As soon as we got home, I began working on my next project...cleaning out our pantry! I have a walk in pantry...or, shall I say I am "supposed" to have a walk in pantry. I have not been able to walk into it for a long time! LOL I proceeded to remove every single item from it and check the dates on everything. I tossed more stuff than I kept. What I realize is that I don't need as much pantry space these days...well, not for food anyway. What I really need is refrigerator and freezer space since almost everything I buy is fresh or made from scratch. I spent a good part of the afternoon working on that project. I'm almost finished...I just need to sort through and organize all my storage containers...but that will have to wait until tomorrow. We ran a few more errands and then it was time to get started on dinner..
Since it was so hot and muggy this afternoon and I was exhausted...we made a quick and easy dinner that didn't require heating up the kitchen at all. I decided to make "Hot Dog Cheeseburgers" with a side of coleslaw and fresh grape tomatoes that I quartered and tossed with olive oil, Pomegranate vinegar, fresh fresh thyme and basil and some sea salt and pepper. What are "Hot Dot Cheeseburgers" you ask? Think "bacon cheeseburger" only the bacon is replaced with a sliced hot dog instead. I made simple ground sirloin burgers (seasoned with Montreal steak seasoning) and then grilled the burgers and hot dogs (Applegate's organic uncured). I served them on my Sesame Seed Buns that I split in half and then topped with a burger, sharp cheddar cheese, a hot dog sliced lengthwise (and placed criss-cross on top of the cheeseburger)...added a squirt of yellow mustard and then finished it by adding the top half of the bun. Voila..."Hot Dog Cheeseburger"! It was SO good. I actually like it better than a bacon cheeseburger. I absolutely love the coleslaw, too. The tomatoes were our own homegrown as well as the fresh herbs. It was such a simple meal and perfect for a hot summer evening.
I can't tell you how much I enjoy these Sesame Seed Buns that I created. They have made mealtime this summer so much more enjoyable for me than my last 2 grain-free summers. While I don't mind not eating bread...there is just something satisfying about sinking your teeth into a simple sandwich once in awhile. And if you can do so by making a simple and delicious grain-free bun...why not enjoy it? These buns have about 4 to 4.5 net carbs each. If you miss eating a burger on a bun or a simple sandwich...these buns are definitely worth trying! You can find the recipe here: Sesame Seed Buns. Of course, if you prefer not to have the sesame seeds on top...just leave them off. I've included the basic simple recipe for my coleslaw below. Coleslaw dressing is such a personal taste kind of thing in my opinion. I've given you the combination and amounts I used -- feel free to tweak it to your own taste by tasting it as you go. It is so simple that you'll wonder why you haven't always been making your own dressing before! Enjoy!
I can't tell you how much I enjoy these Sesame Seed Buns that I created. They have made mealtime this summer so much more enjoyable for me than my last 2 grain-free summers. While I don't mind not eating bread...there is just something satisfying about sinking your teeth into a simple sandwich once in awhile. And if you can do so by making a simple and delicious grain-free bun...why not enjoy it? These buns have about 4 to 4.5 net carbs each. If you miss eating a burger on a bun or a simple sandwich...these buns are definitely worth trying! You can find the recipe here: Sesame Seed Buns. Of course, if you prefer not to have the sesame seeds on top...just leave them off. I've included the basic simple recipe for my coleslaw below. Coleslaw dressing is such a personal taste kind of thing in my opinion. I've given you the combination and amounts I used -- feel free to tweak it to your own taste by tasting it as you go. It is so simple that you'll wonder why you haven't always been making your own dressing before! Enjoy!
Easy Coleslaw
Ingredients:
16-ounce bag of coleslaw mix (shredded green cabbage, red cabbage and grated carrots)
Heaping 1/2 cup of mayonnaise (olive oil based or home made), or to taste
1 rounded tablespoon confectioner Swerve Sweetener, or preferred sweetener
3 tablespoons of "sugar free" bread and butter pickle juice (I used Mt. Olive brand), or to taste
2 to 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, or to taste
Few dashes of celery salt
Couple dashes of ground dry mustard
Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk mayonnaise, sweetener, pickle juice, vinegar, celery salt and dry mustard together. Taste dressing and make adjustments as desired, to taste. Add coleslaw mix and toss until evenly coated. Refrigerate for several hours until chilled. Toss before serving.
I've been meaning to tell you I love your new kitchen, especially that sink, wow! And you are so right about needing fridge and freezer space! I absolutely could not survive without my 2nd fridge in the garage these days.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we love your sandwich buns. I am not good at slicing things in half, so what I do is make them half as large (2T of batter) and make twice as many--that don't have to be sliced. It works for me! :)
Hi Darlene,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I know...at first, it was "nice to have" a 2nd fridge -- now it feels like more of a necessity! LOL So glad you are enjoying the sandwich buns -- great idea you have about making them thinner and using 2 instead! Whatever makes things easiest for us is what we should do! :-)
Hi GGC,
ReplyDeleteLove the "hybrid" sandwich! :-)
This looks a lot like my mom's coleslaw dressing. Instead of the pickle juice, she always had some crushed pineapple in her slaw and a little of the juice in the dressing. She did make use of pickle juice, though, in her dressing for tuna sandwiches. Hmmm ... maybe it's time to "repristinate" those now that you've come up with the "pristine" version of the dressing. :-)
Hi CyberSis,
ReplyDeleteOh wow...pickle juice in tuna salad -- I bet that is great!!! I will have to remember that. Honestly, it was so easy to make and as good if not better than the Marzetti's coleslaw dressing I used to use!
