More sandwich recipes from Dusty's virtual Diner

Nancy's Sloppy Jose Sandwich


1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 cup taco sauce
1/4 cup tomato ketchup
1 8-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1 or 2 drops bottled hot pepper sauce (strictly optional)
Shredded cheddar or Monterey jack cheese (optional)
8 hamburger buns

In a small skillet, saute onion in butter until soft. Drain off fat and set aside. Place beef in a large skillet. Sprinkle with 1/4 Tablespoon of the chili powder, and brown until crumbly. Add onions and stir in all remaining ingredients, except buns. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to lowest setting, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, sitrring occasionally. Serve on hamburger buns, just like sloppy joe's. If desired, top meat with shredded cheese before serving. Serves 4.


Nancy's Salmon Salad & Apple Sandwich

1 6-ounce can Chicken of the Sea (or other brand) boneless, skinless salmon, drained
1 large red delicious or Fuji apple, washed, cored, sliced thin, and chopped.
2 teaspoon onion powder, or very finely grated fresh onion
2 teaspoons Djon mustard
1/2 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes or very finely chopped fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup regular or light Helman's mayonnaise
4 to 6 slices whole grain bread
Leafy green lettuce



In a bowl, combine salmon with all ingredients except bread. Chill for 1 hour to allow flavors to blend. Place desired amount of lettuce greens on bottom slice of bread, fill each slice with equal amounts of salmon salad, and top with remaining slices of bread. Serves 2 to 3.


Nancy's New Yawker Poor Boy Sub Sandwich

1 small loaf Italian bread or long sub roll, cut in half horizontally
6 small meatballs, without sauce, sliced in half
6 slices genoa salami
6 large slices of deli pepperoni
6 slices provalone cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
yellow mustard, to taste
Bottled regular or "lite" Italian salad dressing, to taste
shredded iceburg lettuce
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 to 2 ripe cored tomatoes, sliced thin to medium thickness, as desired.

Rinse lettuce and tomato before slicing. Spread bottom half of sub roll with desired amount of mustard. Top with lettuce, onions. sprinkle with desired amount of Italian salad dressing. Sprinkle desired amount of salt and pepper over this. Top with sliced tomato, then cheese, then pepperoni. Add sliced salami and sliced meatballs. Add top half of roll, cut sub in half and serve. Serves 1 to 2.

Hot dogs for a crowd: Dusty's Diner hot dog sauce recipes

Nancy's Dude Ranch Dogs w/ Meat Sauce

12 hot dogs
1 pound 85% lean ground beef
1/2 Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/8 tespoon ground cinnamon
1 quart water or beef stock
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
12 hot dogs
12 hot dog buns
1 to 2 cups bermuda or spanish onion, diced (optional)
prepared yellow mustard (optional)

In a dutch oven or stock pot, add Worchestershire to beef, and cook until brown and finely crumbled. Do not drain off fat. Stir in salt, chili powder, cumin, sugar and cinnamon, until well blended. Add water and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to lowest setting, and simmer, covered for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Makes about 1 quart of sauce.

Leftover sauce can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 days.

Grill, steam, fry or boil hot dogs, however you like them. Place cooked hot dogs in your choice of plain, steamed or toasted buns. Add mustard to each hot dog, top with meat sauce and then sprinkle with desired amount of raw onion. Serves 6 to 8.


Michigan Dogs

1 medium yellow onion, doced
1 green bell pepper, seeded, cored and diced
1 1/4 pounds 85% lean ground beef
1 12-ounce bottle chili sauce
1 15.5 ounce can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 Tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Tablespoon salt
prepared yellow mustard
12 hot dogs
12 hot dog buns

In a dutch oven or stock pot, saute onion and green pepper in oil until soft. Drain off most of oil. Add ground beef and cook until brown and crumbly. Add chili sauce, tomato paste, tomato sauce, prepared mustard and sugar, mixing well. Bring to a boil, stirring. Turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Cook hot dogs as desired. Place in buns, spread with mustard and top with Michigan sauce. Serves 6 to 8.

Dusty's Diner Mexican Night: Quesadilla recipes

Apple, Bacon, Cheddar & Carmelized Onion Quesadillas


8 to 12 slices (rashers) crisp, cooked bacon, crumbled

6 soft white flour or whole grain tortillias

1 1/4 cup (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

2 medium apples, pared, cored and quartered

1 medium sweet or yellow onion, sliced

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

Dash, salt

First, carmelize the onions. To do this, warm the butter in a deep skillet. Add onions and a little bit of salt. Heat on low setting, stirring, for about 20 minutes, until onions gel, and are lightly browned.

