream cheese mix to a piping bag or ziploc with the corner snipped off. Fill strawberries with cheesecake mixture. Once strawberries are filled, dip the top in graham cracker crumbs. If not serving immediately, refrigerate until serving.

Janna's Suggestions:

• Instead of plain graham crackers, I made and baked this crust from Pioneer Woman. It comes out way crispier. I love it! I keep it in a Tupperware in the pantry to have on hand.
• I've also made this cream cheese filling with splenda when I am watching my sugar intake. It's not quite as good, but a still a nice substitute.

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Mason Jar Banana Pudding

• Banana pudding ( I used pudding mix)
• Whip Cream (You can use cool whip, but I like the old fashioned homemade kind)
• Box of Nilla Wafers (reserve a few wafers for garnish; put the rest in a lg. zip lock and crush them with a rolling pin)
• Bananas, thinly sliced

Right before serving, simply layer the ingredients in this order:

1. Nilla crumbs
2. pudding
3. bananas
4. Nilla crumbs
5. pudding
6. bananas
7. whip cream
8. whole wafer or slice of banana for garnish (optional)

Comments

[Michelle]

Hi Janna! The photo above reminded me how much I love your wild rice salad. I found the recipe by searching through old blog posts, but I was wondering where you buy your wild rice. I found a 2 cup package at Target for $8. Do you buy it somewhere else that's less expensive?

Thanks for sharing your recipes! They all look amazing!

[Meghan Kuyper]

As someone who ate every bit of this food with gusto at the Click Class, I'm thrilled to have recipes! My favorites were the melty ham thingies, the cheesecake strawberries, the banana pudding and the soft pretzel...everything was amazing. Thanks, Janna, for making every meal and snack incredibly special, a true treat for this Momma!

[Vicki]

Maybe we could make the ham sandwies when we come visit this summer. They sound YUMMY!