Hope you enjoy playing around with it and making it perfect for you! :-)
Love your kitchen too, and I've had a second frig in the garage for years don't know what we'd do without it.
ReplyDeleteLove your Hot Dog Cheeseburger idea, I actually made your sandwich buns yesterday so we could have hamburgers tonight and they'd be ready when I got home from work. I chickened out on the hot dog, I'm weird and don't like mayo on a dog and wanted to have mayo, lettuce and tomato on my burger LOL but hubby had it on his buger and liked it.
Buns were great! Tasty and held together just great. Thanks so much, will definitely use this over and over.
Hi Roye,
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm with you -- don't think I'd want mayo on a hot dog either! LOL So glad you enjoyed the buns -- they do make grain free eating so much easier for me -- the convenience of having a sandwich is priceless in the summer time especially. I can't wait to go on vacation and pack buns to take along with me! Such a silly thing to be excited about...but I am. Glad you enjoyed them too! :-)
Add me to the list of those who love your new kitchen. I look forward to trying your sandwich buns very soon and love Darlene's idea of making them thinner from the start with only 2 T of batter each. :) Reading about those of you with a 2nd fridge in the garage makes me think we need to add a garage so we can have room for a 2nd fridge LOL
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy,
ReplyDeleteThank you! I am anxious for it to be finished and hope to get it wrapped up in the next week or so.
Wow...while I do love my 2nd fridge -- I'm not sure building a garage to put it in is worth it...LOL. Now, if you needed the storage space of the garage, too...maybe it would be worth it. Good luck at convincing your husband though! ;-)
Like all the others have commented, love the new kitchen! Funny you mentioned can't wait to go on vacation and take along your sandwich buns. We just booked a trip to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons. We will be flying and I just told my husband, I need to figure out how to take along these sandwich buns. Would you suggest making and freezing first?? obviously they won't last the whole week, but the first few days will be when we are in the park all day and will need to pack/or purchase lunch. Thanks again for taking the time to come up with the recipe!
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have an awesome vacation planned!
You could freeze the buns first if you wanted. The only concern is that if you aren't keeping them either frozen or refrigerated, that the condensation that occurs when they thaw might make it easier for them to get moldy. If you made them the day before you left, they probably would be fine for several days at room temperature. If you have a bit of time before leaving for vacation, you might want to make a batch and freeze a couple, then thaw to see how they are if left at room temp for a few days. Unless of course you plan to take a cooler. I will probably take a cooler because we will drive rather than fly.
Regardless...I hope you have a wonderful vacation. Maybe there will be a refrigerator where you stay -- that way they will easily stay fresh throughout your trip. :-)
I made your Easy Coleslaw last night, as closely as I could with on-hand ingredients. It was awesome!!! Will also make it later as written, but it sounded so good, I decided to wing it. I really wanted coleslaw!!
ReplyDeleteWas out of mayo and was too exhausted to make any last night, though it is easy to do, of course. Instead I used a combo of sour cream, mascarpone and light olive oil. Made a nice creamy and mild tasty base dressing. I made homemade SF bread and butter sweet pickles a few weeks ago from one of my Grandmother's old recipes, so used that pickle juice.
Anyway, even with these deviations, it was great! It probably should have lasted a couple of days, but it is all gone now (couldn't quit eating it!). Oh well, at least it didn't have sugar/grain/wheat in it and the fats were awesome!!
Thank you again for sharing your recipes and ideas with us. I'm working my way backwards through your repertoire and I'm to December 2012. Of course, I read through the new and most current entries too, but am having a ball perusing your past creations, plus along the way your favorites come to the surface (as with breads and pizza crusts) so that makes it easier on what to try our first!
Hope you feel better now.
Alice B.
Hi Alice,
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas on your substitutions for the mayo in the coleslaw. I absolutely love coleslaw. So funny I'm seeing your comment today because I actually picked up a bag of coleslaw to make sometime this weekend. Haven't had the taste for a whole lot since being sick but coleslaw is what I've been craving of all things! So happy you enjoyed it.
Wow, you've got a long road ahead if you are going through ALL my recipes! You will find that some of them I've tweaked or "improved" as I went along. The buttermilk biscuits are one of them. I prefer my "improved" version but I know others that still like the original version. Hope you enjoy your culinary journey! ;-)
Hi GGC,
ReplyDeleteMayo just seems to languish forever in my fridge, so I rarely buy it, and I'm still too "chicken" to make it. I do, however, happen to have some mascarpone ... it's awesome on your power bagels with a bit of cranberry sauce for jam. Wonder where I got the "jam" idea from, eh? ;-) Anyway, I'm going to try Alice's idea. Looks interesting! :-)
Hi CyberSis,
ReplyDeleteI will have to give mascarpone a try on the power bagels too. Yes, if it weren't for my hubby who loves mayo, it wouldn't get used much since I'm not a big mayo fan. I don't dislike it, but I am not necessarily a fan either and don't use it much. :-)