Next, spread half of the cheese over three of the tortillias. Add the bacon, apples and onions over the cheese. Top this with your remaining cheese. Place your remaining tortillias on top of this.

Brush a large skillet with a very light coating of olive oil or cooking spray, or use no oil if using a non-stick skillet. One at a time, carefully place each tortillia in a hot skillet. Lightly brown one side. Flip over and brown the other side. Cut into wedges and serve. Nom-nom!

Handy hints:

One way to flip your quesadillas without risking making a mess of it, is to take a plate, and place it over the quesadilla. Very carefully, flip the skillet upside down, to transfer the food to the plate. Then, flip the unbrowned side that's facing up on the plate, back into the skillet.

If desired, you can weigh the quesadillas down with a lid to brown them a bit more, but it's not really neccessary.

You can choose to serve quesadillas with your choice(s) of guacamole, salsa or sour cream.


Nancy's BBQ Beef Quesadillas

1 18 ounce package of refrigerated fully cooked BBQ'd shredded beef (usually found near the chicken or hot dogs in US supermarkets.)
8 white flour or whole grain tortillas
1/2 cup refried beans
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
vegetable or olive oil (or non-stick unflavored cooking spray)

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, green onions and lime juice. Set aside. Heat barbecued beef according to package directions. Spread four tortillas with refried beans; top each with 1/2 cup beef and 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese. Top with remaining tortillas. Brown each side, then cut into wedges and serve. Serves 2 to 4.

Brush a large cast iron or non-stick skillet with a light coating of oil or spray with cooking spray. Brown quesadillas over medium heat for 1-2 minutes on each side.



Easy Folded Turkey Quesadillas


1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon butter or margarine
4 10-inch white flour tortillas
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Dijon or honey mustard
1/4 pound plain, buffalo or mesquite flavor sliced turkey breast (or you can use similar amount of leftover turkey, shredded)
2 cups shredded cheddar or colby-jack cheese

Heat a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, spread one side of each tortilla with one teaspoon of butter. Flip the tortillas over. On the un-buttered side, spread one teaspoon of the mustard on each tortilla. Lay the turkey breast slices over half of each tortilla. Top with the cheese. Fold in half. Place one or two quesadillas, butter-side down, in the heated skillet. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. slice into wedges or serve as is. Serves 2 to 4.


Nancy's Spicy Chicken and Spinach Quesadilla


1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 Tablespoons lime juice

2 to 3 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 Teaspoons chili powder

1/4 cup sweet or yellow onion, very finely chopped

1 packed cup of frozen chopped spinach, thawed, or washed, de-veined fresh spinach leaves, chopped

3-4 flour tortillas

1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese


Combine the lime juice, 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil, cumin, cayenne and crushed garlic in a sealable plastic bag or container. Shake well to combine. Add the chicken breast to the bag and allow to marinate in the refrigerator, for 1 to 8 hours.

Place chicken in a skillet, sprinkle chicken with chili powder, and cook over medium-high heat. Turn over and continue cooking until chicken is almost cooked through. Remove chicken. Cut or shred chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside. In the same skillet, add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and cook onions until they begin to soften. Add spinach and chicken and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.

Next, brush a cast iron pan or non-stick skillet with a light coating of olive oil. Set heat to medium-high. Evenly divide chicken-vegetable mixture among tortillas. Sprinkle equal amounts of cheese over this.

Fold tortillas in half, and grill each side until nicely browned. Cut into wedges and serve. Serves 2 to 4.

Dusty's Diner Favorite Steak & Potato Recipes

Great-Aunt Carrie's Steak Smothered with Onions


1 large t-bone or porterhouse steak

1 large Bermuda or Spanish onion, sliced

3 TBLS butter or margarine

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp black pepper


In a hot skillet, melt butter. Place onions in skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until onions are slightly browned. While onions are cooking, grill steak to desired doneness, or about 10 minutes per side for medium to medium-rare. depending on thickness. Cover steak completely with hot onions and serve. If desired, add some mushrooms to this. Serves 2.


