A Beef Salad Sandwich

 OK!  Here it is!  Remember the pot roast I posted last week and told you to watch for what Bill would do with the left-over meat?  Here’s what he did with it…

Growing up, I loved it when Mom cooked a beef chuck roast because I knew there would be beef salad sandwiches to follow.  I don't know where she got the idea of doing this with left-over roast beef, but I'm glad she did!

Mom used an old-fashioned shiny clamp-on galvanized meat grinder, and I did also for many years.  It is a great tool for grinding meat, vegetables, nuts and fruit that is cheap also.  If you’ve never used one, the first thing that will get your attention is the weight of it, about 5 pounds.  It’s unbreakable and durable. 

The handle attaches to the grinder with a nut; the ‘worm’ is the spiraled part of the grinder that moves the food to be ground through the body.  Attaching either the coarse or fine plate and then the screw ring gives you a perfect tool for grinding meat and so forth.  The main thing of concern was that the clamp at the bottom holding the grinder to the counter or table was very tight.  If not, it started sliding and could fall right off the table.  In reality, this is the best tool for grinding meat and all perfectly!

Go ahead many years and the food processor became king.  It certainly does a great quick job of chopping but it does not provide quite the texture that the grinder with the ‘worm’ gives.  So be sure if you use a food processor to chop and pulse in 1 to 2 second bursts until the desired fine consistency is met.

Just a few ingredients; such as, Miracle Whip (mayonnaise?), pickle relish, eggs and onions to make a great sandwich. 

I have to say, Bill thinks this beef salad sandwich is par with a tuna, chicken or ham salad sandwich any day! 

Beef Salad Sandwich

Ingredients:

1 pound cooked beef roast

1/3 cup pickle relish

2 hard cooked eggs, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

¾ cup Miracle Whip

Salt and pepper, to taste

Lettuce leaves

Method:

Grind the meat in food processor using chop and pulse mode, pulsing in 1-2 second bursts.

Remove to a bowl and add remaining ingredients.

Assemble a sandwich using your favorite bread.

Delicious!

Do any of you use the old-fashioned meat grinder?

Today is the last day to enter my giveaway for Chef John Besh’s “My New Orleans” cookbook that was posted on October 29, 2010!

Check out my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great recipes and cookbook giveaway!

Bill’s Ham (?) Salad

I’ve said before that my Mom knew her way around a kitchen and was a great cook and baker.  Her pies had quite a reputation.  She loved ham salad and made it now and then.  I thought it was great until…

I was at Aunt Marge’s house one day back in the days when we lived on the farm in Picktown and Aunt Marge served ham salad sandwiches for lunch.  I thought it was the best thing and wondered why hers was so much better than Mom’s ~ but I didn’t tell Mom that.  Years later, when I met Bill, I found out!  His Mom made ham salad with bologna. 

So, now since Bill is the sandwich maker in the family; that is his way of making ‘ham’ salad:  with bologna. This is a pretty simple way of making it.  There are neither hard-boiled eggs in it, nor onions and it has to have Miracle Whip.  Years ago, he put the bologna through a grinder, then later started grating it on a hand-held grater and now shreds it in the food processor.  He says the only other requirement is that it be served on toast, that’s a necessity!

Bill’s Bologna Salad

Ingredients:

1 pound chunk bologna

1/3 cup pickle relish

½ to ¾ cup Miracle Whip

Pepper, to taste

Method:

Shred the bologna in food processor.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Spread on your favorite toast.

Yum!

How do you like your ham salad?

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great recipes and cookbook giveaway. 

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My BLTE, not your BLT!

What, no egg on the BLT?

I grew up eating bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwiches with an over-hard fried egg in the sandwich.  This was the way Mom always made them and I thought that was the way everyone ate them!

This is probably our favorite sandwich in the summer time next to a burger!  The egg added to a BLT makes a huge difference.  It's great for an easy delicious supper and not much else is needed, maybe some potato chips and a good garlic dill pickle. 

BLTE’s were new to Bill until I prepared it one evening for supper after we were just married.  He LOVED it!   It’s a very filling, delicious sandwich!

There’s nothing like a great fresh Beefsteak tomato from the garden on a BLTE!

My BLTE’s

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon, fried crisp

2 eggs, fried over-hard

2 large slices tomato

Lettuce

Miracle Whip or mayonnaise

4 slices bread, toasted

Method:

Fry bacon crisp.

Break eggs in skillet; puncture yolk, fry till done on one side, flip, fry on other side.

Assemble the 2 sandwiches.

Enjoy!!!

How do you make your BLT?

Pam’s Potato Salad

You say potato and so do I! Potato salad, that is. And what a wonderful thing it is; a summer mainstay!

I know there are as many recipes for potato salad as there are potatoes and everyone has their favorite recipe for it, including me.  This is a pretty basic recipe filled with delicious potatoes, onions and sweet pickles.  I use Miracle Whip for the dressing because I love Miracle Whip.  As a kid, I ate a Miracle Whip sandwich after school.

Anyway, I added some celery seed and topped it with smoked paprika.  Ordinarily, I add sliced olives, just for Bill, but the olives in the refrigerator disappeared.  This house is seldom without a variety of olives and to Bill’s chagrin the potato salad didn’t get any this time.

I’m just wondering if your potato salad has a secret ingredient ~ if so; please share it with us!

Potato Salad

Ingredients:

2 pounds red potatoes

1/3 cup red onion, chopped

8 (approximately) Mt. Olive sweet petite snack cruncher pickles, sliced

¾ cup Miracle Whip Salad Dressing

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon McCormick’s Seasoned Pepper

½ teaspoon celery seed

Smoked paprika, for garnish

Method:

Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender.

Drain well, let cool and refrigerate.

Dice cold potatoes into large bowl.

Add onions and pickles.

Stir in all remaining ingredients, except paprika.

Mix gently.

Place in serving bowl.

Garnish with paprika.

Refrigerate until well-chilled.

Serves 4

I have a feeling the olives disappeared when Bubba and Matt were here!!!

Woo hoo!  Here’s to summertime!