Nancy’s Steak Saratoga


2 boneless, very thin, petite sirloin or round steaks

2 TBLS butter or margarine

1 TBLS chives, chopped

3 TBLS Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dry mustard

2 TBLS butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs

1/2 small ripe tomato, diced

1 TBLS parsley, chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste


In a large skillet, brown steaks in butter. In bowl, combine chives, melted butter, Worcestershire, and dry mustard together. Spread on both sides of steak. Dip steaks in bread crumbs and return steaks to pan. Continue to cook on both sides until bread crumbs are dark golden brown. Top each steak with diced tomato and chopped parsley. Serves 2.


Nancy's Grilled New Yorker Steaks

6 Well marbled New York strip steaks
1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil
1 TBLS sea salt or sea salt-garlic blend
1 TBLS black pepper


Never place cold steaks on the grill. Steaks cook best when they are at room temperature. When charcoal has been heating for at least 30 minutes--gas grill on high for 20 min. w/lid down, lightly brush both sides of steak with oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of steak, to your own taste. Use a clean, lightly oiled cooking grate.

Place meat on the grill. About a quarter of the way through, turn the meat at a slant...about a 45 degree angle. This will give it its distictive cross hatch grill marks. Continue grilling another quarter of the way though, before turning the meat over, and repeating this process. Remove to warm platter and rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve plain, or with your favorite steak sauce, or some herbed matre'd hotel butter. Serves 6.

GRILLING TIMES FOR STRIP STEAK:

3 min. per side for rare
4 to 5 min. per side for med-rare
6 to 7 min. per side for well done.


Nancy's Favorite BBQ Steak w/ Cowboy Sauce

one 2 pound boneless sirloin steak
Cowboy sauce

Place steaks in a resealable bag or container. Pour 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bag. Retain remainging sauce for later. Marinate steaks in refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes. Remove and allow to come to room temperature. Grill steaks approx. 6 to 7 minutes per side for medium-rare, or until desired doneness. Allow remaining sauce to come to room temperature, and serve "on the side" with steak.


NANCY'S ORIGINAL COWBOY SAUCE

2 1/2 cups original ("classic" or "fat") Coca-Cola
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple juice
1 cup tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon each, salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon finely minced garlic (or garlic powder)
2 Tablespoons sweet or yellow onion, very finely minced
Few drops bottled Tabasco (hot red pepper) sauce (this is strictly optional!)

Place all ingredients in a blender (or place in a sealed container and throughly shake), until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to use. Will keep for up to 2 weeks in fridge.


Nancy's Cannon City Cube Steaks


4 small cubed steaks

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

2 TBLS vegetable oil

2 cups sweet or yellow onion, sliced

2 cups green bell pepper, sliced

1/4 cup butter or margarine

salt and pepper, to taste


Season flour with 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper. Dredge meat in flour. In a skillet, brown both sides of meat and turn off heat. Meanwhile, heat butter in a very large skillet. Add peppers and onions. Season with desired amount of salt and pepper, and cook until vegetables begin to soften. Transfer meat to pan with onions and peppers, cooking about 5 minutes per side. Peppers should be soft and onions transparent. Serve meat smothered in peppers and onions. This dish goes very well with fresh corn and a baked (jacketed) potato. Serves 2 to 4.




POTATO RECIPES
________________________________________________________

Nancy's Texas Totties


4 large baking potatoes, cut into wedges
1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
1/2 cup dried grated parmesan cheese
1 cup lightly salted potato chips (crisps), very finely crushed (or, substitute dried instant mashed potato flakes)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teapoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Non-stick cooking apray
Blue cheese or ranch salad dressing (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 450 Fahrenheit degrees

In a bowl, mix together crushed potato chips or potato flakes, cheese, chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Heat a pot of boiling, salted water. Blanche potatoes 1 to 2 minutes. Do NOT place in ice water to stop cooking! While potatoes are still hot, toss with the vegetable oil, and immediately coat with bread crumb mixture. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray, and arrange potoatoes on pan in a single, even layer. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until browned. If desired, serve with bleu cheese or ranch dressing as a dipping sauce.


Nancy's Grilled Italian Style Baked Potatoes

4 Large baking potatoes, cut in half
4 Cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp each, salt and pepper
2 Tbls vegetable or olive oil
2/3 tsp oregano
3 tsp dried basil

Combine all ingredients except potatoes. Let stand 1 hr. Boil potatoes for about 15 minutes or until just tender. Brush the seasoned oil on top of the potatoes. Grill potato recipe for about 15 minutes or until slightly charred. Don't cook directly over coals. Serves 4 to 8.

Crabby cook: Crab and Shrimp dinners

Nancy's Shrimp Wiggle


8 ounces fresh or canned crab meat
1 approx. 8 ounce can tiny shrimp, or equivilent of cooked shrimp
1 10 ounce can condensed cream of shrimp or cream of celery soup
1 10 ounce can cheddar cheese soup
2 cups frozen chopped broccolli, thawed, or one 15 1/2 ounce can baby peas, drained
1/2 to 3/4 cup whole milk (just enough to moisten without too much liquid)
buttered fine dry bread crumbs

Pre-heat oven to 350 F degrees

In a bowl, combine all but last ingredient. Turn into greased casserole dish. Moisten bread crumbs with melted butter, and sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake for 30 minutes. Serves 4.


DUSTY'S DINER TIP TO FELLOW COOKS ON A BUDGET:

If you do use canned crab meat, try soaking it in ice water for about 10 minutes, drain and pat dry. This will easily remove much of the "canned" taste from the meat.


Nancy's Southern-Style Shrimp and Crab Casserole


8 ounces cooked cleaned small shrimp
10 ounces fresh or canned crab meat
3 Tablespoons butter or margarine
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk or light cream
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 Tablespoons finely grated onion, or onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
1 Tablespoon freash parsley, minced
1 Tablespoon red bell pepper, very finely chopped
Dash of bottled Lousianna style hot sauce, or to taste
1/2 cup buttered fine dry bread crumbs

Pre-heat oven to 350 F degrees

In a sauce pan, melt 3 Tablespoons of butter. Stir in flour and milk, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until sauce thickens. Stir in egg until thoroughly blended, then stir in the remaining ingredients, except bread crumbs. Mix bread crumbs with approx. 1 Tablespoon melted butter or margarine. Turn seafood mixture into a greased casserole. Top with buttered bread crumbs and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until bread crumbs are browned. Serves 6.


Nancy's Cape Cod Shrimp and Rice Buffet Casserole

1 Bermuda onion, coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup frozen baby or regular peas, thawed
1 box Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice
2 cans tiny shrimp, drained
1 can condenced cream of shrimp soup
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Djon (or sub. yellow) mustard
1/8 teaspoon celery salt (optional)
2 cups sour cream

Pre-heat oven to 350 F degrees

Prepare rice according to directions on package. In a skillet, over low heat, saute onion until soft and transparent. Drain off most of butter, reserving a little for flavor, and set aside In a bowl, Stir together shrimp, soup, Worcestershire, mustard and celery salt and sour cream, until well blended. Stir onions into rice. Blend all ingredients togehter, and turn into a greased casserole dish. Bake for 1 hour. Serves 8 to 10.



Nancy's Cheesy Shrimp & Broccolli Party Casserole

3 cups of small cooked, cleaned (or sub. canned) shrimp
1/2 cup sweet or white onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons pimento, finely chopped
4 Tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cans cream of broccolli soup
1 1/2 cups light cream
1 cup mild cheddar cheese, shredded
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
Cooked white rice or pre-baked pastry shells

In a large sauce pan, melt butter. Saute onion until soft and transparent. Drain off 1/2 of fat. Stir in pimento, soup and light cream. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is well blended. Bring to just a boil, before stirring in cheese, lemon juice and shrimp. Allow cheese to melt, and serve over hot, cooked white rice, or inside pastry shells. Serves 8 to 10.


Nancy's Shrimp Curry

4 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup eggplant (aubergine), diced
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 1/8 cups whole milk
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 1/2 teaspoons (or adjust amount to your taste) curry powder
1/4 cup seedless raisins
1 teaspoon parsley flakes or fresh minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 salt
1 1/2 pounds small cooked, cleaned shrimp, or equivilent of canned shrimp
Cooked white or saffron rice

Melt butter in a deep saucepan. Saute onion until it starts to soften and become transparent. Add eggplant, and saute approx. 3 to 5 minutes. Do not allow vegetables to brown! In a seperate saucepan, sir 1/2 cup of milk with cornstarch, until well blended. Add to vegetable and butter mixuture, and stir in remaining milk and the curry powder. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until thickened. Stir this mixture into pan with cooked vegetables, and then stir in remaining ingredients, and cook, stirring, until it just comes to a boil. Serve over hot cooked rice. Serves 4 to 6.